Traffic light changers: and a free gift to New Plymouth peoples

[<Rhino>]

I keep telling people you don't need these things. You can trigger the sensor every time by directly parking on top of it -- most motorcyclists don't, they park off to the RHS of the lane.

Look for a rectangular box sort of carved into the road with a vertical line through the middle. Park your bike along the middle vertical line, right on top of it. You don't need to put your side stand down, you don't need to rev -- it just triggers the light and away you go. Even works on a tiny little Honda Cub.

Check out the picture, once you know what you're looking for you'll see them everywhere.

I did what you suggested and a set of lights that didn't seem to change for me(is an intersection with SH2) and parking in the middle works. I used to park on the side, so what you said does work .

[niero]

I am not trying to be a smart ass here but in order to generate a current yes you need an inductor coil a magnet and something else... something that is not present when you have got a red light (and no you cant be a pretend bogan ere)... ooh movement! In order to achive electricity you need movement, moving a magnet through inductor coil only creates microamps of current, that is very small even if you are talking circuits, + the magnet is right inside the inductor coil, how on earth can that chip sence through CONCRETE + no movement. I just cant understand this, sorry if that sounds so dumb.

[Monsterbishi]

I am not trying to be a smart ass here but in order to generate a current yes you need an inductor coil a magnet and something else... something that is not present when you have got a red light (and no you cant be a pretend bogan ere)... ooh movement! In order to achive electricity you need movement, moving a magnet through inductor coil only creates microamps of current, that is very small even if you are talking circuits, + the magnet is right inside the inductor coil, how on earth can that chip sence through CONCRETE + no movement. I just cant understand this, sorry if that sounds so dumb.

ok, for starters, you don't need a magnet, or movement you just need a ferrous metal that will interfere with the existing fields around it.

and secondly, they're not underneath the concrete, they're in shallow channels covered by a rubber compound.

lastly, yes, the circuitry is sensitive enough to detect the changes.

[thehollowmen]

Thank you, you seem to know what you're talking about.
I agree that any metal will work to cause magnetic flux, but a magnet will cause greater magnetic flux.

A lot of these plastic scooters or super-light alloy bikes don't have enough mass to trigger SOME of the worst ones, ones that have miscalibrated or aren't working. I have one a block from my house and if I come home after dark I can get stuck for ages. This is a fix for my problem.

My DL650 wouldn't change some of the badly calibrated / worn / plain not working ones, and I rang the council in Dunedin and CHCH, but they and the contractors didn't want to hear from me about the problem.

I'm just offering a solution if everything else fails; if you regularly encounter one and bike placement and the kickstand trick doesn't work. I'm even giving these out to some pushbike riders because even the sensitive well calibrated ones don't change lights for them.

Please people, use what works for you. But if it fails, I'm handing out another solution for free here.

ok, for starters, you don't need a magnet, or movement you just need a ferrous metal that will interfere with the existing fields around it.

and secondly, they're not underneath the concrete, they're in shallow channels covered by a rubber compound.

lastly, yes, the circuitry is sensitive enough to detect the changes.

[swbarnett]

I have tried parking in the middle of the inductive loop. Normally it works. However, I was at the lights in the centre of the Albany township yesterday (end of the shortcut from Oteha Valley Road). I waited for a good two or three minutes with no reaction from the lights. As soon as a car arrived in the lane beside me they changed. I think not all lights are sensitive enough even for this technique.

[Monsterbishi]

I have one a block from my house and if I come home after dark I can get stuck for ages. This is a fix for my problem.

My DL650 wouldn't change some of the badly calibrated / worn / plain not working ones, and I rang the council in Dunedin and CHCH, but they and the contractors didn't want to hear from me about the problem.

If you live in Christchurch I can point you in the right direction as to who to contact to get results, Christchurch is broken into 5 pieces as far as maintenance contracts go, and the transit network is different again!

[pritch]

I'm gonna have to agree with Tom here, I've never had a problem with a light not coming on,

There was a thing about this on TV a while back. The sensors are adjustable for sensitivity and some councils (I think Dunedin was one?) have them adjusted too high to pick up smaller vehicles particularly scooters.

The other day on my way home from work I was second in the queue at the lights which were taking their time to change, when I looked the woman in the car in front of me was stopped so far back that she wasn't even on the sensors. So I rode around her on the SJ50, which seemed to offend her, but at least we got a green otherwise we could still be sitting there.

[xwhatsit]

There was a thing about this on TV a while back. The sensors are adjustable for sensitivity and some councils (I think Dunedin was one?) have them adjusted too high to pick up smaller vehicles particularly scooters.

Perhaps somebody involved with the roading (Monsterbishi? I know there's a few others as well) could give a few reasons otherwise, but I can't think of anything particularly obvious as to why the sensors could not just be adjusted to be over-sensitive anyway. Having a `false positive' in this situation is not a great problem -- mebbe somebody coming from what's considered the primary direction late at night has to stop and wait for a few seconds, but that's not a great hassle compared to people going through red lights just to get around these things (something I did on occasion on my late-night commute until I realised how to trigger the things).

[skidMark]

Hey, I am still somewhat sceprical about this magnet business. So let me get this right, There is a magnetic sensor below every white (double or single) line where the lights are... it sences a car because I guess the inductor coil that produces the spark generates a magnetic field or something else on the car... OK, fair enough but how on earth does it make the lights trigger? Does it have a brain that goes, "oooooh strong magnetic field, must be many cars waiting, Il better switch the lights!"?!?!? Just does not make sence. Anywone care to explain. Cheers

Look on the ground as you get to traffic lights about 2 metres prior to the white line is a figure 8 on the ground... but in a squarish shape...

[] < []


ride onto the tar lines.....

Some bikes have trouble setting them off especially newer ones as they are completely alloy...

detects steel more easily...aka cars.

[portokiwi]

If you are giving them away I dont mind trying 1 out here in Auckland.

[awayatc]

I keep telling people you don't need these things. You can trigger the sensor every time by directly parking on top of it -- most motorcyclists don't, they park off to the RHS of the lane.

Look for a rectangular box sort of carved into the road with a vertical line through the middle. Park your bike along the middle vertical line, right on top of it. You don't need to put your side stand down, you don't need to rev -- it just triggers the light and away you go. Even works on a tiny little Honda Cub.

Check out the picture, once you know what you're looking for you'll see them everywhere.

I didn't even know I didn't know that......
kept an eye out for those things on the ground......Found em!
Thanks for that info....
Good post

[awayatc]

Marginally related,:
many moons ago one uncle was an ambulance driver in a big German city.
The Ambo had a transmitter to change the traffic lights.......
Somehow some clever people managed to make/get their own transmitters.....

This was before the interweb and all, so it was all hush hush haha

[Badjelly]

Marginally related: many moons ago one uncle was an ambulance driver in a big German city.

That's what I thought the title thread meant: one of those things the fire engines and ambulances use to force the lights to change. Now that would be a cool thing to have!

[firefighter]

That's what I thought the title thread meant: one of those things the fire engines and ambulances use to force the lights to change. Now that would be a cool thing to have!

would be nice to have them here!

[Irontusk]

ooh movement!

Your skepticism when it comes to physics has me a little annoyed, so are you trying to say that you aren't moving when you ride up to a set of lights??