Turning a headlight into a taillight
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 732
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Turning a headlight into a taillight
My 6V 10+20w SLA halogen lamp is starting to die(the switches are starting to go on the head unit), so I went and bought a princeton tec switchback 3 light to replace it. Given what I've seen about high powered LED lights and battery life, the chances that I'll need an oh-****! light has gone down quite a bit. Oh-****! light as in "oh-****! the the batteries on the halogen are dead!". My oh-**** light was a blackburn quadrant, a decent be-seen light, but useless for riding at speeds above 8mph. However, it got me thinking. Could I turn this light from a headlight to a tail light with theater gel or some other red colored product? My main concern is how water resistant theater gels are. Has anyone tried this? What were your results?
#2
Cries on hills
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Central NH
Posts: 1,088
Bikes: 2007 Trek Pilot 1.2, 1969 Raleigh Sprite 5
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 83 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I was in wallyworld this morning, and I did see some LED lights that came with red or blue filters that could be snapped into them. Anyhow, I've seen a number of automobiles that have had taillights "fixed" with a red tape. Not hugely transparent, but that would be my first attempt. Second might be to find a red dry erase marker, and scribble on the inside of the lense. Lastly would be to maybe find an old dead LED alarmclock, they usually have a RED filter of some sort--a large red plastic bit.
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Toronto
Posts: 4,063
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
The coloring on the gels is waterproof, it's part of the plastic. One layer may leave a pretty washed shade of red, whereas two might dim things too much, experimentation may be in order.
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 732
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Update:
I bought a deep red sheet of gel, and tried wrapping the quadrant with it. It basically just turned the quadrant into a very weak tail light--so no dice.
I bought a deep red sheet of gel, and tried wrapping the quadrant with it. It basically just turned the quadrant into a very weak tail light--so no dice.
#6
Grumbly Goat
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 895
Bikes: bicycles with round wheels
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
not sure if you have a glass blowing studio near you, but they might be able to form a flat sheet of deep red colored glass for you....
EDIT: do you have the dimensions of the lens you need??
EDIT: do you have the dimensions of the lens you need??
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 732
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
When I looked at the quadrant, I thought if I could tint the lens red cheaply, I might have a very powerful tail light for not much money. After seeing just how dim it was after the fact, I realize that it wasn't as bright as I thought. My 20w halogen on the other hand......
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,072
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
My 6V 10+20w SLA halogen lamp is starting to die(the switches are starting to go on the head unit), so I went and bought a princeton tec switchback 3 light to replace it. Given what I've seen about high powered LED lights and battery life, the chances that I'll need an oh-****! light has gone down quite a bit. Oh-****! light as in "oh-****! the the batteries on the halogen are dead!". My oh-**** light was a blackburn quadrant, a decent be-seen light, but useless for riding at speeds above 8mph. However, it got me thinking. Could I turn this light from a headlight to a tail light with theater gel or some other red colored product? My main concern is how water resistant theater gels are. Has anyone tried this? What were your results?
#10
Zoom zoom zoom zoom bonk
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 4,624
Bikes: Giant Defy, Trek 1.7c, BMC GF02, Fuji Tahoe, Scott Sub 35, Kona Rove, Trek Verve+2
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 551 Post(s)
Liked 722 Times
in
366 Posts
I wanted to create orange side lights on my LED setup..at the bottom here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=171415
I mixed up some normal epoxy and added a few drops of yellow food coloring.
Poured some out and sat the end of the light in it. Good effect.
You could use red and dip the quadrant in it. Maybe coat with release agend first, then you will be able to peel it off if you're not happy.
Plan B would be to put high brightness red LEDs in.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=171415
I mixed up some normal epoxy and added a few drops of yellow food coloring.
Poured some out and sat the end of the light in it. Good effect.
You could use red and dip the quadrant in it. Maybe coat with release agend first, then you will be able to peel it off if you're not happy.
Plan B would be to put high brightness red LEDs in.
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: northern California
Posts: 5,603
Bikes: Bruce Gordon BLT, Cannondale parts bike, Ecodyne recumbent trike, Counterpoint Opus 2, miyata 1000
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Car parts tores sell a red film to tape over broken tail-lights. I'd try that.