Accord Headlights - HID Projector Retrofit

Have you ever faced such problem that when you drive your car home at night, you could not see the road surface ahead because the poor visibility. The headlamps of your car didn't provide strong enough light to illuminate the road in front, so it was hard for you to operate your car's speed and driving direction. Such a situation may have happened to you many times. Actually you should have your car's headlamps checked and go to the auto part aftermarket to get brand new pair to install on your car.
As a matter of fact, the headlamps of a car perform a vital role in protecting the car and people from being damaged and hurt in possible car crash or collision, by their illuminating function. To enhance the driving safety, nearly every headlamp is made with HID, projector, led as well as halo rims (angel eyes). These items can also make the appearance of the headlamps more beautiful.

Once your current headlamps need replacing, you can get a brand new pair with these items to upgrade your headlamp's performance. All types of the top-of-the-art headlamps can be found at the aftermarket. You can select whatever you like and think can match your car perfectly. One thing you should remember is that the new pair you are going to buy will rightly be fit for your specific car model. In general, a pair of headlamps is specially made for only one particular car model. That is to say, you can not match the BMW E39 headlamps fitments on a Mercedes Benz W202 car, and vice versa.
Online spare parts superstores also provide car users with such products. Besides, products for sale online are much cheaper than the corresponding OEM ones.

Safe and Stylish HID Bulbs for Your Car

In the United States of America and Canada, conventional halogen headlights are gradually being replaced by HID bulbs as more car owners are looking to enhance the look of their vehicle as well as giving it a performance boost.

Composition of HID headlights

HID stands for High Intensity Discharge and refers to the manner in which light is produced by the bulb. HID bulbs have no metal filament but instead, around 20,000 volts is used to ignite the xenon gas and metal halide held within a sealed glass tube between two electrodes above the base of the bulb. A car's normal voltage is twelve volts so a ballast is used to generate the extra initial power to illuminate the bulb. The light produced is three times brighter than a halogen bulb.

Advantages of using HID headlights - safety and efficiency

Not only do HID kits improve the look of your car, they are also a safety feature. HID lights are three times brighter than ordinary halogen headlights. This gives a significantly clearer view of the road which is especially useful for travelling at night and in the rain. According to statistics, sixty percent of accidents which occur at night are caused by poor lighting. Studies conducted on drivers' reaction speed to roadway obstacles using halogen lamps and HID bulbs found that drivers were faster and more accurate in responding to obstacles when their vehicles were fitted with HID headlight bulbs.
The bulbs are also very durable, being designed to last up to ten times longer than conventional halogen headlights. HID lights have an average life span of three thousand hours compared to a halogen bulb which lasts around three hundred hours. They are also shock-resistant as there is no filament in the bulb since the light emits from plasma material. The ballasts also prevent dust and water from entering the HID bulb. HID kits are also energy efficient since less power is needed compared to normal halogen bulbs. Reduced power consumption means less fuel is being used and so vehicles with HID light bulbs are more environmentally friendly as they emit less carbon dioxide.

Size, brightness, color and cost considerations when buying HID headlights

Before buying a HID kit, you need to find out the H number of the halogen bulb used in your vehicle. Bulb fitment plugs come in sizes from H1 to H12. They refer to the sizes of the bulb holders in cars and differ to ensure the HID bulb you buy fits.

The letter W represents watt which is the unit of power. The higher the wattage, the more power the bulb will use. Since HID bulbs are already very bright, a 35W bulb is sufficient and gives greater illumination than a conventional halogen bulb of 55W.

There are several color options which are determined by the temperature at which the xenon gas inside the HID bulb burns. The temperature is denoted by a K on the bulb which stands for Kelvin as the unit of measurement. Therefore, a 6,000K HID bulb means that the gas inside the bulb burns at 6,000 degrees Kelvin. Hid kits range in color/temperature from 3,000K - 10,000K. The higher the Kelvin (K), the dimmer or bluer the light will be. 3,000K produces golden yellow, white with 4,300K - 5,000K, diamond white with 6,000 K; higher than this gives ice burg blue at 8,000K, brilliant blue at 10,000K and an exotic violet at 12,000K. The most popular range for HID bulbs is from 6,000K - 8,000K as they most closely resemble sunlight.

HID bulbs cost significantly more than halogen bulbs but then this has to be balanced against their increased durability and the advantages they offer drivers as well as their stylish appearance.

LED Headlamp - Pretty Handy

If you don't have a LED Headlamp you probably have seen them and thought - "hey that looks kind of geeky" or "that looks cool, but it's probably a waste of money". At least those were my impressions until recently. I'll admit I'm a sucker for gadgets, it's fun to see what neat ideas truly creative people can conjure up!
Flashlights are gadgets that have a very practical side to them and every household and every car should have one readily available. So flashlights have always been particularly interesting to me. However, until recently, I hadn't realized the usefulness of the LED Headlamp.
This past summer I had been clearing out some of the junk that had accumulated in my basement. Like most basements, I presume, there are a few corners which are poorly lit. When you are sifting through boxes of possibly soon-to-be-discarded stuff it helps to have both hands available - holding a flashlight in one of your hands really slows you down. It didn't take long for me to realize that I needed a LED Headlamp!
The headlamp I chose has six LEDs providing 4 different settings. The settings are: focused beam, floodlight, combined focused beam and floodlight, and night vision (red LED). It has a comfortable elastic headband and the back of the headlamp has foam padding. Additionally, the angle of the headlamp can easily be changed.
When I Really Needed It
Soon after buying my headlamp I helped my brother load his belongings into a rented moving van. After a long day of carrying boxes and moving furniture, we headed over to the truck rental office to hook a trailer up to the rental truck. This was well past dark, the rental office lot was poorly lit, and all the rental company people were gone. The trailer took longer than we expected, but we finally loaded his car on the back. Having the headlamp was certainly useful while attaching the trailer, but that's just the beginning.

Around 10:30 PM on a Saturday night in a part of town where you don't want to hang around, we finally were ready to drive off and call it a day. I was following my brother in my truck (F-150) and as we were pulling out I heard an agonizing sound from one of my tires. I pulled over and sure enough I had a flat. Not good news, and I really didn't feel like waiting around this part of town for help to come fix it. Fortunately there was an empty parking lot where I could park and do the change.
As anyone that has changed a flat knows, you need both hands. Plus if you are bent over looking under the car it's hard to tell someone else where you need them to point the flashlight. Fortunately for me I had my LED Headlamp. This kept both hands free and made the whole tire changing process less frustrating. Now I know, this headlamp sure is handy!

Keys4Survival.com is a family survival, emergency, and disaster preparation information site. It has preparation tips, survival product reviews, and other related information. The author of this article believes that survival preparation is an ongoing task, enables charity, and is something that all of us can and should do.

Outdoor Wall Lighting - They Have What You Want

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. Her name is Shirley. Shirley is a retired nurse whose husband passed away a few years ago. She lives by herself in a three bedroom brick ranch home a few miles away from me. We met about five years ago when I was doing some volunteer work at the local hospital where Shirley worked.
Every now and then we have Shirley over for dinner. She loves to bake and she always brings something that she baked for desert when we get together. I have to admit that she is a great cook.
When Shirley came over for dinner the other day, we were sitting around the dinner table and she brought up something that she knew I could help her out with. She was explaining how at night when she is at home and has to go outside that it was difficult for her to see her way around her house.
You see, Shirley likes to water her lawn and gardens at night. She went on to say that watering after sundown is better for her lawn and garden, because the water has does not evaporate at the surface as quickly as it does in sunlight. This gives her lawn and gardens a better drink of water, as she put it.
What Shirley was leading up to was some sort of advice for lighting up the outside of her home at night. She wanted to be able to see better and not worry about stepping on her flowers while watering.
The first thought that came to me was outside wall lighting. So I asked Shirley if she had any outside wall lighting on her house now. She said she did have a few outside wall lights, but over the years they just stopped working.
So I asked her where these non-working outside wall lights were located. She said she had one on each side of the overhead door of her garage. One wall light on the outside wall along side of her front door and two more outside wall lights on the back wall of her home where her bar-b-q deck is.
She said her main concern was along both sides of her house and not so much the front and rear walls of her home, but that she could replace the old worn outside wall lights that are already there and not operating.
After dinner my husband and Shirley went into our living room to watch some TV. I went off to do some research on Outside Wall Lighting.
My next thoughts were what style of outside wall lighting would go with her light tan brick home. I went to work. Shirley had white vinyl windows around her home, so I was determined to find a style to go with the flow, as they say.
The first outside wall lights I looked at were to replace the lights that were already on her home. For the garage, on both sides of the overhead door, I found the Alexandria White Energy Star Outdoor Wall Light. This wall lamp has a white finish, curved beveled glass, die cast aluminum construction and a motion sensor. These lights will turn automatically on when you pull into the driveway with your car. Also, these lights will automatically turn on when you walk in front of them in your driveway.

Next, I took a look at the outdoor wall lighting fixture on the wall next to her front door. Here I was thinking that the Traditional Estate White Energy Star Outdoor Wall Light or the Richmond Coach White Energy Star Outdoor Wall Light are good choices to pick from. Here Shirley could choose the wall lighting fixture she liked best.
So now I'm thinking about Shirley's outdoor wall lighting on the back wall of he home lighting up her bar-b-q deck. Here I came up with the Chesapeake One Light Outdoor Wall Lantern in White. This award winning outdoor wall lighting fixture consists of an aluminum body, white finish, clear beveled glass, suitable for wet locations and a beautiful traditional style. Shirley is sure to be pleased with this wall lamp.
Now for the final part of this project, the two side walls of Shirley's house. If you remember, here is where she wanted enough light so when she waters her lawn and garden at night, she won't step in her flower gardens.
Then it came to me. On the side walls of Shirley's house there are presently no outdoor wall lights. Also, there is no electrical wiring running to these walls to hook up any hard wired outdoor wall lighting fixtures.
The answer to this situation came to me. Here the only solution to lighting up the areas surrounding the outside side walls of her home is solar powered outdoor wall lighting. Here all you have to do is simply attach the lighting fixture to the outside wall and let nature do the rest.
I went to work. It didn't take long before I found a variety of solar powered outdoor wall lighting fixtures. The choices ranged from decorative to flood lighting. I thought to myself that all Shirley really needed to brighten up her outside side walls of her home is a flood light positioned up high in the middle of these two walls. One solar powered wall mounted flood light on the left wall and one on the right wall of her house.
I found the solution to her night lighting problem. It was the Solar System Double Head Flood Light. Put these double headed solar powered flood lights up high enough on each of the walls. Aim them on a downward angle to the left and right and these outdoor wall mounted lights will be able to light the way at night for Shirley.
When my research was finished, notebook computer in hand, I sat down on the living room couch next to Shirley. I presented her with the outdoor wall lighting solutions I found and she was excited. I offered to help her with the installation after she received her shipments of outside wall lighting. This put a smile on her face.
Hard wired or solar powered, you can install outdoor wall lighting in places that you never imagined possible years ago. Now you have the ability to light up the darkness and see the light anywhere you please.

Lamps - Flourescent, Incandescent, LED, HID, or Oil?

Could you imagine not having lamps at home? - no fluorescent lamps, study lamps, ceiling lamps? I guess not. Lamps or bulbs are so much a part of our society that we seldom give them much notice. However, we cannot imagine living without them.
Lamp comes from the Greek word "lampas", meaning torch, lamp, or beacon. Any equipment that gives off light for some duration to be used for lighting is called a lamp.
In the modern world, lamps are defined as the replaceable part of a luminaire. This contraption transforms electrical energy to both visible and non-visible electromagnetic energy.
The first thing man had to develop was fire. After developing fire, he must have thought, "Hey, I have to put this in my den so it will provide light and warmth to it." And so he took a piece of flaming firewood from the bonfire and took it inside his home. Thus the first "lamp" in the form of a torch was created.
Man's next problem was how to get those things to last longer. Over the span of time, he developed numerous ways of prolonging this light. Some of the ancients used beeswax, some used olive oil.
Soon complex means of lighting homes and streets were used. In the late 19th century, oil lamps lined the streets of England to provide lighting throughout the thoroughfares.
Then came the famed perseverance of Thomas Edison. After tiring days of back breaking work, Edison invented the incandescent lamp. And the world was changed forever.
Today the world is a big glowing lamp. Cities are bathed in streams of light from buildings, street lamps, car lights and home lighting. Because of technology, lamps today can last longer, can light brighter, and can be used more conveniently than before.

So Many Lamps, So Little Time - Kinds of Lamps
1. Oil based lamps
These are the old fashioned lamps that burn on oil, wax or other base. They are now commonly used to provide atmosphere to the home or to light areas where there is no electricity.
2. Incandescent Lamp
The incandescent lamps have come a long way. These lamps are used to provide lighting in many countries. These lamps are hot and give off light that is, in brightness, somewhere between candlelight and sunlight. Halogen lamps are a version of incandescent lamps that give a brighter light more akin to sunlight.
3. Flourescent Lamps
Fluorescent lamps give off light that is cooler than its incandescent cousin. They are very energy efficient and are easy to install and do not generate too much heat. They are very popular nowadays. Another good thing about these lamps is that they last longer than incandescent lamps.
4. HID Lamps
High-intensity discharge lighting are specialized lamps that are very powerful. They were first used for streetlights and are very energy efficient. They typically convert energy to light at an astounding 8:10 ratio.
5. LED Lamps
LED lamp technology is very promising because they give off a very bright light for very little electricity and do not heat as much as the other lamp technologies. However, they are still expensive to manufacture for lighting. They are, however, already being used for electronic displays, and accent lighting. Another upside is that they are extremely durable, LED lamps could last 100,000 hours or more! This makes the future of lamps very exciting.

LED Headlights Gaining Popularity in the Auto Industry

Light emitting diodes have been used in a number of different applications as a light source, since they were developed in the early 1960s. For the last few years, they have found an increasing amount of use as the headlamps in many automobiles, but they must be introduced as replacements in the automobile aftermarket. Installation is easy, but there are a few important considerations.
There may be several advantages and disadvantages that come with the use of LED headlights, and one of the most obvious disadvantages is the initial price. LED headlights will usually cost more than traditional halogen headlights. They can cost almost as 3 times as much, and are more heat-sensitive. Some cooling device or mechanism, such as a heat sink may be needed.
There may be some legal issues with the lights, in your region, that is regulated at the state or municipal level, and you should check with your local authorities, before you install LED headlights in your automobile. The light may be required to be of a certain brightness that is specified in lumens.
Light emitting diodes are a high-efficiency light source. The quality and brightness of the light is much better while less energy is consumed, and they also last much longer than traditional halogen lights. Because of the higher efficiency they are being used in an expanding amount of applications in both industry and residences.

• When used in automobiles, the increased brightness results in improved visibility over longer distances, which can improve safety on the roadways, when accidents are avoided.
• The average LED light may last as much as 5000 hours, which is 200 times more than the traditional halogen light. Lower replacement costs, results in considerable savings.
• The quality of the light created with LED is more natural, as the color temperatures at specific ranges, are much closer to those of natural sunlight. LED lights require almost no maintenance and emit very little heat radiation.
These are only a few of the advantages, but as the costs of manufacturing the lights are reduced, as mass adoption introduces greater cost efficiency, the cost disadvantage can very easily be overcome. It may still be a bit too early to tell whether the auto industry is going to switch completely to LED lights, but they are slowly being introduced in the luxury vehicle category. The reasons are much more than aesthetics, as they have proven to be more economical.
Recent surveys show that the top priority as far as technology is concerned for new car buyers is LED headlights.

What Makes Bluetooth Speakers a Better Choice?

The world has truly made a significant breakthrough with regards to wireless technology. One of the most used form of wireless technology is Bluetooth. It is wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances. We have Bluetooth in phones, cars, and many more. Recently, another device was made Bluetooth-capable. Professionals in the field of wireless technology have developed speakers that are Bluetooth capable. What are Bluetooth speakers? What advantages does this have over regular plug-it speakers?
Bluetooth speakers are external speakers in which you could connect with your phone, Personal Computer, and/or laptop computers for you to be able to listen to music. There are a lot of great things about this kind of speaker that makes it a step higher than regular speakers. Bluetooth speakers are power-packed in overall performance, energy-efficient, movable and portable, wireless and easy-to-use.
First of all, these speakers have no issues with regards to sound disturbances. Even if you block it with another device, it would still give you a great sound. It has an impressive sound quality than regular speakers. It is small in size but it is a lot stronger than ordinary speakers - power-packed performance.

Second, it is battery/energy efficient. There is no need for external adapters for most kinds of these speakers run using AA batteries. A fully-charged Bluetooth speaker can go up to 48 hours, non-stop! You don't have to worry if it goes off in the middle of an outdoor trip, just always remember to bring extra batteries with you.
Another reason why these speakers are a lot better than regular speakers is its portability.These speakers are movable. You could take these speakers wherever and listen to music whenever you want. These are wireless. You do not have to worry about tangled wires and mixed-up cables. There is no need to worry about a wire breaking off and damaging your device.
Lastly, these speakers do not need to be installed. It connects automatically. You do not have to go and look for drivers that will make the device work. If you are within the five meter range then you are good to go!
With the said advantages, there is no doubt that these devices are always part of the best-sellers list in various shops. Do not worry about the pricing for these devices are moderately-priced. There are also a lot of online shops which offer Bluetooth speakers with discounts.

Infrared, Wireless, Or Bluetooth Headphones?

Infrared headphones, wireless headphones, and Bluetooth headphones. Each of these categories of headphones has a techie-sounding name, but at the bottom line of them all is just plain old wirelessness, which is what you basically thirst for in a cordless audio device.
Of the three, both wireless and Bluetooth headphones share a similar method of broadcasting and receiving the audio signals. Infrared headphones, on the other hand, operate on quite a different level. All three, technically, are wireless headphones, albeit using distinctive means for achieving the same purpose.
Wireless headphones, in a more restricted sense, are more accurately called radio frequency or RF headphones. Just like their Bluetooth counterparts, these headsets use wireless radio frequencies for sending audio signals from a transmitting device (i.e., a base station) to the headsets so that you can hear the sound. However, since many other devices (e.g., cordless telephones, remote-control cars, etc.) also use radio signals for proper operation, RF headphones tend to compete with such devices for pathways. Thus, it is not uncommon for signal interference to be experienced with RF headphones.
RF headphones remain popular these days owing to the wide applicability of radio frequency broadcast technology in many electronic products. Yet, in the light of Bluetooth technology, RF headphones appear simplistic. Bluetooth hasn't completely nudged radio frequency headphones off the grid, though. After all, both types use a similar medium for their signals (i.e., radio frequency). One striking difference between the two is that with Bluetooth headsets, no special transmitter base is required. All that you need are at least two Bluetooth-capable devices, which you need to bond or pair so that the devices can create a network between or among them. Having created a personal area network (PAN), the devices can share various types of data, including audio signal data.

Infrared headphones, on the other hand, make use of light. It uses not any ordinary kind of light, but the infrared kind. It is a form of electromagnetic radiation whose frequency is below that of the red frequency range in the color spectrum (thus, the name infrared). Infrared headphones work in a similar way to your television's remote control, except that the headset receives light signals from a transmitter and converts them to audio signals on your headset's speakers. The biggest downside of infrared headphones is their need to be always within the line of sight of the transmitter device, or else the connection is broken. On the up side, though, you won't need to worry about signal interference with infrared-powered headphones.
Infrared headphones, wireless headphones, and Bluetooth headphones all operate quite differently from one another, but they are quite capable of giving you quality audio in addition to freedom of movement.

Choosing the Best Auto Headlight and What Does Halogen, HID, Xenon and LED Bulb Means

Do you know that the world's first electric headlamp was invented by the Electric Vehicle Company based in Connecticut, United States and was powered by an electric car in the year 1898? Since then, there have been significant improvements on the type of headlights as well as its functionality.
If you happen to drive in the night and see a pair of blurry yellow colored headlights approaching from the opposite direction of the road then you have mostly likely encounter an old classic. Such headlights employ a century old tungsten filament technology that is less commonly used by today's auto manufacturers.
 
If you see an incoming bright blue/white headlamp, chances are it comes from a luxury Mercedes or BMW cruising past you at lightning speed. Such vehicles are factory fitted with HID or High Intensity Discharge lamps or better known as Xenon lights. Xenon headlamps are known to burn brighter than conventional headlamps given the same voltage/wattage consumption and therefore its popularity.
 
It is obvious that the bright blue/white light gives the driver better visibility while on the road and headlamp manufacturers have been quick to acknowledge the growing demand for such headlights. Many motorists have converted their headlamps by switching to xenon bulbs that can be self-installed easily. There are many brands and makes available in the market today simply by browsing through the internet.
 
Before you decide to switch, check your existing headlamps first. If your car is fitted with the original headlamps, the first thing you have to figure out is whether it is using separate bulbs for the dip beam and the high beam. There are also cars that use a single bulb for both the dip and high beam. A single bulb that can perform dip and high beam function has two filaments inside the bulb. When you switch on your headlamp, the dip beam filament will always remain lit and continues to remain lit even after the high beam is switched on. Headlamps that utilize a single bulb with two filaments are easily recognized when you take it out because it has a 3-pin connection.

 
On the other hand, a headlamp that uses separate high beam bulb has a single pin connection while its low beam counterpart has a two-pin connection.
 
Next, check the original manufacturer specification because there are other bulb manufacturers that do not conform to the above pin connection specification. However, you will find that almost 90% of auto bulb manufacturer conforms to the above pin specification.
 
Prior to the popularity of HID, many autos have switched from the traditional tungsten bulbs to Halogen. Although the functionality remains the same, Halogen gives off white light using thinner filament. The advantage of thinner filament is that it gives off brighter light. With thinner filament however, it tend to burns out easily and to overcome this problem, manufacturers have been able to increase its lifespan by incorporating halogen gas inside the filament, thus the name halogen bulb.
 
The continuous development in headlights technology has always focused on brighter and longer lasting bulbs that use the least amount of energy. The brightest bulb is not always the most useful because it produces glare that can temporarily blind drivers approaching form opposite direction of the road. Popularity of HID bulbs was due to its brightness and attractive blue/white lights produced. It is said to burn 3 times brighter and 10 times the lifespan of a Halogen bulb. However, be sure to fork out more for HID bulbs if you intend on investing in such headlights.
 
The latest headlamp technology is focusing on LED bulbs or Light Emitting Diodes. The advantage of LED over other existing bulbs is the much superior lifespan and durability. Its small size affords headlamp designers greater flexibility. It is well documented that many of the LED's produced in the 1970s and 1980s are still in operation today. The use of LED for tail lamps, brake lights and interior lighting has been quite common but limited for front headlight due to high cost factor of producing it to match natural daylight color.