# Vistalight Nightstick



## rmhardie (Jun 28, 2010)

So I just a had a Vistalight Nightstick with 5w and10w lights handed down to me for free however it's missing a few things.

Anyone know where I can get the Y-cord to enable me to use both the lights at the same time?

Also, it doesn't have a charger. Any suggestions? They battery says Ni-MH 2200mAH


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Had those lights long ago. Not sure where to get those parts you are asking about.
You could always change out connectors on the cords and hook up your own batteries.
The night stick batteries may be totally dead by now and running both lights off of one stick didn't last but maybe 45 minutes back in the day when I had them.
You could order two 7.4 V batteries and a charger to use with the lights.
That would set you back about $75 dollars.
Or you could get a new  MS light for $89.99.

Found this on  Batteryspace 
There is a charger listed for the battery pack and would be compatible with your battery pack.


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## rmhardie (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping it wasn't going to cost that much.

I do have a charger from a NiteRider Classic (yes, it's old school and actually it was just given to me last week as well and that battery is completely shot which was going to cost $150 for a replacement). Do you think that would completely fry this VistaLite battery if I was to try charging it with the NiteRider charger? From my research, it is supposedly a smart charger. Has an output of 16.8VDC with 300mA

What do you think? (I apologize for my complete ignorance)


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Pumping 16 volts into the 6 volt battery will probably fry it out quickly. Overcharging will ruin the cells as well.
One of the cheapest way to get up and running is use a lead acid 6 volt battery. It will be heavy and you will still need a charger. Cheapest  combo  is $39.95 at battery space. Still would need to change plugs out on battery to be compatible with vistalites.
Battery will be heavy.
Even cheaper would be a four C or D cell holder from Radio Shack or some store like that 
If you can save up the best bang for the buck out there is the MS light from geoman. The light is a little cheaper from Dealextreme or Kaidomain, but their customer support is near nonexistent. Any problem with the light and you are completely out of luck. From what I have seen Geoman has taken care of every single issue with any of their lights and even helped out people who purchased from the other sites. 
Their customer service is above and beyond.

And Yes, niterider will rake you over the coals anytime you need to buy a new battery, connector, or light mount. They seemed to change out connectors freqently so I had a buch of lights and none of the connectors/extensions were compatible even though the batteries were the same voltage and type. This is why I quit buying Niterider lights. That and I learned how to build my own.


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## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

rmhardie said:


> So I just a had a Vistalight Nightstick with 5w and10w lights handed down to me for free however it's missing a few things.
> 
> Anyone know where I can get the Y-cord to enable me to use both the lights at the same time?
> 
> Also, it doesn't have a charger. Any suggestions? They battery says Ni-MH 2200mAH


I may have the charger and y cord you are looking for. I just have to dig around in my basement for a bit lol.


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## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

rmhardie, I found some parts for the Vistalite that I used to use. I have a 15 watt headlight (the handlebar mount has a crack in it, but could be glued), a Y cord, an extension cord, an external switch that also has dimming options, plus the charger which says- Input: 120VAC 60Hz 7W, Output: 7.2VDC 600mA output. I can send it to you and you can reimburse the shipping if you want. It has been sitting in a box for years and I won't ever use it again. PM me. 

Here is a Picture of what I have.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Zombie thread time!

Just dug one of these out of a box, should be a decent loaner set for our group rides. 

No idea on charge time though, anyone have a manual?

Charged for a few hours, it lights up fine, but there's no light on the charger to indicate when they are done. 

Same Ni-MH 2200mAH battery as the OP. 

Thanks all!


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

rmhardie said:


> Thanks for the reply. I was hoping it wasn't going to cost that much.


Batteries are always going to cost. There's a reason people throw the old halogen stuff out. The newer Light-tech is brighter and cheaper. Unless you're trying to create a bike with a total retro-look the stuff you have is basically junk. You can get it working but the battery to run it might cost more that a new complete Chinese LED bike light and battery set. ( seriously! ) Not to mention that even if you get a new battery for the lamps don't be surprised if the bulbs blow out really fast. Back in the day the old MR-11 halogen bulbs didn't last but a season or two. I'm assuming of course that you really want to use the lamp.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

I have old niterider and turbocat lights. The chargers were both dumb, no light or anything. You had to just time the chargers to know when they were done. The chargers would indicate their output in amps. I would just divide the battery capacity in amp-hours (or the capacity used during the previous ride) by the current output of the charger to tell you how many hours you had to charge the battery. I would also connect the charger to a simple lamp timer to prevent overcharging. Supposedly the chargers would go into trickle charge after they were done, but it was still better to completely remove the power from the charger with the timer.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

varider said:


> I have old niterider and turbocat lights. The chargers were both dumb, no light or anything. You had to just time the chargers to know when they were done. The chargers would indicate their output in amps. I would just divide the battery capacity in amp-hours (or the capacity used during the previous ride) by the current output of the charger to tell you how many hours you had to charge the battery. I would also connect the charger to a simple lamp timer to prevent overcharging. Supposedly the chargers would go into trickle charge after they were done, but it was still better to completely remove the power from the charger with the timer.


Thanks, not that strong in math, (or that interested) to get into figuring exact time based on battery.

I'll just go with "it safe to go overnight and unplug in the AM.....

Cat-Man-Do, you do realize you're responding to the OP's question, but that it's close to 5 years old, don't you?


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

It's just dividing two numbers, I'm sure you could handle it. 
I can't read the picture of the charger, let's say it says 600 mA

So it would just be 2200/600= 3.6 hours. Very easy. 

The batteries are probably dead anyway, so it won't matter anyway.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

varider said:


> I'm sure you could handle it.


You wouldn't have wanted to be my 9th grade math teacher!!!

Yeah, I likely could have handled that, but as it is, it;s a 600, so your math takes care of it for me!

Thanks.

I guess I just figured someone would have had one and just said "oh yeah, just charge 'em for a day and make sure they're unplugged in general, or, oh man, 6 hours on those and pull the plug or your house will burn down..." 

Running them now, charged all day, seem to be doing alright so far.

Newb in our group is using a Petzl 3LED headlamp, this will be a nice upgrade!


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## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

Yes this thread is so old I don't even remember replying to it the first time around. The memory is the first to go I guess.


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## TiGeo (Jul 31, 2008)

I wouldn't spend much on these as you can get a complete light set for about $50 that will blow these away. I had Vistalites...they were pretty good in the '90s but not compared to what you can get now. My batteries had 2 cords each...I didn't have the sticks which came out after the type I had.

Opps...just realized this was a zombie thread....DOH!


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> ...Cat-Man-Do, you do realize you're responding to the OP's question, but that it's close to 5 years old, don't you?


You know, I'm usually the one to catch that stuff.  I guess the reference to "Zombie" got by me.

Goodness, how could anyone give out an old out-dated halogen lamp set as a loaner? Hard to believe anyone posting up on this forum doesn't have at least one cheap Chinese LED lamp that you could use as a loaner. I could probably outfit 6 or more riders with 2 lamps each as long as I have enough batteries. ( Not to mention all of the LED torches I have make decent bike lights in a pinch. )


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Glad I could catch everyone asleep at the wheel 

I'll not bash on the the Asian LED's, but I also don't and won't own any. 

Been happily running a Lupine Betty for years, and have an extra Piko that I let folks borrow if need be. Sometimes, we have more than one new rider though, and these "brown lights" as someone coined at some point, will work fine for their short term needs. 

Kinda like finding that old but perfectly functional Trek 820 at the back of the barn. Hell no you won't be grabbing it for regular rides, but it's still a perfectly functional bike that works when the need presents.

Basically, if it's free, yippee!!!


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

I doubt the batteries are any good, especially if they haven't been used/charger in several years. They will appear to be working fine for 20 or 30 minutes and then the light will become very dim for the duration battery life (which is also now shorter than you expect). That's how my halogen lights failed. 

I wouldn't want to stick a night ride newb with lights that become useless before the ride is over. Then you will be stuck with the responsibility of getting that guy safely off the trail. It's not worth the trouble in my opinion. 

They are better off having a 200 lumen led flashlight from home depot than having an 8 year old halogen light with an equally old battery.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

No worries, it'll be fully vetted before it's put into the loaner bin.....


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