OH, MY! WHAT HAVE I GONE AND DONE NOW???

[Flymo]

To light up with that kind of stuff, I need a license from the government (and I don't get it, I know that for sure).
My neighbours are happy.

 

[lotsalumens]

Just a guess, but I'd think the HMI retrofit would have a bit less throw since it is not as much of a point source. I suppose the throw is so extreme in either case that you might not notice though!

 

[BVH]

Lux, in my post #43, the Dominator was the one I mentioned (not by name) might be putting out 1,000,000,000 CP if their claims are correct. They're using the same physical shell as my light but gutting it as yuandrew said above.

Edit: Opps, it must be a competitor. It's a $50,000 "Freedom" here. //cgi.ebay.com/The-FREEDOM-tm-High-Intensity-Searchlight_W0QQitemZ190135309109QQihZ009QQcategoryZ1268QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And the AN/TVS3 I mentioned uses up to a 25KW lamp so it may be even brighter? I went so far as to buy one of the original manuals on this little light before I got cold feet. I think it could be used with 3 different lamps, 12 KW, 18 KW and 25 KW.

Amorphous, thanks for correcting me on the content of the rods. I thought seizium sounded radio active and bad!

Mash, this light is "regulated" so-to-speak. The automatic feed system maintains the optimum gap which controls the size of the arc which somewhat controls the amount of light produced?

I forgot to mention, it is focusable, too. The big wheel in one of the pics rolls the feed mechanism in and out of the focal point of the mirror so it goes from spot to flood. I never knew that until a few weeks ago.

 

[EV_007]

Does it come with a titanium pocket clip? :twothumbs

 

[TITAN1833]

can you do a comparison with say,ur, ah, hmm..the sun.nice pics BTW and awesome light..we want beam shots,just turn it on tonight and everyone will see them live.:twothumbs

 

[LuxLuthor]

Look at the price they have on the Dominator, as compared to your great deal! I didn't realize it started with that same light.

It was very interesting to look at that site that has the history of your light, and all the war time pictures of them blazing away. I can imagine what a pilot must have felt like with that thing burning his underbelly.

 

[PhillyRube]

Pictures at Ft. MacArthur? Fits in quite well with the time period.......

 

[270winchester]

To light up with that kind of stuff, I need a license from the government (and I don't get it, I know that for sure).
My neighbours are happy.

that's a joke, right?

 

[enLIGHTenment]

The only man-made brighter device "MAY" be one of these 60" C.A.'s that's been retrofitted with a 25KW Metal Halide light system.

In terms of sustained candlepower/lux, possibly, but not in terms of lumens. Very good cored carbon arc lights can manage a luminous efficacy of around 40lm/w. From a 11.7KW (78V * 120A) input, total bulb lumens will be around 468,000lm. In contrast, Osram rates their dirt common 6kw HMI bulbs at 500,000 lumens. Their 17KW HMI bulbs are specified for 1.7 million lumens.

 

[GreySave]

BVH:

Consider taking those to any WWII reunions that might still be occurring. Some air shows might even be willing to purchase your services or at least use them as a static display, and many veterans still show up there to see those few warbirds that are still flying.

I am sure the veterans who worked with those lights or who used them to find their targets would love to see them once again. They are a rapidly dying breed to whom we owe so much. I have had the good fortune to meet a number of WWII veterans at air shows or war bird fly-ins. The displays often evoke strong memories, and I have found that they are often very willing to discuss their memories at that time. Sadly, many of them are taking their remarkable stories and experiences with them as they pass. I am not trying to glorify the horrors of war here. I have simply learned that these veterans often have so much to share and there is so much that they have really never told others that is fascinating and a valuable history lesson.

 

[BVH]

GreySave, that is something I will certainly look into. There are quite a few events/airshows around me. Chino airport has a fantastic show with flying P-38's, p-51 Mustangs, B 25's, the prototype flying wing, Corsairs and real Zero's and more. They all fly. At the end, there are about 125 warbirds in the sky at one time, in multiple formations doing a couple of flyovers. It is hard for most of us younger persons to imagine what 125 warbirds look and sound like in the sky at one time. I donated to the Planes of Fame Museum and as a result, got a 25 minute ride in a P51 a few years ago. A once-in-a-lifetime thrill.

 

[LuxLuthor]

BVH:

Consider taking those to any WWII reunions that might still be occurring. Some air shows might even be willing to purchase your services or at least use them as a static display, and many veterans still show up there to see those few warbirds that are still flying.

I am sure the veterans who worked with those lights or who used them to find their targets would love to see them once again. They are a rapidly dying breed to whom we owe so much. I have had the good fortune to meet a number of WWII veterans at air shows or war bird fly-ins. The displays often evoke strong memories, and I have found that they are often very willing to discuss their memories at that time. Sadly, many of them are taking their remarkable stories and experiences with them as they pass. I am not trying to glorify the horrors of war here. I have simply learned that these veterans often have so much to share and there is so much that they have really never told others that is fascinating and a valuable history lesson.

Very well said. Big thanks for reminding us! :thumbsup:

 

[martonic]

Very interesting. I was intoxicated by these as a child and my dad, also a WWII vet, whose stories are sadly aging, told me they are "Kleeg" lights (sp.? he did not spell it for me). Is this the same thing.

Congrats again on acquiring this piece of history that seems too soon to be forgotten.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Here you can get one of these for only $50,000 minus the trailer/ps generator....lol!!

You would think for that price they could get some higher quality pictures of it in action.

 

[Canuke]

BVH,

Awesome CA light. :twothumbs

Btw, the cabon rod contained Cerium, (cerium fluoride, cerium borate, and cerium oxide)

I'm not saying anything about whether it's cerium in the rods or not, but whoever was talking to BVH was saying "cesium" ("seizium"). And if the one-letter difference wasn't confusing enough, they are only three protons away from each other on the periodic table (Ce cerium atomic number = 58, Cs cesium = 55).

 

[mtbkndad]

Here you can get one of these for only $50,000 minus the trailer/ps generator....lol!!

You would think for that price they could get some higher quality pictures of it in action.

BVH and I have talked for some time about our mutual interest in these lights.
Does anybody know how much the parts for the retrofit in the link LuxLuthor posted in the quoted section would actually cost. I am wondering if $50,000 isn't a bit of gouging too.

I hope to get one of these searchlights one day and is seems the paypack time for a retrofit vs the carbon rods does not make it real worth it.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[BVH]

With just a very quick search, I found a 12 KW HMI lamp costing about $3,000. The retrofitted Carbon Arc's on Ebay are probably 18 or 25 KW and I would guess the lamp alone might be near $10,000. (The 25KV Xenon lamp for the military AN/TVS3 was $10,000) My understanding is that HMI lamps are HID but the running pressures inside the lamp are somewhere around 9 PSI as opposed to 500 to 1,000 PSI with the big Xenons. Add a ballast and all the other stuff you'd need to mount the light in the can, I can see where it might go for $50K.

 

[mtbkndad]

With just a very quick search, I found a 12 KW HMI lamp costing about $3,000. The retrofitted Carbon Arc's on Ebay are probably 18 or 25 KW and I would guess the lamp alone might be near $10,000.

9,000 psi :thinking: I would not want to be around one of those when it blows
Do you know what the rated lives of those bulbs are?

Carbon arc's seem less expensive to run all of the time .

I look forward to seeing your beauty.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[tebore]

WOW.

You know what's funny I think this light has one of the best, if not the best price to lumens ratio of any light on this forum. It's less than a $1 a lumen.

Good old carbon arcs.

What else can you power with the power pack?

 

[TeflonBubba]

Holy crap! that's serious.

BVH, I feel better about my own affliction now - phew. :nana: