Cutting thru summer haze and light fog.

[Guitarzan]

Hello all. I'm looking for a spotlight that will cut through the haze of summer and light fog (high humidity). I'm a river rat by nature. I like to boat on the rivers around the midwest. Maybe I missed some in my searches here, but I didn't really find anything that was specifically built for my needs.

Is there any chance of getting a light that will cut through the haze, throw a half mile to light up another boat (no reflective material), and be light enough to hold up for a while? I have a 12V power tap onboard.

This little Brinkmann 1MCP just aint cuttin it. Time to get real. Help!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mjolnir]

For that distance you would need an HID, but most HIDs have cooler tints. Something with a bulb in the 4300K range would probably work better, like the amondotech N30, which has a 4200K bulb.

 

[Guitarzan]

For that distance you would need an HID, but most HIDs have cooler tints. Something with a bulb in the 4300K range would probably work better, like the amondotech N30, which has a 4200K bulb.

Hmmm... Wonder how the Stanley HID would do with a bulb swap for a river spot?

 

[Richie086]

Hello all. I'm looking for a spotlight that will cut through the haze of summer and light fog (high humidity). I'm a river rat by nature. I like to boat on the rivers around the midwest. Maybe I missed some in my searches here, but I didn't really find anything that was specifically built for my needs.

It sounds to me like it should have an amber lens popped on it for those hazy nights. I don't see how a mid power level HID flashlight wouldn't be good enough. I don't know what price range you are considering, but an AEX-25 with the amber lens is one hell of a thrower. The Tactical HID and Oracle 35w HID's come with an amber lens. Also, those two companies have 24w HID's that fit the AEX amber lens perfectly. So you do have some choices. However, none of these I mention can be run off of a 12 volt power tap.

 

[BlueBeam22]

You might want to try the Brinkmann Q-Beam Max Million III 3 Million MaxPower 12 volt spotlight, which can be bought at Walmart. It is a 100W Halogen plug-in spotlight with a large reflector. You might also want to consider the Professional's Favorite 20 Million Plus candlepower spotlight, as it can be run directly from its 12V adaptor cord.

 

[Guitarzan]

You might want to try the Brinkmann Q-Beam Max Million III 3 Million MaxPower 12 volt spotlight, which can be bought at Walmart. It is a 100W Halogen plug-in spotlight with a large reflector. You might also want to consider the Professional's Favorite 20 Million Plus candlepower spotlight, as it can be run directly from its 12V adaptor cord.

I was at Walmart earlier and looked at the Brinkmann Q Beam MM3 and passed. I went over to the automotive section and grabbed a Stanley HID. We'll see how it does in a little while here when I head down to the river. My guess is it'll be real bright but the overspill of light will be a LOT. I may try the Q Beam too. Thanks.

PS: The Professionals 20MCP is WAYYYY to big and heavy for what I need. It sure puts out some light though. They had one to demo at Advance AP when I was there today. Yeah, it's a BIG BOY!

 

[Flashanator]

my guess would be start with the mega illuminator 35w HID at minimum. It might be big, but 800metres in light fog is quite alot. If you will be running it in small bursts then probably just get an incan thrower. reason they so big is they need a big reflector to throw the light far.

 

[BlueBeam22]

You made a great choice getting the Stanley HID. Congratulations on your new spotlight!

The Stanley HID is much brighter and throws a lot farther than the Brinkmann Q-Beam Max Million III, I own both. The Professional's Favorite 20 Million Plus candlepower out throws the Stanley by a significant amount, but the Stanley has much longer runtime at full brightness and still throws over 1/2 a mile. :thumbsup:

If the Stanley HID doesn't have enough throw for your purpose, then the Professional's Favorite 20+MCP would for sure.

 

[Guitarzan]

Re: Cutting thru summer haze and light fog. UPDATE

Back from a quick run at the river... Tonight we had the typical midwestern summertime haze, so it was a great night to give them a try.

The Stanley HID is BRIGHT! No doubt it has great throw. However, it did exactly what I predicted. It lit up the reflective tape (paint, whatever) on the bouys just fine. But as much as it threw a long distance, it also was pretty blinding in the haze. Viewing the objects with my smaller Brinkmann 1Mcp was much more pleasant even though it wouldn't reach nearly as far as the Stanley HID.

I'm not sure if modding the Stanley would do the trick. Maybe? I'm good with a soldering iron and aint afraid to tear into this thing.

I forgot to mention in my original post... price is a bit of an issue. I'd like to keep my purchase under $150 if possible, but if I have to stretch that a little so be it. But a $500 light is out of the question right now.

Also, I won't be running with the light on all the time. It's more short bursts than anything.

Keep the ideas coming. Thanks!

 

[Patriot]

I've sort of reserved any recommendation on this one since I've never seen any scientific data which supports that classically "amber" fog lights "cut through" fog any easier than conventional white light. I've played with the idea a few times but in practice it seems that the angle of the light with respect to the viewer's location has a much greater bearing on what the viewer is able to see. In other words it's not the color of light as much as it's the angle.

Within the middle of the visible spectrum of light I don't believe that any one color temperature provides a negative or positive effect with regards to penetrating media, whether that's just suspended dust, suspended moisture or 100% moisture as in the underwater example, with water born particulates. It seems to me that the lights which throw the best in normal, dusty or underwater conditions would also throw the best in foggy conditions regardless of the color temperature. If that's the case, it stands to reason that lights with narrow beams would penetrate best while reducing the amount of reflection to the viewer. The Stanley doesn't have a particularly narrow beam so you might consider something like he Blitz240 with 100W incan bulb. With incan, you can turn the light on and off at will, it runs off of 12V power, it's lightweight and has a tight beam.




I'm fully open to any comments, idea's or data that demonstrates how light within the visible spectrum can improve or hinder the ability to see through particulates. I've goggled on the topic before but never found any study or scientific data which could clear things up.

 

[Guitarzan]

I've sort of reserved any recommendation on this one since I've never seen any scientific data which supports that classically "amber" fog lights "cut through" fog any easier than conventional white light. I've played with the idea a few times but in practice it seems that the angle of the light with respect to the viewer's location has a much greater bearing on what the viewer is able to see. In other words it's not the color of light as much as it's the angle.

Within the middle of the visible spectrum of light I don't believe that any one color temperature provides a negative or positive effect with regards to penetrating media, whether that's just suspended dust, suspended moisture or 100% moisture as in the underwater example, with water born particulates. It seems to me that the lights which throw the best in normal, dusty or underwater conditions would also throw the best in foggy conditions regardless of the color temperature. If that's the case, it stands to reason that lights with narrow beams would penetrate best while reducing the amount of reflection to the viewer. The Stanley doesn't have a particularly narrow beam so you might consider something like he Blitz240 with 100W incan bulb. With incan, you can turn the light on and off at will, it runs off of 12V power, it's lightweight and has a tight beam.

I'm fully open to any comments, idea's or data that demonstrates how light within the visible spectrum can improve or hinder the ability to see through particulates. I've goggled on the topic before but never found any study or scientific data which could clear things up.

I believe you are correct. For all intended purposed something with an incan bulb would do the job better.

In my latest trip out on the water I took the Stanley HID, my "little" Brinkmann 1MCP rechargable, and my latest addition a Brinkmann Q-Beam Max Million 3MCP 12V/no battery model. As far as being able to see bouys a 1/4 to 1/2 mile away the Q-Beam won out, not because of brightness, but because the spill wasn't so obnoxiously bright as of the Stanley. The weight was also a factor. Not having a battery in the unit made more of a difference than I would have believed. I'm a pretty big buy and can hold the Stanley up without an issue. But why if I don't have to.

Yes, the narrower the better too. I can see a Blitz 240 in my future.

Bulb swaps are very easy in the Q-Beam so I plan on playing with a few different temps in clear and amber bulbs to see the difference.

Now to figure out how to get some beam shots of these? oo:

 

[Patriot]

Now to figure out how to get some beam shots of these? oo:

Sounds great! Any camera with manual settings and a tripod to hold it still while the exposure is made. Additionally you'll want the light to be still but you can usually just rest it on something.