I muttered last week about the project to make the Xtracycle’s hub dynamo actually produce some light for the extra weight it provided. Unfortunately this would involve working with electric circuits, which are populated by gremlins, which hate me.

When the front light worked first time it was, therefore, rather a surprise.

After soldering the switch on and making a complete rat’s nest of wires in the deluxe switch housing unit, I spun the wheel, and the headlight worked again. Much euphoria. I wired the rear LED light to the system directly to test it.

The back light worked too.

I wound the wire through the Xtracycle frame and connected the rear light again.

Nothing.

The back light was dead, and now the front was sulking too.

This was electronics as I remembered it. I poked at wires, checked what was connected to what, and put them back again exactly as they were before.

Suddenly both lights worked: I had a working dynamo light system and I hadn’t blown anything up. Medals all around, celebratory lap of the village, waited for sunset so I could test the lights out. Lights visible from space, started to think about about fitting capacitor so front light has continual beam at stop signs.

I’ll keep the battery lights to hand in case the Gremlins decide to get stroppy later.

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