Contribution - Re: just got my VECTOR HID
This seems like an innocuous post so I won't hurt it by chatting a bit.
I'm degree in electronics and have been through many decades of changes. In addition I've
worked in materials analysis chemistry labs and seen many many kinds of products being
developed over the years. Plus I enjoy marketing.
My opinion of the HID lamps is that the bulbs will become as inexpensive as $5 each in time.
The envelope of the bulb is no different than a halogen incandescent bulb. The chemical
contents is no different than a fluorescent bulb since it contains a bit of mercury and
perhaps a gas like argon. The last component of HID lamps is the ballast which now is made
using switching circuits instead of heavy copper and steel devices. More and more we're seeing
switching circuits gain favor in high efficiency power amps, motor drivers and so the costs are
dropping quickly for these circuits. Switching circuits have the ability to work with nearly any input
voltage and give nearly any output voltage. This makes them very flexible for use with staionary
or portable applications. I guess I should mention that battery power is being improved all of
the time and we're seeing great strides in new designs. All this together means more devices
will be made that are battery powered and portable. And whether we realize it or not when
something is small we expect the price to be small. It's a natural human expectation. Thus the
emotional drive for a ever decreasing price is built into portable and smaller devices.
A win-win-win-win-win situation if there ever was one.
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