making a 'nuclear' rated rear red light system

[marka-ee]

Okay, so I'm thinking of getting a Velomobile to play with, but I'm reading about how they are so low and invisible to cars, and I do have some experience with this because I already have a trike which is quite low and also suffers from the same problem. So here's my game plan:
get or build an LED strip that's perhaps comprised of ten 3 watt LEDs strung in a small strip and have that be kind of a strobe system during the day and a mixed strobe and dim light system during the night. On the Velomobile, I think I would run a flag and actually have this glued to the fiberglass shaft of the flag up high so that it's more visible to any idiot.
I can't seem to find any LED strips on Amazon that have the kind of ratings I want for outdoor use. So I might have to buy some Luxion type LED chips that are on little circuit boards and then wire these together in series.These LEDs are now dirt cheap. You can get 10 or 20 of them for just a few dollars. Before I endeavor such an electronics project, does anybody have any commercially available options that they know of that I should consider? Regular bike rear lights don't cut it no matter what fancy brand it is as far as I've seen so far. But correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

 

[Chalo]

Maybe look at one of the many different red lights for forklifts. They're very bright and have roadworthy construction. Most don't strobe, but do run on the battery voltages most of us use. You might be able to rig a timer circuit to flash it if that's key to your application.

One example:

Waterproof 30W RED LED Line Forklift Truck Warning Lamp Safety Working Light USA | eBay

• There are Total 30W high intensity CREE LEDs on the lamp, which produce superior light output. • Power: 30W. 1 x 30W Led Forklift Warning Light. • It can be used on any 10-80V application, including forklift, trucks, cars and anything you can think of.

www.ebay.com

 

[amberwolf]

There are lightpoles for various vehicle uses that may do what you want. Sometimes they are called Whip Lights for offroad vehicles.

There's a group of people in my area that dangerously ride incredibly loud-piped illegal non-plated offroad buggys around the streets who only have those for lights; they almost always ride between midnight and dawn, brapping their engines loud enough to rattle windows as they go by. If you happen to be totally deaf and unable to feel vibration, you can still tell where they are by the brightness of their light poles even blocks away as they light up the trees and utility poles and such. Some of them use multicolored (or changing-colors) poles, and some use single-color (usually red).

Once (that i have seen, implying many more times that I have not) over the years there was a crashes or collision with a parked vehicle causing the buggy to flip, and the light pole was undamaged and still lighting up the area as the ambulance and other emergency vehicles arrived. So there's at least one quite durable brand out there.


Regarding regular light strips, you can look thru my CrazyBike2 and SB Cruiser threads for ones to avoid--none of the strips have been particularly durable even just running on the trike (without any kind of handling, bending, etc). They're cheap so I just replace them when I have to, every few years (ish). :/


But the trailer/truck DOT lights on my SB Cruiser's rear surface have been great, no water intrusion issues, etc., so if you need large-surface-area bright tail / turn signals, I can definitely recommend those. There are links to them in the thread as well as various images of their installation and usage.