A really good deal on a spotlight....

[DrJ]

.

 

[cheesehead]

That's cheaper than the 6 volt replacement battery alone. Hmm, maybe I need some, just for the batteries.

 

[DrJ]

.

 

[cheesehead]

Shunhong? That's one of my favorites! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Eh, how can you go wrong at $6.99? Battery, bulb, housing and charger. That's silly cheap, even when you include shipping.

thanks for the update

 

[DrJ]

.

 

[PoppyGoddess]

I need a green filter for these spotlights. Does anyone know if anybody out there make a green filter for their spotlights? No, we're not interested in homemade stuff.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I just ordered one. Will be my first spotlight. On, on, and upward!

Bill

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Got my "really good deal spotlight", and it is just great. Charged it up and shined it down the roadway in front of my house. Intense spot with little spill, almost perfect round hotspot. No brand name on box, and no instruction manual. Not sure what type of quartz halogen is used. Lens appears to be glass, not sure about reflector, which has a finely orange peeled texture. I have not opened it up yet. I do not know if it has over charge protection. Box says 450mA's charge rate, AC or DC. Box also says swival handle, though no swival included. There is a threaded hole in the bottom of the grip handle. This is my first spotlight and I am impressed with it. Light and handy. I will probably send for two more, and maybe change out bulb for lower wattage and longer run time, and somehow diffuse the beam for flood effect. Any comments out there from owners?

Bill

 

[Ralf]

commonly the charging "electronics" of this cheap spotligths
consists only of an resistor. Thats not a good idea for
a sla type battery. My spotlight cooked the sla battery
at first time charging. Therefore I decided to build in
a voltage regulated current limiting electronics. Just had
a look at the datasheets for an LM317 Voltage Regulator ...
And I managed it to fit in the light ...

Cheers

Ralf

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Anyone know for sure what type halogen bulb this spotlight uses. Anyone have experiences using this light? Seems to be an ok spotlight. See my earlier post.

Bill

 

[Velcro]

These spotlights appear to pop up all over the globe. Like most cheap spotlights, it has the 6V 4Ah battery and 55W H3 lamp setup.

Personally, I don't care much for those cheap spotlights anymore. I own enough to know that the runtime is just way too short to make them really useful. Sure, they're bright and they can reach very far and light things up and all. But what fun or usefulness is there when you can only light things up for short periods of time because the battery capacity is so limited? I consider a 7Ah battery a minimum requirement but those are hard to come by. And even if you do find one, you'll still be lucky if you have light after 15 minutes or so.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I find mine useful when checking noises outside. I don't need to shine it for 20 minutes. I notice that the hi-cap battery spotlights are really heavy. Streamlight makes a decent flood or spotlight, and can run several hours with 8watt bulbs. Pg@E people use them with the flood setup. The LiteBox. 10 or 12amp battery.

Bill

 

[cheesehead]

It's good for what it does, and that's throw out tons of light and still be affordable. It's perfect for checking noises in the backyard or just showing off. Vector has a couple models with adjustable power output, but then the light dims and is just not as much fun. Might as well just carry a 6 volt alkaline lantern.

The 7 amp Thor with 12 volts does 45 minutes of run-time (80 on low), but it's so large, it should be a clown prop. Liteboxs seem kinda pricey IMO.

cheese

 

[DrJ]

.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

DrJ, where is you thread on 25W'er.

Bill

 

[DrJ]

.

 

[gadget_lover]

I just got back from wally world (walmart) and have 3 brand new Vector 1 MCP rechargables in Camo colors. They are on sale for $7.00 each in the automotive section. It has a sealed lead acid battery. The bulb is 6v at 55 watts, so I expect the battery to be 6 volt too. The battery is replacable.

They advertise 25 minutes run time.

The charger is not regulated. It cautions against over charging. It comes with a cigarette lighter plug too. 12 hours to charge from AC, 5 hours to charge via the cigarette lighter.

It does NOT allow powering from the car via the cigarette lighter while it's being used.


Daniel

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Daniel, fire it up, and give a report.

Bill

 

[RussH]

These spotlights are a lot more usful (but not as cheap) in a 12v version like several of the vector lights. That is IF you can run them directly off a car or boat battery (or other cigarette lighter supply). I've replaced the charging circuits (the better ones have a LM317) in a few which were burned out by trying to run the full lamp current (4a @ 55w, 13.8v) thru them. I just put in another jack parallel to the 'charging' jack - it's best to use a different style jack for each purpose. -RussH

 

[milkyspit]

[ QUOTE ]
RussH said:
These spotlights are a lot more usful (but not as cheap) in a 12v version like several of the vector lights. That is IF you can run them directly off a car or boat battery (or other cigarette lighter supply). I've replaced the charging circuits (the better ones have a LM317) in a few which were burned out by trying to run the full lamp current (4a @ 55w, 13.8v) thru them. I just put in another jack parallel to the 'charging' jack - it's best to use a different style jack for each purpose. -RussH

[/ QUOTE ]

Russ, what I'm about to say is not a criticism of you AT ALL, but IS a bit of a criticism of the cheap spotlight manufacturers. That said... I find it humorous that the LM317 is considered a "better" charging circuit and therefore left out of many of the cheap lights. The truth of the matter is that the LM317 and a resistor or two can make a nicely regulated charging circuit... and the cost for such luxuries? Maybe 70 cents, probably half that to a big corporation who's capable of buying parts in large volumes. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif