Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Make your own gear? Talk about it here!

Moderators: Bearbonesnorm, Taylor, Chew

Post Reply
welshwhit
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:24 pm

Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by welshwhit »

Hi all, thought some might have some interest in this so here goes...

After receiving a box curtesy of Shona over at keep peddling and a steady stream of packages from other internet sources I had all I needed to start making an idea a reality

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

I wanted to be able to with the dynamo light on and off, and I also wanted to be able to send the current to the Cycle2Charge device as well. I could have wired them up in parallel but I did some research and came up with this.

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

The main issue I had was mounting the switch and the C2C device, I didn't want it on my stem cap, as thats where the Dakota lives, the switch also needed to be in a handy location for the obvious reasons. It was as I was touring school checking on the pupils, I came across the answer, and after a packet of biscuits, our talented engineering teacher had used a nice laser cutter to make this sketch

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

become these!

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

As the C2C wasn't going to be stem mounted, I had reservations about damaging the wire and connector underneath, a stem spacer and the disc with holes helped solve that, just waiting on a shorter bolt to tidy it up a bit.

ImageIMG_8433 by drew Whitley, on Flickr

After dusting off my soldering skills and using a "hello kitty" hairdryer for the heat shrink, I had come up with switch system Mk1.

ImageIMG_8434 by drew Whitley, on Flickr

Mounting on the bike, I was realising that had been generous with the wire lengths but was happy with the switch position and how it worked.

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

So once on, I promptly head out into the wintery hills to test the system, well the charging arrangement as I was too impatient to wait until dark to test the revo!

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

It all worked very well, with the light from the revo visible in the forest section, and the switching between the charge/off/light very good. All in all, I'm pretty chuffed with it. But I finished the Mk2 version this morning that I think will be a little less fragile using a piece of tubing from Zippy (thanks again!)

ImageDynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

Edit to add the Mk2 to the bars!
ImageUntitled by drew Whitley, on Flickr

Hopefully get out after dark later to test it again!

Thanks

Drew
Last edited by welshwhit on Sun Nov 22, 2015 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Bearbonesnorm
Posts: 23904
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: my own little world

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

Nice job Drew and I'm glad to see our taxes are going to good use :wink:
May the bridges you burn light your way
welshwhit
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:24 pm

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by welshwhit »

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Nice job Drew and I'm glad to see our taxes are going to good use :wink:
Don't worry, I was on tea brake and I used the dynamo to power the machine! :???: :wink: :lol:

I did consider setting it as a pupil task at one point though... in fairness some of them may have done a neater job!

Cheers though, probable a complex solution to a simple problem!

Drew
User avatar
johnnystorm
Posts: 3947
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:55 pm
Location: Eastern (Anglia) Front

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by johnnystorm »

All that effort to make room for a GPS that you don't appear to use..... :wink:

Good work though :-bd
Image
welshwhit
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:24 pm

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by welshwhit »

johnnystorm wrote:All that effort to make room for a GPS that you don't appear to use..... :wink:
True! I don't usually use the 800 on the hills, I had it plugged into to the C2C to get a feel for when it was getting enough juice and when I needed to pedal faster!

Drew
User avatar
ctznsmith
Posts: 1030
Joined: Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by ctznsmith »

Where did you get the connectors and the switches?

Actually what was the reason for using connectors and not just hard wiring the switch in place?

Oh and nice job! :wink:
welshwhit
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:24 pm

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by welshwhit »

Thanks, the connectors were included to try and make it as versatile as possible. I had a plan to make sure that i reversed one of the connectors so that I could remove the usb charger and switch and just use the Revo.

This seemed a great idea to me, so I was slightly annoyed with myself after I remembered I'd had the idea just after I soldered and heat shrank.... :oops: :roll:

The connectors are waterproof so should be ok if i didn't need the C2C, I could just unplug and leave at home

Now its all done and on the bike, the connectors seem surplus to requirements, but there is always Mk3!

All the switches and connectors I got from eBay. All the electronic bits cost around a £10 all said and done, that includes a switch I cooked by accident!
User avatar
Zippy
Posts: 3059
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:43 pm
Location: Suffolk
Contact:

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by Zippy »

Bravo Drew, nice work. Image.
Nice and neatly put together, I like the staged heatshrink! (In case you didn't already know, I see you have some standard heatshrink stuff which I use a lot of the time, but you can also get some more expensive stuff which does a considerably larger amount of shrinking - i.e. shrinks to a 1/3rd of original size rather than 1/2 etc - rapid electronics, essentra components etc. stock it if you leaf through their product catalogue enough.).
I've had experience of those connectors - and my old man has used them on exposed bits on the motorbike - and they're ace. Look inside your car engine and you'll find the critical electronics sealed up with these, so you should be fine :cool:
User avatar
Ian
Posts: 4652
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:10 pm
Location: Scotlandshire
Contact:

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by Ian »

That all looks very neat.
Couple of Q's though:
Why don't you put the Cycle2Charge bit into the steerer?
If you're charging something, do you not need a buffer battery somewhere, or does the C2C handle this for you?
User avatar
johnnystorm
Posts: 3947
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:55 pm
Location: Eastern (Anglia) Front

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by johnnystorm »

Ian wrote:That all looks very neat.
Couple of Q's though:
Why don't you put the Cycle2Charge bit into the steerer?
If you're charging something, do you not need a buffer battery somewhere, or does the C2C handle this for you?
C2C in the steerer would foul the GPS.

The c2c doesn't have a buffer as such but I've found my Garmin doesn't notice unless I actually stop, a moments hesitation at a junction and it seems to cope.
Image
User avatar
Ian
Posts: 4652
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:10 pm
Location: Scotlandshire
Contact:

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by Ian »

But the GPS is mounted on the front loop, not the stem?
User avatar
Zippy
Posts: 3059
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:43 pm
Location: Suffolk
Contact:

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by Zippy »

Ian wrote:But the GPS is mounted on the front loop, not the stem?
welshwhit wrote: The main issue I had was mounting the switch and the C2C device, I didn't want it on my stem cap, as thats where the Dakota lives, the switch also needed to be in a handy location for the obvious reasons.
The GPS you see on the front loop is an Edge. The stem fouls the Dakota. Image
User avatar
Ian
Posts: 4652
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:10 pm
Location: Scotlandshire
Contact:

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by Ian »

OK... :???:

But in principle, if you didn't mount your Dakota/Edge on your stem, the C2C could be mounted there with the switch along side, right?

Would there be any disadvantage in doing that?

Thinking as I type - full carbon forks and the C2C system don't work do they, as you've no route out of the bottom of the fork..?
User avatar
johnnystorm
Posts: 3947
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:55 pm
Location: Eastern (Anglia) Front

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by johnnystorm »

Ian wrote:OK... :???:

But in principle, if you didn't mount your Dakota/Edge on your stem, the C2C could be mounted there with the switch along side, right?

Would there be any disadvantage in doing that?

Thinking as I type - full carbon forks and the C2C system don't work do they, as you've no route out of the bottom of the fork..?
I've got mine in the steerer and a Dakota mount on the stem, fits on a 110mm stem. Monocoque carbon forks could prove tricky but if you had that nice fat spacer for the switch you might be able to route it through that with a notch or hole drilled as the wires into the c2c are thin gauge.
Image
welshwhit
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:24 pm

Re: Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

Post by welshwhit »

Ian wrote:OK... :???:

But in principle, if you didn't mount your Dakota/Edge on your stem, the C2C could be mounted there with the switch along side, right?

Would there be any disadvantage in doing that?

Thinking as I type - full carbon forks and the C2C system don't work do they, as you've no route out of the bottom of the fork..?
Absolutely Ian, no reason why it wouldn't work, but it was ruled out as I use a shorter stem. The other factor was the fork, I did consider drilling a small hole at one point but decided this could be unwise....
johnnystorm wrote:
I've got mine in the steerer and a Dakota mount on the stem, fits on a 110mm stem. Monocoque carbon forks could prove tricky but if you had that nice fat spacer for the switch you might be able to route it through that with a notch or hole drilled as the wires into the c2c are thin gauge.
The mount is 10mm so there is the possibility of mounting the C2C on the stem and routing the wire 'through' it or even in through a spacer, but care would be needed as this wire was the smallest gauge and most fragile, more heat shrink would probable hinder the routing.

Drew
Post Reply