LED light strips

[mikeprice]

Hi all

I have been looking for some more visible lights for my ebike - but most of them won't fit due to the rear rack

 

I have put together a 3d printed thing that could convert the curved tube to a flat surface (OK I could use a hammer but that MAY invalidate the warrantly - and the structural integrity of the bike! - just saying before one of you lot says it!)

 

Then I was wondering if I could stick an led strip to the flat side and power it from a battery stuck at the back

 

so - the question is

has anyone ever done anything with led strips in an outdoor situation - and with battery power?

How difficult is it to cut the strip to the right length and connect it to a battery?

Any good makes - or bad ones to avoid?

 

 

Oh - and as I do not have access to a 3d printer at the moment - anyone had any luck with places that can print something simple for a reasonable price??

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[LincolnE]

The normal 12v led strips are easy to trim down, every 5cm or so there's a cut point where you can just snip them. You can get waterproof variants quite cheaply, but you'd have to take care to properly waterproof the other sides of them where you cut and where you connect a battery terminal.

 

https://www.therange.co.uk/lighting/led-lighting/string-lighting/battery-operated-led-light-strip/#137425

 

This suggests you can use a 3xAA connector terminal so it should be easily doable I'd say.

[bald_pig]

depending on the strip, you can cut every few LEDs, some can be cut after every LED. You can get completely waterproof strips as well, and I'd get my mitts on an 1860 to run it, you can salvage some from a broken laptop battery pack

 

Also, keep an eye on the number of LEDs per meter, you can get some very densely packed strips!