No Amondo Tech N30

I really wanted one of these but Battery Junction says no more until mid 09.....so whats next in line for best bang for the buck as far as brightness and throw goes?

The Power On Board HID. It isn't as nice a light as the N30, but it has more throw and is a cheaper alternative. Light outputs wise the N30 is still brighter, and the N30 has a much better beam color and much wider beam.
The Power On Board is still incredibly bright and runs for over 1 hour on a full charge.

I also recommed getting the AmondoTech Titanium Mega Illuminator, as it is one of the farthest throwing spotlights ever made, and will easily out throw lights like the Power On Board HID and Professional's Favorite 17.5mcp. I will be getting mine soon.

If you are just looking to get the cheapest bang for the buck light, then I recommend getting the Professional's Favorite 17.5 million candlepower spotlight from Advance Auto Parts for $40. It out throws the Power On Board HID by a considerable amount, and appears brighter than my Thor 15mcp, and has a more pencil thin beam.

The Battery Junction L35's can't be too far down the road. That's what I'd shoot for if you can wait a bit.

Hmmmm...maybe I will get a Power on Board and then get the L35 from BJ when they come out. Or I might be happy with the Mega Illuninator. I only plan to use it around the house lighting up the woods and impressing people. Size is not really a big factor. Considering these facts.....which is better, the POB or the Mega Illuminator?

A bit OT, but can the Mega Illuminator tailstand like the N30?

hivoltage,

If you are on a budget, find a POB. It is over twice the weight, but it is a very good price.

dudemar,
No HID's should be run tail standing for extended periods. It will shorten the bulb life. The Mega Illuminator can to this but is not going to be as stable as an N30. The Mega Illuminator does have a stand that is very adjustable but will not allow the light into a vertical position. I personally try to avoid tail standing with any of my HID lights.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

hivoltage said:

Hmmmm...maybe I will get a Power on Board and then get the L35 from BJ when they come out. Or I might be happy with the Mega Illuninator. I only plan to use it around the house lighting up the woods and impressing people. Size is not really a big factor. Considering these facts.....which is better, the POB or the Mega Illuminator?

Click to expand...

The Mega Illuminator will throw quite a bit farther than the POB and be quite a bit brighter, so I recommend it over the POB.
Even the Professional's Favorite 17.5mcp impresses me a lot more than the POB since it has more throw, and it has a low beam option that consumes very little battery power (the POB is still a great light though). IMHO the Mega Illuminator is still the best choice since it's regulated and should give you well over an hour of continuous runtime at full brightness, whereas the Pro's Favorite dims after 20 minutes.

Hi mtbkndad,

Hmm, this is interesting - at first thought, standing the N30 on its tail end would
seem to expedite heat dissipation out of the front end. What is the failure/problem
issue with HID bulbs running vertically?

Many thanks!


George

mtbkndad said:

dudemar,
No HID's should be run tail standing for extended periods. It will shorten the bulb life. The Mega Illuminator can to this but is not going to be as stable as an N30. The Mega Illuminator does have a stand that is very adjustable but will not allow the light into a vertical position. I personally try to avoid tail standing with any of my HID lights.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

Click to expand...

mtbkndad said:

dudemar,

No HID's should be run tail standing for extended periods. It will shorten the bulb life. The Mega Illuminator can to this but is not going to be as stable as an N30. The Mega Illuminator does have a stand that is very adjustable but will not allow the light into a vertical position. I personally try to avoid tail standing with any of my HID lights.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

Click to expand...

I'm not too worried about replacing bulbs.=) I was always curious about tail-standing HID's, for example what about those giant HID spotlights that light up the clouds? They're pointed vertically the whole time.

gchand said:

What is the failure/problem
issue with HID bulbs running vertically?

Many thanks!


George

Click to expand...

That's my question too.

My N30 spends about half of its running life time while tail standing. It might not be great for them (technically) but I also don't worry about turning the light on and off somewhat frequently either. The light is a tool and often it works best while reflecting off of a bright surface. Sometimes that surface is the ceiling.

My guess is that when running vertical, the "upper" electrode may be more immersed in the glowing hot gases and may therefore wear faster than the "lower" electrode. When running horizontally, both electrodes probably wear evenly.

In the real world though, whether my N30 bulbs last 3000 hours or 1000 hours won't matter to me. I'll probably have moved on to many other lights before I ever wear out an N30 bulb. I'm with Pat, I use them like incandescents, throw them around and don't baby them and they keep on ticking!

BVH said:

In the real world though, whether my N30 bulbs last 3000 hours or 1000 hours won't matter to me. I'll probably have moved on to many other lights before I ever wear out an N30 bulb. I'm with Pat, I use them like incandescents, throw them around and don't baby them and they keep on ticking!

Click to expand...

I totally agree! They're meant to be used, so in my book they're going to be!:twothumbs

The giant spotlights are carbon arc or short arc lights and different then the HID bulbs used in hand held HID's like the N30, Polarion, XeRay, Arco, etc.

The engineers did tell me that the bulb in the N30 could handle vertical use. However constant completely vertical use with HID bulbs will shorten their life.

It has been explained on CPF before and I do not have time to go into it right now.

'Search' is your friend

I agree with BVH and others that mention the N30 is a tool.
I use it in whatever position I need to use it and don't worry about it, I just mentioned the vertical issue so that people don't think they can run it completely vertical ALL of the time without some consequences.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

Is there eenev any comparison between The Torch and lhe lights mentioned above? Also I see Wicked Lasers is selling a Torch....anybody ever tested one? Thanks

I really wish I could get one of these. It would be so nice to have something this bright and still small enough to take with me caving (and affordable too!)

hivoltage said:

Is there eenev any comparison between The Torch and lhe lights mentioned above? Also I see Wicked Lasers is selling a Torch....anybody ever tested one? Thanks

Click to expand...

The Torch outputs 4,000 lumens, so it will put out a noticeable amount more light than any of the HID lights mentioned above. The difference is that The Torch is incandescent and will only give a small fraction of the throw of these handheld HID searchlights, as its beam will be mainly floody (by comparison).
The Torch from Wicked Lasers was originally designed by CPF member cmacclel (Mac), and it is licensed from Mac.

Hmmmm....maybe I need both then

There is one available here:

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=187212

He is asking 145 for a year old one and a new one is 149. I can wait til the new ones are in stock. Thanks Though!!!

Hot Damn!!!! I just bought a N30 on the Marketplace!!!!