[MacGyver]

Hey guys and gals!

I'm sure some of you are on s2ki, s2kca, s2katlanta, etc., so you may have seen these before, but if not, enjoy!

MacGyver's Animated LED Brakelights
(for MY’00-’03… MY‘04+ will be made with enough interest)

Nearly two years in the making (deja vu?), these were introduced at Fall Colors '07 (late October)... and at a lower price than originally estimated! The final animation sequence (the prior holdup) has been coded, and I have to admit this thing looks pretty sweet in action. I’ve made several adjustments based upon user feedback, and this bad boy is ready to be released from the stable.

Sold in pairs, each brakelight module consists of four (4) concentric rings of high-brightness, surface-mount LEDs and several user-selectable animation modes. The running light modes and braking modes are independent of each other and are selected separately.

The running light modes, or those that happen when the brake pedal is first pressed, include:
1) Standard Mode --- Operates just like a standard brakelight, all rings are lit half-intensity when on, full-intensity when the brake pedal is pressed.
2) Expansion --- The inner ring is lit at half-intensity when on. When the brake pedal is pressed, it switches to full-intensity, followed by the remaining rings switching from off to full-intensity in an outward fashion. See an example animation of this option here.
3) Contraction --- Opposite of Expansion, with the outer ring normally lit at half-intensity, followed by an inward rush of lights. See an example animation of this option here.

The braking modes, or those that happen after the brake is held for several seconds (such as while at a stoplight), include:
color=blue]4) Standard[/color] --- Operates just like a standard brakelight, all rings remain at full-intensity while the brake pedal is pressed.
4) Expansion --- A ring of half-intensity lights is sent in a wave from the inner to the outer ring, repeating once every two seconds.
5) Contraction --- Similar to the Expansion mode listed above, but the wave moves from the outer to the inner rings.
6) Pulse --- A combination of Expansion and Contraction, the wave starts in the center, pulses outwards, the reverses direction back towards the center, repeating once every two seconds.

An example of the Contraction running lights mode with the Pulse brake lights mode can be seen here.

For the videos above, it is suggested to set your video player to repeat the video sequence since these are quite short. They do not show the brightness, but you can see how the video camera stops the lens down when you "hit the brakes" due to the brightness. (Note: The lines you see in the video are due to the fact that I'm using a digital camera and the LEDs are blinked on/off at roughly the sample rate of the video. There is no visible blinking of the LEDs.)

Installation:
Installation requires a moderate amount of work, including removing your taillights from the car and some cutting of plastic. This is not a difficult job, but as with all modifications there is always the possibility of making a mistake... attempt at your own risk. I do not offer installation services (though someone is free to step in and offer their services for a fee), nor should you expect me to be held responsible for any mistakes you may make. A full set of installation instructions will be provided with the kit. NOTE: This modification should be considered, for all intents and purposes, non-reversible. While the cuts necessary to install this modification will not prevent you from re-installing incandescent bulbs and sealing the cuts made, I make no guarantees as to the operation and/or appearance of the taillight.

Installation instructions can be found here.
Operation instructions can be found here.
Cost:
A kit consisting of 2 units (1 for each brakelight) and a set of instructions costs $170 shipped anywhere within the contiguous 48 states. As always, prior customers of my products (including products from Hi-Tec Designs) will receive a discount, lowering the cost to $155 shipped. The price on these is going to go up after the initial orders are fulfilled, so don't wait for that rainy day.

Options:
For an extra $15, I will also provide sockets that will make the units plug-n-play with the stock wiring, removing the need to cut into your existing taillight wiring. (Could Honda make those things ANY more expensive?!)

Payment:
Payment can be made through PayPal using your bank account to MacGyverS2000@gmail.com (no credit card orders through PayPal, please). Once the initial series of orders has been filled, you will be able to place orders through my website, http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com , (at an increased price) using a credit card. Obviously cash is always acceptable , but personal checks will not be accepted. Roughly 25 kits will be made in the first batch (half of which have already been claimed), and only a significant number of requests over that amount will make me manufacture more, so make sure you get your order in... if prior products show any indication of interest levels, this one should go quickly.


I will accept PayPal orders for this group through Friday (11/2/07), after that only website orders will be accepted. Please include your full name, address and phone number in the notes section, as well as what site you saw this on and your screen name (so I can match up orders). I will only ship to the verified address on your account, so please don't ask me to ship elsewhere.


The Future:
Once these are off of the design table and in production, I will also be making turn and reverse light replacements. Same deal... bright LEDs, animations, etc. I do not have a forecasted finish date on these (and for those that know me, that's no surprise!), but the interest level in my dash upgrade is probably going to force me to crank them out sooner rather than later.

Thanks,
Dan, a.k.a. MacGyver