50 inch Reflector "Monster Light"

[LightSward]

I think this thing may actually work! I have half completed the "Chrome Taping" of the 50 inch Monster Reflector!:twothumbs Reflections looking good. I can shave using this. Basic light tests show; the light paths are lining up well.

I am getting closer to my goal with each new reflector. The distortions aren't too bad on this 50 inch reflector, compared to the 24 inch reflector, with it's numerous flaws.

In these next 4 photos, you can see the initial spray paint mirroring applied for smoothness and flaw inspection, followed by partial chrome mirroring shots.

I have mostly completed the temporary light support hardware and will hopefully have a night time test, the next few nights.



The Silver Spray Paint has been applied


The Chrome Shiny Spray Paint Industry has made huge strides in the "shine-e-ness" of it's product. It doesn't have as bad of a dull shine like it used to.


You can see my hand in the chrome tape


My reflector has come a long way. I will continually improve my manufacturing process.


Partially completed chrome taping of reflector


Here you can see the cutting blade reflection on the chrome tape.


About half the 50 inch Monster reflector is Chrome Taped

You can see the water cooler jug reflection on the half finished application of chrome tape.

I am excited to see this thing work!

 

[LightSward]

" Give it that chrome-hard shine now" Lookin' mighty fine LightSward !

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[roadie]

roof mount on top of yr car and shine all around when its done?

:twothumbs

 

[carnal]

LightSward,

you bees the math whiz! How much intensity do you figure if you would lose if you had no concentrating reflector? With the concentrating reflector you loose the direct lightpath out the front end of the HID bulb (nonfocused light). The shadow of the Conc. Refl. from the main reflector is probably not much loss, cuz the main reflector is merely bouncing THAT light back mainly at the bulb itself. But the gain is probably HUGE???

Brian

 

[BVH]

If you saw how much space the carbon arc burner and heat shield occupied in the center of the 60" mirror on the 60" light, you'd swear there would be a hole in the middle of the beam but there's not - at least one that can be seen. I would guess the burner ***'y is an effective 12-14" dead center. Also, the centering arms and bulb mount on my Locator occupies a significant portion of the center of the reflector but no apparent hole in the beam. On the VSS-1, the bulb mount and cooling manifold occupied probably over 20% of the center of the butterfly shaped mirror, but no apparent hole.

 

[LightSward]

:candle: I have debated using the Concentrating Reflector and will actually experiment with the 50 inch reflector with and without the concentrator. Without the concentrator, I have held up the bulb and get a very nice narrow, focused beam from the 50 inch reflector. With the concentrator, the beam is much brighter, but the beam is a little fatter, (I am installing an adjustable aperture, to help shape the edges of the beam).

I have experimented with a brand name of reflective tape, which was not that good last winter, but the manufacturer has significantly improved. CHROMA@ has refined it's "METALLIC STRIPEZ t.m. 3" x 60" chrome tape to the point I prefer it now over the Chrome Brite I have been recommending! This is because the Chrome Brite seems to pick up and hold "shmeg" and other grime, and has a slight glare. The Metallic Stripez has a stronger holding adhesive, (both brands will work well)!

Here are some photos of the prototype set up and some crude beam shots.

The reflector magnifies outside images


The reflector stands outside the manufacturing shop, and inverts outside images.

100 watt HID is used to test the alignment


The 100 watt HID is used to test the alignment of the searchlight components.


Left is 100 watt HID 50 inch test beam shining overhead & 35 watt HID to our right. Interestingly, when the lights were shined on trees 450 feet away, (camera battery died as I started that sequence), the trees lit by the 100 watt 50 inch Monster searchlight, were lit considerably brighter than the tress lit by the 35 watt Cyclops.


The 100 watt HID test from the 50 inch reflector is coming overhead and the 35 watt HID Cyclops is to our right.


The 50 inch test set-up


The basic reflector and support structures are checked.


Left is 100 watt HID 50 inch test & 35 watt HID to our right


Beam comparison of 100 watt HID from 50 inch reflector with concentrating condenser reflector to our left and the 35 watt Cyclops to our right.


Beam shot of 35 watt Cyclops and 100 watt alignment 50 incher


The 35 watt Cyclops is to our left and the 100 watt temporary HID is to our right.

:naughty:


This will all change as I upgrade to the 400 watt HID and eventually the 1000 watt HID. I will experiment with different reflector surfaces and concentrating condensers with or without.:candle::twothumbs

 

[Norm]

:wow: Great work, this is what it is really all about :goodjob:
Norm

 

[LightSward]

:wow: Great work, this is what it is really all about :goodjob:
Norm

Thanks. I hope to do numerous experiments including LED, HID Incan., CPFL, with this thing, :twothumbs which will help me design the next generation of reflectors.

During the last year alone, I built three 24 inch reflectors, and plan more, and plan a deep 50 inch reflector. Decades ago, I built a 60 inch reflector from :naughty: paper mache' and aluminum foil, mold shaped with a template using a mound of dirt. It worked okay but mice got to it during the Winter! :candle:

This has been a lot of fun in the continuing quest for intense light!:thumbsup:

 

[roadie]

remember to add a big heat sink on the back with a big fan ..... incase the reflector 'melts'

 

[e90]

Very impressive!Looks like a Sat antenna:huh:,waiting for other nightshots!

 

[@cafecomfacas]

Awesome!

lovecpf

 

[Dioni]

nice work

Waiting for beamshots +1

 

[LightSward]

:thumbsup:Amazingly the 100 watt HID bulb and reflector stays relatively cool to the touch. The 400 watt HID goes in next and it will need a reflector cooling fan. :devil:

Right now the 50 and 12 inch reflectors, 100 watt bulb, socket, wiring, HID igniter, ballast, support structures and basic yoke and stand weigh only 36 pounds! (battery extra, this set up can run for one hour on the 12 volt jump battery with carrying handle ...through the power converter.)

This searchlight really lights things up, like a higher wattage bulb. The 35 watt HID Cyclops is bright by itself and lights up objects for quite some distance, but the 50 inch Monster Searchlight blasts distant objects with much more light than the brightness of the beam shots seem to indicate.

I think the beam from the Cyclops is deceptively bright because the light is concentrated in such a narrow beam, the light from the giant 50 inch reflector is already spread out when it leaves the reflector. I noticed as I walk a block or so away from the light beams, the 50 inch searchlight beam almost seems to grow in brightness, while the skinnier 35 watt Cyclops beam dims.

This light will start to show it's true potential as the wattage of the bulbs is increased.:twothumbs The "look" of the 50 inch Monster Searchlight will "evolve" over time as more test are done and a final working model is developed and built.:naughty:

 

[IgNITEor]

LightSward,

Is the focal point actually that far away from the reflector? I was thinking about the depth of your reflector being similar to my 24", with yours being a little deeper.
Maybe with the condensing reflector your focal point has moved out.

That thing is wicked BIG ! Came out shining nice, too. Now the clouds are well within your reach. You shall be luminous.

 

[LightSward]

LightSward,

Is the focal point actually that far away from the reflector? I was thinking about the depth of your reflector being similar to my 24", with yours being a little deeper.
Maybe with the condensing reflector your focal point has moved out.

That thing is wicked BIG ! Came out shining nice, too. Now the clouds are well within your reach. You shall be luminous.

Thanks for the good words.

I realize the arrangement looks kind of odd. The focal point is actually 4 inches in front of the condenser reflector, 21 inches in front of the main reflector. You can see the air lit up at the focal point of both reflectors which overlap at the same spot or point, where all the light is concentrated.

I am building hardware to place various light sources at the focal point or in front like the present condenser, which condenses light to a point at the focal point. If I place a carbon arc, HID arc, filament, LED, or any light source at the 50 inch reflector focal point, the front of the searchlight won't stick out as far in front. I may do something like this because of space limitations.

I am design/ building a spherical bowl with a slight ellipsoidal feature, to focus light traveling away from the main reflector, back towards it, by focusing this light just in front of the arc point. I read manufacturing literature which seems to indicate that many light sources should not have light focused back to the light source itself, (incandescent light sources actually do well)

I designed the whole set up using CAD 3-D light ray vector analysis. This is a great tool, since after I design a reflector or hardware piece, the CAD will print full size templates, etc., that I can directly build the components from.:twothumbs

 

[LightSward]

I just made some modifications, AWESOME!!! (Comparison beam shots to be posted next couple days.) I am blown away with what I just saw.... I compared the three main lights I have been discussing the last few months; the 35 watt HID modified Cyclops, the 400 watt HID 24 inch LightSward and the new 50 inch Monster searchlight with currently just a 100 watt HID.

The three lights with their beams shooting into the night sky, is quite impressive. Because of the slightly different beam colors, the three beams have a patriotic red, white and blue look streaming through the night sky. :naughty:

Close to my home, the 35 watt HID Cyclops, with it's skinny intense beam, looks the brightest. As I walk a couple homes away, the 400 watt HID 24 inch LightSward looks the brightest, with it's kind of chunky beam. As I got to the end of the block, the 50 inch Monster Searchlight with the 100 watt HID in for testing, looked the brightest. The beam from the 50 inch Monster, had the most pronounced, well defined shape of the three searchlights.

A few blocks away, a couple neighbors, out for a walk, commented the beam belonging to the 100 watt, 50 inch Monster Searchlight, looked the brightest, and easily caught their attention, (they of course didn't know which lights the beams came from). Walking a little further, the 100 watt Monster, was definitely more attention grabbing than the rest, and the 35 watt HID Cyclops beam, though still visible, seemed to almost disappear.

A mile and a half away, the 100 watt HID, 50 inch Monster beam, is still visible shooting into the night sky. Still impressive, you could still see the 400 watt HID 24 inch LightSward, but the beam was fading, compared to the well defined 50 inch Monster Seaarchlight beam, which almost seemed to grow brighter.

The 50 inch Monster Searchlight seems to be the most efficient at making a beam, and a very bright spot of light some distance away. I have a tree beam shot from 450 feet away, very bright...:twothumbs

Eventually I will put the 400 watt HID in, and then a 1000 watt HID. To imagine the beam I saw tonight being nearly fourteen times brighter with the 1000 watt HID compared to the current 100 watt HID, is just mind boggling. The beam will probably be a little 'chunkier' with the longer arc tube.:thinking:

(I have a 24 inch version of a "shallow" parabolic mirror I built two months before the 24 inch LightSward deep dish parabolic reflector, that is currently used with a window to imitate sunlight during the long, dark, rainy season starting now. As an Architectural Designer, I have some ideas to make imitation sunlight flow into a building, yet use very little energy.)

 

[roadie]

The three lights with their beams shooting into the night sky, is quite impressive. Because of the slightly different beam colors, the three beams have a patriotic red, white and blue look streaming through the night sky. :naughty:

becareful not to 'shoot' down any helicopters while doing so .....

like the recent report here ..... >>> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/245757

:naughty:

 

[Midnighter]

Awesome job on the reflector LightSward.

Can't wait to see bigger HIDs in there!

 

[LightSward]

Awesome job on the reflector LightSward.

Can't wait to see bigger HIDs in there!

Yah me too! Higher watts coming next few days. Should be 5 to 6 times more lumen out put, just don't know if the candle power will be more than three or four times, due to the arc length being about double.

Thanks for the compliment. This thing did turn out awesome!!!

I have some photos I'll post next couple days; decent beam shots, Searchlight "modifications", including a different 'sphere' back light reflector I installed, experimenting, instead of the ellipsoidal reflector, ...the next day or so... (tight schedule)

It is totally awesome to stand in front of the searchlight and see my shadow beaming into the sky. The 100 watt set up has a very good distance traveling beam; brightly lights up, distant objects,,,very nicely; at least a mile or so.

The 50 inch 100 watt version of the "Monster", is very portable right now :thumbsup:;...with battery; for an hour run time, converter, stand, 50 inch reflector, ballast, light and sphere reflector, and is less than 55 pounds! :thinking: It is carried on a backpack frame, It's weather resistant, just barely though; needs more work to be truly outdoor rugged, and of course the added weight...

I'll give the 400 watt HID a try, next couple days. Should be decent.:twothumbs

 

[IgNITEor]

LightSward, I finally checked out your focal drawings a little closer and I get what you're describing with the condenser reflector. The condenser's focal point is where a lamp would be centered if a lamp was used alone.

Are you able to adjust the condenser's distance from the reflector with ease or is the threaded rod support a little tricky to mess with?