BlakeBlog

LEDs Can't Replace Halogen Headlight Bulbs

Back when I attended the Northwest Overland Rally a few months ago, Cyclops Adventure Sports was there selling LED replacement bulbs for H4 and H7 halogen headlight bulbs. While the stock headlight on my KTM is pretty good for a motorcycle, riding at night has made me want more illumination if possible, so I took a chance and bought their 3600 lumen H4 LED bulb.

I know that most folks say you can't simply replace a halogen bulb with an HID or LED "bulb" because they emit light from different locations and in different directions, so the reflector becomes ineffective. I was hoping that Cyclops had figured out an ingenious solution--certainly their triangle-shaped emitter is unique. The product seems like it's high quality, so my hopes were high.

Unfortunately, my hopes have been dashed (click to embiggen):

While this may be a great option for folks who don't ride on the road, the loss of the horizonal cut-off and the resulting glare that would hit every oncoming driver just isn't acceptable. Adjusting them low enough to reduce the glare ends up with a focal point that's too low, meaning that the LED headlight won't light up objects on the road as far away as the halogen H4 will.

Unfortunately I had to make modifications to the rubber dust cover on the back of the headlight to fit the Cyclops bulb, so until I can get a replacement cover I'm stuck with the LED bulb--and consequently riding only during the daytime.

It's a real shame, but physics doesn't lie.

Antigravity Battery Now in My KTM

My Antigravity battery for my KTM 690 Enduro arrived yesterday, and even though I own another LiFePO4 battery that I use for amateur radio stuff I was pleasantly surprised at how light it is. If I didn't know better I'd have thought it was an empty shell, like a store display version without any lead or acid in it. The case is nicely finished and the brass terminals are robustly sized, designed, and marked for polarity.

I got the YTZ10-12, which has the same external dimensions as the ubiquitous Yuasa YTZ-10 that's standard in my KTM and many other motorcycles. Antigravity actually offers two variations in this same case size, an eight cell version for the ultimate in weight savings, and a 12-cell version for extended performance. The weight savings, while very nice, was not my primary reason for purchasing the Antigravity battery. I wanted a battery that wouldn't die every couple of years like the Yuasas seem to, but both versions claim the same lifespan (three to four years in one place, four to five years in another place, if not discharged too deeply). What pushed me toward the 12-cell version was that it has a little more reserve for starting a thumper motor and would have a little more robustness to it in cooler weather or if I accidently leave an accessory on.

(I ordered mine directly from Antigravity, and only later found out I could have saved $30 by ordering one through Amazon. Doh!)

It arrived fully charged, and it dropped right in place. Within a few minutes of heading into the garage to do the install my bike was quickly turning over and starting like a champ. It really was just as straight-forward as replacing the Yuasa with another Yuasa. There was no foam to cut to try and pad the battery compartment to make it fit (although the battery comes with a couple of pieces of foam just in case), unlike many of the other LiFePO4 batteries out there. The only differences from the OEM battery were that:

1. The terminals are a little more flush with the case, so some of the leads that had an angle to them needed to be straightened out, and
2. Again, because the termnials are shaped differently the OEM positive terminal cap doesn't fit in place.

Antigravity stresses multiple times in the instructions that you need to make sure you don't have any parasitic drains on your electrical system. Their batteries don't have the same amount of energy available, they just can deliver what they have much faster and more completely than lead acid batteries, so a drain you might not notice with a lead acid battery could quickly deplete an Antigravity battery. I don't believe I do have any parasitic drains, aside from the usual CPU maintenance power, but I have installed a few accessories so I'll need to monitor the battery for a few weeks to make sure it isn't dropping below its resting voltage of 13.2V.

The only other thing to consider about LiFePO4 batteries is that they can't be charged with traditional lead acid battery chargers. LiFePO4 batteries benefit from different charging curves, and they can get damaged by the desulfating or "quick charge" (overvoltage charging) features popular in lead acid battery chargers. Antigravity recommended (and I purchased from them) an Optimate 2 battery charger/maintainer. Optimate doesn't claim on their website or in their instructions that the Optimate 2 works with LiFePO4, but both Antigravity and Internet forum scuttlebutt claim they work just fine. (Optimate do sell an LiFePO4-only charger, the Optimate Lithium, which looks just like the Optimate 2. My guess is they're the same hardware, but the Lithium version''s uniquely able to reset the battery management system (BMS) that some LiFePO4 batteries use.)

I hope that I'm now set in the electrical department and don't have any more awful experiences of getting all geared-up to ride on a beautiful weekend day, only to face a suddenly dead battery.

Emerging through the Other End of the Customer Service Black Hole

Previously I whined, today I'll praise.

First: I buy my coffee via mail order from Tonx. Every two weeks I get a new bag of single origin coffee that was roasted just the day before. It comes with tasting notes and background on the grower, and each bag has been consistently enjoyable. One very nice feature is that they give you great control over the frequency and amount you get. Since I travel a lot I typically get just a small amount, but when I'm going to be home for an extended stretch I "boost" my next order, getting an additional 6 oz of beans in my next shipment. (Try it yourself!)

Tonx has recently merged with Blue Bottle Coffee, another excellent roaster in the SF Bay area, and their new, merged website doesn't offer the "boost" option. I dropped them a quick email asking about it, and within just a couple of hours (well after normal business hours) I got an email response letting me know they were working to add that feature, apologizing that it wasn't there yet, and in the meantime they'd go ahead and manually boost my next shipment. Perfect!

Second: I've been going round and round with doctors, insurance companies, and medical supply companies trying to get a replacement for my dead CPAP machine. Yesterday I finally got a call from the local branch of the medical supply house that sold me my original machine. I spoke with a wonderfully helpful lady who invited me the office so that she could help me out. She confirmed my old machine was dead and took it so she could send it back to the manufacturer for a repair estimate. In the meantime, she gave me a free loaner machine until I can get an appointment with my new primary care physician. As a result, last night I got a good night's sleep and I really think it's helped me kick whatever illness I've been fighting.

Customer Service Black Hole

Last week I ordered a new battery for my motorcycle. I was told it would arrive by Monday. It's now Wednesday and the battery still hasn't arrived, so I called the store to see what was up. "Oh, sorry about that. We'll ship it today." No other explanation.

Saturday night my CPAP machine died in the middle of the night. My equipment provider wasn't open until Monday, so I called first thing Monday morning and was told a tech would contact me by end of day Monday, maybe early Tuesday at the latest. Again, it's now Wednesday and no contact from a tech. I call the company and it seems they messed up my record in their system so the order for a tech never was sent. "We'll have a tech call you by end of day today at the latest. Sorry!"

Meanwhile, I've developed some sort of illness with fever and chest congestion and would desparately love to get a good night's sleep, but without that CPAP machine I can't. And because I've developed this illness I've had to postpone an important business trip, which never makes anyone happy.

All of this to say I'm sick, tired, and grumpy. How's your day?

Friday night reloading

Based on my previous load test results, I loaded up a couple hundred rounds of .260Rem tonight. That should be enough for some load verification this weekend, and for competition for the next two months. I'm low on bullets now, and while rummaging through the Sniper's Hide forums I found a thread about Lapua's new 136 gr Scenar L bullet. Lapua claims it's more consistent than ever, and while one person seemed to have trouble with them past 1,000 yards, most folks are reporting good results with them. They are, however, about $100 more per thousand than the 139 gr bullets. They may be worth it for me eventually if I keep improving, but for now I'll stick with the less expensive ones. Also while reading the 'Hide I came across a fascinating thread with some empirical evidence that annealing your brass before you reload can dramatically reduce your group sizes. This particular person's groups went from 0.8" to 0.35", which is an enormous improvement. Annealing equipment isn't cheap, but if others are able to replicate those accuracy gains then an annealer may be the least expensive way to shrink your group sizes in half.