My opinions between H/F HID and Power on Board...

[zfreak]

Well, after having both at the same time (I'll post up beamshots later) here's my conclusions:

Harbor Freight/Costco HID:

Pros:
*Throws like no other
*Battery life is decent for a HID of this magnitude (I get about 80-90 min)
*Charger "quits charging" when full when charging with A/C to prolong battery.


Cons:
*Beam pattern sucks...there is no defined spot...it's just "blah" there's light
*The beam/spot has a "brown" spot on it. (I have 2 of these and they do the same thing)
*Heavy
*HUGE (comes in a moving box!)
*Did I mention hug and heavy?
*Shoulder strap is very uncomfortable especially after long periods of time.



Power on Board HID:

Pros:
*Very nice, defined beam/spot.
*Much smaller than the H/F HID
*Much lighter than the H/F HID (not by much though)

Cons:
*In my opinion, I think the battery gauge isn't that accurate
*Holding it for long periods of time is no fun.
*Depending on where you buy it, it can be more expensive than the H/F one.

 

[Beer]

Well, I would have to say to that.....


+1

Except my big orange doesnt have any brown spot.

 

[zfreak]

Well, I would have to say to that.....


+1

Except my big orange doesnt have any brown spot.

Hmm... try aiming it at something about 500+' away. Both of my H/F HID's do it. I'll try to get a picture of it (I think that's going to be easier said than done though!)

 

[Walt175]

Is the brown spot you are referring to the shadow of the post? I don't remember a brown spot in mine, but it did have the shadow.

 

[Patriot]

zfreak, I'm curious about your experience with the Costco/HF light. You listed in your "pros" that it, "throws like no other" but then in your "cons" you mentioned that the "beam pattern sucks...and there is no defined hot spot"

Usually lights without a decent hot spot don't throw very well, so those pros vs. cons seemed to contradict each other. I'm wondering if it's throwing as well as it could considering that the beam sucks. Maybe the bulb needs a little centering tweaking...not sure, just trying to help you resolve the beam problem.

You also mentioned that you were trying to illuminate something 500' away but thought that might be easier said than done. My Costco HIDs will light up the powerline towers at just about 700' even before the skylight has disappeared with the setting sun. On a good dark night the Costcos' will illuminate the treeline at well over 2000' feet....well....2400' actually. So I'm wondering if those HF lights have a problem or if they're different than the Costco HIDs. From everything that I've heard, they're supposed to be the same but after reading about your experience I'm second guessing that idea.

Any thoughts?

 

[Beer]

zfreak, I'm curious about your experience with the Costco/HF light. You listed in your "pros" that it, "throws like no other" but then in your "cons" you mentioned that the "beam pattern sucks...and there is no defined hot spot"

Usually lights without a decent hot spot don't throw very well, so those pros vs. cons seemed to contradict each other. I'm wondering if it's throwing as well as it could considering that the beam sucks. Maybe the bulb needs a little centering tweaking...not sure, just trying to help you resolve the beam problem.

You also mentioned that you were trying to illuminate something 500' away but thought that might be easier said than done. My Costco HIDs will light up the powerline towers at just about 700' even before the skylight has disappeared with the setting sun. On a good dark night the Costcos' will illuminate the treeline at well over 2000' feet....well....2400' actually. So I'm wondering if those HF lights have a problem or if they're different than the Costco HIDs. From everything that I've heard, they're supposed to be the same but after reading about your experience I'm second guessing that idea.

Any thoughts?

I know what he's talking about, my HF beam pattern looks like a star, no other way to describe it. And it really doesnt have a defined beam or hot spot, the Sams however really does have a defined beam/ hotspot.

Damnist thing, doesn't make any sense but the HF does throw like a mother...

:shrug:

 

[Patriot]

Yeah, both of my Costcos have the star shaped beam but there is indeed a "hotspot" or center where most of the light is focused which is the reason it's able to throw so far. The think what alarmed me is that it sounded like zfreak was skeptical about his HF being able to shine 500 feet..... That was strange to me since the light is capable of 5 times that distance. Maybe we have different perceptions of range possibly. I use a Leica rangefinder to verify the distance that my lights shine.

 

[zfreak]

Yeah, both of my Costcos have the star shaped beam but there is indeed a "hotspot" or center where most of the light is focused which is the reason it's able to throw so far. The think what alarmed me is that it sounded like zfreak was skeptical about his HF being able to shine 500 feet..... That was strange to me since the light is capable of 5 times that distance. Maybe we have different perceptions of range possibly. I use a Leica rangefinder to verify the distance that my lights shine.

Yes, I am lacking in experience when it comes to MODDING my HID's, but I know plenty about them. Basically in a nutshell I'm saying that I'm dissappointed in the H/F HID's beam pattern compared to that of the Power on board's. I'm going to attempt (one day) to make a better reflector, but that may be some time down the road.