HDS Systems #23

So I've been wanting a McGizmo for a while now but didn't want redundancy in my collection so I went with a Mule on a 1x123 pak. It will be my first mule and didn't really know what to expect so I figured I would just take the reflector assembly off of my rotary and turn it on and see what I think and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed not having a defined hotspot but rather just a wall of beautiful light from my NB45.

This got me to thinking how to go about "muling"? my rotary since I really enjoy the user interface. First, I thought about just popping off reflector assembly but it is attached to the bezel and lens. This leads me to thinking I need to modify the reflector to not reflect. How would I do this appropriately? I was surprised that there wasn't an aftermarket mule reflector assembly out there.

If you need a mule in a hurry, just unscrew the bezel of your HDS. If it takes the reflector with it (most of mine do), you've got yourself an improvised mule for close work.
 
Good call. That's what I've been doing until the Mule anrrives. After looking at it, a whole new head assembly would have to be designed to achieve the desired mule with the existing head setup.
 
So I've been wanting a McGizmo for a while now but didn't want redundancy in my collection so I went with a Mule on a 1x123 pak. It will be my first mule and didn't really know what to expect so I figured I would just take the reflector assembly off of my rotary and turn it on and see what I think and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed not having a defined hotspot but rather just a wall of beautiful light from my NB45.

This got me to thinking how to go about "muling"? my rotary since I really enjoy the user interface. First, I thought about just popping off reflector assembly but it is attached to the bezel and lens. This leads me to thinking I need to modify the reflector to not reflect. How would I do this appropriately? I was surprised that there wasn't an aftermarket mule reflector assembly out there.
The HDS had diffusing reflectors (very small run), a normal reflector is coated with some kind of diffusing substance. The beam shape is essentially the same as the Mule, maybe a slightly narrower beam, but it's perfect up close. I was a fool to give mine a blue glow-in-the-night one and sold after, because I wanted a green one, and finding green ones turned out to be almost impossible

and here are a couple of photos of the rays

Someone here achieved a similar effect by sandblasting a standard reflector, or matte painting it, or both

I think it would be possible to order a cone made of this material that fits into the reflector, but it would be insanely expensive

There is also paint based on barium sulfate. The price is huge, but if you buy it together for 20-30 people, then buying 0.5 liters will be enough for a large number of reflectors. Or it is better to buy 2 kg of pure barium sulfate for several people together, and as Hogo mentioned, using optically transparent epoxy resin to achieve the desired effect
Oh, I see 375 grams for $30!!

I don't really care about glow in the dark, I just need a good Mule
 
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I think it would be possible to order a cone made of this material that fits into the reflector, but it would be insanely expensive

There is also paint based on barium sulfate. The price is huge, but if you buy it together for 20-30 people, then buying 0.5 liters will be enough for a large number of reflectors. Or it is better to buy 2 kg of pure barium sulfate for several people together, and as Hogo mentioned, using optically transparent epoxy resin to achieve the desired effect
Oh, I see 375 grams for $30!!
For diffuse reflectors, you can get high reflectivity (>97%) white sheet materials from a couple of vendors, and it's pretty reasonably priced. Typically, it's die-cut or thermoformed, depending on the geometry required. A few examples from a vendor that also can do the forming: https://www.ingemanncomponents.com/category/reflectors/
 
Can anyone decode what's written on my Panda's board? Thanks!



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Just swapped the stock bezel for a smooth titanium trit slotted bezel 😍
 
Thanks, yes it's an NLT. I just wondered what the writing meant. Thanks!
 
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