Also where could I get a better reflector?
What are the chances of getting a spare light/ballast assembly? Think the ballast would handle a 50W mod?
I think the reflector in the L35 could be higher quality, but even that is hard to say because the Oracle is a true "flashlight" thats stinkin bright and the L35 is more of a spotlight.
Its hard to have your cake and eat it too.. there are only so many lumens to go around.
Either you spread the wealth and can see everywhere plenty bright or you focus it to the distance and see even better in the distance.
The oracle is a good balance of both if your seeking to see everything in front of you at once.
I really think the Oracles reflector is plenty good.. "remember" its got the orange peels layer to it to disperse light evenly which can take some definition away in the distance.
I have the Oracle "35 watt", the L35 "35 watt" and the Xeray "75 Watt" affectionally called the "BB" or "barnburner".
Comparing the three, it appears the 35 watters are simply playing games with how they throw the lumens, but if you could gather the light from both on all points and measure it, I think they both put out the same, even though the throw characteristics are quite different.
The 75W, looks allot like the throw of the L35, but double the lumens and its quite obvious!
The Oracle is truely a "flashlight" in every sense of the word with a pattern that fits the conventional flashlight pattern, but smoother.
As for whether the ballast can be tweaked to 50W is anybodys guess.. chances are it will go higher, but how much and how hot, I don't know.
The existing 35W bulb should be able to take some more abuse to maybe as high as 50W but not likely last too long forcing you to buy a whole new assembly anyway then.
I"m not really into tweaking it anyway because it will kill runtime.
It would be fun however if you could have the two brightness modes that are already there (28watt and 35Watt) adjusted higher on the high end as I only see about a 5 watt difference between the two now.
If you have one, you will most likely agree, its much more than bright enough for any flashlight type job by far.... even at that, it will blow away most spotlights except those with gigantic reflectors measuring 8 plus inches.
Its hard for Halogen to compete with HID without a monster size reflector.
HID exhibits a sheer bath of Lumens in the foreground compared to Halogen.