>In a discussion with someone else, I was asked if all a car's
>"auxiliary" lighting could be replaced with LEDs, and/or how to monitor
>existing bulbs with a PIC (so you can tell when a turn signal bulb burns
>out, etc.)
>
>On the first point, I probably should go look & see if the federal regs.
>about car lighting allow tail lights, turn signal bulbs, etc. to BE
>LED-type, and how intense they'd have to be (I think I've seen local
>buses with LED brake/turn lighting, though), I said I thought that
>everything but headlights & Fog/Driving lights could be done in LED's,
>nowadays, but would check.
>
>On the second point, obviously you could put a series resistor in line
>with the bulbs, swap bulbs to give you 6V bulbs, and monitor the top of
>that dropping resistor, through a 1k resistor to the PIC (If it's at 6V
>with 1mA temporarily injected through the bulb for turn signal etc.
>bulbs, the filaments's good, if not, the filament's DOA.)  If you used a
>comparator, could use a much smaller resistor in the ground line & do
>basically the same thing (Compare to say a 1/4 Volt reference voltage,
>drop 3/8 volt across the resistor.)  Same basic thing should be easier
>to do with LED's - though you shouldn't NEED to, they have such a long
>MTBF! <G>
>
>  Mark

>
> Hi David.
>
> > Hi Dmitry!
> > I'm curious, Here in California the red stop lights are all LED but
> > the yellow and green are still incandescent.  In Russia are all of the
> > colors LEDs?
>
> All new traffic light are equipped with LED. I've saw two type of them:
> 1 eye - only changes the color from red through yellow to green.
> It seems to be three groups of color LED's inside of one eye.
> And three independed eyes ;-) Each for every color.
>
> It is as incredible as it visible in comparison with usual lamps
> especially in sunny day. And furthermore - those traffic units don't
> use shadow cover - they shining very bright against the sun ;-)
>
> And one more - it is very easy to implement arrows and other signs
> without additional lamp - just show different picture on the same
> projector.
>
> WBR Dmitry.
>
> > I am starting to see more and more trucks and busses using red and
> > amber LEDs for tail lights.  In Korea I saw much more LED usage that
> > here in the States.  In Japan everything had an LCD panel on it.
> > Small advertising on store shelves to large format panels spewing adds
> > in taxi cabs.

>
> At 11:04 27/07/99 -0400, you wrote:
> >the light.  Is there another way to tell what the color is without being
> able to
> >see color on these lights that all all in one 'eye'?
>
> I don't know if there is or not, but one of the things mentioned was how
> easy it was to do different shapes- which could be very useful to the
> sight-impaired, and also make the sign more noticeable to all drivers- the
> green could be a flashing or 'moving' arrow, red could be a solid X, and
> amber could be a flashing X.  Something like that anyway- seems a shame to
> have the capacity to make shapes and not use it!
>
> Nigel

> see color on these lights that all all in one 'eye'?
>
> -Adam
>
> Dmitry Kiryashov wrote:
> >
> > Hi David.
> >
> > > Hi Dmitry!
> > > I'm curious, Here in California the red stop lights are all LED but
> > > the yellow and green are still incandescent.  In Russia are all of the
> > > colors LEDs?
> >
> > All new traffic light are equipped with LED. I've saw two type of them:
> > 1 eye - only changes the color from red through yellow to green.
> > It seems to be three groups of color LED's inside of one eye.
> > And three independed eyes ;-) Each for every color.
> >
> > It is as incredible as it visible in comparison with usual lamps
> > especially in sunny day. And furthermore - those traffic units don't
> > use shadow cover - they shining very bright against the sun ;-)
> >
> > And one more - it is very easy to implement arrows and other signs
> > without additional lamp - just show different picture on the same
> > projector.
> >
> > WBR Dmitry.
> >
> > > I am starting to see more and more trucks and busses using red and
> > > amber LEDs for tail lights.  In Korea I saw much more LED usage that
> > > here in the States.  In Japan everything had an LCD panel on it.
> > > Small advertising on store shelves to large format panels spewing adds
> > > in taxi cabs.
>

>
> John Pfaff wrote:
> >
> > During a recent trip to Canada, I couldn't figure out why the green lamp was
> > flashing for the first several seconds after switching from red to green.
> > It turns out that is a signal that it is OK to make a left turn, opposing
> > traffic still has a red signal; much like a green left turn arrow.
>
> Tourists beware!  This is a generalization - every Canadian city I lived
> in does something different.  Vertical lights, horizontal lights,
> flashing amber (gives a little extra warning so that you speed up to
> make the light)...
>
> The only variation on left turn signals that I *haven't* seen is the one
> John mentions.
>
> --Matt

>
>    Mark, are you doing this for your own rig or is it commercial? Back
> in the 80's I wanted to monitor the headlights, breaklights, and turn
> signals in my old Ford F250 pickup. I ended up using low-cost plastic
> fiber optics to monitor the lamps and used small, snap-in LED lenses,
> in the cockpit. This eliminated the electronics and was very reliable.
>
>    - Tom
>
> At 12:25 PM 7/26/99 -0700, Mark Willis wrote:
> >In a discussion with someone else, I was asked if all a car's
> >"auxiliary" lighting could be replaced with LEDs, and/or how to monitor
> >existing bulbs with a PIC (so you can tell when a turn signal bulb burns
> >out, etc.)
> >
> >On the first point, I probably should go look & see if the federal regs.
> >about car lighting allow tail lights, turn signal bulbs, etc. to BE
> >LED-type, and how intense they'd have to be (I think I've seen local
> >buses with LED brake/turn lighting, though), I said I thought that
> >everything but headlights & Fog/Driving lights could be done in LED's,
> >nowadays, but would check.
> >
> >On the second point, obviously you could put a series resistor in line
> >with the bulbs, swap bulbs to give you 6V bulbs, and monitor the top of
> >that dropping resistor, through a 1k resistor to the PIC (If it's at 6V
> >with 1mA temporarily injected through the bulb for turn signal etc.
> >bulbs, the filaments's good, if not, the filament's DOA.)  If you used a
> >comparator, could use a much smaller resistor in the ground line & do
> >basically the same thing (Compare to say a 1/4 Volt reference voltage,
> >drop 3/8 volt across the resistor.)  Same basic thing should be easier
> >to do with LED's - though you shouldn't NEED to, they have such a long
> >MTBF! <G>
> >
> >  Mark
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tom Handley
> New Age Communications
> Since '75 before "New Age" and no one around here is waiting for UFOs ;-)

>
> >Now tell me, isn't the yellow lamp stupid?  why not flash the green lamp
> >during the last 10 seconds of the "green" status?  Can you imagine the
> >savings? Lamps, relays, wires, supports, weight, cables...
>
> Flashing an incandescent lamp decreases its life.  The startup currents
> kill the filaments MUCH more than continuous on.
>
> Wagner, I thought you'd have known that!
>
> >Here in Orlando, we have a traffic light, they installed a xenon lamp
> >flashing right in front the RED lamp... it is very difficult to see the
> >lamp in the middle of all of those flashy advertisements.
>
> They used them in NC at bad intersections, particularly on long straight
> roads frequented by truckers but with an occasional plant entrance.
>
> Andy
>
> ==================================================================
> Andy Kunz               Life is what we do to prepare for Eternity
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> .....andyspam_OUTrc-hydros.com      http://www.rc-hydros.com     - Race Boats
> TakeThisOuTandy.....TakeThisOuTmontanadesign.com  http://www.montanadesign.com - Electronics
> ==================================================================

>
> At 12:34 27/07/99 -0700, you wrote:
> >Just for my own rig, myself;  I figure that as I re-do everything on my
> >next Mustang-type car, (Dad found a '68(?) with a decent body), might as
> >well make it something rather fun.  I figure I'll do a complete re-wire
> >job on it, replace brake hoses & lines, etc., why not have the whole
> >beast's controls go digital as well?  That & I'll probably move the
> >battery to the trunk, as that's a healthier place than in the engine
> >compartment...  Could use Fiber Optics, though, might be more "in
> >period" than going completely digital.  I'll see as I get there (I want
> >to definitely improve a few things from stock.)
> >
> >
>
> BUZZT:
> Don't put the battery in the boot, dangerous! Here in Oz you will need to
> get a certificate to prove that the battery will not become an acidic
> missile under crash conditions.
> Audi, place it under the back seat!
>
> Dennis

>Just for my own rig, myself;  I figure that as I re-do everything on my
>next Mustang-type car, (Dad found a '68(?) with a decent body), might as
>well make it something rather fun.  I figure I'll do a complete re-wire
>job on it, replace brake hoses & lines, etc., why not have the whole
>beast's controls go digital as well?  That & I'll probably move the
>battery to the trunk, as that's a healthier place than in the engine
>compartment...  Could use Fiber Optics, though, might be more "in
>period" than going completely digital.  I'll see as I get there (I want
>to definitely improve a few things from stock.)
>
>  Mark
>
>Tom Handley wrote:
>>
>>    Mark, are you doing this for your own rig or is it commercial? Back
>> in the 80's I wanted to monitor the headlights, breaklights, and turn
>> signals in my old Ford F250 pickup. I ended up using low-cost plastic
>> fiber optics to monitor the lamps and used small, snap-in LED lenses,
>> in the cockpit. This eliminated the electronics and was very reliable.
>>
>>    - Tom

> At 11:54 AM 7/27/99 -0400, Wagner Lipnharski wrote:
> >Now tell me, isn't the yellow lamp stupid?  why not flash the green lamp
> >during the last 10 seconds of the "green" status?  Can you imagine the
> >savings? Lamps, relays, wires, supports, weight, cables...
> >
> >Wagner
>
>    Wagner, this is a *great* idea! And it would still allow folks with
> color vision problems to drive safely. Unfortunately, folks that tend to
> run yellow lights would still interpret the flash as "speed up"...
>
>    - Tom
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tom Handley
> New Age Communications
> Since '75 before "New Age" and no one around here is waiting for UFOs ;-)
>
>