LED rugged 12v light for front of property?

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Hi, I'm looking for something as above which I can mount on a short post at my front gate. My plan is to have it controllable remotely from a device I have with me so that when returning home in a cab the driver can see it flashing. In my area with so much parking it is almost impossible for the driver to see the house numbers on the fence. I'd use an existing 12v transformer from some old tungsten globe lights, now all disintegrating due to the weather over the years. I don't want rechargeable solar light rubbish as it has to always work and be bright enough to be seen in day or night. Ideally a globe or lantern with a wide viewing angle.

any thoughts? Brian

[Owain Lastname]

I would use an ordinary mains bulkhead type lampholder (which you can get with red glass) and fit a 12 volt B22 bayonet bulb known as "bus bulbs" from their use on vintage buses.

130 lumen, 1.6 watts, £8.29 350 lumen, 2.6 watts, £8.10 2100 lumen, 30 watts, 12 volt floodlight, £39 or vehicle-mounted work lights / spotlights.

But if you have flashing coloured lights you won't need it to be so bright.

Owain

[Colin Bignell]

Try looking for warning beacons. I can't provide links, as I don't know how the sites would work with your browser.

Those designed for use on cars will be 12v. However, as Alan_m suggests, you could instead mount one on the house wall and run it from the mains.

[Robin]

I've 2 worries about a short post by the gate. One is what remote will work reliably if it is screened by parked vehicles. The other is vandalism.

If you need it right by the gate (so the driver can not just see where you live but guide you to the gate) I w> Hi, I'm looking for something as above which I can mount on a short post at

[Jeff Layman]

Apart from the comments regarding the positioning of the lamp, I am wondering about the remote control. From inside a car these don't often have great range (Faraday effect of the car body) unless directly through the windscreen. Then again, will the radio signal be obscured by the parked cars?

[Adrian Caspersz]

What three words?

Hey cabbie! take me to

slurs this shark

(appropriate!)

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Hmm, interesting, NO I don't really want to have odd looking gates. I was also thinking about something on the wall as the front garden is only about

15 ft long, as for destruction, well, In the main the old globe light only had one attack some years ago, and if I mounted it height enough to be seen over the cars in the road then unless the person carried around a hacksaw or a screwdriver. I doubt it would be destroyed. I'd not want it on all the time, people would be able to see it and it would draw attention, so switching it on remotely should not be an issue, as I've done it before with a little remote in my pocket, but also of course there are many other ways these days. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

I wonder what the viewing angle might be. I still think the house might not be where some of the drivers I've had might be actually looking. It that were the case some gynormous house numbers above the door would do, but other blind folk have tried this sort of thing and that seems not to be very good for some people. I guess if you were smart then driving a minicab might not be your choice of job? Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Are they not mains ones? I'm not taking mains outside as it is a safety issue. If they do do them 12v then that might be a good idea. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Hmm, I think flashing coloured lights might be a step too far, and floodlights would be rather overkill and have a restricted viewing angle. Thanks for the links. I have to say that when I see the word solar in a link I assume it is a solar light, which is not what I want, it had not occurred to me that it might just be part of the link and have nothing to do with solar at all. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

No tried that, they do not seem to understand such things! I'm not too worried about vandalism if its rugged on top of a post. In my experience vandals like easy targets, the most one usually gets is bicycle tyres thrown over the lamp posts or spray paint on Virgin green boxes. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

No my old globe light with a push in bulb had a mains switch that you plugged in in the hall and a wireless pocket controller, If you held it close to the ca window it worked from I'd say almost 50 feet away. It was of course further if you were walking. The battery did need to be checked regularly, it was one of those little cylinder shaped ones with several cells inside. I'm taking the opportunity with the demise of the old one to install something better. Drawing attention to the property permanently is going to result in a break in when I'm out almost certainly, but a modest ordinary thing like a light seems to be just accepted as normal.

I'll have to have a think, as the on house idea might be good, maybe with a flat panel with numbers on the front to make them shine at night. The majority of folk never look up, well yob wise, so only those I want to see it would perhaps. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Well, I'm not sure how accurate that is, if its based on satnav, then not very. When I stand outside my house it puts me on the other side of the road several houses down. Its not just my phone, this happens to everyone. and I suspect its reflections from the houses or somesuch. So if I stand at 64, it says I'm at 79 etc or 44. That is why for us folk, there is something called the last ten yards problem to find a door!

Brian

[Martin Brown]

Depending on the layout and light spill from the taxi headlamps how about an entirely passive retro reflective numbers on a plate that reflects back your house number. Something like this or DIY by cutting from retroreflective self adhesive tape:

Passive devices tend to be a lot more reliable than anything that requires power to work.

I favour a high contrast number on a pole double sided and perpendicular to the direction of the road. I have something similar on my own house since in the dark it can be hard for delivery drivers to spot.

Many drives around here have red retro reflectors for the same reason.

[alan_m]

If you take a walk down the street where I live you will find that the majority of people have there house numbers, no more than an inch high, on their front door where many of the doors are set back into a open porch, hence shaded from any street lighting.

I have my house number on the front wall where it can be easily seen. It is 3 inches high on a square of day-glow yellow perspex. My neighbour has a similar more upmarket approach but theirs is cast iron painted plaque.

[Colin Bignell]

What Three Words claims they can accurately direct you to a 3 metre x 3 metre square, so 10 feet rather than ten yards.

Colin Bignell

[The Other John]

I don't think Brian would want a red light, it might give people the wrong idea! ;)

[Robin]

What3Words identifies a 3x3 m square but it's then up to your navigation software to translate that onto its map and get you there. And GPS is typically accurate only to within a 5 m radius in open country - and more than that in built-up areas. I find it unusable for driving directions in parts of the City.

[Colin Bignell]

Perhaps Brian needs something distinctive on his house, to make it obvious when coming down the raod:

[Murmansk]

You can get pairs of red LEDs that are battery powered and intended to be put in a dummy burglar alarm box to make it look like it's a real one. They flash all the time and claim to last ten years on the supplied battery, mine has lasted for nearly five years so far. But you might need something a bit more attention-grabbing.