LED vs. Incandescent blinkers

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I noticed in the first video that the incandescent threw a fairly uniform circular spot on the garage door, but the LED made a more intense spot in the center with an intense circular ring around it. This makes me worry about the brightness when viewed off-axis from the signal. Say, from the vantage point of the driver I'm about to accidentally cut off. Is there an angle from the back of the bike where the LED has low visibility?


I'd love to see the pattern the tower makes against the garage door, vs the Luxeon and the incandescent. I'm also curious how the lens is lit from beside the bike, as in the case of a vehicle in the rider's blind spot (check over your shoulders, people!).

Here you go Dale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXHNpESTrU

It's just a quick video I shot this morning in the garage before I left for work. The 42 SMD LED tower has a generally wide dispersal pattern, much like the incandescent. But this particular bulb is not as bright as the others. I'm going to spring for the similar high-power bulbs from superbriteleds.com and see how I like those. Well, maybe I'll buy just one at first.

Yes, with the Luxeon 3w LED, because it is so focused, it does seem possible that it will not be all that noticeable at certain angles. Lynn was riding behind me the other day. I'll have to ask her what she noticed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Dogma]

Thanks for doing the legwork on this for everyone. The tower does seem to have a better dispersed pattern, but not as bright. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next set can do.

 

[Jason the terminator]

Got my Eagle Eye 5 180deg. wide angle bulb today. The running light is as bright as my 1157 was when the brakes were applied. The brake light is so much brighter now. I highly recommend it if you are willing to pay $20 for a light bulb. I will for sure replace all the blinker bulbs with these in the near future. I also bought a brake light strobe for $5 that I am going to install. Not sure if it is legal but don't really care.

http://superlumination.com/1156_1157.htm

Their youtube video of the strobe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhomxdWKZhA

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Jason the terminator,

That's good to know. I may have to check out those bulbs too when I need some bright LED 1157 types.

I went ahead and ordered some of these from Superbriteleds.com:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=CAR&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F115x-x45-T.htm

If I don't like them I'll return them. They're too expensive if I'm not going to use them.

If I don't keep my Luxeon 3w LEDs in my blinkers, I'll have other uses for them.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[BassCliff]

New LED vs Incandescent

New LED vs Incandescent

Hi,

I've got another comparison of LED vs. Incandescent. This one pits the stock Stanley 1073 bulb against my new bulbs from superbriteleds.com, the 45 SMD LED tower, their part number 1156-45A-T. It's an amber bulb that works best with the amber lens. When working with LEDs you want to match the bulb color with the lens color. That way there is no light frequencies being blocked by the lens. This is explained more fully on the superbriteleds.com website.

Anyway, here is the video:

http://youtu.be/m-J1uwfbuwI

(I remembered the "garage door" test for you Dale.)

I really like this bulb. It's not cheap, but I can pretty much add as many as I want and not overtax my 31 year old charging system. I plan on adding a pair of amber running lights up front and a pair of tail/brake lights in back. I'll probably eventually add some side lighting when I can figure out something that looks cool.

If you've got 6 or 7 minutes to waste, have a look at the video. I know $25 bulbs might not be for everyone but I'm impressed with the product.

Another site that sells similar high quality products is www.superlumination.com. Mr. Jason the Terminator seems impressed with his 5 watt Eagle Eye bulb from superlumination.com.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Dogma]

Hey, thanks for remembering me, Cliff.

Finally, an LED that works at least as well as incandescent in every way I can think of, and better in a few key areas. Am I ready to spend $25/bulb for the advantages? Um... Maybe.

 

[850 Combat]

I'm certain that I don't see the point. If they are bright enough, you will see them blinking after the turn has been completed and turn them off?

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I'm certain that I don't see the point. If they are bright enough, you will see them blinking after the turn has been completed and turn them off?

Advantage: as bright as conventional incandescent bulbs but use much less power.

Disadvantage: cost.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[FiremanBob]

I found it important that the LED blinkers be of good quality, such as those mentioned below. I had a set of blinkers whose pixels started dying in less than a year.

 

[Planecrazy]

Nice comparo, Cliff! Unlike some of the opinions favoring the "rise and fall" of standard bulb brightness as being easier to see, I feel just the opposite.

In my opinion, the fact that an LED cycles from completely on to completely off captures one's attention more effectively, and makes the LED the better choice from a safety perspective. That's assuming, of course, that the LED performs as well, brightness-wise, as the incandescent.

It certainly seems that the "superbrights" meet that requirement, costly as they are.

Other solutions that I've seen work well include the use of a circular sheet of LED's that don't rely on reflection in the standard housing, but rather project with full brightness directly out of the housing. These types of solutions are not typically "plug and play," but they tend to be less expensive, and a lot of people use this strategy to create DIY solutions. If one wanted to do a more custom job, a solution of this type also allows the DIY'r to create completely custom signals that do away with the conventional stalks altogether.

For plug and play, though, I think Basscliff has done a great job of identifying one of the best solutions!

Regards,

 

[1980GS1000E]

I have not converted yet. I did try a tower smd in the tail/brake, but it was nowhere near as bright as the 1157 bulb. Those blinkers are worth a look, though.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I have not converted yet. I did try a tower smd in the tail/brake, but it was nowhere near as bright as the 1157 bulb. Those blinkers are worth a look, though.

I also bought the red 1157 version of the 45 SMD LED from Superbriteleds.com and tried it in my tail light. I just did a quick comparison in my garage. I didn't think it was as bright as the 5 watt LED that I have been using. When I have a chance I'll do a more substantial comparison, maybe a side-by-side if I can figure out how to do a split-screen on my movie making software.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[posplayr]

Cross link
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?232654-2015-LED-5050-Emitter-Bulb-Roundup

Widely available on ebay these days are:

2.) The size of the individual emitters. While I cannot confirm this from testing , but the vendors for the the 2015 bulb roundup claim that a 40 emitter 5050 (5.0mmx5,0mm) bulb is like a 120 emitter 3528 (3.5mmx2.8mm)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291156637003?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

This one pulled a full 500 mAmp so it is almost twice the current of the 18 emitter bulbs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/301256820818?item=301256820818&viewitem=&vxp=mtr

In Basscliff's review the 45 count bulb is using 3528 emitters (3.5mmx2.8mm).