solution for dim incandescent tail light

[accrocker]

70 lumen LED element. Ideally populating a new tail light on my bike within the next month or two.

[Teutonics]

Cool... where to buy, how much, etc?  How is the side-to-side dispersion?

[Slide Panda]

Where to buy? Looks like someone raided the BWM parts bin - it's is a DIY jobbie...

[Bill in OKC]

That is a lot of wiring for a diode - there is a lot going on there.  I'd like to see how that strip in the background lights up ...  and know what you're going to do with it 

[accrocker]

The strip in the background was salvaged from a damaged bmw X5 third brake light housing. I was thinking about cannibalizing some of the small leds to build a running light array to save myself the trouble of trying to vary the amperage to the main diodes to create a brake/running light effect. The circuit is a constant current supply designed to keep the current stable at about 600mA regardless of input voltage. It is a bit more complicated than necessary, and could be replaced with a microcontroller based led driver, but I already had it built in my toolbox so I plugged it in just to see it light up. I bought the parts at san diego electronics supply in kearny mesa. If you are a local who is interested the guys that work there are great! The led cost $4, the parts to build the current supply circuit cost another $3. They only had the one led in stock, but said that by the end of the week they should have some more. I am thinking I will probably use 4 diodes total mounted to an aluminum heat sink for the rear light. These things get stinking hot!!! The light dispersion is awesome! The lens that is mounted to the diode give a 120 degree visible range. There are separate optics available to mount over the diode if you want a tighter dispersion pattern, but I think that with the diffuser in the stock tail light lens, none should be needed.