Besides the Maxabeam what is the furthest throwing handheld?

[ChrisDallas]

I need to know what the furthest throwing handheld light is. I don't want to spend $2500 so the maxabeam is not an option but, up to $1000 is doable.

I was one of the original "group buy" owners of the Barn Burner but it was not what I was looking for, don't get me wrong it was an awesome light, well built & did produce tons of light but it's throw was not to my liking so I ended up selling it here on the forum & I believe Lux Luthor was the buyer but I may be wrong.

In any event, I need a "Thrower" so what are my options.

Cheers
Chris

 

[lasercrazy]

The super nova aka maxabeam clone can be had for under that. You'll have to search for links though.

 

[Patriot]

Have you ever considered the SuperNova, Maxabeam clone? Although it doesn't perform like the Maxabeam it's a short arc light and should throw better than most of the HID light. I believe they're still available new for under $1000 from China, unless a CPFer sells their's to you.

If the BB wasn't right for you then I have no idea what other HID light would meet your needs. The Titanium Mega would probably give the best throw out of the group of stock spots go: http://www.batteryjunction.com/mega-illuminator.html

The Streamlight Litebox looks to be quite the thrower also:
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_HID_LiteBox.php

 

[BlueBeam22]

The Titanium Mega would probably give the best throw out of the group of stock spots go: http://www.batteryjunction.com/mega-illuminator.html

I agree that the Mega Illuminator would give great throw because with an HID bulb and the massive surface area of the 9'' reflector it would throw extremely far.

IIRC I did hear once on CPF that a BarnBurner easily out-threw a 15mcp Thor, so the Mega Illuminator and BarnBurner might throw about the same distance.

I believe A short arc light would throw many times farther than the BarnBurner, with kind of a laser-like beam.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Hi Chris,

Yeah, I took care of your BB, and then because I had one of the original GB upgraded models which finally came through, I sold yours to Karlthev.

Another pretty amazing thrower is the 1.5 C or D Mag using Aspherical Lens that blasts a powerful small LED like a white laser. Mac & Ledean made them. Really amazing result for less than $200

 

[Patriot]

There is a Maxabeam in the MarketPlace for $500 but it's a little rough and needs a new lamp though. IIRC lamps are about $450 bucks. It could be a good deal for someone who already owns a MB and a spare lamp.

 

[That_Guy]

When focused properly the Barn Burner does actually throw quite far. There are plenty of lights out there which have tighter beams, but when it comes to actual throw most of those lights aren't actually much better, or in many cases are actually worse. The reason for this is the DL50 lamp overdriven to 75W, which for a given reflector size gives 2 - 3 times the throw of a standard 35W automotive D2S system. So for a 35W system to match the Barnburner it needs a reflector 2 - 3 times bigger.

Short of buying a xenon short-arc light the only way you are going to get much more throw is to take the guts of the Barnburner (DL50 lamp overdriven to 75W) and stick it in another light with a much bigger reflector. The Costco HID has a nice big reflector but the quality is awful. The 15mcp Thor reflector is better, but still not particually good, although it should give decent results

Modifying a Lightforce Blitz will probably give the best results. A DL50 @ 75W should actually come quite close to the Maxabeam on normal mode. The Maxabeam is rated at 4.5mcp on normal, the Blitz should reach 3 - 4mcp.

If you can spend up to $1000 the easiest way to get Maxabeam like throw would be to buy an actual Maxabeam second hand off eBay. They usually go for around $800.

Most Supernovas are dodgy and despite having a much tighter beam actually have less throw than the Barnburner. This is because the focus mechanism is unable to push the lamp far enough foward into the reflector to focus properly. See this thread. However it is possible to modify the lamp mount to allow the lamp to be focused properly which should give you near Maxabeam performance at a fraction of the price.

 

[M@elstrom]

The reason for this is the DL50 lamp overdriven to 75W, which for a given reflector size gives 2 - 3 times the throw of a standard 35W automotive D2S system. So for a 35W system to match the Barnburner it needs a reflector 2 - 3 times bigger.

Just how big is the MB reflector? I found information regarding it's other features just not that...

Modifying a Lightforce Blitz will probably give the best results. A DL50 @ 75W should actually come quite close to the Maxabeam on normal mode. The Maxabeam is rated at 4.5mcp on normal, the Blitz should reach 3 - 4mcp.

Please forgive my ignorance but just how is that calculated? at the bulb itself OR from a specific uniform distance? I ask because of the myriad of claims made by various manufacturers as to the Million CP factor of their products

 

[That_Guy]

Just how big is the MB reflector? I found information regarding it's other features just not that...

It's not very big, only around 4 - 5 inches. I know I've seen the exact diameter somewhere on the internet before, but I can't remember where. A quick google says 117mm which sounds in the ballpark.

Please forgive my ignorance but just how is that calculated? at the bulb itself OR from a specific uniform distance? I ask because of the myriad of claims made by various manufacturers as to the Million CP factor of their products

I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "how is that calculated? at the bulb itself OR from a specific uniform distance?". Candlepower doesn't change with distance like lux does, it is similar to lumens. It is measured by taking a lux reading at a known distance from the light then multiplying the reading by the square of the distance in metres. Theoretically it can be measured at any distance but in reality it has to be measured at some minimum distance from the light or the reading will be low, usually around 10 - 15 metres for most spotlights.

The Maxabeam candle power rating is their official rating. It is actually measured and is accurate (about the only light in the industry which does have an accurate cp rating). The Blitz rating is an estimate. If you want I can go into details of how I calculated it.

 

[BVH]

I had a SuperNova and what a disappointment! Sold it in a couple of weeks. I can confirm that my Costco 75 Watt/DL50 combo out-throws it quite easily.

 

[ChrisDallas]

Thanks for all the replies guys I guess I will have to wait for a used maxabeam on ebay.

 

[Patriot]

I had a SuperNova and what a disappointment! Sold it in a couple of weeks. I can confirm that my Costco 75 Watt/DL50 combo out-throws it quite easily.

That's good info BVH. I had never heard that it was that weak before, but then I've never seen them directly compared.

 

[ChrisDallas]

Hi Chris,

Yeah, I took care of your BB, and then because I had one of the original GB upgraded models which finally came through, I sold yours to Karlthev.

Another pretty amazing thrower is the 1.5 C or D Mag using Aspherical Lens that blasts a powerful small LED like a white laser. Mac & Ledean made them. Really amazing result for less than $200

Lex do you have a link to the light you're talking about? I've been away from the forum awhile thx

 

[Flashanator]

Wow!! the Maxabeam clone must be rubbish if its out thrown by a Your Costco 75w HID BVH.

No offence 2 ur impressive costco 75.

I beat the maxabeam would still own by a large margin?

 

[DM51]

The SuperNova is not as good as the MaxaBeam, but it's not too bad - and it's very impressive for someone who hasn't seen a focusing spotlight before.

The SN doesn't focus down quite as tight as the MB, as mentioned in other posts above, but it's still pretty impressive out to ~600 yards. Beyond that, the MB leaves it for dead.

I went out the other night to try to get some comparison shots of the two, but there was enough wind blowing to give my very inferior tripod a bit of shake, and the pics were no good. I'll try and do a repeat soon.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Lex do you have a link to the light you're talking about? I've been away from the forum awhile thx

Yes sir.

Ledean's Aspheric

Mac's Aspheric

There's also a couple other topics in the custom lights section about them.

 

[M@elstrom]

I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "how is that calculated? at the bulb itself OR from a specific uniform distance?". Candlepower doesn't change with distance like lux does, it is similar to lumens. It is measured by taking a lux reading at a known distance from the light then multiplying the reading by the square of the distance in metres. Theoretically it can be measured at any distance but in reality it has to be measured at some minimum distance from the light or the reading will be low, usually around 10 - 15 metres for most spotlights.

I was attempting to visualize (or put into context) the performance difference between the Maxabeam (and it's 4.5Million CP) the POB HID (with a claimed 22Million CP) & various Halogen spotlights I've owned & perused the product specifications for ranging from 1~20 Million CP

Thus working from the assumption that a 35w HID automotive system would need a reflector 2~3 times that of the MB (to perform in a similar manner) my modest 10" reflector & overdriven 35w HID project could be approaching what I might expect from a MB (without the luxury of focus ability)? :thinking:

 

[That_Guy]

I was attempting to visualize (or put into context) the performance difference between the Maxabeam (and it's 4.5Million CP) the POB HID (with a claimed 22Million CP) & various Halogen spotlights I've owned & perused the product specifications for ranging from 1~20 Million CP

The 10mcp Thor is around 300 000cp.
The 15mcp Thor is around 400 000cp.
The Lightforce Blitz is rated at 1mcp, and it does actually achieve this providing the lamp is driven hard. If running off a 12V SLA battery it is probably closer to 500 000cp.
The Costco HID is around 1mcp, but varies significantly due to its poor quality, inconsistent reflector. Theoretically it should achieve close to 2mcp.
The Sams club HID is around 400 000cp.

Thus working from the assumption that a 35w HID automotive system would need a reflector 2~3 times that of the MB (to perform in a similar manner) my modest 10" reflector & overdriven 35w HID project could be approaching what I might expect from a MB (without the luxury of focus ability)? :thinking:

Your project should reach approximately 2mcp @ 35W, 3mcp @ 50W and 4mcp @ 75W. This is assuming a decent quality reflector and a good quality lamp (4300k Philips, Osram or GE, or preferably a Philips DL50, not some Chinese junk).

 

[M@elstrom]

Ah... thanks That_Guy, you couldn't have made it any clearer! :thumbsup:

FWIW the Ballast & bulb are reportedly Bosch (though fraudulent mis-representations happen all the time)