Light em up Light

[JohnRussell]

Tonight I had a chance to use my new M6 as well as a Fenix T1 to light up some suspicious activity a few hundred yards away from my front deck. I live on acreage and across the way there is a piece of property where there is some occasional suspicious activity ... it does not happen all that often, but when it does it is a concern.

Tonight I used the M6 to light up the area and it was clearly noticed by the perpretrators. However, I can see that they may move back beyond the reach of my M6.

I am thinking about the new L35 or N30 or some kind of tank search light. However, I have never seen what these types of lights can do in comparison to an M6, which is impressive for me.

Would the new l35 light em up enough, or should I find myself a searchlight as a deterrent?

 

[BlueBeam22]

Tonight I had a chance to use my new M6 as well as a Fenix T1 to light up some suspicious activity a few hundred yards away from my front deck. I live on acreage and across the way there is a piece of property where there is some occasional suspicious activity ... it does not happen all that often, but when it does it is a concern.

Tonight I used the M6 to light up the area and it was clearly noticed by the perpretrators. However, I can see that they may move back beyond the reach of my M6.

I am thinking about the new L35 or N30 or some kind of tank search light. However, I have never seen what these types of lights can do in comparison to an M6, which is impressive for me.

Would the new l35 light em up enough, or should I find myself a searchlight as a deterrent?

You should get a Sam's Club Power On Board HID searchlight. It can throw for a MILE! It is better than halogen spotlights because it doesn't dim, it stays at full brightness for its hour long battery life.

I have used mine to illuminate clouds, light up whole 1/4 mile fields at night, and light up a treeline half a mile away. It uses a 35 watt HID bulb, and outputs 3500 lumens.

 

[paulr]

A HID may not be ideal for lighting 'em up, since you can't just switch it on and have it immediately at full brightness. It takes a while to warm up. You might do better with a monster sized incandescent spotlght, e.g. Thor 15mcp, Blitz 240, or whatever.

 

[Patriot]

JohnRussell, there is no comparison whatsoever between a 30-35W HID light and the M6 so we don't even talk about it.



Seriously though, as nice as the M6 is, it really wasn't designed for throw. Even an inexpensive Vector 2mcp spotlight from Target will out throw it easily...by a long way. HID takes performance to the next level from incan spotlights. It's like taking two ginormous (I think that's a word now) steps up in throw performance. If you have an M6 is means that you appreciate high performance lights. I'd pass over the POB and go for the N30. I think it's still on sale too.

 

[Dr Jekell]

:devil::devil:This Is What You Need! :devil::devil:​

 

[BlueBeam22]

Like Patriot36 said, a 35 watt HID would be many times brighter than the M6. And the N30 should be a great light, just any powerful HID like that.

I have the Thor 15mcp, it is much brighter and throws farther than the Sam's Club HID, and might be a better choice than the Sam's Club HID.

The only problem with the Thor 15mcp is that it stays at full brightness for just 10 minutes before dimming.

If there is suspicious activity in my yard at night I will use the Thor because it gives full brightness instantly, while the HID take about 10 seconds to reach full brightness, and the Thor is a lot more blinding (I have shined both in my face at night with the lights 50 feet away).

 

[JohnRussell]

Wow ... ok I am willing to accept there is no comparison between an M6 and a HID light ... I like the light Dr. Jekyl suggested, but there are others that also look as if they would do the job. As much as anything this light needs to let the folks across the way know that they cannot hide ... I am looking for shock and awe or blind and scare in this light ... Still looking at production and tank, ship, and other searchlights

 

[BlueBeam22]

http://store.yahoo.com/theshorelinemarket/mega-illuminator.html

(I don't own this light, so what I'm telling you is only from what I understand about it)

This is the most powerful light I know of, it would be much brighter and throw much farther than the Sam's Power On Board
HID or the Thor 15mcp. It is a giant light, twice as large as the Sam's HID, but the same size as the Thor 15mcp.

I believe the N30 uses a 35 watt HID bulb driven at 30 watts.
The Titanium Mega Illuminator uses a 35 watt HID bulb driven at 35 watts, so it should put out around 500 more lumens than the N30.

There are many things that would be better about the N30, but I am just suggesting this in case all you want is the most powerful searchlight.

 

[BlueBeam22]

I have a halogen spotlight called the "Professional's Favorite 17.5 million candlepower spotlight" it puts out more light than the Thor 15mcp or the Sam's HID. It would be the best choice for lighting up a large field, but it doesn't throw as far as the Thor 15mcp or the Sam's HID.

I got the Pro's Favorite from Advance Auto Parts for $40

http://www.professionalsfavorite.com/professionalsfavorite/candlespotlight.asp

Here are some specs of how my 3 brightest lights line up.

1 (best/brightest)
2 (second)
3 (worst/least)

In order of hotspot Brightness:

1 Thor 15mcp
2 Professional's Favorite
3 Sam's HID

In order of light output (lumens):

1 Professional's Favorite
2 Sam's Power On Board HID
3 Thor 15mcp

In order of throw:

1 Thor 15mcp
2 Sam's HID
3 Pro's Favorite

In order of size/weight:

1 Professional's Favorite
2 Thor 15mcp
3 Sam's HID

In order of price:

Sam's HID $37
Pro's Favorite $40
Thor 15mcp $60

I hope all this info helps

 

[JohnRussell]

Thanks Bluebeam ... that looks as if it would work just fine. My spouse likes the idea of something we could mount on the deck, a searchlight or similar, but the HID you suggest would seem to offer the shock and awe, you can't hide type of light that we need. THANKS!

 

[BlueBeam22]

Thanks Bluebeam ... that looks as if it would work just fine. My spouse likes the idea of something we could mount on the deck, a searchlight or similar, but the HID you suggest would seem to offer the shock and awe, you can't hide type of light that we need. THANKS!

You're Welcome JohnRussel!

 

[adamlau]

However, I have never seen what these types of lights can do in comparison to an M6, which is impressive for me.

Overdriven MN21 vs. Polarion PH50

 

[BVH]

Can you say "night & day?

 

[Patriot]

Can you say "night & day?

ahhh yeah!!! My thoughts exactly.


The M6 is only barely hanging in there because it's overdriven to possibly 900-1000 lumens and the target is the light colored stucco houses. Increasing the range or aiming the lights at natural background would make the difference even greater.


I happen to have an example picture of a stock M6/MN21 under just those conditions. 178 yards, all lights aimed at the base of tree. Notice than the MN21 looks like it's not even aimed at the tree. That's because the beam was bright enough to light up the ground closer to the camera but not at the tree.

PH50 5300 lumens

M6 MN21

PH40 4000 lumens

M6 MN21