LED vs. Incandescent blinkers

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I just got a set of amber 42 SMD LED "tower" units, 1156 type, in the mail yesterday. I'll be doing another comparison of the three different types of blinker bulbs I have now (incandescent Stanley 1072 stock bulbs, 3 watt Luxeon LED, and the 42 SMD LED tower) and posting up another video. Give me a day or two.

The new bulbs look similar to this:



You can get a pair for a dollar plus shipping all over Ebay. We'll see how they work.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I had enough time to make a little video after work today. I compared the Stanley 1073, Luxeon 3 watt LED, and the cheap 42 SMD LED that I got "2 for a dollar" from an Ebay seller in Hong Kong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tzCDZ2TDHw

(Wow! I know the camera adds 10 pounds, but it looks like there were three cameras on me. )

I like the brightness of the Luxeon 3w LED but it doesn't fill the lens. The 42 SMD LED fills the lens but isn't as bright. Superbriteleds.com sells a 45 SMD LED bulb that they say is their brightest 1156/57 type bulb. If indeed it is brighter than the 3w Luxeon and fills the lens like the cheap SMD LED, then it might just be a "1073 killer".

The only thing is, the Superbriteled.com 45 SMD LED bulb is $25.

I'll have to save up my gig money in order to buy a set.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Dogma]

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?

Something else to consider: Filling the lens may not be more desirable. My brother has designed LED tail lights and headlights for Truck Lite. (If you notice a truck's tail light with 5 LEDs in a circle, and a 6th in the center, he did that. It's a Truck Lite trademark, so only they do it.) He once told me that, for the same total lumens, a higher intensity light is more noticeable. So, for the same total light output, a bright spot is better than light distributed over 60 or 70 mm of lens. This has to be visible from anywhere behind the vehicle though. So, it's a balancing act. The little bumps inside the lenses (he called them "pillow lenses") are carefully designed to create a beam pattern conforming to a minimum standard for OEMs. I suspect the LED tower will come closer to duplicating that the incandescent does.

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!).

[bakalorz]

I'd be curious to know how your lights work out brightness-wise as well.

I decided I wanted to turn my turn signals into running lights and through the process converted to LEDs. Looking for a cheap way to make the mod, trailer taillight converters seemed to be the best solution so I picked up a Hoppy 48845 at my local Advanced Auto Parts. Only about $13, so I thought this would be a a great cheap upgrade to improve my visibility.

The problem is it will only output 2.1 amps per side (didn't know the limitation when I originally bought it) and those 1073 bulbs pull 23 watts each so having both front and back lights brings me to 3.83 watts each side and the unit just couldn't power them. Not only that, but now the stock flasher wouldn't work because it wasn't pulling enough juice to activate it either.

So, picked up the FL2-RED flasher relay from SuperBright and 4 of the BA15 12-LED bulbs (1156-A12). The flasher worked like a champ as an almost drop-in replacement for the existing one. All I had to do was switch the wires on the original connector and it fit perfectly. *BUT*, the lights themselves were so much dimmer than the original lights. So, I sent them back and picked up the 24 bulb BA15 lights (1156-A24) and it's still not quite as bright as the originals but I had already blown my budget for this project and didn't want to try anything else for a while.

It still gives me much greater visibility though since I had no running lights previously.

To respond to some others' comments I think the fast on/fast off of the LEDs is actually more eye-catching that the slow on/off of traditional lights. Sit a light next time and without looking at them directly see if the luxury car with the LED taillights actually grabs your attention more.

I am planning something similar, in that I want to add running lights front and back ...


One thing I found out is that its illegal (in PA at least, and I suspect nationwide) to have a constant on amber light facing rearward.
I don't know how likely you are to get stopped for this, but the cops definately technically can cite you for it.
Which makes using the stock turns as rear running lights a no go.

If you use red rear turns, then you can legally use them as running lights,
but then you get into the amber vs red turn signal debate (short version, amber turns are recognised as turns slightly quicker and more positively, reds could be a brakelight with a burned out bulb on other side, so the other driver has to watch the pattern a bit to confirm its a turn signal)

Which to me means that what you want in the back are: seperate amber turn signals and red running lights.

(Assuming you have the stock amber turns that you made into running lights: I am not saying what you did was bad, but just letting you know you could get ticketed)

[kcorbin]

Which to me means that what you want in the back are: seperate amber turn signals and red running lights.

(Assuming you have the stock amber turns that you made into running lights: I am not saying what you did was bad, but just letting you know you could get ticketed)

I'm aware of the technicality but not too worried about it really. Generally speaking, I'm almost ridiculously law-abiding when I'm driving/riding but this is one area where I'm willing to risk a pull-over. The amber lights stand out so much in a sea of red taillights it's worth it.

If that happens, I can easily pull the bullet connectors to the back signals (not the brake light!) and use arm signals until I'm out of that particular township, etc.

I would be truthful with the cop myself, but it would be pretty easy to say you must have had a flasher failure you weren't aware of.

[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-b...115x-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

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,