Got Lucky - Right Place at the Right Time

[BVH]

That's a great practice. Definitely worth a try.

[BVH]

Got the MR rigged up tonight so that I could, with precision, test the beam maximum focus by shooting the Manufacturer's mechanically stopped focus, +1/16, +1/8", +3/16", +1/4", + 5/16" forward movement of the tube & lens. Now a couple of qualifiers. All shots are at F3.5 and 8 Sec. When cropping, I tried to be as close to the same for all but as you can see, I was not equal on all of them. I don't think that makes a significant difference. What I actually saw, was more dramatic than depicted. The moment I moved forward from MFG stop, it was apparent that the donut hole was developing. It is difficult to see the difference between mfg's stop and 1/16" but look closely at the size of the hotspot btw the two. The mfg's stop is smaller.

MFG's max




+1/16" forward




+1/8" forward




+3/16" forward




+1/4" forward




+5/16" Forward




MFG's max (again)

[FRITZHID]

well.... MB has that lens that compensates for the doughnut hole... maybe that could be used? JAT.

[BVH]

Without having a collimating filter for my MB, I don't know the results of using it but what I don't understand is....You buy a MB for it's laser thin beam. If you want to flood it out a bit, use the de-focus feature. But you can do that to the point of having a donut hole. But now you can get rid of the donut hole with a filter. But why not just re-focus the beam instead of having to carry and use a filter?

[BVH]

Hurray! No more Magic Smoke escaping after a 20 minute run. I suspect it was the silicone sealant holding the silicone doughnut in-place and not the silicone doughnut itself. Actually, the sealant was probably to increase the amount of flash-over protection insulation beyond the doughnut because the doughnut is very thin at its' point of contact on the bulb versus its' nominal thickness of about 1/4".

[FRITZHID]

Without having a collimating filter for my MB, I don't know the results of using it but what I don't understand is....You buy a MB for it's laser thin beam. If you want to flood it out a bit, use the de-focus feature. But you can do that to the point of having a donut hole. But now you can get rid of the donut hole with a filter. But why not just re-focus the beam instead of having to carry and use a filter?

well, MY guess would be able to have a larger spot w/out the donut.

[BVH]

I didn't mention that a while back, I was in the process of removing the front lens by removing the retention clip and then I set the light down to get a different grip. The lens fell forward striking another magnifying glass lens I had sitting on the bench and a small chip appeared. Big enough to be visible in the beam. No, it couldn't land on the carpeted bench top, it had to find the other piece of glass! I communicated with Leon at MR and asked how I go about buying a replacement. He came back saying that he would look around back in the shop to see if there was a used one sitting around. Same day he came back and said he had found one with a tiny chip on the edge that is covered by the retaining ring. He sent it to me for nothing, including postage!! And when it got here, I was extremely please to find it was AR coated! How about that for customer service!!

[BVH]

Maybe the only On-Board Power Megaray in existence?

26.4V/4.2AH LiFeP04 pack
Self machined Aluminum mounts and end caps
Carbon Fiber Tube

On Board battery negates need for Red Buret!

MR draws about 8.5 to 9 Amps at 26V so I expect to get maybe 20 - 25 minutes of run time.

Back end power entry end cap




Back end cap and rear battery support ring




Back end support ring flat mounting surface and screw




Front end cap




Finished

[ICUDoc]

That looks really nice, BVH. Lovely combination of materials. That lathe is a handy thing!!
Thanks God you could lose the beret (quite fetching, though, on the right person....)
What about a belt mount??

[ShortArc]

Nice work Bob!
But it's round...how can you set it down
PS. Got the 125W version, now to find the time to compare it to the 175W one.

[ShortArc]

Here is a pic of the Lead Acid Bat pack it came with.

[BVH]

Now That's what I call HEAVY duty!

One thing I did not plan on in deciding to do this project, was that the MR has a full-time parasitic current draw of about 40 mAh. I found this out while finishing the electrical connections and observing a tiny spark when connecting the fuse. So, while it's not difficult to remove the setscrew and front end cap for charging, it will require an additional R&Rs for connection and disconnection of the electrical when using the light. The draw will empty the pack in 4 days.

While I did not think that the mod was all that practical, I thought it worth the effort considering I wanted some experience on the lathe and mill and that I have another MR that is stock. This one may go back to stock. But then again, I hardly use them so what's a few extra minutes going to cost?

[ShortArc]

WOW a 40mA draw. That is alot. Thank you for this discovery.

[Lips]

Very Cool. I'm jealous!


Bet soldiers would like setup over heavy backpack at times.

[stephan van straaten]

What do mean the lights are from south africa?

[BVH]

What do mean the lights are from south africa?

Night Vision Optics/Megaray: Somerset House I 11 York Street I Randburg I Johannesburg I 2194 I South Africa