Rival MaxaBlaster

[The_Driver]

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but please just think about this: member "Ra" is an optics engineer who spent over a year working on his light to perfect it and make it as safe as possible (keep in mind he built it 8 years ago). This technology is not for "toys" and is rather dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. There is a reason why there is no spotlight on the market that is this powerful. It's very complicated to develop and make.

Keep in mind the extremely high voltages between the ballast and the bulb, the large amounts of UV radiation, the extremely high pressure in the bulb, the extreme light intensity (don't look into the bulb even if it's behind a UV-filter) and the very large battery (especially if it's a lithium-ion oder -polymer battery).

I think you should now make a list of needed components (as detailed as possible) and note the estimated price next to each component. That would be a good start. It's nice to have an overview.

 

[UNiT5]

The Driver - You are scaring me, which is a good thing. I think also reminding myself of such dangers is a good thing, you can never be more careful! I totally agree with you.

One thing i forgot to mention, smashing the bulb. I'm not a big fan of it. As far as i'm aware, there is not p-vip bulb available just the bulb without the reflector?

 

[The_Driver]

The Driver - You are scaring me, which is a good thing. I think also reminding myself of such dangers is a good thing, you can never be more careful! I totally agree with you.

One thing i forgot to mention, smashing the bulb. I'm not a big fan of it. As far as i'm aware, there is not p-vip bulb available just the bulb without the reflector?

You will have to carefully compress the reflector until it breaks. These bulbs are not available without the housing since they are only for projectors.

 

[Mr. Tone]

You will have to carefully compress the reflector until it breaks. These bulbs are not available without the housing since they are only for projectors.

That sounds a little scary in and of itself!

 

[get-lit]

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but please just think about this: member "Ra" is an optics engineer who spent over a year working on his light to perfect it and make it as safe as possible (keep in mind he built it 8 years ago). This technology is not for "toys" and is rather dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. There is a reason why there is no spotlight on the market that is this powerful. It's very complicated to develop and make.

Keep in mind the extremely high voltages between the ballast and the bulb, the large amounts of UV radiation, the extremely high pressure in the bulb, the extreme light intensity (don't look into the bulb even if it's behind a UV-filter) and the very large battery (especially if it's a lithium-ion oder -polymer battery).

This is the best piece of advice you've gotten Unit5. People do die from these ignition voltages. People do go blind from this UV exposure. I was ignorant to assume everyone knew these things before I jumped in and gave advice. Don't start your project from just the answers given here. You need to have much more than just a fundamental grasp on everything. If you go by what you're told here without understanding exactly why, you're missing out on all of what makes this type of project appreciable. At a minimum, you need to understand all of the related threads in this forum, and you should research outside this site as well.

 

[Mr. Tone]

There is a reason why there is no spotlight on the market that is this powerful. It's very complicated to develop and make.

That is a great statement. Even the current Maxabeam Gen III is putting out a true 12 million candlepower which is almost 1/5th of what Ra's Maxablaster did 8 years ago. Wow, that really makes you think. getlit's thread is also a wonderful example of how much thought and preparation must go into this kind of endeavor. Obviously, getlit has spent far more time researching on his non-CPF time. Reading some of his posts, calculations, and theories makes my head spin. That kind of project is something I am enjoying watching from the sidelines.

 

[stuartsjg]

On the ac or dc thing, it's the lamp design which dictates what it needs.
Generally if the electrodes are the same size, such as in HMI then it's ac (dc will overheat one electrode) and if it's a dc lamp, one electrode (anode) will probably be bigger, such as XBO, the smaller electrode will melt with ac.

Starting doesn't matter, the hv pulse is probably going to be ac, or at least a modulation dc waveform, never seen this specified.

Still torn between the xenon or halide for my projects. Have Hmion hand as that's what came up most on ebay. It's also much more efficient by ways of lm/w. But the almost perfect point source of light is appealing albeit bringing focusing completely.

 

[get-lit]

The pros and cons of Xenon vs Mercury based lamps..

Xenon is nearly instant full output.

For the same lumen output, Xenon can produce a higher peak beam intensity due to the region of peak luminance intensity.

For the same wattage, Mercury can produce more than twice as much lumen output, and if the arc is small enough, can produce higher peak beam intensity, especially in the case of P-VIP lamps.

For the same wattage, and especially for the same lumen output, the power supply for Mercury based weighs 10 to 20 times less. This limits the power for Xenon in a practical portable light.

 

[UNiT5]

Ok, so getting back to the p-vip, i definitely do not want to smash the reflector, its messy and can possible destroy the lamp.

I'd rather a individual bulb style like the xbo 103 which is easily mountable.

This is much cleaner and professional over smashing a reflector...

My experience with smashing the p-vip with my moonblaster build, its just dirty and unprofessional although i can understand the advantages of doing so.

Just prefer to cleanly mount a brand new lamp with some bolts and bob's your uncle.

 

[Mr. Tone]

HULK.............SMASH................just kidding, I couldn't resist

 

[Mr. Tone]

I found Ra's post about the surface brightness distribution on the arc of the Osram HBO 103/W2 lamp. Here is the post below.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...axablaster!)&p=1511860&viewfull=1#post1511860

 

[UNiT5]

lol HULK style compresses the reflector in your hand!!!

It's all very interesting, but if i start taking time away from my job, family and the rest of it to focus on the mathermatics of it all, first my head would explode as i believe its already about, secondly i simply can't handle the extra information.

BUT IN SAYING SO LOOOOL probably contradicting myself now, i've read RA's statement on luminace distribution and considering building the moon blaster was none other than the concoction of common sense, previous mechanical/electrical experience and determination along with hard earned savings spent , a relatively, if you put your mind to it, easy task, i would not imagine that there are so many factors involved in all things bulbs!

get-lit's nightsword production is a perfect example. And then you are taking away the body design and the rest of the thought process behind the build not to mention the bulb factors, ballast factor, battery factor, etc etc.

Anyways, now that the moon blaster is almost done, i'm loving the idea of the 280watt p-vip lamp in the Thor host and over driving it to 300watt.

Sounds like a great idea, as long as it will drive the source further than RA's, well that's the hope.

Just a thought, over driving the HBO 103 to 120? Safe?

 

[UNiT5]

There is another company manufacturing a lamp very similar to the Osram XBO 500W/RC OFR, but I don't recall who it was. But if the P-VIP 100-120/1.0 P22h has 30% less intensity than the 500W/RC, both the 280W 0.9mm and the 230W 0.8mm should theoretically crush it.
.

If you are able to refresh your memory and inform me of the company and model number so i can take a look at it. Would love to know as i've noticed that the xbo 500w rc ofr is quite the shiner in terms of luminance. this datasheet http://www.osram.hu/_global/pdf/osr..._optic/xbokino/123R008GB_XBO_Service_Card.pdf shoes the xbo 500w rc ofr luminance to absolutely blitz everything around it... it seams quite interesting.

i am still keen on the 230 or 280 watt p-vip lamps and over driving one of them but i want to do this properly once and then not back pedal or have seconds thoughts of "did i make the right choice".

 

[UNiT5]

So I plugged the 280W 0.9mm and 230W 0.9mm into the beam calculator and it shows the 280W 0.9mm actually having 4.25% more candlepower and 23.3% more Net Beam Luminance (comprised of candlepower and lumen output).

You really can't overdrive these more than 5%. If you pushed the 280W to 300W, you'd probably get away with it but there would be significant reduction in lamp life. At 300W that lamp is almost 200MCP in my configuration with long FL reflector and a retro-reflector. But without that configuration you're not going to get that kind of output.

Here's some comparisons assuming 65 Lumen/Watt efficacy...

300W 0.9mm with Long FL and Retro-Reflector=
85.4% Light Gather, 12,223 Beam Lumen after losses
196 MCP and 20,556 Net Beam Luminance

300W 0.9mm with Short FL Reflector=
60.6% Light Gather, 9,568 Beam Lumen after losses
93 MCP and 9,409 Net Beam Luminance

300W 0.9mm with Short FL Reflector w/Retro-Reflector=
79.7% Light Gather, 11,797 Beam Lumen after losses
151 MCP and 14,926 Net Beam Luminance

*Short FL Reflector being 0.75"FL 9.5"CA. All reflectors and retro-reflectors using high end coatings of >90% reflectance and AR coated lens.

EDIT - Remember the overall intensity of the beam you see in the sky is based on Net Beam Luminance, not just Candlepower.

Notice that with the Short FL Reflector, the Retro-Reflector doesn't much increase the beam lumen, but is primarily to divert light away from the rearward surface of the reflector and onto the forward surface of the reflector where it becomes more collimated. This is because the rearward surface is close to the light source and the forward surface is much further from the source. The further the reflection distance from the source, the better the collimation.

A little more than you're asking, but bottom line is go with the 280W 0.9mm and try with a 300W ballast. You're probably not going to use a retro-reflector, but let me know what reflectors you have in mind and I'll let you know which of them would work best.

300W 0.9mm with Long FL and Retro-Reflector=
85.4% Light Gather, 12,223 Beam Lumen after losses
196 MCP and 20,556 Net Beam Luminance

obviously this is much more attractive don't you think?

as soon as some funds come in, i will put in an order for a thor.

get some dimensions and start thinking about a reflector. also if i have to manufacture an extension for the long fl reflector and the thor, i will also look into this, all i would need to do is find someone to make me an extension peice.

 

[get-lit]

If you are able to refresh your memory and inform me of the company and model number so i can take a look at it. Would love to know as i've noticed that the xbo 500w rc ofr is quite the shiner in terms of luminance. this datasheet http://www.osram.hu/_global/pdf/osr..._optic/xbokino/123R008GB_XBO_Service_Card.pdf shoes the xbo 500w rc ofr luminance to absolutely blitz everything around it... it seams quite interesting.

i am still keen on the 230 or 280 watt p-vip lamps and over driving one of them but i want to do this properly once and then not back pedal or have seconds thoughts of "did i make the right choice".

Driving the 280W 0.9mm P-VIP at 300W should outperform that lamp anyhow. Plus that lamp is around $1000. 500W Xenon ballast a few grand at least, and heavy.

 

[Mr. Tone]

Driving the 280W 0.9mm P-VIP at 300W should outperform that lamp anyhow. Plus that lamp is around $1000. 500W Xenon ballast a few grand at least, and heavy.

Did you have a good method of breaking the reflector without hurting the lamp? Was it very difficult?

 

[UNiT5]

Did you have a good method of breaking the reflector without hurting the lamp? Was it very difficult?

And to add.

I found a UHP 300w ballast on Ebay but am also looking for other suitable ballasts. I'm guessing the UHP ballast will power the p-vip.

Are there any other electronics companies that sell 300w p-vip ballasts that i can check out? As far as I know, uSHIO go up to 100w, but not 100% sure.

:thumbsup:

 

[UNiT5]

Found a ballast p-VIP 5ac 380 04

 

[get-lit]

Can't find anything on that one.. if it's 300W, I'd say go with it.

 

[UNiT5]

Can't find anything on that one.. if it's 300W, I'd say go with it.

apparently its 300w...