Make a Manual Head Lamp Flasher for Your Scooter/bike to Warn Pedestrians

Hi there Instructables! Let me introduce you to my first project the manual flasher! The flasher is something I created out of necessity. You see due to the lack of bike lanes in my area I need to ride my scooter on the sidewalk. Now the sidewalk is obviously occupied by pedestrians (mostly at night), so warning them about the presence of a vehicle is very important. You may say that a normal bell should be enough to warn them, but in my experience bells are not always that effective especially with cars and headphone/earphone users. So i took some inspiration from cars and decided to make brights or a flash for my scooter. To do so, I initially wanted to install a second light on my scooter but I didn't know where to put the batteries for this separate light and also how to make the housing for the led. So then I decided that I could cover up the head light of my scooter to make it flash. But that is incredibly dangerous as I'd be left with only one hand holding the handlebars. To solve this I came up with the manual flasher. It uses the same principal as my hand over the headlamp idea. Essentially it covers up the LED that was already installed on the scooter from factory. Let me show you how I made it....

Supplies

To make the manual flasher you'll need:

1) A single use aluminum food container or a soda can (or anything that can provide you with a sheet of metal)

2) Toothpick

3) Popsicle stick (if you're using a soda can then this is unnecessary)

4) Rubber band

5) String ( I used beading wire)

6) A small diameter tube of any kind

Tools:

1) Scissors

2) Nail

3) Duct tape

4) Pen

5) Screw

6) A ruler

Step 1: Flattening Out Your Metal

In this step you need to flatten out your metal. In my case I had to undo all the folds that gave this container a 3d shape. If you're using a soda can cut off the ends and then cut along the length and you're done!

Step 2: Make the Housing

Measure your light and make a housing. If you own the same scooter as me i.e. xiaomi m365 then this step should be easy. However if you have a segway scooter then it could be a bit difficult. Make sure to leave some extra material at the front. Fold it to make the front less sharp. Repeat this step if you're not using a soda can

Step 3: Strengthening the Housing (optional)

Use the Popsicle stick to make the aluminum stronger.This step is optional if you're using a soda can.

Step 4: Tapering the Front

Taper the front of the housing this is mostly cosmetic. To do so fold it as shown above.

Step 5: Make the Flap

On the housing make two holes opposite each other for the toothpick to pass through. Make sure that the holes are really close to the place where the headlamp will end and the over hang will begin. The toothpick will act as the fulcrum for the flap. Cut out a strip of metal that is double the length of your headlamp. Put some excess Popsicle stick in between the two halves to strengthen the flap. Make sure the Popsicle stick piece is a little shorter than one half of the metal strip. Now, insert the toothpick though the two holes previously made on the housing. Slide one half of the strip under the toothpick. Put some glue on both halves of the flap and squeeze them together. Now you've just completed the most important part of the build.

(You'll notice that the flap is a little shorter this is fine as it would be better if a little bit of your light shines through.)

Step 6: Add the Rubber Band

This is also a fairly simple step. make two holes, one through the flap and one through the housing. Make sure the holes line up. feed a cut rubber band through the holes and tie the two ends. for a cleaner look tape the rubber band down with duct tape instead of tying it. This step will mark the end of our work with the flasher.

Step 7: Fitting the Tube and Wiring

Tape a small piece of tubing under your headlamp. make sure its right under the light. Feed some wire through the tube. Tie one end of the wire to a place easily accessible to your fingers.( In my case I used a canal on the handle bars to feed the wire under the mounting point of the brake lever then tied the wire to my brake lever.) Install the flasher on to your headlamp and then feed the other end of the wire through the hole on the flap and tie it to the rubber band.

Step 8: Finishing Touches

Cut off excess toothpick and use tape to decorate. Congratulations you've made your very own manual flasher. Simply pull the wire to cover the lamp then release to uncover. this will allow you to create a flashing effect to warn cars and pedestrians to move out of the way.