Lighting up the night.

[akirk]

Fair enough! But then this is the real world, and nothing can ever be perfect

If you get this knowledgeable before even taking your test - then I think an expectation of perfection is not too unreasonable!

Preaching to the converted here, vicar.
I, being deaf, have a natural tendency to look much further ahead than my parents, and so I often spot the little clues up ahead that tell me what the road is going to do.
I recall a drive back from Wales, and we were driving along dark roads that wiggled their way around the hills/mountains, and we were overtaken by someone in a Renault Senic, and I was still seeing their rear lights even from about half a mile away, on the other side of a 'u-turn' that was coming up, and I was expecting it when we came upon it, but my father wasn't, and was predictably surprised by the u-turn.

Fair point - and interesting example - fascinating to understand how reduction in one sense can see others heightened - very useful.

Not asking about how you operated them

I meant did they work in the same fashion as the modern cars, or was it a mechanical job involving the whole headlight unit moving about a bit?

big old switch leading to a wire - so other than the stamping on them being different - otherwise exactly the same it just switches an electrical circuit on / off...

Alasdair

[TheInsanity1234]

Here's the thing I find weird. Me being deaf results in what is a normal night-time drive for my dad, is a terrifying experience for me.
This is because he is exactly what you would expect him to be, he has a tendency to look within 15 cm of the front of the bonnet. Which means driving along at 50 mph in pitch black darkness with only the dipped beam doesn't perturb him, as he's looking where it's all lit up.
I, on the other hand, often look forwards, which means I'm just staring into blackness, which does mean bends and whatnot do come upon you very suddenly, which doesn't make for a relaxing ride.

Regarding the headlight units, I only asked about the workings because I'm certain that one of my old teachers remembered her first car having a mechanical dipper, which meant her headlights were on main beam all the time, and you had to push on a pedal, which would tilt the whole lighting unit forwards which resulted in a dipped beam.

Either that, or I've grossly misunderstood what she meant when we were discussing cars.

[akirk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp

the 1917 Cadillac system allowed the light to be dipped with a lever inside the car rather than requiring the driver to stop and get out.

would suggest that mechanically dipped headlights were the original approach - but we are perhaps 100 years or so on from that! At least we don't have to get out to dip the lights!

Alasdair

[TripleS]

How did it work?....Press on/press off...

I rather liked them

Ah, so you're not exactly new to driving, either. Pension starts arriving soon, does it?

[TripleS]

However - you shouldn't really be in a situation where on arriving at a junction a car arrives at the junction in that moment and you haven't seen them further back - they will have headlights on - you will / should spot those as they approach from further back, even if you can't see the car - you will notice their lights in ample time to dip yours before your lights affect them - so should never be an issue...

Fair enough! But then this is the real world, and nothing can ever be perfect

Night time is great for the extra clue you are given by lights shining ahead of a car around a bend / from a turning - it can allow you knowledge earlier than you would receive it in day time... I am just back from a drive with Andy Morrison today and one of the points of discussion was how you can pick up clues across a field in the distance so that you are able to predict what you will find two bends ahead - we managed to predict a dustcart / some horses / a hump-backed bridge and a passat driven erratically by an elderly driver! Ideally you never want to drive into an unknown situation - and at night time - use the lights to give you that clue...

Preaching to the converted here, vicar.
I, being deaf, have a natural tendency to look much further ahead than my parents, and so I often spot the little clues up ahead that tell me what the road is going to do.
I recall a drive back from Wales, and we were driving along dark roads that wiggled their way around the hills/mountains, and we were overtaken by someone in a Renault Senic, and I was still seeing their rear lights even from about half a mile away, on the other side of a 'u-turn' that was coming up, and I was expecting it when we came upon it, but my father wasn't, and was predictably surprised by the u-turn.

I never knew cars actually had floor-mounted dippers?!
How did they work?

big metal switch on the floor to the left of the clutch you stamp on - once for on once for off:

image from http://www.mg-cars.net

you can see it here quite clearly...

Alasdair

Not asking about how you operated them

I meant did they work in the same fashion as the modern cars, or was it a mechanical job involving the whole headlight unit moving about a bit?

No, not the whole headlamp so far as I know. Early dipping systems operated by having a small solenoid somewhere within the headlamp assembly, and that used to move the reflector into a dipped position. Later on it all became fixed and we had twin filament bulbs, one filament for dipped beam and another one for main beam, and you had one or the other illuminated as required.

Having said that, I believe some cars had just the dip filament working to provide the dipped beam, and both filaments working when main beam was in use.

There may be errors in what I've said there, but that's been my understanding.

[revian]

How did it work?....Press on/press off...

I rather liked them

Ah, so you're not exactly new to driving, either. Pension starts arriving soon, does it?

yup.... March! And a move to Wirral

Ian

[TripleS]

How did it work?....Press on/press off...

I rather liked them

Ah, so you're not exactly new to driving, either. Pension starts arriving soon, does it?

yup.... March! And a move to Wirral

Ian

Ah right, but you'd have done better to end up a chunk further east. Driving round here is, at times, not so different from how it was in the 1960s: relatively quiet roads and nice roads, too.

Anyhow, moving home can be a trying time, so I hope it goes well for you. Eileen and I sold our place in Scarborough a few months ago (a small flat with no garden), moved in temporarily with our son, just outside Whitby, and then bought a bungalow with a huge garden just half a mile down the lane from him. Talk about going from one extreme to the other! Well that's what we've done, and we love the place, but there's a lot to do, inside and out.

It makes me wonder why I spend so much time here: I expect that thought will have crossed other minds, too.

[revian]

Dave...TripleS...Whitby...are you 'Goth' then?

I am a Tyke....Passed my test in Redcar... 1967... Drove around the N Yorks moors when home from London in the later 60s... Lovely roads... Fresh air... Snow... Moved round the country since then...

Ian

[revian]

Preaching to the converted here, vicar.

Oi! I hope there's not another one on this forum. I'd assumed a 'religious superiority'

[TripleS]

Dave...TripleS...Whitby...are you 'Goth' then?

I am a Tyke....Passed my test in Redcar... 1967... Drove around the N Yorks moors when home from London in the later 60s... Lovely roads... Fresh air... Snow... Moved round the country since then...

Ian

Er, 'Goth', no, but I might be a bit weird in my own way at times.

[TheInsanity1234]

No, not the whole headlamp so far as I know. Early dipping systems operated by having a small solenoid somewhere within the headlamp assembly, and that used to move the reflector into a dipped position. Later on it all became fixed and we had twin filament bulbs, one filament for dipped beam and another one for main beam, and you had one or the other illuminated as required.

Having said that, I believe some cars had just the dip filament working to provide the dipped beam, and both filaments working when main beam was in use.

There may be errors in what I've said there, but that's been my understanding.

Well I know on the Clio we had previously, we had a dipped beam, then in a entirely separate casing was the main beam. The same with the Galaxy
Much more sensible, as if the dipped beam bulb blew, you didn't need to replace the main beam bulb too, and vice versa.
The Yeti we have currently has a dual-filament bulb, so one filament is dipped and one is the main beam. The issue with those bulbs is they require the whole thing to be replaced if one filament blows, but that is a minor issue anyway, since they're so cheap.

However, and there is a however.
I find the Yeti to be much better at spreading the light beam out on the main beam, as it uses the whole reflector unit, whereas the Galaxy and the Clio tend to throw out a very narrow beam of light, so it's like a spotlight.

Fine when the road is straight, terrible when it's windy, as the Yeti will light up the inside of the corners even on main beam, but the Galaxy won't, despite the fact the dipped beam remains on along with the main beam.

It is weird.

[jont]

It is weird.

I suspect the regs on main beam patterns are more lax than dipped.

/still never found anything quite as good as a pair of Cibie Oscars. But when you dip, it all goes horribly dark

[TheInsanity1234]

It is weird.

I suspect the regs on main beam patterns are more lax than dipped.

/still never found anything quite as good as a pair of Cibie Oscars. But when you dip, it all goes horribly dark

That's the issue with the Yeti, the main beam is so good that when you dip, it's very dark, but it's not such an issue on my dad's car because the main beam is so useless you don't really miss it when it's on dipped

[playtent]

I have high beam assist. Now I'm still getting used to it as its a strange experience for quite a while. As the car has adaptive headlights, they switch on to high beam and when a car approaches, the o/s high beam turns outwards until the oncoming vehicle is within dazzle range and then to dip and the near side turns towards the kerb progressively until the car is so close that it has to dip. If your going around a left hand bend then the inner light doesn't dip at all.
When the car comes up behind someone the high beam stays on but both lights split to give a dark V in front of the car so it doesn't dazzle the vehicle in front. When you get close, then the lights will eventual dip and pull back straight. It's like a light show with inner and outer lights on and off at different times. If your going around a right hand bend the o/s light stays on and turns further to the o/s whilst the near side turns off!
It really is fool proof! That suits me and would be ideal for someone like JohnC,

[jont]

It really is fool proof! That suits me and would be ideal for someone like JohnC,

If operating a main/dip switch is so challenging, I'd really rather I wasn't sharing the road with you at all

/luddite