Xenonics Nighthunter One help

AceDan

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Hi guys,
Is this the correct forum to post a support thread? Xenonics Customer Support next to useless. Never a single reply for something that is supposed to be mil.

Thanks,
AceD
 

AceDan

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Hello and thanks.

I'm now on my second nh1. Both have failed with this problem. (btw, I bought the second one because I was concerned about messing with the first nh1. Now the second one has exactly the same problem).

NH1 of whom I know some don't like. I think it's (was) a great torch and very good with covert lens on.

Both of mine will no longer power up. When I hit or hold on the power button, the circuit clicks and then buzzes momentarily. The batteries I'm certain are good. Both charge fully and are 22v 4400mah lipos.

The bulb I cannot see any defects, although I wouldn't know how to test being a short arc.

Every time I press the power button, it buzzes inside and then stops. No light whatsoever.

I've taken the bulb out and held the power button on to see what this buzzing sound is. All I can see inside is this component on the board lighting up as if it were some kind or starter. The fact that both my nh1s do "exactly" the same buzz must mean they are suffering the same problem.

Could this be the bulb ? Quite expensive to buy one of it turns out not to be!

Can I test the bulbs somehow?

Any advice, forever grateful. Xenonics support have not once replied.

AceD
 

ma_sha1

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Don't trust the battery, get a power supply & hook up to the light directly & see if you can fire it up.
The battery is the first place I'd trouble shoot at. These should be robust lights, for both to have lamp or ballast failure is not impossible but unlikely.

I've built short arcs from scratch, when ballast can't draw enough power, it buzzes (Also throw sparks at my ballast).
 
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AceDan

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Hi, thanks for reply. The lights have mains power supplies but still don't fire up even when plugged in. I just can't work it out how two have done the exact same thing within weeks of each other.

The last thing I remember before the second nh1 failed was it took a few seconds from pushing the on button, to igniting the bulb. Under normal conditions the light comes on instantly. The delay happened on the first nh1 also.

The lights are still in new condition. Can I test the bulbs somehow, and what can I do with the batteries even if on mains makes no difference?

Again, thanks for help.
 

ma_sha1

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Does the power supply suppose to fire it up? Some power supply only charge & won't fire, for example, my shaver won't shave when power is plugged in, a safety feature. Did you ever fire it up with main power supply w/o battery in it? If you have two charger, you could rig one up & directly connect to battery contact on the ballast & see if it'll fire up.

If you want to try a new bulb, I think it's UXL-75XE, it appears on ebay from time to time for $50-$100 or so, try it out.
 

AceDan

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Hi, yes the power supply is designed so it can be used from the mains (or cigarette lighter) and charge at the same time.

Although the bulb is replaceable, Xenonics claim that they factory align. The bulb model is oddly a UXL-75XE3. Heard of that one?

I'm not even sure what the ballast looks like tbh. All I see looking inside are several circuit boards and this extremely bright sparking light that appears to be the sole cause of the buzzing.

It's a tight fit inside the torch and I'm no electrical engineer. If you or someone can highlight a way to tell if bulb blown, I'd happily purchase another off eBay or the like...
 

AceDan

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Oh btw, not tried plugged into mains without battery. Could be worth a try. Thanks
 

BVH

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I don't have anything further to offer at the moment but I would not initiate the ignition cycle without the bulb in the circuit. The spark you see might be the "arc gap" component built into many short arc ignition systems. It's a calibrated gap inside a container similar to a spark plug gap and is designed to create a specific ignition voltage. Do you remember the buzzing when the lights worked? It is not an uncommon normal sound in some short arcs.

Do you have a voltmeter?

And just to confirm, the mains power supply is designed so that the light can run for unlimited time while hooked to it?
 

BVH

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The bulb model is oddly a UXL-75XE3. Heard of that one?

Here's a lot of 6 bulbs that are probably the same even with an extra digit in the number.

ebay.com/itm/NEW-Lot-of-6-Ushio-UXL-75XE-Xenon-Short-Arc-65W-Lamp-Bulbs-1000L-Light-5000371-/400304035223?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d33fad597
 

AceDan

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Hello.

Nope, when the lights were working correctly, there was no "buzzing" at all. The buzz is now apparent since they don't work.

As for the power supply. It is used so you can get continuous use from the light, military installations etc or for use when on vehicles. And on the plus side, will charge the battery at the same time.

Thanks for the eBay link. Have contacted seller to see if he'll split individually but he said nope.

I don't have voltmeter either, only multimeter but that will only have max 12v. Guess I can borrow one. What sort of range will it need and where will I use it on torch?

Thanks again for all your replies.
 

BVH

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Here's one for 70.

.ebay.com/itm/Ushio-UXL-75XE-65-Watt-Xenon-Short-Arc-High-Pressure-lamp-Brand-New-/170860132098?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c80eb702

On the lights or in paperwork, is there an acceptable input voltage range the lights will operate on? The voltmeter would need to be able to measure DC voltage up to the max battery voltage. Is this a 6S Lipo and if so, then it will need to read up to 25.2V. You'd need to put the voltmeter probes across the + and - battery terminals and observe the Voltage reading when you're trying to start the lights. The reading should be above the minimum input voltage stated in the manual if you have one. You can do the same with the power supply connected. You just want to insure that the light is receiving a high enough Voltage to operate. If that is indeed fine, then you're looking at either a ballast or bulb problem but you probably already know that.
 
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AceDan

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Thanks for that.

Still need to know how to test current bulbs though. How can you check continuity or if bulb blown on a short arc?
 

BVH

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Unless you have a known good ballast/short arc power supply, there's no way to test a short arc bulb. There is no continuity thru them by design. I'm not familiar with this light but can you open up the ballast to visually look for burned parts, loose connection or?
 

AceDan

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Ah ok fair enough. I can try taking it apart gently to see, but TWO nh1s within a few weeks, with exactly identical lamp failure?!!! And completely different units, different serials etc. unless out of a bad batch?
 

BVH

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My guess is that it's not a power supply issue with two batts and two external supplies all of a sudden going South. I also guess it's not a bulb issue - which leaves a ballast, switch or connection issue. And I agree with you that coincidences are not too plentiful in the real world. What have you done identically to both lights just prior to each one malfunctioning? How is that bulb module mounted and connected? Could there be a connection issue in that setup? Is the ballast and lamp module getting a good ground. Just some things that come to mind. I love trouble shooting these issues. Wish I had one to investigate.
 

AceDan

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I've done nothing except turn them on and use them as per a torch. Admittedly they are extremely powerful and so have used them over long distances. Nothing else you can do except turn it on or off. Single button only.

When the first one failed, I found a second one pretty quickly which I was going to use to take bulb out and batt to test in first one. But I figured not to in case it blew a bulb or batt. And then at least two hours use, buzz buzz and no light.

I'm happy to take it apart, just not sure how to test as I'm not sure what components do what or how to check they working correctly. If only Xenonics replied to my support requests!
 

Patriot

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Hi guys,
Is this the correct forum to post a support thread? Xenonics Customer Support next to useless. Never a single reply for something that is supposed to be mil.

Just out of curiousity of their customer service / support, I called Xenonics yesterday afternoon and left a message stating that I had a friend with a NH1 issue. Vicky called back and left a message on my phone at 10:00am when I was in a meeting and left her direct extension. Not sure what you think but I was fairly impressed with that.

Did you call customer service? Is the light under warranty? Did you purchase it used?
 
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