Walking in the Dark

RE: Walking in the Dark

jw0752 — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 02:28:54 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would post an update on this blog. I am now approaching 2 months and about 35 hours of walking with the Boot Light. I am still on the first 9 Volt battery which is totally amazing to me. The battery currently reads about 8 Volts and I expect the light can function down to 6 volts before the dropout will affect the light intensity.

The one problem that has continued to bother me is the difficulty I have attaching and positioning the original prototype unit on my pants leg. Last night I tackled the problem by building a new prototype that would attach to the boot itself. This should allow me to make a more solid and repeatable mounting of the unit. Furthermore I can take off the boot and mount the Boot Light and then put the boot back on. Here are a few pictures of the new prototype.

[View:/resized-image/__size/620x465/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-6f430115-8045-431b-97aa-36c3b2ff8167/3404.contentimage_5F00_204098.jpg:620:465]

[View:/resized-image/__size/620x465/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-6f430115-8045-431b-97aa-36c3b2ff8167/1351.contentimage_5F00_204099.jpg:620:465]

I tried to make a video of how it works but my camera doesn't handle the low light well enough to show anything.

I hope to get out later tonight and give the new unit a good 5 mile test.

John

RE: Walking in the Dark

Robert Peter Oakes — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 04:17:55 GMT

So basically were talking about the equivalent of Car FOG lights [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-6f430115-8045-431b-97aa-36c3b2ff8167/5102.contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16], a nice project

RE: Walking in the Dark

bibliopetrila — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 17:06:39 GMT

Oh, this is great for walking on the mountains! Congrats! [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-6f430115-8045-431b-97aa-36c3b2ff8167/3716.contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16]

RE: Walking in the Dark

jw0752 — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 12:55:40 GMT

Just a follow up. I currently have 14 hours of walking on the unit and the 9 volt battery is still going strong. No more tripping on pot holes and raised sidewalks either. I do get the ocassional look from people wondering why the old man is wearing an ankle bracelet.

John

RE: Walking in the Dark

mahmood.hassan — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 07:50:20 GMT

This is The "out of box idea" [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-6f430115-8045-431b-97aa-36c3b2ff8167/contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16]

RE: Walking in the Dark

colporteur — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 12:44:22 GMT

Can I borrow the calculator sitting on the desk behind the boot?

The batteries in my reverse polish notation HP calculator are dead:)

Nice simple, elegant project.

Sean

RE: Walking in the Dark

genebren — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 23:56:24 GMT

John,

Another cleaver device. Walking at night can be treacherous, so I can see how this would help.

I used to teach electronics in a private (for profit) school that had classes from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm. I would get home so wound up that I would take to streets and walk through the neighborhood in an attempt to unwind. It helped a lot, but I did need to get the distance up enough to help. By the time I was done and relaxed, it was between 12:00 and 1:00.

Gene

RE: Walking in the Dark

DAB — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 19:38:57 GMT

Nice build John.

DAB

RE: Walking in the Dark

dougw — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 17:30:53 GMT

Another great [mention:f80b53cee57c44bc9d7c577d07d7c791:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] invention.

I also do 11PM or later walks with my wife - she calls it getting me away from the computer, but it is a great activity that allows us to converse. When at home we both have zillions of projects on the go, so we don't tend to just sit around and talk. Our neighborhood is well lit so we never take a light, although a vehicle warning light might be a good idea.

RE: Walking in the Dark

beacon_dave — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:54:12 GMT

Perhaps could add a sound-to-light mode for when you reach the party... Have your own colour-chase effect at your feet to show off your foot work [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-6f430115-8045-431b-97aa-36c3b2ff8167/contentimage_5F00_3.png:16:16]

I recall similar issues with bicycles at night, where you ideally need separate areas of lighting. Close-up to highlight the hazards like grates and pot holes similar to your 'boot headlights' and distant (like the flashlight) to see where you are heading generally plus to be able to read sign posts. At times you want lights which follow the handlebar movement and other times lights which don't...

RE: Walking in the Dark

clem57 — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 10:20:46 GMT

Nice idea. I used to do the same for most the same reason. That is until after 911, a cop car pulled me over and made me sit on the ground! Keep up the good work.

Clem

RE: Walking in the Dark

dubbie — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 08:57:37 GMT

I like this idea. I have played around with the idea of shining alight virtually parallel to the ground (or other flatish surfaces) for some time, being fascinated by how the surface contours are made visible. My aim was to make some device that would determine surface roughness, although really it is probably better described as surface flatness. Some sort of image processing could then be used to identify peaks and troughs. I have never really progressed beyond the idea!

It would be interesting to see how little light is needed to achieve the desired effect as your eyes adjust to the darkness levels. It could maybe start brighter if the off interval was short and then reduce in brightness as your eyes adjust. This would also save power.

Dubbie