Rear lamp: Herrmans H-trace

Power use (at 6V): The current is:

70mA at the start
20mA after several minutes

This is not lower than several other low power taillamps, and in good taillamps esp. the Lumiring and Line plus/Line brake plus are better, therefore that this taillamp was designed for 1.5W standard doesn't add anything and in optics it's worse because of the 2 too bright point sources from the LEDs, the light is not distributed enough in those areas. If you want a low power taillamp, the Line plus is a better option, and using slightly more power and being brighter than both is the Axa Blueline.

Beam shots

See the camera settings page for more on the setup and settings to make pictures of the beams of taillamps.

Out of a corner (showing how much light is cast upwards, forwards and to the sides) [ F3.9 & F1.8 ]:


Wallshot (showing the beam pattern):


Visibility from various angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) [ 0.5m, zoom x3, F3.5, ISO80, 1/250s & 1/60s ]:

Comparing taillamps

• Beamshots from all taillamps.
• Visibility comparison, power draw of all taillamps.

Experiences

Designed apparently for StVZO/DIN (1.5W lighting), this taillamp is not much less power hungry or even power hungrier than some other much better taillamps (Axa Blueline, B&M Line plus, Philips Lumiring).

Indoor test: It has 2 point sources despite the LEDs that have matted domes. But the optic itself does not distribute the light in that point and it doesn't diffuse the light there further by being matte (see the Lineo, Blueline, which do do this) which would prevent a too high brightness in any particular (tiny) spots. These point sources are far too bright and the distributing optic is made pointless by it, as in reality you don't see anything except the 2 dots of the LEDs... (the huge brightness difference means that you don't see the other lit-up areas because in comparison they are not lit up enough, so you will only notice the brightest 2 points, the direct light from the 2 LEDs).

For countries where you would feel you need to make yourself visible as opposed to motorists, perhaps this an option, for anywhere else I do not recommend this. Look at the Spanninga Solo, Spanninga Lineo, Axa Blueline, B&M line plus first...

Annoying for following traffic until which distance?: ≥??m
Visibility: Good.
Ease of connecting wires: Good for 2.8mmm plugs, the plug in thingy can get lost...

Design- and thus review considerations for taillamps

See Theory for taillamps.

Conclusion

The H-trace is let down by annoying direct light from the LEDs which makes the light distributing optic pointless... Not recommended.

Last modified: 2-12-2015