Brake Light Controller with Head Light Output

[heyok]

For $20 you can add this to your rig.



It plugs in between your receiver and ESC. When you power up your electronics, it self calibrates and turns on the brake lights. Give it some throttle in the forward or reverse direction and the brake lights now glow dimly. The dim glow simulates that the park lights are on.

There is a second pair of pins that you can use to plug in your other lighting like your head lights etc.

Part number: BKHL $20

[Gear Head RC]

Nice, simple device!

What is the max current for the "Head Lights" output?

Voltage = 6V, correct?

Thanks,
Jim

[heyok]

Originally Posted by Gear Head RC

Nice, simple device!

What is the max current for the "Head Lights" output?

Voltage = 6V, correct?

Thanks,
Jim

Thank you.
Max output for the head light is whatever your BEC will provide because I just pass the power through.

The max output for the brake light circuit is 300mA

Yes, 6 volts is the max. More should be okay, but it will heat it up a bit.

[Arctic Fire]

Will this work with the stock axial SCX-10 lights hooked up directly to the pins on the output? Or do i need some sort of voltage regulator for those leds. I am not sure if they are voltage regulated through the axial "lighting controller".

[heyok]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fire

Will this work with the stock axial SCX-10 lights hooked up directly to the pins on the output? Or do i need some sort of voltage regulator for those leds. I am not sure if they are voltage regulated through the axial "lighting controller".

I don't know the answer as I haven't seen these particular lights. My controllers switch the voltage they get from the receiver, which is usually from 5 to 6 volts. Maybe someone else that is reading this and has used those lights can advise us?

[Olle P]

Originally Posted by heyok

... the brake lights now glow dimly.

Why?

I wanted the rear "floodlight" on my crawler to be shining bright while "on" and totally off when "off", but I only had the voltage low enough to get it dim while off. To really shut it off I added a standard diode in series with the rear LED, and adjusted the resistor to match the increased voltage.

Do the same (add a diode in series with the break light) here and the brake lights should be completely off, right?

[heyok]

Originally Posted by Olle P

Why?

I wanted the rear "floodlight" on my crawler to be shining bright while "on" and totally off when "off", but I only had the voltage low enough to get it dim while off. To really shut it off I added a standard diode in series with the rear LED, and adjusted the resistor to match the increased voltage.

Do the same (add a diode in series with the break light) here and the brake lights should be completely off, right?

I want to say "why" too. I made them light dimly as a feature. Just like when the park lights are on. I make other versions of the brake light controller that don't have this feature.
Adding your diode might make the led turn off, and but will make it less bright when it is on.

[Olle P]

Originally Posted by heyok

I made them light dimly as a feature.

I see... might be useful if you want to have combined tail and break lights...

Originally Posted by heyok

Adding your diode ... will make it less bright when it is on.

No it won't.
- Assume the red LED is 2.8V 20mA nominal and the voltage feed is 6.0V.
Then you'd use a 180ohm resistor to limit the current of the 3.2V drop through it.
- Add an 0.7V diode to the equation.
Then you'd use a 120ohm resistor to limit the current of the 2.5V drop through it.

[heyok]

Originally Posted by Olle P

I see... might be useful if you want to have combined tail and break lights...

No it won't.
- Assume the red LED is 2.8V 20mA nominal and the voltage feed is 6.0V.
Then you'd use a 180ohm resistor to limit the current of the 3.2V drop through it.
- Add an 0.7V diode to the equation.
Then you'd use a 120ohm resistor to limit the current of the 2.5V drop through it.

Good job. I wasn't expecting you to use Ohm's law and recalculate the resistor values.

By the way, I am about to release another version of the brake light controller. This one will only have a brake light output. It won't run dim to simulate park lights. Buyers will have the option of adding a pair of red LEDs that will plug into it. Should have that posted up in the next day or so.