A couple of really odd questions...

[Ishkabibble]

Baseball bats shouldn't be a problem, I've carried 12 foot two section fishing rods.
Get all the gear in the duffel bag and lay it on the rear seat and luggage rack along the length of the scooter then bungee it down.
A ratchet strap passed under the seat should do the job at the front and some bungees onto the rack.
You do have a rack?
If not, time to get one

Ish, that sounds good to me. Do you have a rack? Do you have a long duffle bag or can you borrow one for awhile? Maybe a thrift store nearby has duffle bags for cheap? If you have required items (rack, long duffle bag (waterproof preferably) and straps), then there's your solution
Run the bag longwise (front to back) on top of the passenger seat and the rear rack. Run straps all around the bag under seat and elsewhere and tighten securely.

I guess you could do similar with the bat(s) inside the long poster (storage/mailing) tubes.
Lie the tubes down the same way on the scoot and strap them down tightly.

How's that sound?

It sounds like I'm going to have to look into obtaining a rack. Now I'm going to have to search for recommendations and check the technical threads for installation details. Man, this is getting complicated.

I love it.

[Ishkabibble]

Are you ready for my input on testing led lights yet?...I have installed about a dozen sets of led lights so far, so I know what I am doing, but each person chooses his own path. A STANDARD, OF THE SHELF 9 volt battery works fine. You don't need anything special. I made my own attachment for the connections. I went to Radio Shack and purchased a small bag of alligator clips. Then I measured two pieces of wire, one red and one black. I attached a set of clips to each side of each wire. Now I can use those wires with a 9 volt battery to test any circuit, including the standard circuits on the bike, aside from the headlight. It even works for holding the volt meter leads to each circuit. It should work fine for your needs.

Honkerman had it right.

You mean like one of these:

9v-batt.jpg (2.83 KiB) Viewed 772 times

With one of these:

9v-thing.jpg (3.2 KiB) Viewed 772 times

That's it?

[GeorgeSK]

Yup. It won't be at it's awesome brightest best, but it will light up and tell you which lead is positive.

[Ishkabibble]

Yup. It won't be at it's awesome brightest best, but it will light up and tell you which lead is positive.

As my fantabulous Great-Grandmother used to say, "Well, the band will be playing 'who in the hell would have thought!'"

Unbelievable. I have to put that down to ignorance and a mental blind spot. Thank you.

However, there's this little voice nagging in the back of my head, "Ish... Wouldn't you want to see them lit up fully at all their awesome best glory?"

Another thought. I have an old automotive battery charger from the 1970s, and it has a three-way switch on it that says [2 - 10 - 50/jump]

If I put the selector on 10.... I have either a great chance of seeing yet another puff of magic smoke with the standard flash of light, or lighting up the LEDs.

Damn, I wish I knew more about electricity. I was never mathematically-oriented, and when I was a kid, I practically lived in the parlor of my parents' house. That was the room that had the encyclopedia and all the books.

Oh well... More to play with.

Thanks for the advice, gang... Keep it coming!

[WhiteNoise]

Okay Ish, so I'm still thinking (improvisng) on your Bat House Mobile

Hmm, instead of poster tubes (but a bit heavier), is PVC tubing. Waterproof from the get go!
You can customize it any which way you want, even spray paint it when finished with a product called Krylon Fushion for plastics

Bats are...what? 42" long and about 2.75-3" in diameter?
Go to your local Home Depot, Lowes or Ace Hardware with a bat in hand (or in a bag) then puzzle their pvc pieces together. Assemble their pipes, fittings and endcaps all together till you construct the perfect "enclosed, and watertight Bat House Mobile
Hey, Don't forget the PVC cement!
Now make it yours! Paint it, Be creative, Get artsy!

[Ishkabibble]

WH: That's not a bad idea. Except for the "buying" part. My lovely bride can get hard to live with if I spend green stuff. Especially when I have alternate materials on hand which can be utilized.

I have, (because I am an inveterate pack rat) two cores from rolls of carpet we installed a few years ago. I was repeatedly asked why in the everloving %$#@& I would want to keep those things around, when they'd only clutter up an already cluttered garage. They are 3.25" inside diameter, and 4" outside diameter. Nearly perfect.

Fast forward to last fall, and cleaning out said garage (which was around the time I decided to acquire a scoot, and started looking) and I was asked again what I was going to do with those things. I simply cut each of them in half (they were 12 feet long) and put them up inside the rafters so they wouldn't be in the way, and I could still keep them. All four are safe and secure right there, as we speak.

Also, may I remind you, that the sport is not, and cannot be played in the rain, so I therefore won't need anything waterproof. If it is raining, I simply won't go.

That means I can use epoxy, gorilla glue, and German engineering (as befits my ancestry) and use those core tubes to make a bat carrier. I still am probably going to get a rear rack, (talked to Steven on eBay today) so that I can put my briefcase on the back and strap it down, as it gets too full of papers and crap at the end of the Semester to stuff under the seat. Kills two birds with one stone!

I'm amazed at the ideas that come up on this here forum.

[WhiteNoise]

Yeah, I get it. I gots stuff too. But I do get mad at myself when I get talked into throwing something out and then a day or two later, I damn well need it! So weird when that happens, and it Does!

Sooo, Okee-dok, use what's tucked above in ye rafters. Then tell the wife, enjoy her smile, ignore what she goes onto next like: "keep going, that's just a start" attitude. On 2nd thought, don't tell her

A bit of clutter up above....being Re-cycled. Priceless$
My job is done here, I believe your bat will have a traveling home shortly (if papa gits er dun)

Good weekend to ya!

[Ishkabibble]

Outstanding thread, this one.

You guys are several different kinds of awesome.

Now all I have to do is get up off of old rusty and get some things done.

After I finish writing this semester's final exam, and finish grading the remaining 19 term papers I have to grade.

Then, finals next week, a bunch of papers to grade, final grades to calculate, submit to the registrar, and then I get 12 days off... Whew~!

[Ishkabibble]

Okay, back to the first "odd question"

In my box of old power supply/chargers I found two that both say 120v AC input, 12v DC output at 500mA.

If I am reading this right, they're 12vDC at 500 milliamps, right?

If my limited understanding of electricity is correct, then either or both of these should work perfectly for my "light tester"

Any electronics wizards that could confirm this?

[GeorgeSK]

You should be good to go testing an LED that is 6 watts or less. That would be a pretty hi-zoot LED, but if what you are testing is an auxiliary headlamp, than you might be in that ballpark. Marker lights should be way less. LED's are polarity sensitive - if the little darling doesn't light up, swap the leads.

You have nothing to loose. You cannot burn out the LED (assuming it is designed for 12 V), and if the power supply craps out, you have one less thing to store.

[Ishkabibble]

You should be good to go testing an LED that is 6 watts or less. That would be a pretty hi-zoot LED, but if what you are testing is an auxiliary headlamp, than you might be in that ballpark. Marker lights should be way less. LED's are polarity sensitive - if the little darling doesn't light up, swap the leads.

You have nothing to loose. You cannot burn out the LED (assuming it is designed for 12 V), and if the power supply craps out, you have one less thing to store.

Okay, George... please 'splain something to me, and please use small words so that I'll be able to get it.

You said: "Marker lights should be way less."

I'm not testing one of those 20W Cree spotlights. What I have are, in fact, four 2" dia LED marker lights. Now, I have several other of these power supplies that put out 6, 10, and other wattage. Which one of them should I use so as to not destroy the marker light? Additionally, what would the "range" be for power output for the average marker/turn signal/led strip be? I have about 30 of those things in a box, at all levels of output, so I want to be sure that I use the one that works best, with the least chance of starting a fire or permanently damaging the lights.

Remember now, small words...

[chicaboo]

All I know is, W=VxA, and A=W/V.
Your 12V 0.5A output from the wall charger will max out at 6W output.
So probably don't put any LED strips on that you know will exceed 6W?

[Ishkabibble]

All I know is, W=VxA, and A=W/V.
Your 12V 0.5A output from the wall charger will max out at 6W output.
So probably don't put any LED strips on that you know will exceed 6W?

You're assuming that I know what "A", "W", and "V" are. I don't. I can guess that the "V" stands for Volts, but that's about it.

You're further assuming that those equations mean anything to me. They don't. In the 32 years since I've taken an algebra class, not once have I ever had to look for "N" and I've come to the conclusion that it isn't lost. Equations are mumbo-jumbo. They might as well be written in Attic Greek for all the meaning they have to me.

I don't know how to "know" that the lights I want to test are 6W. I don't even know how to find that out. The lights have no markings of any kind.

Simplify. You are talking to someone with a little bit less knowledge of electronics than an 8 year old.

[GeorgeSK]

I'm not an electrical engineer, but I have messed some with electronics and LED's. Your power supplies put out different voltages (V) and have a power output capacities that are measured in milliamps (mA). I can't recall ever seeing a power supply that mentioned anything about watts (W).

Your lights have no markings. That makes things a bit tricky. A single LED needs about 1.2 volts DC (direct current) to light up, and will draw current measured in milliamps. It is sensitive to positive and negative. It will have a response curve where it is safely brightest and long lived at a specific current. Some engineer somewhere will figure out a resistor size that makes that optimal current happen, something you do not worry about unless you are playing with bare LEDs. Since you have packaged marker lights, that all has been done for you.

The response of an LED is pretty wide. I have a little flashlight that will shine with a 1.5 volt AA, but REALLY shines with a 3.6 V li-ion rechargeable. Clearly you can be off the design voltage pretty far with no ill effects.

LEDs can be wired in series so as to use a design voltage. You probably have holiday lights that plug into 120 V. How does that work? the lights are in series so that the total voltage drop is around 120 volts. Very interesting effect, BTW: spin the end of your light set. Since one half of the LED's work on forward voltage and the other half on the other part of the alternating current (the "AC" part of household electricity), you get a neat pattern of alternating light.

Back to the issue. Your next trick is to figure out what voltage your light needs. It would be really nice to know what the marker lights were actually supposed to be used for, but dollars to doughnuts, it is probably a 12 volt automotive application. But since we don't know, we have to start low.

Since you have so many power supplies, start with a low one and work your way up. 3 volts, then 6 Volts, 9 volts, then 12 Volts. If you are hoping to use them on your scoot, let's hope that they don't work very well at 6 volts. Nine may just get them going, and 12 make them light well. That would be great. Don't be too worried - nothing is going to get fried in less than a minute at these voltages and currents.

Use 18 or even better 16 gauge wire for your experiments (but more importantly for you final wiring), or just be as thick or thicker than the wires coming out of your light. Really thin stuff might get pretty hot. I know the power supplies have thin wire, but they are designed for a specific piece of equipment and a known current draw. You have no clue what the current will be with your lights, and I'm reasonably certain that you don't have a multimeter or the desire to actually know. Better safe and carefree with oversize wire.

Listen to your inner Nike - just do it.

[Ishkabibble]

I'm not an electrical engineer, but I have messed some with electronics and LED's. Your power supplies put out different voltages (V) and have a power output capacities that are measured in milliamps (mA). I can't recall ever seeing a power supply that mentioned anything about watts (W).

Your lights have no markings. That makes things a bit tricky. A single LED needs about 1.2 volts DC (direct current) to light up, and will draw current measured in milliamps. It is sensitive to positive and negative. It will have a response curve where it is safely brightest and long lived at a specific current. Some engineer somewhere will figure out a resistor size that makes that optimal current happen, something you do not worry about unless you are playing with bare LEDs. Since you have packaged marker lights, that all has been done for you.

The response of an LED is pretty wide. I have a little flashlight that will shine with a 1.5 volt AA, but REALLY shines with a 3.6 V li-ion rechargeable. Clearly you can be off the design voltage pretty far with no ill effects.

LEDs can be wired in series so as to use a design voltage. You probably have holiday lights that plug into 120 V. How does that work? the lights are in series so that the total voltage drop is around 120 volts. Very interesting effect, BTW: spin the end of your light set. Since one half of the LED's work on forward voltage and the other half on the other part of the alternating current (the "AC" part of household electricity), you get a neat pattern of alternating light.

Back to the issue. Your next trick is to figure out what voltage your light needs. It would be really nice to know what the marker lights were actually supposed to be used for, but dollars to doughnuts, it is probably a 12 volt automotive application. But since we don't know, we have to start low.

Since you have so many power supplies, start with a low one and work your way up. 3 volts, then 6 Volts, 9 volts, then 12 Volts. If you are hoping to use them on your scoot, let's hope that they don't work very well at 6 volts. Nine may just get them going, and 12 make them light well. That would be great. Don't be too worried - nothing is going to get fried in less than a minute at these voltages and currents.

Use 18 or even better 16 gauge wire for your experiments (but more importantly for you final wiring), or just be as thick or thicker than the wires coming out of your light. Really thin stuff might get pretty hot. I know the power supplies have thin wire, but they are designed for a specific piece of equipment and a known current draw. You have no clue what the current will be with your lights, and I'm reasonably certain that you don't have a multimeter or the desire to actually know. Better safe and carefree with oversize wire.

Listen to your inner Nike - just do it.

Nicely written George! I could actually follow all of that!

The marker lights were apparently for some trailer or something. Lemme put photos in if that will help.

I'm going to be making a stop by Radio Shack on the way home from work today, (I have to give a student an early final as she is going out of the country and will miss the regular exam date) and I'll get some 16 gauge wire while I'm there. I'm also going to get some alligator clips, and some of that metal wire glue that you have to melt with a heated pencil. I already have heat shrink tubing and one of those hair dryers on steroids, so that's good. I'll make up a test supply and see how things go. I might even get my spouse out there to help me shoot video if I can talk her into it.

I actually do have a multimeter, but I have less than no clue what to do with it. It was in the box with the same power supply things, and I have no memory of ever buying it. I can research the net to find out how to use it to determine things like polarity so I know what I'm dealing with. (boy, this sounds like a recipe for disaster in the making!)

This is going to be interesting.

Either I'm going to make a post full of pride, ego, and enthusiasm, or my wife will be posting on my behalf because I'm in the hospital.

Thanks!

[Mel46]

61k8U8oMM4L._SX355_.jpg (9.05 KiB) Viewed 697 times

Do you use a Battery Tender? Is there a reason why you can't test the lights with the bike Battery? You don't have to take the battery out to use it. If you have a Battery Tender you may have the leads already attached to the battery. Use one of the extra leads you can purchase for $5 or less. Cut it in half. Strip the wires. Plug one lead into the Battery Tender wires. Now you can test the lights with the battery on the scooter and you can see what their brightness will be once you hook them up.
These are instructions for those who know nothing about electricity. I spent quite a few years as an aircraft electrician, and then I went back to college. I was getting a degree in electrical engineering when I had a motorcycle accident and had to drop out for a few semesters, which meant that I had to wait until the classes came back around on the schedule before I could go back...or change my major. I ended up with a degree in Computer Science. Sooo......I have electrical knowledge, but I also understand that there are quite a few out there who not only do not understand electricity, but are afraid of it. Therefore, I am trying to give answers that can help even those who are afraid that they will screw things up. Hopefully this thread will help others as well.

[Ishkabibble]

61k8U8oMM4L._SX355_.jpg

Do you use a Battery Tender? Is there a reason why you can't test the lights with the bike Battery? You don't have to take the battery out to use it. If you have a Battery Tender you may have the leads already attached to the battery. Use one of the extra leads you can purchase for $5 or less. Cut it in half. Strip the wires. Plug one lead into the Battery Tender wires. Now you can test the lights with the battery on the scooter and you can see what their brightness will be once you hook them up.
These are instructions for those who know nothing about electricity. I spent quite a few years as an aircraft electrician, and then I went back to college. I was getting a degree in electrical engineering when I had a motorcycle accident and had to drop out for a few semesters, which meant that I had to wait until the classes came back around on the schedule before I could go back...or change my major. I ended up with a degree in Computer Science. Sooo......I have electrical knowledge, but I also understand that there are quite a few out there who not only do not understand electricity, but are afraid of it. Therefore, I am trying to give answers that can help even those who are afraid that they will screw things up. Hopefully this thread will help others as well.

Mel, you're an awesome guy, and I cant thank you enough for all your patient advice. I don't have a battery tender, and until now, didn't see the need for one, although I know there will be one added to Natasha in the future.

You are going to be so proud of me...

I took one of the 12v DC converters, and I clipped the barrel plug off. I then stripped off about 3/8" of the rubbery coating to expose bare wire, and... wait for it... I used the multimeter to determine which wire was positive, and which was negative! I found a post on Instructables that showed how to use a multimeter to find polarity, and I tried it. It went something like this: I put the black probe in the "COM" port, and the red one in the "V/mA" port, set the dial to 20v, touched the other ends of the probes to the wires, and presto! I got a reading of -17.26 when I touched the probes to the wires the first time. I switched the probes and got a reading of 17.26 again, this time with no (-) sign! From the post on Instructables, this told me that the wire the red one was touching was positive when the reading was positive, so that's how I figured it out! From my reading, I think this tells me that the power converter is actually putting out 17.26 volts. So much so good.

So, I got some of that thin metal glue wire, and used one of those electric pencils to glue some alligator clips on the ends of the wires, and voila! I pinched the alligator clips onto an old popsicle stick to keep them from touching each other (one at each end), marked which one was positive with a drop of red craft paint, and then I plugged the power supply/converter in. No flash of light, no smoke, I didn't blow a breaker in the garage, nothing! Good so far...

Then, I took the largest of the lights I have, one about 4" in diameter, with about 16 LEDs in it, touched the wires to the alligator clips, and Presto! Light!

I've just spent the past hour going through all the LED lights I have, and guess what? No fire, no smoke, no flashes of electricity! Nothing but LEDs lighting up all over the place for a couple of seconds! I have a thing I made that uses electricity, and it works! And I couldn't have done it without this forum.

If you'll all excuse my huge excitement over what I see as a massive success, and also allow that I have a final to give tomorrow, I'm going to do a write up with pics to show how I built the Magic LED tester to post here on the forum. Forgive my ego, but I don't think that a poster really "arrives" or becomes a true member of a forum until they post something that helps a n00b out in a pinch. I think this Magic LED Tester would qualify.

Heck, I might even make up an Instructable about it, and post it over there too.

Dang, but this forum is several kinds of awesome!

I have several days off coming up, and now I am going to add running lights, DRLs, and my flashing brake light thing from eBay came in today, so I have that I can do as well! I'm sure I'm going to be coming back begging for help, but hey, this place is awesome, and I know the help will be here!

A round of your favorite brewed or distilled beverage on me!

[you you]

Excellent. Been interesting reading it.

[Ishkabibble]

George, I have to thank you too, for all your great patience and sage advice. And everyone else who threw in words of wisdom, even if those words went right over my head.

I'm positively giddy with the sheer luck I had, tempered by the knowledge that I would not have attempted it if those of you who are electrically-inclined hadn't jumped in with your assistance.

Once I hear back from Steve in the UK re: the rack, I'll get on to working on the bat-carrier. There are a couple of other things on Natasha I'm going to be working on in the next few days, and hopefully I'll get to use some of this time off to finally finish that damn bench in the Lair...

This is the greatest group to which I have ever belonged! No, really, I mean that!

[Mel46]

Here is a way to always know which is hot and which is ground...if the wires are red and black...I used this in aircraft electrical school to remember.
Red is always "positively red hot".