50 inch Reflector "Monster Light"

LightSward

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Portland, Oregon
Will be almost as bright as the 12,000 watt carbon arc, using a high efficiency HMI short arc 4,000 watt 380,000 lumen beam to WWII 60 inch's 425,000 lumen output.

I apologize, but one of my photo hosts has unreliable and unstable links, (Facebook based), and this caused a large amount of my photos to vanish over he last few days. Apologize, but with all the photos I posted I'm not able to update all them do to a variety reasons, mostly time.
Sneak Preview:
It's 4 am, do you know where your blind neighbors are?


This thing is "AWESOME" Had kind of shelved this light in favor of more efficient reflector designs. This set up allows for less light to be collected from bulb, but with a much longer focal length, the light travels further in a more parallel beam configuration. Beam had the effect of looking somewhat like a laser and was hard to tell from which direction it was coming from when beam aimed near horizon.

50 inch Searchlight MONSTER was shelved for a few years while I was waiting to secure a 4,000 watt HMI 385,000 lumen light source. It is a good substitute for the 60 inch WWII searchlights that need much loving care to keep going. This 50 inch MONSTER will help keep the big light legacy going well into the 21st century and beyond. The beautiful beam is a nice painting to a glorious night sky. Photo from a block away.



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Photo taken behind MONSTER showing the beam traveling several miles.

Photo taken from a block away



Photos showing beam traveling overhead. Laser like look, hard to tell direction beam came from when aimed near horizon.





Photo from a block away. Beam paints a nice color in the night sky. Turquoise blue color looks nice.

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Some of these composites were hard to align with the camera tripod. Software to straighten the photos was unavailable.



Photo from behind searchlight.
I'll get back to posting on this shortly.



Beam shot of half finished 50 inch Monster. Searchlight contains a 400 watt HID.




The Monster light beam, as seen from 250 feet away. Monster Searchlight, will be eventually outfitted with a 1000 watt HID medium arc length bulb., actually hop skipping directly to:

Will be almost as bright as the 12,000 watt carbon arc, using a high efficiency HMI short arc 4,000 watt 380,000 lumen beam to WWII 60 inch's 425,000 lumen output. I'm doing this conversion now and should have it ready, mostly cooling system and ignitor installation time.

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:cool: I've learned much during the building and operation of the searchlight I call the "LightSward". I am forever impressed with the performance of this homemade 24 inch reflector light.:thumbsup:

I am moving on to a new project that should rock the skies! I am in the midst of designing and constructing a 50 inch parabolic mirror (reflector) searchlight...for now called the "Monster"!:twothumbs It will utilize all that I learned from building previous lights.

I have conducted many experiments in recent weeks, and have developed a means of producing a superior reflector system. This searchlight will be designed around a standard 1000 watt HID lighting system, yet upgradable. I expect much more dramatic performance than with previous lighting equipment I've built (With more cash flow, I may upgrade to a short arc).:candle: I'm designing this light to be quickly disassembled, so that it can be easily transported, even with my small car!

I'm hoping the sales cost(s) of this will be around $600.oo for basic set-up and around $1,000.oo for a complete weatherized version, (this includes time). These are just prelims.

I will begin posting some design diagrams, tests results and production photos as I build this "Monster!":eek: This is fun!

Stay tuned!:cool:
 
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roadie

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Singapore
:popcorn:

50 inch = 127cm !!!!!

with 1000 watt HID lighting system !!!!!!!!!!!

i am embeded to this thread!
 

LightSward

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Location
Portland, Oregon
I did some initial pre-construction tests last night with a 'section of the planned reflector mirror'. Impressive! :twothumbs

I got a small dim light source to shine more than half a mile.:thumbsup:
 

IlluminatedOne

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Nov 14, 2008
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Location
UK
Me too, cant wait to see what this one can do. I also love how this is done on a budget, it has inspired me to have a go at my own reflector in the future when i have some spare time and money.

Keep up the good work.
 

LightSward

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Messages
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Location
Portland, Oregon
I'm right here.

:thinking: Oh wait....you didn't say 'the ultimate' what. :aaa:

This reminds me of the 12" Fresnel "Sun Furnace" I made. I'm afraid to construct one with the 4' x 3' lens which melts the asphalt or copper pennies in seconds. Check this out if you never heard of these.


:whistle:It was a small 11 x 8.5 inch page reader, Fresnel Lens, that originally got me back into constructing searchlights. I used this lens, and an old 500 watt projector bulb, and mini-reflector, to produce a beam brighter and more concentrated than my original, 'supposed 15 million candle power' "Cyclops". I wanted to gather all the forward shining light, the lens was not collecting, but could not afford the price of a large Fresnel lens. This is when the idea of a large homemade reflector was born.

I have experimented with deep parabolic reflectors and shallow parabolic mirrors for many years, but most recently started to build ones that actually work.:thumbsup:


CAD Parabolic Instructions
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First determine the basic parameters of the Parabolic Reflector. Bulb type, size of light emitter, desired beam configurations, use, costs and many more factors determine the size and basic dimensions of the reflector. Deep Dish or Shallow Mirror, storage, manufacturing ability, etc., then draw base line, focus point and bottom point of reflector..

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Draw lines that will help you form the shape of the parabolic reflector. If you want a shallow mirror type reflector, you need most of your parallel lines close to the bottom, you may have to try a little trial and error. You should quickly realize what spacing you'll need.


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Draw circles, radius equals selected parallel line distances from the base line. Where circle intersects line (at two points) place a dot at each intersecting point for line/ circle pair only.


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Finish intersection and dot placements.

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Remove circles.



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Remove parallel lines. Connect the dots, In CAD use spline or polyline function. By hand, connect the dots using a 'french' curve, finished
You can also just copy and paste this curve and zoom in and out to get the right size.



© All rights reserved.
 
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LightSward

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Location
Portland, Oregon
The real question is, will he use it with a wrist lanyard or a neck lanyard on it.... Jeff
:popcorn:I actually expect the reflector and main light section to be light enough to carry. Because of the size...I'm thinking neck lanyard...:) Also to be carried like a Roman Warrior carried his sword and shield.

After careful consideration, I have decided to use a 'projector' type arrangement. The 50 inch searchlight will somewhat resemble the 60 inch anti-aircraft searchlights of WWII. There will be differences, of course, such as a low budget design, but the light source itself (starting with my existing 400 watt HID and upgrading to a giant 1000-4000 watt warehouse, stadium type HID low cost light bulb) and ellipsoidal concentrating reflector...also homemade... will be sticking out the front, center of the main protective lens, similar to a satellite dish horn. I'm using a design similar to old theater spotlights and projectors. The main 50 inch parabolic reflector, (mirror) will act as a giant lens. The test I have done, using sectionals, have had exciting results.

CAD Reflector drawing of basic light paths

This drawing shows the basic configuration of the reflectors and light source along with the basic light paths


Close up of part 50 inch reflector profile

Here a close-up profile view of the full scale Auto CAD drawing of the 50 inch reflector mold rigid foam elements.
Production Mold blueprints are examined and compared to actual scale templates in adjacent photo.

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Production Mold blueprints in fabrication room

When the actual reflector is finished it will be close to 50 inches in diameter. The 47 inches noted is the basic underlying foam frame dimension.


Reflector Fabrication Molds under construction


The Ellipsoidal Elements are plotted and transferred to rigid foam and readied for cutout.
Cutting out the basic Elipsoidal Elements


Here the basic Ellipsoidal Mold Elements are cut from rigid insulation.


cutout and sandwich assembly inspection


The basic foam cutouts are checked for basic fit.
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The large sheets of rigid foam being transformed into Production Molds.



Ellipsoidal Mold rigid foam assembled

Ellipsoidal Mold rigid foam glueing and assembly

Glue is applied and elements sandwiched together using center bolt as alignment guide.
The basic rigid foam elements are assembled into a single unit and readied for sanding,...

Fiberglass mold frame has been covered with the first layer of joint compound, using a sort of potter's wheel and a separate rotating reflector profile "screed".

I will have more photos as I complete each construction and experimentation phase.

I was asked recently about 'Mylar" compared to "Trim Brite", by 'Chrome Brite'...the product I've been using. My response:

I'm not sure if I tested Mylar yet,(something like it fore sure...) but from what I understand, from a You-Tube video, it isn't quite as 'mirror' :cool:like as other reflective surfaces, yet it seems to reflect much of the light, just slightly fuzzy.:thinking: Other reflective surfaces have a slightly more mirror like reflection, but are 'darker' and don't transmit as much light. :candle:

:poke:I'm always experimenting, but the "Chrome Brite" brand: Trim Brite :twothumbsproduct seems to be the best compromise; a mirror like surface, (I can shave, using it..see the whiskers at a couple feet distance) and it seems to reflect just about as much light as my bathroom mirror. I put several strips of various brands and reflective products on the bathroom mirror for comparison.

My under construction, 50 inch monster, may have a picture slide slot in the projector section of the searchlight, for large simple transparencies, such as the American Flag, which will shine onto a cloud?:D All depends on how much more accurate the reflective surface is, (I am aiming for a little bit smoother surface).



 
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LightSward

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
1,164
Location
Portland, Oregon
:popcorn:

50 inch = 127cm !!!!!

with 1000 watt HID lighting system !!!!!!!!!!!

i am embeded to this thread!


I've begun construction of the 50 inch reflector...it's huge...awesome...:naughty:just a piece of "rigid insulation" right now, but this searchlight reflector mold, under construction is humbling to be around. :grin2:

As budget permits, I'd like to go with a small arc HID...but the fun of the Hardware store 1000 watt HID is the low cost ({$100.oo}, around a hundred bucks for bulb and ballast), and very long run time...around 35,000 hours, ...just those pesky 10 minute cool down and restart times):nana:

This is one of the funnest things I've ever built!
 
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