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Fibre optics. Mad cap idea?

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G
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PostPosted: 17:41 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Re: Fibre optics. Mad cap idea? Reply with quote

>>This then raises the question.

Why?
<<

I expect you probably could, but I'm not seeing any real benefit, seeing that some use pretty small bulbs as it is.
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Wafer_Thin_Ham
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PostPosted: 17:42 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm with G, seems like loads of effort forno real gain. Just chuck some LEDS at it.
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s44678
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PostPosted: 18:16 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think it's actually a good idea.

While you're at it, change your headlamp for a lava-lamp. Also make your brake light infra-red so only dogs and women can see it or something.
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Timmeh
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PostPosted: 19:27 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

mate it's all about using a 3Kw fake electric fire thingy for your indicators and an afterburner off an F16 for your tail light.

While you're at it, fit one of those spinny gun thingies onto your zorst, THEY'RE WELL COOL.

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Timmeh
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PostPosted: 19:29 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Although one of my engineering mates did have an idea about fitting OLED strips to his blackbird to make it a tron-stylee lightcycle.
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KevTM
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PostPosted: 19:31 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

infra-red headlights for the win.
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Whosthedaddy
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PostPosted: 19:35 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did you ever finish the exhaust in the end?
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 20:25 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is clear that the OP has no smegging idea what fibre optics even are, let alone actually engineering something for a practical purpose.

Fibre optic cable is designed for sending data, not lighting. This is because when you shine a beam of light down the cable, very very little energy is lost to the outside world until it reaches the other end. This means in practice when you shine a light down the fibre optic cable, no light is given off.

Hence you'll be moving a point of light from one place to another, but it will still be a tiny point of light. What would be the point in having an indicator so small that the human eye can barely see it? Also the light emitted from a fibre optic cable is directional which is next to useless as a warning to road users as the myopic car drivers will have to be looking directly at the end of the cable on the correct plane and axis to see the light from it.

Even so, you have to generate this point of light in the first place which means that you may as well generate the point of light at the place from which you need to transmit it... IE Inside the indicator pod.

This is quite possibly the dumbest thread ever started on BCF IMO.

Unless of course you are getting fibre optics confused with LED strips or LED rope... which are common as indicators. G uses LED strips on his ZX9 for example.
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The Original Muzza
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PostPosted: 20:33 - 05 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whosthedaddy wrote:
Did you ever finish the exhaust in the end?


You're obviously not well-read on ADHD.
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DEN MONKEY
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PostPosted: 10:28 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarJay wrote:

This is quite possibly the dumbest thread ever started on BCF IMO.


Work with it grumpy bum.

I'm not sure the Op meant to have the lights visible along the whole length of the optic tube but to exit at the end as per normal.
yes the resulting light exiting would be small but what if it was routed into some sort of a reflector much the same as is behind a normal indicator.
You could simply then have one light source centrally located which could be responsible for all the indis at once.
Not to mention there would be no need for live wires to be running the length of your bike.
Add to that if you could just buy the shells of the indicators and simply snap the optic cable into the back??

Who knows he might be on to something Smile
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 10:40 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just pop one of these on each stalk :-

https://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2007/11/20/usb-optic-fibre-christmas-tree_39.jpg
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G
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PostPosted: 11:18 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

DEN MONKEY wrote:

You could simply then have one light source centrally located which could be responsible for all the indis at once.
Not to mention there would be no need for live wires to be running the length of your bike.

Well, there'd need to be one less set of low-current wires running down the bike, still plenty more. If you only had one light source, you'd have to have some mechanical means to illuminate the correct side. And of course, while it'd mean less lights to go wrong, when it did, they're all gone.

I was actually imagining something along the lines of what shaggy posted Smile.
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colin1
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PostPosted: 13:25 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

i think candles as indicators would be a much better idea
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 14:12 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually, think about it a minute.
It's not the most insane idea that I've ever encountered. If you used a block of ultra-high mcd LEDS as your light source, it means that you could save on having so much guff in the wiring loom: it does mean that you'd be trailing large amount of fibre optic bundles around the chassis, of course, but it could be an interesting experiment.

Basically, you use a single unit for the main running lights, bar the headlamp, which contains a batch of orange LEDS, and some red ones for the tail light. You can then use bundles of fibre optic lines out to the indicator stalks, with the ends of the lines set out in a complete xy fan shape, covered with a slightly diffusing material, so you get a more even glow, as opposed to hundreds of orange pinpricks.

It's a horrendously expensive and inefficient method of doing it, but I've seen more pointless mods than this before now.
It would, however, possibly lighten the bike a little bit, if it was set up properly (and used the right grade of fibre optics), as well as keeping anything that's prone to water failure well inside the chassis. The idea's potentially interesting, but more than a bit wasteful on the old spare-time front.


I reckon we ought to suggest this to Blue_SV650S. He seems to have relatively free and easy funds, and an abundance of spare time. Plus it means that we'd have access to the poll on this subject that's so obviously missing... Wink
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 14:14 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually, rig up some trafficators to your helmet. That would be cool.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Trafficator.jpg
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G
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PostPosted: 14:35 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

nowhere.elysium wrote:
it means that you could save on having so much guff in the wiring loom

As you say, these would just be replaced by fibre optic bundles instead, which probably have to be bigger, too.

Surely you could for a single light source and have filters for the lights as appropriate. Bright enough with enough silly-expensive fibre-optics and presumably you could do the head light too.
You'd still have to have some mechanical 'flasher' for the indicators though (actually, would for all of them, as an off/off switch).
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hellkat
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PostPosted: 14:36 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Shaggy D.A. wrote:

See, thats what I was imagining...
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 14:55 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

G wrote:

You'd still have to have some mechanical 'flasher' for the indicators though (actually, would for all of them, as an off/off switch).


Or, you could use a 555 timer...

I didn't say that it was a good idea, just that it is technically viable.
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EUMP
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PostPosted: 15:09 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

KeV6 wrote:
infra-red headlights for the win.


Who needs headlights!? Night vision goggles!
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G
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PostPosted: 15:59 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

nowhere.elysium wrote:

Or, you could use a 555 timer...

This was with a single unified light source.

I don't think anyone's claimed that it couldn't be done, just that it is a rather silly thing to attempt. Kinda like building a trike in that aspect.
Yes it is possible, but it'll probably leave you worse off than before and you could have spent your time doing so many other good things.
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.....
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PostPosted: 16:01 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

MarJay wrote:
It is clear that the OP has no smegging idea what fibre optics even are, let alone actually engineering something for a practical purpose.

Fibre optic cable is designed for sending data, not lighting. This is because when you shine a beam of light down the cable.......


That is the exact moment I dropped off asleep. If I'm ever having trouble sleeping I now know how to get to the land of nod.
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The Original Muzza
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PostPosted: 16:35 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

G wrote:

I don't think anyone's claimed that it couldn't be done, just that it is a rather silly thing to attempt. Kinda like building a trike in that aspect.
Yes it is possible, but it'll probably leave you worse off than before and you could have spent your time doing so many other good things.


Ahhh, a trike analogy. Continuation:

The two are alike because you have to be disabled to truly appreciate them. For trikes the disability tends to be physical, fibre-optic indicators...not so much. Drooling
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 18:27 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Joe wrote:
That is the exact moment I dropped off asleep. If I'm ever having trouble sleeping I now know how to get to the land of nod.


Pretty much like 99% of the forum these days. Generally though before I post something I tend to think to myself "Will people want to read this, and is it totally stupid?" In this case I did think that much of the readership of this thread do not want a technical overview of fibre optics, however I thought it might be useful to the OP, who clearly does not understand.

This forum used to be good. Every thread used to be interesting and very rarely did anyone post something that I actively did not want to read. Lots of ambivalent stuff soon followed, and now there are a number of threads I deliberately avoid due to them making me pissed off at the state of humanity.

In this case, I feel that the OP is probably getting confused between fibre optics and LED strips which would be much more practical for his purpose. In that case I felt it was worth me posting.

Sufficiently sleepy yet? I know I am, but this is probably the first time I've ever pointed it out on the forum and this is from someone who is regularly pissed off/put to sleep by the total shite that is posted on here sometimes. Karma
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colin1
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PostPosted: 19:23 - 06 Sep 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

the answer is, to look up posts from yesteryear.

If you are right, living in the past in the good old days may be fun.

I suspect there was a lot of crap back then too, that you just dont remember.
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Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 16 years, 114 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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