FEB23

Halogen Bike Light

When choosing a bike light we often go for cheaper LED lighting. Cheap is usually not better, but also expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.

This is an example of how cheap and good it can get when doing it yourself. Requirements: Halogen light bulb for 6V, Atmel ATtiny45, LiPo/LiIon battery pack and a few other electronic components. Because most battery packs provide more than 6V when fully charged which is the maximum for this halogen bulb, ATtiny45 acts as a smart power regulator and keeps voltage of maximum 6V on the bulb.

Let's face it, you simply can't ride a bike at night without a headlamp and this is very cool solution to that problem.

Quoting features from the project website
Beside controlling the output power, the use of a microcontroller allows for other goodies:
- Smooth transition between power levels.
- A remote control with a single button and an LED that can be attached for example to the strap of a bike pack.
- The button on the remote allows to turn the light on. It further allows to toggle between BRIGHT and DIMMED power mode. Holding the button for a second turns the light off.
- The control LED warns about low battery or when the light is not connected. Also, holding the input button when the light is off triggers the LED to show the battery voltage level.

bikelight4