AN/VSS-1 Searchlight

[Flashanator]

dam, sounds amazing,

so wish these vss lights were available local for me

 

[DM51]

The beam reached over 4 miles to the roadway on the other side of the perimeter and provided ample illumination for units in position viewing activity in that area.

The Death Ray is still mounted to the back of my truck :naughty:

PICCSSSSSSSS PLEEEEEEASE!!!!!!

 

[IgNITEor]

They're coming, honest!!

Last night was pure cornfusion as I tried to deal with PhotoBucket's stooopid edit feature. And, to make matters worse, I somehow logged on to CPF with two separate computers 😕 one (a Mac) wouldn't load jpeg
files, because I'm new to that system, and my shed dwelling laptop (a PC) had a slow wireless signal.

I pinged the other Death Ray crew to send in all ops. related still shots.
Shooting footage or pix was a little tough because we only had the the SonyCam and my "trainee" was still learning to operate his camera. All this while maintaining radio contact with other units and sweeping up to 3 miles of shoreline using a spotting scope and night vision goggles. We were pretty busy.

I have handy cam footage with the unit in operation out on the Playa, I've never tried to load short mpeg's into a blog or forum (!) page. So,as a precaution, I'm going to capture some frames and see how they size up for a jpeg. I might try for a YouTube viddy and post the link here.

Luckily, a couple of really good things happened:

An unintentional HOT disconnect of the DC supply, while in operation did not result in a lamp explosion 😱oo: The Xenon gods were there to protect us!
It can take up to 30 minutes or more for complete lamp cooldown (blower cycle's off) probably because it takes forever to heat that thick magnesium housing and we were operational for up to 4-5 hours at a time.
The overdrive option works VERY well, sucks a lotta juice, and also did not
explode the lamp! Cycling the O.D. option was by accident, but we tried twice. Insanity at the pull of a knob.

Could that have been me who messed up the server last night?
Sorry!!!

 

[IgNITEor]

PICCSSSSSSSS PLEEEEEEASE!!!!!!

O.K. Had some real trouble back there in image hosting land. These pics are post-event with the Death Ray as it currently sits.......taking up a lotta space in my truck bed!

Two NorthStar 170's (AGM) are tucked under the white tool box and are still holding a charge even after several demo's of short duration. During the event, a Honda genset sat on the tailgate's left rear area. This provided 240 Volts to the skinny rectifier over on the right side behind the light in this pic. It's rated for 120 amp output and I have the voltage set as high a possible, 27.8 Vdc, just under the level that triggers overvoltage alarm.

blast.
In this shot, you can see the rust already forming on the recently semi-finished yoke assembly! (Rust Never Sleeps). The work on this part was started in a large garage miles from my house and weeks before departure. My welding buddy tweaked his back and had to bail just days before I left for the desert! I had to grab his old Lincoln buzz-box, snake a thick power cord out to the shed (!) and finish the welding surrounded by flamables and a very tight work space. The gray junction box behind the yoke is full of DC power distribution and the wiring for the main power/control cable.

****Diagram for this apparatus provided by BVH**** Thanks hombre!!

It all rotates as one unit so the operator has easy reach to the controls.
The edges of the gussett's (sp?) have some rubber hose protection, cheezy, but very functional. If you don't remember to rotate back around
you find yourself doing a little field welding!

In one high-speed braking incident, the double 3/4" plywood and all 400 lbs. of VSS-1, yoke, base, and the generator slid forward almost 3-inches, so we had to support the control cable in a weird way to keep it from rubbing against the tool box when we lost the clearance.

I'm tired.........I'll add more pics tomorrow.
Still working on stills from the ops. footage.

 

[Flashanator]

OH yea, look forward to some beamshots of this bright sucker😗

 

[IgNITEor]

Well..........I think I've gone through most of the still shots and so far no
wild flaming beams burning through the dusty desert night. I remember a certain piece missing from the tripod, which also resulted in another cheezy gaffer's tape session with installing the spotting scope :shrug:

So, because of the missing tripod piece, probably most of the beamshot attemps with the digi-cam were to funky to keep. We'll have to capture
some viddy frames fer' sure.
The genny shown above is a EU6500is. More than we need, the average load was 3600 Watts during the first 20-30 minutes, then it drops to 3400W soon after. It was fairly quiet and could run almost two shifts (12 hours) if you gave it a rest near the end and ran on battery only.

Getting ready for some dusty surveilance.

This is a relatively clear moment. Winds always kick up later in the evening, or a ranger truck drives very fast somewhere upwind raising a HUGE cloud and rooster tail of playa for all to breathe.

Didn't trouble the Death Ray any :thumbsup:


To mbouchard: If you're intrested in dimensions for a yoke and the method of attachment, i'd be happy to detail that. You asked about the (v2) ?
I'm pretty sure that states your version, like mine, is equipped with a pink IR filter lens. I got mine from Saturn Surplus as well.

To tvodrd: Happy soon-to-be retired! Being tired is also acceptable, more fun + time to play with dangerous and powerful lamps!

To

 

[DM51]

Excellent! It would be great to see some shots of it lighting up those hills in the background of your 2nd photo.

 

[Flashanator]

OMG!!!

This thing looks amazing....

I can't imagine how GOD DAM bright this beam would be In that crystal clear Light pollution free night sky😱

Must be such a beautiful sight.

Oh man wish I was there to witness it. 🙁

Look forward to beamshots.

 

[batvette]

In this shot, you can see the rust already forming on the recently semi-finished yoke assembly! (Rust Never Sleeps).

Keerist, you'd think people in the corrosion rich environment of Washington State's coastal area (the sound? they call it?) would have heard of this newfangled PAINT stuff.

If you're too lazy to chip off that rust they even make primer you can brush right on. Or cold galvanizing spray.

****was in Navy. Hates rust****

Love the setup though. Good work.

 

[batvette]

OMG!!!

This thing looks amazing....

I can't imagine how GOD DAM bright this beam would be In that crystal clear Light pollution free night sky😱

Must be such a beautiful sight.

Oh man wish I was there to witness it. 🙁

Look forward to beamshots.

Yeah, after so many potent lights are emasculated by beamshots of a couple hundred feet of driveway to land on the side of an outhouse, we're shown an epic landscape of something akin to what Buckaroo Banzai used to accelerate into that 8th dimension.... IN DAYLIGHT! Arrgh!

Someone's having fun toying with us.....

(shots on previous page were impressive though)

 

[IgNITEor]

batvette,

Thanks for rubbing it in! Yeah, I get the U.S. Navy direct order: if it moves, GREASE IT! If it doesn't PAINT IT!
In this case, the yoke & trunnion assembly were almost completed in time to pull duty. I brought the paint, then I found a need to add more steel under the yoke to support the VSS better and decided to leave it raw before more welding occurs.

I trust the VSS group to not implicate me with equipment negligence.........please?!

Yet, after looking at some of the other rigs, especially the -1 with all that awesome diamond plating (who could that be??) I feel kinda cheap and dirty. But this light worked it's *** off and was sandblasted more than once....by nature!

 

[IgNITEor]

drag....screeeeech...THUMP! :naughty:

 

[Flashanator]

NO BEAMSHOTS YET?

 

[IgNITEor]

So it's been somewhat of a rough road since I got rolling on this new (for me) posting project featuring a little footage from my exploits in the high desert. I recently fell victim of our struggling economy and had to step back from the family Mac as it was pressed into alternate-income duty.
My time for editing is limited, I'm not Mac savvy whatsoever, and the Firewire I use does not jack into my laptop (PC). I'm working on this.

I did manage to grab a mere 47 seconds of VSS beamshots by pure luck!

As I posted aways back, most of the viddy is too grainy for frame capture, otherwise I would have posted something by now.
Lessons learned:
1. Always shoot video away from the light in operation, spill-light nearby messes with the auto-focus.
2. Don't be an idiot, turn off auto-focus before you start and get used to working in manual mode.
3. Don't tease or neglect other CPF members with misleading information.
4. Do not take it personally if the group begins to taunt you for taking too long to share your offerings.

Click to view the viddy below, it's better with the lights off!
This is a first. Can't wait for a re-shoot next year:

http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk166/IgNITEor/?action=view&current=BRC08-DeathRayBeabshots01.flv

 

[goathouse]

Re: AN/VSS-1(V)2 Searchlight

Hello Willem! Been a while...I'm still looking for a modular rectifier like yours. Any contact with your friend?

Goathouse

 

[ShortArc]

Re: AN/VSS-1(V)2 Searchlight

Hello Willem! Been a while...I'm still looking for a modular rectifier like yours. Any contact with your friend?

Goathouse

Goathouse,
Your PM must be disabled. I will keep it short as this is not the proper means of communicating.
No I have not heard back from my friend, I am sorry.
There are plenty of 28VDC Rectifiers to be found on eby. Here is one example: NEW TPS/TDI SPS5333-6/12898281 28V 125A AC-DC Rectifier.
The input spec calls for 230VAC not sure if that would work for you. Anyway plenty of stuff out there. Good Luck!

 

[modamag]

Re: AN/VSS-1(V)2 Searchlight

Goathouse,

We have a AN/VSS-1 and AN/VSS-3 down here in SJ. You're more than welcome to come down and see it.

Better be quick though the VSS-1 is being put up F/S so it won't be here for ever.

Jonathan

 

[IgNITEor]

Indeed....a fine thread never dies.

I'm starting the process of readying the Death Ray for some more patrol action.
One of the gear motors for the filter assembly may be failing.

Who is currently sitting on the master stockpile of VSS-1 parts?
According to Peak Beam, someone came by with a big flatbed truck and cleared out their VSS inventory and headed for Louisiana.

Hmmmm....I wonder who that was?

 

[billhess]

I have lots of parts email me at [email protected] I also am selling my lights cheap

 

[Parker VH]

I could be wrong but I believe there was one of these lights on Ebay last week if anyone's interested. I search under "xenon searchlight"