Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

[geospyder]

I just ordered these. Last year I used solar light at the corners of the tents. I'm hoping these will work - maybe not as well but they are definitely less expensive.

http://www.harrietcarter.com/outlet_law ... n-markers/

Don't waste your money. They are hollow like straws. Extremely weak glow. You almost have to know they are there to even see them. I'll figure some use for them but not lights - maybe cut them up and make some sort of jewelry for gifting.

[epic_elite]

i bought a pair...

for 8.50 i figured why not.

i think im going to make an alien tree with them... the opening is about the size to accomodate a christmas light with a little taping/fastening. I imagine ill dangle them like the branches of a willow tree. moop-proofing them is necessary of course. I could set the lights to a blinky mode too, for a cool effect and optimal charge of glowy tubes.

im imagining a 4" pvc for the trunk. a spiral of soft copper tubing to make a sphere for the "branches" and the tubes for leaves. maybe i can house enough power inside the pvc pipe for a battery to power a blacklight bulb to enhance the glowy alien-ness.

[jcliff]

Has anyone used Monkeyletric spokes on their bike? I just ordered 2 for this year, but I have a concern....which I'm not proud of given the almost univerally good people I've met at Burning Man. I'm concerned that someone will be able to just pop them off my bike and take off with them. At $64 each, that's not something that I want to see happen. Any word on how easy they are to remove? Any advice on adhereing them a little better to minimize the risk?

[gyre]

http://www.instructables.com/id/EYLM8D2FA2KM05U/
http://blog.greaterbayshell.com/2008/05 ... ike-light/

Looks like zipties.
You may be able to find a more secure approach.
Or use epoxy.
Zipties cut off short should be okay and you could fuse the end.


If you want visibility, I recommend 3M diamondstripe.
You can get it in solid colors.
White or silver will reflect whatever is around.
It's made for flat surfaces, but it works on curved.
It is very stiff to apply.
I tried it on the playa and it works.
All lesser reflective stuff on the bike has faded away with constant uv.
The diamondstripe still looks new. (applied 2005)

[Bling]

With 3 bikes to outfit (6 tires), those look way cool, but are too pricey for us. I found some LED color-change lightsticks on eBay for $1 each (search "spiral light wand" to find these) and am planning to attach one to a spoke on each wheel with zip-ties and/or clear plastic packing tape (wonder if that will melt?). Should help us to be seen at night, along with the solar LED light string on our umbrella, and blinkies we'll wear...

[Bling]

With 3 bikes to outfit (6 tires), those look way cool, but are too pricey for us. I found some LED color-change lightsticks on eBay for $1 each (search "spiral light wand" to find these) and am planning to attach one to a spoke on each wheel with zip-ties and/or clear plastic packing tape (wonder if that will melt?). Should help us to be seen at night, along with the solar LED light string on our umbrella, and blinkies we'll wear...

[epic_elite]

id second the zip tie option.

i also looked at the same device and it seemed a little pricey for to achieve a simple solution... but they do look cool.

i imagine if you ziptied every strand comming out of the box that no one would take it... but i also wonder how you go about fastening the electronic section of the piece.

[CapSmashy]

Update on my previous recommendation on World Aglow.

At this point, I would not recommend them to anyone. We ares till waiting on the rest of our order to ship from an order placed in January. Their phone is no longer connected and they are not responding to email inquiries as to my order status of when we will get the rest of our shipment that we paid for.

If I do not hear from them on Monday (after 3 emails sent over the past week) I will be filing a dispute through my credit card and getting my money back and finding a new source.

[teardropper]

Has anyone used Monkeyletric spokes on their bike? I just ordered 2 for this year, but I have a concern....which I'm not proud of given the almost univerally good people I've met at Burning Man. I'm concerned that someone will be able to just pop them off my bike and take off with them. At $64 each, that's not something that I want to see happen. Any word on how easy they are to remove? Any advice on adhereing them a little better to minimize the risk?

I have them but just got them, too. Your concern is well taken. They do look like interesting gizmos, the kind that could walk off. They just ziptie on and it wouldn't take much. I have no advice. I will look to this thread for interesting fixes, but ultimately will lay my bike down occasionally. I hope it all stays there. Of course, I lock it when it is out of my sight,

[illy dilly]

Update on my previous recommendation on World Aglow.

At this point, I would not recommend them to anyone. We ares till waiting on the rest of our order to ship from an order placed in January. Their phone is no longer connected and they are not responding to email inquiries as to my order status of when we will get the rest of our shipment that we paid for.

If I do not hear from them on Monday (after 3 emails sent over the past week) I will be filing a dispute through my credit card and getting my money back and finding a new source.

Thank you very much for the Heads up!
Has anyone had a lot of success finding EL wire?

[Bling]

Just Google it; it's all over the Internet. I just got mine from Bewild.com, which has 7' lengths of 6 different colors with battery packs already attached for $13--best price I found for that.

[Bounce530]

I haven't tried this product out, but it does look cool. I wonder if it would look neat on the playa surface?

yes I think so. you could mount it up on a post that would fit in the hole on the bottom weight, use some duct tape to shim it up a bit or tape it around the base. It would throw a nice pattern on the ground.

My campmate used two of these on his bike. He made a braket that ran across the rack above the back tire. Mounted them so they would shine down onto the ground. It worked so well, I think he's going to mount two more on the front...

[Bounce530]

Here's a pic for the post above.

[epic_elite]

Here's a pic for the post above.

i would need more than 1 beer to complete all of this work...

what's the paint used on the tires? i would be interested in similar concept.

[epic_elite]

hmm.... i thought there was a rule on advertising. but i saw someone post a similar post a couple pages back so im gonna do it too.

(mods: delete this if you want)

AM SCI and SURP has a sale on headlamps 4$ each.

they come with a bycicle mount. i bought 2.

[gyre]

Any specs on that?

I would consider 1 watt the minimum for seeing in a dark area, but extra light never hurts.

[Bounce530]

e_e, the tires are not painted, I think they're called street skins, or something like that, and the yellow parts are reflective.

[AntiM]

The tires look like Amerityres non-inflatables decorated with tape? Solid but bouncy, great for the playa, except the're expensive.

[epic_elite]

Any specs on that?

I would consider 1 watt the minimum for seeing in a dark area, but extra light never hurts.

damn.... wrong link.

try this one : http://www.sciplus.com/sale.cfm/start/1 ... /srch.fp/1

it's about half way down the page.

[gyre]

Can't really tell from that how bright it is.
Probably worth $4 anyway.

If it will be your only light, I'd recommend something stronger though.

[Bounce530]

the tires are sweetskinz, tubed tires.
http://www.sweetskinz.com/

[illy dilly]

the tires are sweetskinz, tubed tires.
http://www.sweetskinz.com/

That place is cool thanks for the link!!!

[EmilyD]

I just got a bunch of these yesterday. They're a great price and nice and bright. After reading what people have said about solar powered lights getting dusty we've decided to to with battery powered lights for both bikes and bodies.

http://www.christmas-light-source.com/B ... _1550.html

They have many more styles and the price is the lowest I've seen. They came in three days.

[epic_elite]

Can't really tell from that how bright it is.
Probably worth $4 anyway.

If it will be your only light, I'd recommend something stronger though.

update on that.

i bought Two from american science. one works awsome (better than my standard 12$ headlamp that i use regularly), brighter anyway. more of a spotlight effect than a periferal light. the other didn't work out-of-the-box. which would probly explain why american science and surplus has them...

although, i did find the same make but a better model at walgreen's for 5.99 for a 12 LED model, which is a step up from the 9 led model for 4 bucks plush S&H. so after shipping they are about the same price, and at a retail store, it's much easier to replace for one that works if you get a broken one. i wouldn't use either model as a headlamp due to how bulky they are.

also, they have those electronic "glow sticks" for 1.99 and are about 6-7 inches long and have several different flash patterns @ multiple colors. dont seem super sturdy, but i think i can afford to trash a couple without feeling like i broke my bank.

[Elorrum]

I haven't tried this product out, but it does look cool. I wonder if it would look neat on the playa surface?

yes I think so. you could mount it up on a post that would fit in the hole on the bottom weight, use some duct tape to shim it up a bit or tape it around the base. It would throw a nice pattern on the ground.

My campmate used two of these on his bike. He made a braket that ran across the rack above the back tire. Mounted them so they would shine down onto the ground. It worked so well, I think he's going to mount two more on the front...

o.k., I spaced on this picture a while back... just noticed the very cool adapter for the pool lights. great idea, might have to borrow that 'un. I had one on the end of a dowel for a regional and walked around a bit with it like an invisible parasol with the lights shining on the ground. That was fun, but the tape didn't really hold well... needs work. These were clearancing at work a couple of years ago, and I got a bunch of them. I've given some away but still have a couple.

[geospyder]

Spotted an ad in today's paper for Dollar Tree (Reno) that has solar lights for $1 each.

[theCryptofishist]

Same in the Bay Area.


Hey, do we ever talk about this kind of illumination?







Come on, even if we've made this pun in this thread before, it's been a while...

[gyre]

Same in the Bay Area.


Hey, do we ever talk about this kind of illumination?







Come on, even if we've made this pun in this thread before, it's been a while...

So are we talking spiritual or graphic illumination?
Or maybe theological illuminationism?

[epic_elite]

while above type of "illumination" may "guide me" i dont trust it enough to help me find my way home at night, and i wouldn't trust it to protect me from other bikers in the night to keep them from running into me...

[Elorrum]

even if it's an old pun, I can still riff on it.

thoughts for a night time art car. illumninated manuscryptofish