delurk: lights
Adam
Can anyone recommend an above average / good performance headlight and
flashing tail light for frequent night time use.
i.e.: one hour use, four times a week
What are the rechargeable headlights like compared to battery operated?
Regards, Adam (Brisbane)
2000 Merida MattsComp mtb
john dwyer
Flashing tail lights will cist about $20 to $30 and the batteries will last
50 to 100 hours (my best guess).
I have a Vista light which has a single 10 watt bulb and is quite adequate
for my copmmuting use. You may need up to 20 watts for mountain bike use.
I recommend a battery of not less than 4.5 amp hour capacity for a 20 watt
load. This will allow some loss of battery capacity with age and use and
still allow you to run the lights for about an hour. The batteries may be
rated at, say, 300 charge discharge cycles. This would give you 75 weeks
use at four times per week.
Please contact me if you have any other questions.
John Dwyer.
Adam <afi...@powerup.com.au> wrote in article <38955ad9@grissom>...
Tony F
Are you intending to ride off road at night? If not, give it a try -
it really is a lot of fun. ;^)
If so I recommend a minimum 20W halogen spotlight (not floodlight,
they don't throw the light far enough ahead).
I currently run 2 x 20W 12 degree spots, both on separate switches,
and one angled for a high beam. In practice, this is a brilliant set
up, and I have found them ideal at quite silly speeds on both
firetrail and singletrack. A 10W would be enough for slow work, but
who can resist going faster when they can? ;^)
To buy a commercial setup with the same light output costs big $$$, so
I make my own. See:
http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~fathersa/mtb.htm#lights
for info on the models I have made so far - hopefully they'll inspire
you to come up with your own version. I've also made a newer, simpler
model that will appear on the site shortly.
Buy good quality globes - they make a huge difference - I can't
recommend the ones Jaycar sell these days, as the output isn't as good
as a big brand globe. The latest I bought were only $6.05 from an
electrical wholesaler for Thorn brand. I've also had success with EYE
brand, and a few places recommended GE and Philips as good brands.
You should be able to make up a good set for under $100 quite easily,
including battery and charger - I use the 7 ah "brick" SLA battery,
which gives me plenty of light for my regular rides, and has enough
slack to cover breakdowns/flats, etc.
Tony F
On Mon, 31 Jan 2000 19:47:39 +1000, "Adam" <afi...@powerup.com.au>
wrote:
pauls
http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~fathersa/mtb.htm#lights
I can recommend the Vistalite led rear light. Get the 5 led
version if you do any highway riding. Last time I looked
they were about $25 - $30 and they are pretty robust. They
also incorporate a reflector so you can ditch your old reflector.
http://www.vistalite.com/vl-supernebula.html
The vistalite mount is similar to a standard refelctor mount so
you could probably save some time and screw the vistalite straight
into the old reflector mount.
I used to have a cateye hyper for the front that chewed up
batteries. (I used to spend $15 a fortnight on AA batteries).
I took the flat AA batteries from the cateye hyper headlight and
slapped them in the rear light. I got about 15 hours extra use
out of the batteries in the rear light before they completely died.
With rechargables, the cost goes up with more power. If you
are prepared to put up with JUST one hour of battery, the
choices are many. If you want more than one hour you will
necessarily have a lower wattage bulb or more weight to carry and
more $$$. Be prepared to spend at least $150 - $200 to get a
rechargeable set with one hour of power.
There is a problem with using rechargable AA batteries in
head lights. The normal AA batteries are 1.5 volts, but the AA
rechargeables are 1.2 volts. You will get a noticeably dimmer
light using rechargable AA batteries in normal headlights.
At the moment I've got a home made front light with a halogen
12 watt bulb and two sealed lead acid batteries that together
give me about 4.5 hours of good light. (I do night time rides).
For shorter trips I use 20 watt bulbs or take just one battery.
BTW, my two batteries weigh in at 1.6kg each.
And I almost forgot. Make sure that you can get spares for any
lights that you buy, especially any stuff you get on special.
paul
Glen Fergus
really pleased with them.
Mine run off 2 x 6V 4.5AH(?) SLA's from Jacar - Wired in series and
taped together end-to-end these JUST fit in a plastic Profile bottle
cage. They easily give an hour's riding without noticeable run down
(which would greatly shorten battery life) PROVIDED that you only use
both beams when you really need to. The weight's also a bit more
tolerable than Tony's quite massive 12V 7AH.
I've got a narrow and a wide angle 20W beams which is OK - Tony's
suggestion of two narrows pointed high and low might be better still.
Agree get quality bulbs - The one I got from Jacar was crap; "Eye"
brand replacements seem much better.
One mistake I made was to use a neat looking "coiled" type cable to
hookup to the battery. This has quite thin conductors inside, hence
too much voltage drop when running both beams.
Give it a try!
Glen F.
Steve
I have used 'Tony F" light ideas and built my own "retina
burners'. I run two 50 W 12 degree(that's 100W) di chromic bulbs with a 7 Ah
brick battery. One bulb runs all the time and the second is run off a micro
switch which I operate with my left thumb, like high beam. The bulbs are
housed inside the metal housings that are installed into kitchen roofs, so
they are held in place with circlips and silicon. I get about 2 hrs plus on
50W and 1.5 hours on 100W, depending on usage. My mates turn there lights
off when we stick together. The battery is held in a custom tray which I
built that sits on the down tube bolted to the bidon mounts, with a couple
of toe straps.
G'day Tony.
Steve T.
Tony F <a.fa...@nonono.uws.edu.au> wrote in message
news:3896159...@news.uws.edu.au...
CrazyCam
<snip>
> To buy a commercial setup with the same light output costs big $$$, so
> I make my own. See:
>
> http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~fathersa/mtb.htm#lights
>
> for info on the models I have made so far - hopefully they'll inspire
> you to come up with your own version. I've also made a newer, simpler
> model that will appear on the site shortly.
Very interesting...! :-)
BTW, has anyone come across good 6-volt lights?
(Yes, it's a cross over to the baby motorcycle, which has lots of
electricity, but of the 6-volt variety.)
regards,
CrazyCam
pauls
me to "dip ya lights". There must be a story behind why you
settled on 2 x 50W?
paul
pauls
globes from jaycar. They all have identical markings. They all
have the same colour reflector and all have clear glass covers.
When they are aimed at a white wall, one has a blueish spot, one
has a yellowish spot, one has a greenish spot, and the last one
is more or less white. I have to use a marker to tell them apart
when they are not turned on. I use the blueish one the most
because it looks brightest on a black road.
Apparently halogens have some sort of colour temperature thingy
(its a technical term) which dictates the colour out of the
bulb, and the science of a dichroic reflector itself also
affects the colour coming off the reflector, but I would have
thought that four bulbs, with the same markings, from the same
manufacturer, should at least have the same colour.
When I bought most of my stuff from jaycar, they said "looks like
you're making some bike lights. We get a lot of that in here."
I'm suprised that they don't have some sort of kit. They could
easily make a few bob with an easy to assemble good looking kit.
All they'd need to do is make their SLA carry bag (cat no. HB3630)
suitable to strap to a pushy with strong velcro. Most of the other
bits they already sell in one way or another.
paul
Neil
>BTW, has anyone come across good 6-volt lights?
>(Yes, it's a cross over to the baby motorcycle, which has lots of
>electricity, but of the 6-volt variety.)
>
> regards,
> CrazyCam
Have bought globes only 6V, 10 watt (2amp approx) from Bunnings
Warehouse in their down light, spotlight section. there must be a way
to remove old 12V units from the reflectors and fit the 6V types????
regards,
.
-|---------------------------------------------------------------|-
| Neil - nei...@ozemail.com.au |
| |
| Home Page - http://www.ozemail.com.au/~neilmny/index.html |
| http://www.ozemail.com.au/~neilmny/horses.html |
| http://www.ozemail.com.au/~neilmny/bikeride.html |
*|***************************************************************|*
Steve
It was not a mistake, they are 100W. I use then for downhill
night runs (70-80km/hr) in places we shouldn't be. I never use them on the
road. The Oaks firetrial is a blast at night.
Steve T
pauls <pa...@cst.usyd.edu.au> wrote in message
news:389686F5...@cst.usyd.edu.au...
Gary King
> Tony F wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> > To buy a commercial setup with the same light output costs big $$$, so
> > I make my own. See:
> >
> > http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~fathersa/mtb.htm#lights
> >
> > for info on the models I have made so far - hopefully they'll inspire
> > you to come up with your own version. I've also made a newer, simpler
> > model that will appear on the site shortly.
>
> Very interesting...! :-)
>
> BTW, has anyone come across good 6-volt lights?
> (Yes, it's a cross over to the baby motorcycle, which has lots of
> electricity, but of the 6-volt variety.)
>
> regards,
> CrazyCam
For good 6 volt lights, try a regular bike head light. Standard Union
halogen lights come with only 2.4w globes, but because the light pattern
is far superior the amount of light on the road is similar to 10w
recharchables. However even my LBS sells 5watt globes for it, so when
coupled to a 6V lead acid battery I think you would get something
similar to those 20watt down lights (which I also use) and much longer
run time. BTW, I found my halogen Union at a garage sale.
ciao
--
Gary King
Marty Wallace
Then if you have a problem with one you still have a backup.
Also you can then run the battery in one of them right down and get full
value from your battery. ie.You don't have to throw them out when they ar
half flat.
Gary King <oc...@wantree.com.au> wrote in message
news:1e5cd8p.1wm...@p568-239.wantree.com.au...
Theo Bekkers
Steve <bigw...@mpx.com.au> wrote
> I have used 'Tony F" light ideas and built my own "retina
> burners'. I run two 50 W 12 degree(that's 100W) di chromic bulbs with a 7
Ah
> 50W and 1.5 hours on 100W, depending on usage.
You get 100 watts for 1.5 hours out of a 12V 7Ah battery? 7 x 12 = 84. How
do you do that?
Cheers
Theo
Tony F
100W???
Hooooweeeeeeee!
Now *that's* what I call a light system! ;^)
Ever start fires with them??? hehe
I suspect that for most people (especially the sane ones!) 100W is
overkill, (but oh so tempting!). In fact, I was very happy with a
20W 38 degree flood for quite a while - until I discovered the
advantages of the 12 deg spots, and then the advantages of another
light for high beam.
I must say though, that when my mate (2 x 20W), his girlfriend (1 x
20W) and I (2 x 20W) put out a total of 100W it is *very* impressive.
Tony F
that URL again?
http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~fathersa/mtb.htm#lights
On Tue, 1 Feb 2000 16:39:37 +1100, "Steve" <bigw...@mpx.com.au>
wrote:
>Adam,
> I have used 'Tony F" light ideas and built my own "retina
>burners'. I run two 50 W 12 degree(that's 100W) di chromic bulbs with a 7 Ah
>brick battery. One bulb runs all the time and the second is run off a micro
Gary King
> Adam,
> I have used 'Tony F" light ideas and built my own "retina
> burners'. I run two 50 W 12 degree(that's 100W) di chromic bulbs with a 7 Ah
> brick battery. One bulb runs all the time and the second is run off a micro
> switch which I operate with my left thumb, like high beam. The bulbs are
> housed inside the metal housings that are installed into kitchen roofs, so
> they are held in place with circlips and silicon. I get about 2 hrs plus on
> 50W and 1.5 hours on 100W, depending on usage. My mates turn there lights
> off when we stick together. The battery is held in a custom tray which I
> built that sits on the down tube bolted to the bidon mounts, with a couple
> of toe straps.
> G'day Tony.
??
Theoretically, 100W light with 7AH 12V battery means 50 minutes runtime.
Ofcourse in reality at that kind of load the battery has much less than
7AH, more like 30min runtime. How do get 1.5 hours?
--
Gary King
Marty Wallace
Batterys don't always conform to mathamatical models.
It depends on lots of things.
Give him a break.
Malcolm <mal...@bigpond.com.NoSpam> wrote in message
news:xczn4.8639$VJ1....@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
>
> Gary King <oc...@wantree.com.au> wrote in message
> news:1e5e6u9.6j0...@reggae-21-91.nv.iinet.net.au...
> Yep you are right, at that sort of current (100W @ 12V = 8.3A) you can
> reduce
> the battery's usefulness by about another 20% therefore you could only get
> about
> 40 minutes, 1.5 hours is a dream. Maybe 1.5 hours with one light (50W).
>
> Malcolm
>
>
>
Malcolm
Steve
If these Professors actually read the original
post they would have seen that I only use the 100W(84W theoretically??) as a
high beam and NOT all the time. If they got out of their labs and actually
rode a real bike at real speeds they might know what they talking about, how
the hell do you see anything with a 10W system at a decent speed. Lets stop
using this forum as a shooting gallery to shoot anyone down with a different
POV or THEORY, and offer advise or encouragement. I suspect this will only
fuel more negative replies but I've got a think skin.
Steve (Graduate: University of Life)
PS: I had help from an Electrical Engineer who lives in the real world.
Marty Wallace <ma...@geo.net.au> wrote in message
news:XKAn4.11$6B....@wa.nnrp.telstra.net...
> Why doesn't someone try it out.
> Batterys don't always conform to mathamatical models.
> It depends on lots of things.
> Give him a break.
>
> > > > One bulb runs all the time and the second is run off a
> > micro
> > > > switch which I operate with my left thumb, like high beam. > > >
Marty Wallace
I've seen so many postings where people do something and then everyone comes
up with theoretical reasons of why it couldn't happen and virtually accuse
the poster of being a liar.
Steve <bigw...@mpx.com.au> wrote in message
news:87ncjc$qnu$1...@news1.mpx.com.au...
Gary King
> Cool,
> I've seen so many postings where people do something and then everyone comes
> up with theoretical reasons of why it couldn't happen and virtually accuse
> the poster of being a liar.
Hold yer horses! I didn't call anyone a liar. I don't have a lab either,
but I have a couple of homebuilt battery light systems. All my
experience is real world & I know what was posted, ie:
Steve <bigw...@mpx.com.au> wrote:
>>>I get about 2 hrs plus on 50W and 1.5 hours on 100W,
>>>depending on usage.
is not possible. I'd assume he made an error, no big deal.
FYI the rated capacity of batteries is measured using 1/10 the rated
current, if the 7AH battery was drawing only 0.7amps (or a 8.4watt
globe) then it is possible to get 7AH. However the capacity of lead acid
batteries drops with larger currents. Thats why my 2.2AH battery with
20W globe only lasts 50min rather than 1-1/2 hrs (as the 2.2AH rating
suggests).
--
Gary King
Marty Wallace
But if he says it works then it must work.
I've never seen a battery yet that worked according to a mathamatical model.
That's why battery chargers are so hard to design.
Gary King <oc...@wantree.com.au> wrote in message
news:1e5p3n3.gg...@p568-239.wantree.com.au...
Gary King
Marty Wallace <ma...@geo.net.au> wrote:
--
Gary King
Marty Wallace
Gary King <oc...@wantree.com.au> wrote in message
news:1e5pcry.196...@reggae-21-72.nv.iinet.net.au...
Gary King
> Well talk to the originator and tell him he's a liar.
>
-yawn-
Well Marty, Steve is doing OK, he's getting between 8.3 AH and 12 AH out
of his 7AH battery, but you are the one responding to my posts and
acting like a dick too. This is a forum about bikes which many people
read and if there is something which is incorrect, someone (who has
built & used plenty of lights) should point it out.
You wouldn't be related to one of bike industry propagandist who have
been infesting this ng lately, would you?
--
Gary King
Bruce Lloyd
wrote:
>Why doesn't someone try it out.
>Batterys don't always conform to mathamatical models.
>It depends on lots of things.
>Give him a break.
A good point but how do SLAs last at high load levels? (I mean last as
in "Bugger, me battery is knackered I have to buy a new one") I have
been using a 1.3 Ah 12v SLA to run a flashing rear light using a
burglar alarm strobe - excellent light - draws 180mA and the battery
has been lasting roughly 5 hours though I have never run it down fully
before recharging.
Due to recent difficulties getting C cells for my front light (don't
ask) I knocked up a 5v regulator which fitted in the Cateye's battery
compartment and I replaced the 2.?V bulb with a 4.8v one. Works fine
but the front light alone is drawing about 600mA so with the rear the
battery is supplying just over .75A (the 600mA is a bit rubbery as my
ammeter jumps from 250mA scale to 10A so current between 250mA and 1A
is not too accurate).
Anyway back to the point, according to Jaycar's catalogue at this
current a full charge will last about 1 hour (@.73A) but what does
this do to the longevity of the battery itself.
I have created a problem for myself in winter as my total journey (in
darkness both ways) is 1hr 20mins!
regards
Bruce
Illawarra Cyber Cyclists - http://www.ozemail.com.au/~bcl
pauls
> A good point but how do SLAs last at high load levels?
I usually run two 4.2 Ah batteries and switch between them.
Once I forgot to switch over and I got just over an hour from 40
watts when the book said I should get about 45mins. (The 4.2Ah is
calculated on the 20 hour rate i.e. 210mA for 20 hours = 4.2Ah.
At 3.3A it is about 2.4Ah) Mind you, the light did dim, but it was
still there. When I first got them I deliberately ran them to
exhaustion with a 50W bulb cause I read that you should discharge
them fully before charging (dickhead!! - that only applies to
NiCads!!). They did get warm when I did this so I've been
expecting some problems.
No problems yet in the 11 months I've had the two of them (used 5
nights a week on average - even in summer - 40 watts for at least
half an hour on each battery). Lately, I've been doing longer rides
with 2 x 12 Watt (use one for occasional hi beam) and the 2.4Ah
figure seems pretty close to the mark.
I've also noticed an element of self regeneration when its cold.
For e.g. 20 mins on + 2 hours off + 30 mins on lasts as long as
45 mins continuous.
> I have created a problem for myself in winter as my total journey
> (in darkness both ways) is 1hr 20mins!
If its an option, get another charger and plug it in at work and
let it recharge while you go about your work. Dick Smith has a
500mA SLA charger that would easily charge a flat 1.3A in eight hours.
Put it under your desk or in the tea room. Get a double adaptor and
plug it into the tea room fridge socket. No one would ever think
about turning off the power to the tea room fridge.
paul
Marty Wallace
> Marty Wallace <ma...@geo.net.au> wrote:
>
> > Well talk to the originator and tell him he's a liar.
> >
> -yawn-
>
> Well Marty, Steve is doing OK, he's getting between 8.3 AH and 12 AH out
Well when a battery manufacturer quotes an amp hour rating, it's to a
particular cell voltage.
If you go to a lower cell voltage, you can get at least twice the amp hours
out of it. But this reduces the life of the battery.
If you raise the temperature, you can get even more.
And if you use it intermittently, you can get more again.
If he's running it until it's dead flat he may be getting the time he
states.
Theo Bekkers
> I know the calculations.
> But if he says it works then it must work.
> I've never seen a battery yet that worked according to a mathamatical
model.
> That's why battery chargers are so hard to design.
I have yet to see a battery that _exceeds_ the manufacturer's rating. You
can be assured that the manufacturer rates the battery at the best possible
condition and will be nearer to fraud than truth.
Have you ever seen the inside of a battery charger? Not many electrical
devices are simpler or have fewer components. I've made a couple to charge
bike batteries from a Sanyo alternator. $4 worth of parts and two minutes
with a soldering iron.
Cheers
Theo
Bruce Lloyd
wrote:
>
>If its an option, get another charger and plug it in at work and
>let it recharge while you go about your work. Dick Smith has a
>500mA SLA charger that would easily charge a flat 1.3A in eight hours.
This is an option but one I wanted to avoid as I only have one charger
and don't really want to cart it about with me.
However I think I might have found a solution; Oatley Electronics
http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/ (in Sydney) are advertising 2 (yes
TWO) 12V 2.3Ah batteries and charger for $20. They are a rather odd
shape 180 x 60 x 22, weigh .67 kg and have contacts rather than spade
terminals. I thought one of these fixed behind the downtube (ie
between it and the wheel) would be the go, the extra capacity should
make it last at least an hour and half which would cover me for any
delays/puncture etc. The extra charger I could keep at work for
emergencies.
This poses another question or three; can these SLA chargers cope with
charging two batteries in parallel? ie a 1.3Ah and 2.3Ah, obviously
they charge 7Ah batteries but does having disparate capacities make a
difference? indeed, is it wise to parallel these batteries up? (I
would prefer to do this rather than rely on me remembering to switch
between them.)
On another point has anybody ever bothered with fuses? I haven't on
the theory I can get to the switch fairly quickly but...
Glen Fergus
> http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/ (in Sydney) are advertising 2 (yes
> TWO) 12V 2.3Ah batteries and charger for $20. They are a rather odd
> shape 180 x 60 x 22, weigh .67 kg and have contacts rather than spade
> terminals. I thought one of these fixed behind the downtube (ie
> between it and the wheel) would be the go, the extra capacity should
> make it last at least an hour and half which would cover me for any
> delays/puncture etc.
Hmm, bought a couple of these a while back. They're (very) old stock
mobile phone batteries (remember the old high-power analogue phones you
carried around in a bag). Mine were only ~11V when supplied - ie
flat and partly sulfated (= stuffed!). Would not hold a usable charge
for a heavy-drain application like bike lights. Shame really, since
two taped together fit neatly in a bottle cage... And the charger
wasn't a proper one, just an ordinary unregulated 9V plug pack, which
would trickle / float charge a small 12V SLA up to ~13.5V (roughly the
right voltage, but not reliably so). Could take a week to fully charge
a 4Ah 12V. Not saying these all are like this, but watch out.
> This poses another question or three; can these SLA chargers cope with
> charging two batteries in parallel? ie a 1.3Ah and 2.3Ah, obviously
> they charge 7Ah batteries but does having disparate capacities make a
> difference? indeed, is it wise to parallel these batteries up? (I
> would prefer to do this rather than rely on me remembering to switch
> between them.)
Permanently paralleling equal voltage SLA's should be OK provided
they're in similar condition initially - ie it may not be a good idea
to parallel a real old, partly sulfated one beside a new one; or a
really big fully charged one beside a small flat one! I've run
parallel SLA's of equal Ah rating for years with no problems. Can't
see why batteries of equal V and (mildly) dissimilar Ah rating should
be any different, provided they're always charged and discharged
together, in parallel. And the charger won't notice, provided the
combined battery load isn't grossly too big for it.
> On another point has anybody ever bothered with fuses? I haven't on
> the theory I can get to the switch fairly quickly but...
Use a fuse! These batteries can deliver a massive current.
Short circuit = melted wire = burnt bike paint = maybe burnt (and
crashed) you, if present; or maybe burnt down house, if not!!
Glen F.
Marty Wallace
But to make one that:
A) Charges efficiently. (ie the ratio of the power you put in the ratio you
get out.)
B) Doesn't overcharge when the battery is near full capacity.
C) Charges at a regulated current.
D) Doesn't shorten the life of the battery.
is a bit more difficult.
Batteries also have different characteristics too, depending on the way
they're built and the type.
Theo Bekkers <th...@bekkers.com.au> wrote in message
news:38a2...@news.bekkers.com.au...
Bruce Lloyd
<gfe...@XXXX.ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>
>Hmm, bought a couple of these a while back. They're (very) old stock
>mobile phone batteries (remember the old high-power analogue phones you
>carried around in a bag). Mine were only ~11V when supplied - ie
>flat and partly sulfated (= stuffed!).
Um, thanks for that. I think you have saved me $20. Oh well, perhaps
another 1.3Ah from Jaycar.
Jock
I apologise for falling asleep during the Einsteinian headbutting session at
the start of the thread, I hope I don't fall victim to the same scerewtiny
from the central Scerewtiniserr(s)!! (apologies to F.Zappa - R.I.P.).
Remember,
s=ut+1/2 at sq.
B=no ni + 2tr sq.
P = E*I
I = ER sq.
and all the rest. They don't really mean much, they don't make me a more
adequate person in the least, just thought I would share them:)-
The matter at hand::
After a couple of out of body experiences at ~ 80k in the dark wintery A.M.
with space junk, you know, truck treads lurking in the dark and pieces of
4x2 from wherever at the side of the F3, I decided the old 2xAA cell cateye
halogen was not actually the most suited system if I was in the human race
as far as the final turn at least.
I purchased a Nightsun system and they are great. Haven't had problems with
them other than riding over the molten glass from the rear of the cars
parked in front at traffic lights. Hi/Lo beam means you can use the higher
power at either speed or in a real dark spot. Otherwise, I use a cateye
green blinky at the front at all times at night and save the Nightsun bidon
mount battery for when you need the lights to see with rather than using
them to be seen.
As regards battery life, if you can get one way on a charge, there is no
real issue with battery capacity. Just get another powerpack, leave it at
work and charge them as soon as you hit work. The charge will return for
the trip home. No big deal.
My 2 bobs worth.
Regards,
IL
pauls
I've been there too.
I decided to get something better when in the same night:
(1) I reloaded with *new* AA's from Kmart that turned out to
be past expiry date and lasted 20 minutes.
(2) I went to a service station at 1am and spent $10 on a 4 pack
of AA's (it was an emergency) and they wouldn't give me any coin
change (to use as a screwdriver) - NO PETROL - NO CHANGE
(3) With only a green led flasher, I hit a 2 foot deep pothole
at 45km/h with such force that the plastic connector on the
headlight sheared clean off!
paul