BVH
Flashaholic
Tinkered in the garage for about 7 hours. Ended up with a 150 Watt output VEC192 twin HID. Output is a measured 75 Watts each side powering DL50 Fatboys. The lamp installation was fairly easy. The center of the HID arc gap was a little less than 1 mm further out into the reflector than the center of the radial filament of the Halogen lamps. A couple of hard cardboard shims totaling about .030" took care of that. The flanges of the HID lamps were a bit too small in the bore and the lamps would not stay centered when the retainer clip was installed. I took 5 strands of a piece of #10 stranded wire, twisted them and then inserted them into the outside of the bore, sort of like an internal "C" clip. The lamp flange pressed right in - perfect fit! I re-used the stock clips although they were a bit more work to get in.
Most difficult part was reducing the size of the lamp connectors on their outside dimension – not because of a lack of depth behind the reflector, but because of a lack of width in the case. The molded reflector-backing part of the case tapers in very quickly and would not allow the reflector to seat so I had to considerably dremel/shave the bake-o-lite-type connectors. They look very Mickey-Mouse but are secure and will have to do until I figure out a better connector for the lamps. I had to remove both plastic bulkheads in the middle of the inside of the light and most of the plastic webbing in the battery door to allow the battery to move back which allowed the fitting of the two ballasts. This left about 1/16" or less between the lamp connector and the forward ballast. The reflector is not completely seated in the case because the lamp connector on the switch side is contacting the two "on/off" switches. The bezel screws down and holds the reflector in normal alignment with the light so the end result is that the reflector is secured about 3/16" further out in the case. I can't tell any difference by looking at the light so looks like it just came out of the box and remains a sleeper.
Pictures don't tell the story that well. With both lamps lit, it it noticeably brighter than the BB but not startlingly so. The saying "it takes twice the brightness to see a noticeable difference" holds true here. I think with one lamp, it throws almost as good as the BB. With both, it throws better. Obviously, the BB reflector pattern is better. One hot spot is a bit higher than the other on the Vector. Both with the Halogens and the HID's so I think it's a bug in the reflector, so to speak.
Had a lot of fun doing this. I still love this place and all the fun it's given me!!
Vector on the left and Barn Burner on the right.
Little closer
1 lamp lit. V on left, Barn Burner on right
2 lamps lit
lower exposure, both lit
lowest exposure, both lit
Not sure why there appears to be a color difference in the last exposure. All lamps are the same and are driven the same.
Most difficult part was reducing the size of the lamp connectors on their outside dimension – not because of a lack of depth behind the reflector, but because of a lack of width in the case. The molded reflector-backing part of the case tapers in very quickly and would not allow the reflector to seat so I had to considerably dremel/shave the bake-o-lite-type connectors. They look very Mickey-Mouse but are secure and will have to do until I figure out a better connector for the lamps. I had to remove both plastic bulkheads in the middle of the inside of the light and most of the plastic webbing in the battery door to allow the battery to move back which allowed the fitting of the two ballasts. This left about 1/16" or less between the lamp connector and the forward ballast. The reflector is not completely seated in the case because the lamp connector on the switch side is contacting the two "on/off" switches. The bezel screws down and holds the reflector in normal alignment with the light so the end result is that the reflector is secured about 3/16" further out in the case. I can't tell any difference by looking at the light so looks like it just came out of the box and remains a sleeper.
Pictures don't tell the story that well. With both lamps lit, it it noticeably brighter than the BB but not startlingly so. The saying "it takes twice the brightness to see a noticeable difference" holds true here. I think with one lamp, it throws almost as good as the BB. With both, it throws better. Obviously, the BB reflector pattern is better. One hot spot is a bit higher than the other on the Vector. Both with the Halogens and the HID's so I think it's a bug in the reflector, so to speak.
Had a lot of fun doing this. I still love this place and all the fun it's given me!!
Vector on the left and Barn Burner on the right.
Little closer
1 lamp lit. V on left, Barn Burner on right
2 lamps lit
lower exposure, both lit
lowest exposure, both lit
Not sure why there appears to be a color difference in the last exposure. All lamps are the same and are driven the same.
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