LED's

[Devon]

quick question, would these be suitable to make a brake light out of?

Led's

how many do you reckon i would need?

[Evilchicken0]

I've thought about it too ... I think you need some bezels for the leds.

[kwakap]

Would you not just need a small board to put them on?

[Devon]

could i not use a glue gun to hold them in?

[lorenzo]

Gluegun would work just fine, little bezels are only pence though, and look much neater. However, I'm waiting to see these new LEDs start coming out onto the general market, the flat sort that look like those 1970's silicon chips, like you get on the back of phones etc. They're loads brighter than a traditional 'high intensity' LED, we have them on top-lights on the cameras at work now (4 of them bunched into 1 fitting) in place of a 50w halogen. That's proper bright, that is, 850 lux at 2m. Stare at it in a quiet room you can hear your retinas sizzle.

[Devon]

damm now i've look at bezels on ebay and there are two styles: black and metal chrome. damm to many choices.

[Devon]

lorenzo - do you mean these SMD LED

[kaighn80]

those are going to be a propper mare to solder onto anything, and if your using 4 to replace a 50w halogen lamp then how bright do you need your brake light to be? are you having a side light as well? if so it might be an idea to use something a bit bigger like 5mm ones that would give you light over a bigger surface lets be honest if white van man see's 4 little dots of red light he probebly wont brake untill your under his front wheels. and at 20v they might be a bit low powered if your running them on the bike system if they light up at all. if your careful and with a bit of planning you can do this with a breadboard and a handful of red 5mm leds and a couple of resistors, then you can make it any shape you want and pretty much any size you want.

[Devon]

I think i may just go for normal led's i want to drill the bodywork and put bezels in. I am aware that for a daytime mot i don't need a rear brake light (correct me if i am wrong) so this would be uncovered after the MOT.

heres one idea i had:

[2moto]

If you're mounting them like that, I would glue each one into its hole making sure it aims at cars behind you. As pointed out by others, LEDs have a very narrow viewing angle, usually around 15 degrees, so aiming them correctly is very important. Otherwise, you'll not see anyting from behind. Plus, you won't see much if you're in the next lane over, either. For visibililty, it's best to use a lens lit up by the LEDs which helps to spread the light.

[Devon]

ahh yes this is the issue i have, as the bike is currently on a paddock stand im finding it difficult to work out the correct angle. im not going to be using a lense as it means cutting the race bodywork and will ruin the look that i am going for.

I will experiment with trying to work out correct angle though as it would be a bit of a waste of money and time if i just went ahead without putting thought into whether it will be effective or not. thanks

[Devon]

There's a bike featured in the project section - really nicely done Tractor engined jobby with an RS250 (iirc) seat unit. I can't find the thread - hopefully someone with a better memory will give a link...

Anyway, the builder* made a lens out of a strip of lexan or similar clear plastic and rear mounted the LEDs in it, cut it into the seat unit and blended it all in. Looked brilliant in the end. Well worth a look for some inspiration.

Rich.

*apologies, I know I should remember who, but my brains on a go slow...

i will have a go with the search function and see if i can find what you are talking about. If a lens is the best way to go then i will see if it is possible for me to put something like that on my bike.

[kaighn80]

how about mounting the led's in tubes that can be angled also if you were to use some acrylic rod inside the tube with a concave finish to the outer end it would help to spread the light, still have to get the angle right but would be easier as most led's have a forward viewing angle of 30deg which isnt a lot at all. thats why you dont see too many legal headlights made from led's

[Devon]

just had a look and wow, i really like that idea of the acrylic. will have a look at my seat and see if it would work with my bike

[kaighn80]

just had a look and wow, i really like that idea of the acrylic. will have a look at my seat and see if it would work with my bike

ive done a bit with acrylic. you can also mount led's into the side of a sheet of acrylic drill a design into it (takes a bit of planning but its doable) then when you light up the led's it shines out of the holes that youve drilled looks quite good in the back of my escort.

[Devon]

ive done a bit with acrylic. you can also mount led's into the side of a sheet of acrylic drill a design into it (takes a bit of planning but its doable) then when you light up the led's it shines out of the holes that youve drilled looks quite good in the back of my escort.

could you show me some pictures of them, would be good to see your idea in action.