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Just some LEDs — Parallax Forums

Just some LEDs

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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-12-05 17:03
    I see a lot of bicyclists with ridiculously bright headlights, flashing very visibly in the middle of the day. Some are HID and some are BFLEDs.

    I did a long group bike ride in France in 2003 called Paris-Brest-Paris: http://www.rusa.org/pbphistory.html

    Riders have 84 hours (3-1/2 days) to complete this very traditional round-trip ride (1200 km, ~750 miles) mostly out in the French countryside. Riders must do a lot of night riding, and be self-sufficient, no support vehicles carrying their gear or giving them batteries or supplies. Everyone must carry sufficient batteries & lights for at least one night. It's OK to buy more batteries at stores along the way, or get support at various checkpoints. Some fairly decent LED bike headlights existed in 2003, but they were forbidden from use on this particular ride, which is steeped in 100+ year-old traditions and has many antiquated rules (change comes SLOWLY in Europe). So everyone had to use incandescent bulbs and dry cells. At pre-ride bike inspection, everyone had to show that they had extra bulbs and batteries. Seems so quaint now. During the ride, many people just let their batteries die on the road since it was required to have them on, but not necessarily at full brightness. Barely-visible glowing filaments providing no useful lighting at all. Actually, away from city and street lights, it is amazing how your eyes can adjust to very low light levels. But that doesn't help the car driver who can't see you...

    Fortunately since then, they have changed the rules to allow LED and other modern headlights.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2013-12-05 17:26
    Wow I meant Gulfstream 5 up there... I think the nearest G6 is in SAN or LAX.

    That bike ride sounds awesome. I wouldn't want people beaming me in the eyes with LEDs either. I would make the rule you can use whatever you want but it needs to be covered in a layer of masking tape or something.

    Whenever I fly RC planes at night with LEDs I lose my night vision just as I started getting it back regularly.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2013-12-05 17:29
    Probably the most noteworthy LEDs on there

    [video=youtube_share;tHPaPmtTqps]
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2013-12-05 17:35
    This is going on my next robot

    mfc-vnsight-photo-01-h.jpg

    http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/vnsight.html
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2013-12-05 17:41
    Or this Pixy!

    pixy.jpg

    http://charmedlabs.com/default/?page_id=211

    Maybe both who knows.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2013-12-05 23:45
    Not that it's important, but the Pixy has changed a bit.

    6124c17e823ec6c8825e7bd81d0fd3b5_large.JPG?1386096645

    They added a bit of a neck to make it easier to mount to pan/tilt mechanisms.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2013-12-06 09:01
    That is very important! Anxiously awaiting one :)
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