Switchable dynamo lighting - pic heavy

[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

Dynamo 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.

Dynamo 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

Dynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

become these!

Dynamo 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.

IMG_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.

IMG_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.

Dynamo 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!

Dynamo 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!)

Dynamo light build by drew Whitley, on Flickr

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

Hopefully get out after dark later to test it again!

Thanks

Drew

[Bearbonesnorm]

Nice job Drew and I'm glad to see our taxes are going to good use

[welshwhit]

Nice job Drew and I'm glad to see our taxes are going to good use

Don't worry, I was on tea brake and I used the dynamo to power the machine!

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

[johnnystorm]

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

Good work though

[welshwhit]

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

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

[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!

[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....

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!

[Zippy]

Bravo Drew, nice work. .
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

[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?

[johnnystorm]

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.

[Ian]

But the GPS is mounted on the front loop, not the stem?

[Zippy]

But the GPS is mounted on the front loop, not the stem?

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.

[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..?

[johnnystorm]

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.

[welshwhit]

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....

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