Decostar IRC MR16

[X-CalBR8]

Ok guys, here is the info that everyone in the U.S. will need to order this great bulb from this company. The web address is: www.lightbulbdepot.com The phone number to call is: 1-800-315-2852. Ask for Doris because she was the one that was able to find them for me and she will be familiar with what you are looking for and should save some time in finding this elusive bulb. She told me that she had access to many more of these so supply should not be a problem. Here is the part number that she went by on this bulb and is probably what you should use in inquiring about this bulb: “10° ESX/CG IR”. She said that’s all the info that they gave her when she was trying to track this bulb down so that’s probably what she will go by when you put in an order with her.

The price is only $8.75 each + shipping which is via UPS so be prepared to get ripped on the shipping. I got charged $7.71 for shipping (almost the price of another bulb!). It still beats international shipping though in most cases. This same package could have been sent for under $4.00 via USPS 2-Day Priority AirMail because these bulbs weigh almost nothing, but that’s a huge company for you. If enough people out there want this bulb, it would probably save everyone a lot on shipping to do a huge group buy and then redistribute them via a cheaper shipping method than UPS. I think she said that if you order a lot of bulbs in the same order that you can get a quantity discount to, so it may be worth checking into.

 

[Klaus]

Good job X-Cal - those are the right bulbs - and the 51 is the dia in mm

Klaus

 

[X-CalBR8]

I just called Doris at Light Bulb Depot to ask about a quantity discount on this bulb and she said that for an order of around 20 bulbs they would be $8.25 each and for an order of 100 bulbs they would be $6.95 each. I just thought I would get and post this info in case anyone was considering doing a big group buy or anything. I'm still not really sure how many people at present are seriously considering buying this bulb for mod projects. I have a feeling that this bulb’s popularity will skyrocket though once Wayne’s 3 to D adapter is officially released at the end of the month.

 

[X-CalBR8]

Klaus: Thanks for the info on the "51". I should have known that. My brain must be half asleep today. I can hardly wait to do some of the same sort of great mods that you have done with this bulb.

 

[Klaus]

Thx

Klaus

 

[X-CalBR8]

I just happend upon a PDF file that tells more about the Decostar line of bulbs and even has the specs listed for this bulb. Here is the URL: http://www.osram.com/pdf/service_corner/irc_family.pdf

 

[X-CalBR8]

Well, I’ve done some number crunching and this is what I came up with for an approximate brightness level for this bulb. The specs say that this bulb puts out up to 24 Lumens per Watt so at 20W, that comes out to 480 Lumens and that’s at the rated 12Volts. When you take into account that this bulb is being overdriven by quite a bit on 12 NiMh AAs, that brings this bulb’s brightness level to somewhere close to 600 lumens! Wow, that’s a lot of light!

I’m pretty confident that these numbers are correct to because I just jury rigged the new bulb up to 12 NiMh AAs and it appears to be about 5-6 times as bright as my PT Surge which is rated at around 100 Lumens. Just imagine, the power of 5-6 Surges all wrapped up into a 4D Mag-Lite, I can hardly wait!

 

[Klaus]

X-Cal,

my calculation (in the old thread) shows initial brightness of upto 1000 lumens at ~ 14-15V - going lower to around 750 lumens for most of the runtime and closer to 500 lumens against the end of the discharge.

Keep in mind though that the 35W bulb is even more efficient

Klaus

 

[B@rt]

I just ordered some Nimh's in Wit's end's group buy thread

This opened up the possibility for me to power an MR16 bulb.

The IRC's are easy to get for me, but finding the Philips ES is a bit more difficult...

what is the cheapest source in Europe? I'd like to try them, given their narrower beam.

I am going to have some fun I think...

 

[X-CalBR8]

Klaus: Wow! I knew that my numbers were a very conservative underestimate but I really had no idea that the 20W was putting out that kind of light output. Are you sure those are the numbers for the 20W and not the 37W? If the 20W really is putting out that much light then that would make it nearly 10x more powerful than my Surge. Amazing.

 

[X-CalBR8]

I ordered a couple of MR16 ceramic sockets with leads last night that should make some of these mod ideas that I’m having easier to carry out. I’m just curious, have any of you guys tried using MR16 sockets in any of your flashlight mods yet or do you usually just solder them in place? I’m concerned about soldering MR16s because the leads on them get so hot that I’m concerned that it might just melt the solder like the PT Surge is capable of doing. What do you guys think about using MR16 sockets?

 

[X-CalBR8]

B@rt: Glad to see you getting in on the fun to.

It's really a shame that those Phillips bulbs have to be so expensive. I wanted to get them to because they seem to be a better bulb (at least on paper). I think they are made in the USA and even here they are 2x-3x as much as the Decostars are. If they are indeed made in the USA then you can expect them to be even more expensive where you live. I think it's because they are so new and they are not being mass-produced yet. I fully expect them to half in price within a year or so.

 

[Ross]

Hi X-CalBR8 & folks

I;ve got this mod planned as well, going to be boring out my 2D mag on a friends lathe and fitting 12 AA 2000mah in the handle, then buy a heatsink from Elektrolumens, a ceramic MR16 socket (which i think is much more sensible and will enable easy soldering to a PR base and make changing the lamps easier) with the leads from Maplin (like Radio Shack I think) and hopefully it should all go together, I was inspired by Klaus's original mod, especially the INCRERDIBLE beamshot you took Klaus - absolutely amazing!! Could you post it again!!!

 

[Klaus]

Its still in the old thread - and I think the MR16 sockets are the way to go

This pic ? (The small is a tuned Mag 2D ~ 25lu)

Or this

The small ones are 25 to 60 lumens

Klaus

 

[X-CalBR8]

Here is a very inexpensive place to get MR16 ceramic sockets if anyone needs them. This is where I got mine from last night. They buy from companies that have overstock or are going out of business so they have a lot of random electrical stuff but at very cheap prices. It’s kind of like an electrical version of Big Lots. Here is the URL for the MR16 ceramic socket: http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=320400&item=QRX-4&type=sto re

If anyone finds a MR16 socket that is significantly smaller/thinner than this one then please post a link to it because this is one of the smallest ones that I could find and it is still a little larger than what I was hoping for. On the bright side though, it is ceramic so this little sucker is NOT going to melt!!!

Klaus: Thanks for reposting those beam shots. When everyone here sees how much butt one of these MR16s kicks, it might encourage others to give this great mod a try. I’m anxious to share ideas with others on the best way to proceed on this mod. I hope to be able to pick up some ingenues new ideas that I’ve not yet considered that could make this mod easier/better/more durable.

Bowser: Have you checked Radio Shack to see if they even carry MR16 Sockets? I’ve not ever noticed them there but then I’ve not specifically looked there yet either. BTW, glad to see another person on board for this little MR16 flashlight adventure.

I really think there will be a landslide of interest in this project once Waynes “3 to D” adapters are officially released at the end of the month. That will help solve one of the biggest technical hurdles to this mod, that being, how to get 12AAs, wired in series, inside of a Mag (or other metal flashlight) in a way that is reliable and won’t short out.

 

[B@rt]

I can get these for €1.80...

 

[X-CalBR8]

BART: Do you have the dimentions for that socket? I can't really tell the size very well by the picture. Too bad they didn't include a ruler or a coin in that picture so that it would be easier to judge the size of it. How many Millimeters thick is it?

 

[B@rt]

Sorry, no further information about it.

I'll try to find it in a local shop this week and measure it up...

 

[Ross]

thats the ones!!! Thanks Klaus

one day....if I try REALLY hard....

 

[X-CalBR8]

Well, I got the MR16 ceramic sockets in today and while the depth was perfect, the width was a little too much. I did get an insert from All Electronics with my order though that mentioned a new MR16 socket that they are carrying now that looks a lot like the one that Bart mentioned. The price is $1.50 each and the part number is: LS-4. The item is so new that it is not yet listed on their web site, but they give you the option of buying an item from them strictly by part number so that’s what I will do. I will try ordering a couple of these and see how they work out and then I will get back to you guys.