TrailLED

Check out the new site

2009-10-27T13:41:00.002-05:00

I will be posting mainly over on the new website just to keep things clean.

Check it out over @ www.trailled.com

Thanks

2009-09-18T15:59:00.002-05:00

CNC run of the darkstar has been delayed until Tuesday the 22nd. I will get all orders out as quickly as possible once I receive them. All other orders are going out on time.

Thanks for your patience

Darkstar Update

2009-09-11T21:46:00.001-05:00

Should have the CNC run completed by next Friday Everybody keep your fingers crossed.

Knee is doing better so I am hobbeling around the shop(Garage) now.

Orders are going out as scheduled.

Stay tuned for more big news coming the end of September!

new knee

2009-08-19T17:48:00.003-05:00

Well the ACL surgery went great, the post op not so much.

Massive swelling and a hematoma later I think I am finally on the mend. Will be back to making lights in the next week or two I hope.

Had a great response to the lights at the DORBA picnic at RCP. Thanks to all that stopped by and commented on the lights.

No more typing until I get off the meds so I don't say something more stupid than usual

It's like skittles around here

2009-08-04T15:07:00.002-05:00

Back in Black

2009-07-27T23:11:00.005-05:00

Vacation is so much work, and then you have twice as much work when you do get back. Oh well. I am ramping up to do a CNC run of the Darkstar. You peeps are just wanting more lights than I can make in my spare time so time to enlist a pro I think.

I have got the anodizing thing down now and am gearing up for the DORBA meeting on Tuesday August 4th at RCP. If you are going I will have my full line up of lights for show and demo.

Here is what the black Ano came out as today. They say that black is the hardest color, and I thought I was in for a long day today because when I took it out of the die it was iridescent brown. I almost started over, but thought I should buff it out just to see what it looked like. Good thing I did, because it was black baby!

On Vacation

2009-07-12T11:42:00.002-05:00

Will Be playing with the Kid and drinking myself silly this week so no updates. I believe I updated everyone before I left if not send an email and I will get back to you when I can!

You ask, You get

2009-06-18T15:19:00.006-05:00

I have been wanting to do this since I started building lights, and finally got to where I felt I had done enough research to possibly succeed.

What is that you say?

Why, it's an Anodizing line of course!

And it let's me do stuff like this...

Here it is next to some Naked Aluminium

This was just a quick trial run with some cheap RIT die so the color didn't stick, but I have since been able to get some good color renditions. Even if the color didn't stick on this one it got plenty of surface thickness and is hard as a rock so I think it was a great first attempt.

Colors here I come!

New Connectors

2009-06-12T12:21:00.007-05:00

I like the weatherpack connectors, but they are a little bulky so thanks to a post over on MTBR I found some new ones that work a treat.

Helmet Mounting Options

2009-06-12T11:02:00.018-05:00

There are two options for mounting on your noggin.

Step 1

Install included hook and loop type material to light and helmet.

Peel and Stick

Helmet mount is the same, but customize for what works for you.

My setup

Step 2
Now the tough part. Push and twist.

If that isn't secure enough for you (and man do I want to ride with you if it isn't) then add a little reinforcement.

I will work on the bar mount shortly.

thank you photobucket

2009-05-22T23:18:00.002-05:00

Man never had to email customer service just to get a response that they were doing maintenance in the middle of the day. They could have just posted on their FAQ's.

I guess you get what you pay for.

Anyway the photos are back up if you couldn't tell

Blame photobucket

2009-05-15T11:07:00.000-05:00

somehow my account got screwed up over there so no pics until they can either fix it or I move the photos locally to blogger

Sorry

AHHHHHHHHH

2009-05-13T19:30:00.001-05:00

Do you hear that? It's angels singing because...

I GOT A NEW MILL!

Where is the Dancing Banana smiley when you need it?

Either my wife hates me or loves me because this is going to keep me really busy out in the garage. I am going with the latter, but you never know. :)

Bar mount pics

2009-05-11T20:07:00.001-05:00

I have had a few requests for how you mount these on your bars. Here you go...

It is a cateye bar mount modified, of course. Velcro loops through, then doubles under so the light is locked down good and tight. It can mount either over or under the bars, really doesn't matter.

Donate to a good cause

2009-05-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

SHolmes over on the DORBA forum http://www.dorba.org/ participated in a cause that hits close to home for me. My Mother in-law has MS and Scott is/has participated in the MS 150 bike ride this year. Click here for the link to his donation page SHolmes

This is one event that is on my list of things to accomplish in the near future, but honestly it snuck up on me this year.

In an effort to help both my Mother in-law and Scott out, I am donating the Bling Light to be auctioned off here Auction.

So if you could go over and bid on the light and or donate directly to the cause I would appreciate it.

Thanks

XPE has landed

2009-05-02T21:08:00.001-05:00

A new model of LED's came out probably about 6 months ago now, and I was slow to make the move as I was so happy with my current versions. Well ODTexas showed me the light literally with his set up so I made the plunge. These suckers are small. I can fit 4 in the same housing size as the old LED's. AND I just found out yesterday that they have a new version coming out Q3 that is 55% more efficient and something like 3 times as bright so we are talking in the neighbor hood of 1300 lumens from something this size with about the same run time once they are available.

Another bonus to these is that you can have individual optics for each LED. This particular one has two elliptical and two spots. Makes it pretty cool! Here is the prototype model.

This is designed to be a bar mount so I made it with a lot of spread. But if you wanted a spot, this baby can have it in spades.

4XPE by it's lonesome on high.

Here is what it looks like on high with a 500l spot.

And for crazy bright with the Darkstar and the 4XPE both on high.

* The wall is about a 135 - 140 feet away and the trees in the back are about 200 or so feet away.

Who wants some BLING

2009-04-30T17:02:00.002-05:00

Chrome is always a good thing, right? I don't anodize my lights yet so no gold, but silver is the next best thing.

Maybe a little over the top, but I am a sucker for a good piece of chrome.

500L

2009-03-24T20:13:00.003-05:00

As I have started to make more of these for people I have been playing around with ways to maximize production and incorporate a few design suggestions. But, of course, that always leads to slight variations, so on with the pictures.

Notice the nifty new slots on the bottom. As I said before, I will be adding this to all new lights. I even managed to retro-fit an older one.

I need to get a better shot of this, but I got a new piece of tooling that allows me to easily cut a radius on a corner. Makes for a nice round corner instead of a cutting edge.

I also moved everything back to the back for a couple reasons.
1. I got a complaint on this version about turning it off with a tree branch. oops.
2. It is quicker as far as machining goes.
3. More surface area for cooling.

2009-03-15T20:20:00.000-05:00

It has been way too long since an update, but the real job has been getting in the way again...

So I sent my first light out by mail the other day to Oregon. So that was exciting. The initial report was good and the Darkstar was reported as the brightest light on the trail. Yess! I made a slight adjustment at the owners request on this light and think I will incorporate it into all my new designs

Nifty Huh. No more worries about losing it no matter what.

I also recently completed the Bullit as a swap for a SS bike.

I think it turned out well.

I wanted this one to turn out really well and be really reliable as the guy is a fireman, and wanted to use it for both biking and at work

I think I succeeded as he reported back the the beam was great for looking for a dead body in the woods at night.

OK then! Guess we have a winner.

2009-01-29T22:40:00.000-06:00

Beamshots from the darkstar.

This is actually from one that has one flood and one spot mounted in it.

High

Low

the low was photoshopped to correct for a crappy camera, high beam is accurate.

Both taken at about 130 feet from the wall. High beam is good well beyond 200 feet.

2009-01-28T14:30:00.002-06:00

Thanks to those that received theirs. Let me know what you think about them once you use them.

To cold in the Garage today, and on Daddy duty, so I thought I would update a little. I have been working on a couple of new lights and here is the latest development. I have had a 1000 lumen light before, but there is always room for improvement. both with LED's and design. So I give you DarkStar(how do you do a tounge in cheek smiley?), 1200 + lumens of night luvin

2008-12-30T23:25:00.000-06:00

New 500 lumen iteration. I have had this for a while, just haven't been posting. If you ordered a 500 lumen light from me this is what you will be getting(basically). Updates include a top mounted on off switch, center cable routing with IP67 (watertight)sealed connector, and weight reduction.

2008-12-30T23:19:00.000-06:00

Sorry been busy with the holidays. as promised the bullit. 650 lumens of sexyness

New Lights

2008-11-25T22:41:00.000-06:00

I finally finished my first 1000 lumen light so I let my better half take some pics. Man she got CLOSE. I thought it looked good until she put it under the microscope. I am actually pleased with this one overall and hope the person that took it off my hands is as well. Always room for improvment, but overall I am happy with this one.

Coming as soon as I can get some pictures is the bullit, or cyclops or something like that.

Haven't decided on a catchy name yet, because you gotta have a catchy name

Right????

2008-11-25T22:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving

Christmas looks like it is coming a little early!!! The new batch of LED's just shipped so I should have those soon. 430 lumens minimum at 350ma so somewhere around 750 lumens at 700ma. Also new optics are supposed to ship on Dec 4th that will make these more of a spot so more suitable for helmet mounting

2008-11-05T16:25:00.000-06:00

Some people were not happy with the car test and requested more. I will post as I am able to perform. I also did a 10 foot static drop test as requested, but the video didn't come out very well. I will post it if I do it again.

Can your light do this?

2008-11-04T13:51:00.000-06:00

Well it was just a thought we had while sitting around drinking. Here hold my beer....

2008-11-03T21:56:00.000-06:00

Customer light

For real this time.

I am totally happy with this one. Throws for forever and has excellent thermal properties.

I changed the sides a little bit to gain some more usable surface area and soften the corners a little.

Cable management is much better with grommets holding them in.

Otherwise light is the same

oh and just for fun

2008-11-03T15:26:00.000-06:00

Well it was almost a customer build...

I was not happy with the cable managment so I built a new one yesterday. I will hopefully snap some pics before I hand it off tonight. So, I will keep this one for personal/demo use and be much happier about the whole thing

Customer build

2008-11-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, I think this one is a keeper, except I am selling it. I seriousley think you could drive over it and it wouldn't hurt it! If anyone is looking at this let me know what you think.

Front

Top from the back

Side View
Bottom side

Remote dimming control

Weather proof connectors

Keyed and clipped for a secure no mess up connection.

A little bling factor

First Attempt

2008-10-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

Well I think I did pretty good for a first attempt. No thread cutting yet, but fit and finish turned out much better than I expected. Now if all the components weren't back ordered I could get some lights built.

2008-10-10T15:06:00.000-05:00

I am going to get in trouble for this one I think....

The cancer is spreading

I realized that it is cheaper to do DIY, what is expensive is once you build it then realizing you want to improve something. Then you end up with one of these.

History

2008-10-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

Things didn't start out so pretty.
This is the second light I tried and I wanted to go BIG

Well it was a monster, somewhere around 700 lumens, but the battery pack was a killer with AA's. You can check out all the gory details over here
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=334114

So it begins

2008-10-06T21:06:00.000-05:00

Funny, I have worked in IT since before there were blogs and this is the first one I have ever contributed to an it isn't even in my field.

This started about a year ago right after I bought my first mountain bike. After making the purchase it became apparent that I would never get to use my bike as the days were getting shorter and there was no shortage of work. So as the days grew shorter the frustration grew longer. One of my friends had an old set of halogens and was always complaining about the run time. I had just picked up a new LED light for my wife for Christmas and it was bright. Serendipity I guess. I searched around and there was a forum over at MTBR.com that was just starting to heat up and thanks to a guy named Achesalot a new madness was born.

For a complete starter here is what got me going
http://bikeled.org/

Thanks Allen

This will be my attempt to document some basic build processes that I use as well as an ongoing testament that DIY is rarely cheaper since you don't stop at 1.