I have to make ... lighting on an 1/10th buggy

[Lowie]

We will be competiting in the 24h race at Charleroi.
Part of the race will be driven in dimmed conditions and all teams will have to provide their car with some form of lights, so that they can locate their car, but also so to be able to see the track.

ANyone ideas on how to tackle this?
I have allready an idea of my own, but all ideas are welcome

[DCM]

get a decent lighting kit with super bright LED's

[Lowie]

any idea, which brand would sell such a set? Where to buy one?
I'm nowhere in elektronics, I'm afraid.

[ashleyb4]

You could make some I did.

Buy some Utra bright LED's

Use the followinf calculator to figure out the correct resistor size.

http://ledz.com/?p=zz.led.resistor.calculator

And wire them up using computer ribon

A

[dave g]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hpi-baja-5T-5B...item2a046db1d1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-LED-RC-CAR-...item1c0fc08c44

saw these on the bay?

[mark christopher]

http://www.muchmoreracing.com/store/...oducts_id=2570

[JCJC]

May be worth looking at bike lights, these are designed to light where you are going not just look good.

[Battle_axe]

i would use 6 ultrabright white leds they will pull about 180ma and in 2 groups of 3 they willl be more than bright enough

[Big G]

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

[mr. ed]

Hey Ludo, about 18 years ago I participated in a 24h slot race as mechanic for the 'young' team. The more experienced guys helped me out with the lighting (no lights on the track at night), and I'm happy to pass on to you what I remember.

Leds were far from as strong in those days a now, but the track provides the current , so no batteries were needed and we had 12 volt. To make sure we not only lighted the car but also could see the track we used small reflectors: cone shaped holders with chrome plating at the inside. This really helped a lot.

We had 2 sets in the front, wired in parallel and 2 red leds in the back that would light up when you brake. The parallel wiring was to prevent sudden death: total blackout on failure of just one LED.

On top of that we had all the lighting built onto the body; with another body for daytime use. Actually I think we had 2 daytime bodies and 3 night bodies. So in case of failure of the lights we just swapped them out and had plenty time to repair if possible.

I hope these tips help

[Battle_axe]

just been thinking why not use luxeon stars the will be the brightest you will see anywhere http://www.luxeonstar.com/

[party_wagon]

bike light on car.

[dodgydiy]

buy two cheap led torches, preferably with twelve or so led's on each, dissasemble them and use the led circuit board only, throw away the rest of the torch. attach one led module to each shock tower, cover with a bit of lexan or bit of a suitably sized bottle. put something on the back of the car too, will help you with your orientation if the car is sliding

[DCLXVI]

Conrad has bright leds and reflectors (for 5mm leds), I'm sure the have resistors aswell...