RFC: replacement candidate for 1st gen. front LED

On Nov 30, 12:35*pm, Chalo wrote:
AMuzi wrote:

With my Russian night scope, there are few
opportunities to actually use it, city light spill being
nearly ubiquitous.

An hour west of here in Blue River the sky is dotted with
stars and night riding is actually impossible on skinny
winding roads without a light.

I grew up a few miles outside of town, in a development without street
lights. *Since bright lighting meant high power bills (and the
perception of wastefulness) in those days of hot-wire lamps, most
folks turned off their porch lights when they went to bed. *The
mercury street lights in town must have been dimmer as well as less
numerous, because they didn't brighten the sky anything like today's
low pressure sodium street lights. *Late nights were quite dark,
especially along the lanes where there were no houses or businesses.
I remember a few nights when I had some difficulty seeing anything at
all.


Where I used to live, it could get very dark (awesome) - a very few,
very distant artificial lights... until somebody moved into the house
right across the road and installed some kind of K-Mart parking lot
light in their yard. Talk about rude. Extreme in-your-face light
pollution. I don't get it; he just slept in the house while it was on
anyway.

(Had am incessantly loud, nasty dog running loose, too.)

On the other hand, riding my bike in the middle of a quiet moonlit
night, with no other lights in sight, was a delightful experience I
wish I could repeat these days. *I don't know of anywhere within
biking distance where I can find roads illuminated only by the moon
anymore.


I got some pretty nearly dark areas on my commute; and yeah - it's
really cool.

On Nov 29, 7:50*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:50:59 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:
(...)

How about a vintage kerosene or carbide lantern for the bicycle?
Almost steam punk:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kerosene+bicycle+lamp&tbm=isch
http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_bicycle.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lguM7J9IPCU
http://home.websolutionswa.com/lamps/cbicycle.htm
If some motorist gets to close, the lamp can double as a Molotov
Cocktail.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060

And the molotov feature would go well with a "Springfield Dog
Discourager" (don't have a link handy)...the rear mounted shotgun
(essentially) for the old Highwheels!

pH

On Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:41:16 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

I was astonished that anyone ever rode with such a dim light.

We have a heat lamp drying a patch of carpet in the bedroom.
When I turn off the lights and go to bed, I can just barely see the
lamp itself. When I get up an hour later, I don't need to turn on any
lights because the heat lamp illuminates not only the carpet it is
aimed at, but also the adjacent bathroom.

If the only artificial light I saw were firelight, it wouldn't take an
hour for my night vision to kick in.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net

On Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:41:16 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:50:59 -0800, Jeff
wrote:
(...)

How about a vintage kerosene or carbide lantern for the bicycle?
Almost steam punk:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kerosene+bicycle+lamp&tbm=isch
http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_bicycle.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lguM7J9IPCU
http://home.websolutionswa.com/lamps/cbicycle.htm
If some motorist gets to close, the lamp can double as a Molotov
Cocktail.

I bought a kerosene bike lamp, like some of the samples above, at an
antique store. I thought it made a nice nicknack for our fireplace mantle.

Eventually, I tried it out on dark neighborhood streets on a moonless
night. I was astonished that anyone ever rode with such a dim light.

Googling for the light output:
Kerosene lamp = 10 lumens
Carbide lamps = 85 lumens.
Bicycle LED lights = 250 to 1000 lumens.
Dual mantle Coleman lantern = 860 lumens
I guess the kerosene lamp is not very bright. However, a pair of
Coleman lanterns seem worth trying, especially with a reflector:
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/detail.asp?CategoryID=5300&product_id=2000008533
Besides not requiring any electricity, it has the advantage of acting
as a built in automobile repellent. Few drivers want to risk getting
soaked in burning kerosene,

But of course, speeds were much slower in those days, and the light
probably functioned more as a "be seen" light in the city.

I've never tried riding by moonlight or star light. When I've been in
the mountains, away from civilization, I was surprised at the "bright"
sky once my eyes adjusted. It was probably bright enough to ride by
starlight, but I didn't try it.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Dan O wrote:

Doubtful. Evolution is slow, and I think maybe night vision would
come at the expense of color vision... but then, we know from TV that
the world used to be black and white ;-)

I'd guess, perhaps wrongly, that your eyes would have longer to adapt to
the darkness, which would give you better night vision. On a clear night
you still can't see many stars in an over-lit city, which is at least
partly because your eyes can't adapt.

On Dec 1, 2:46*pm, Tim Bradshaw wrote:
Dan O wrote:
Doubtful. *Evolution is slow, and I think maybe night vision would
come at the expense of color vision... but then, we know from TV that
the world used to be black and white ;-)

I'd guess, perhaps wrongly, that your eyes would have longer to adapt to
the darkness, which would give you better night vision. On a clear night
you still can't see many stars in an over-lit city, which is at least
partly because your eyes can't adapt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation_%28eye%29

On Dec 1, 12:31*pm, Phil W Lee wrote:
Dan O considered Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:42:58
-0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:



On Nov 30, 8:41*am, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:50:59 -0800, Jeff
wrote:
(...)

How about a vintage kerosene or carbide lantern for the bicycle?
Almost steam punk:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kerosene+bicycle+lamp&tbm=isch
http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_bicycle.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lguM7J9IPCU
http://home.websolutionswa.com/lamps/cbicycle.htm
If some motorist gets to close, the lamp can double as a Molotov
Cocktail.

I bought a kerosene bike lamp, like some of the samples above, at an
antique store. *I thought it made a nice nicknack for our fireplace mantle.

Eventually, I tried it out on dark neighborhood streets on a moonless
night. *I was astonished that anyone ever rode with such a dim light..
But of course, speeds were much slower in those days, and the light
probably functioned more as a "be seen" light in the city.

I'm now reminded of what I read in _At Home_ by Bill Bryson, when he
said we moderns have absolutely no comprehension of how DARK the world
was at night, before electric lighting became common. *I imagine night
vision would have thus been better in those days.

Doubtful. *Evolution is slow, and I think maybe night vision would
come at the expense of color vision... but then, we know from TV that
the world used to be black and white ;-)

It's not about evolution, which as you say is too slow.
It's about practice, which develops the parts of your body you use,
and allows the parts you've abused to recover.

Ater a couple of weeks in Africa, staying out in the sticks, (the
nearest streetlight that I know of was about 40 miles away in
Windhoek) I could see by starlight. *I didn't realise it was possible
until then either.

It seems most of us have the ability, but it needs to be used to
function properly.

http://www.rebuildyourvision.com/

Phil W Lee wrote:
Dan considered Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:42:58
-0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:

On Nov 30, 8:41 am, Frank
wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:50:59 -0800, Jeff
wrote:
(...)

How about a vintage kerosene or carbide lantern for the bicycle?
Almost steam punk:
https://www.google.com/search?q=kerosene+bicycle+lamp&tbm=isch
http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_bicycle.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lguM7J9IPCU
http://home.websolutionswa.com/lamps/cbicycle.htm
If some motorist gets to close, the lamp can double as a Molotov
Cocktail.

I bought a kerosene bike lamp, like some of the samples above, at an
antique store. I thought it made a nice nicknack for our fireplace mantle.

Eventually, I tried it out on dark neighborhood streets on a moonless
night. I was astonished that anyone ever rode with such a dim light.
But of course, speeds were much slower in those days, and the light
probably functioned more as a "be seen" light in the city.

I'm now reminded of what I read in _At Home_ by Bill Bryson, when he
said we moderns have absolutely no comprehension of how DARK the world
was at night, before electric lighting became common. I imagine night
vision would have thus been better in those days.


Doubtful. Evolution is slow, and I think maybe night vision would
come at the expense of color vision... but then, we know from TV that
the world used to be black and white ;-)

It's not about evolution, which as you say is too slow.
It's about practice, which develops the parts of your body you use,
and allows the parts you've abused to recover.

Ater a couple of weeks in Africa, staying out in the sticks, (the
nearest streetlight that I know of was about 40 miles away in
Windhoek) I could see by starlight. I didn't realise it was possible
until then either.

I have a friend currently doing Peace Corps work in a small village in
west Africa. She's learned a lot about functioning in dim light.


It seems most of us have the ability, but it needs to be used to
function properly.

Indeed. I don't have the book here now, but in _At Home_ Bryson
mentioned a banquet given in a very large room, luxuriantly lit with
something like 20 candles. The attendees marveled at how _bright_ it
all was. Can you imagine getting that reaction today?

FWIW, I'm the guy in the house who opts for 100-Watt-equivalent bulbs.
Back in the day when they were hot tungsten, they actually drew 100
Watts. So I like plenty of light. I just wish people wouldn't waste it
upward, as light pollution.

--
- Frank Krygowski

T0m Sherm@n wrote:
On 11/29/2011 12:50 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
[...]
I don't have any "bright" ideas for a replacement. However, if this
is for your hybrid bicycle, you might look into finding motorcycle or
scooter head light that will run on whatever voltage the battery pack
delivers. I don't see any reason to deal with AA or D if you have a
huge battery available.[...

This works well for seeing the road:
http://images04.olx.com/ui/16/00/25/f_264759525-1315681263.jpeg.


please forward to rec.scooters

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

pH