Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights (Part 2)

[Mr Ted Bear]

Re: New Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights

Continued from Part 1

Intro and Overview

So based on the reports from cpf member rala, I decided to make a trip to Walmart after dropping off my kids at school (about 815am) I made my way to the automotive department, and started looking for the Stanley HID light, but only could find the Stanley1365 Halogen. There was a price tag on the shelf, but no light. Actually, the light was there, I just didn't see it because it was behind the Halogens.

Being Friday, I had to head to the office to prepare payroll, so I did not have much time. I cut open the blister pack, squeezed the trigger, and the light flashed on for about 15 seconds and died , pretty much what I expected; batteries needed to be charged. Off to work I went. returned home just after 12 noon, and the charging indicator was green (maybe 3 ½ hours had passed). Time to PLAY !!! But before I continue, let's look at some pics.


Here's what the package looks like

Inside the package, this is what you get, AC Charger, DC PowerCord, and wrist strap. Oh, there's an instructions sheet.

Size comparison

The top has 3 leds (gee, where have we seen this feature before?)

The reflector on the Stanley is 3 ¾ inches, ¼ larger than the N30/L35

The back has an AC charging connector, charge indicator and Hi/Low switch (italics) (much more on this feature too follow)

Inside the package, this is what you get. I couldn't help myself. I felt compelled to void the warranty. Seems I have this responsibility, obligation….. Anyways, it has a 12 volt /3amp sealed lead battery. Take a close look, an 8,000k bulb, and note that the ballast has 10 wires (much more on this feature too follow). The construction is similar to cordless power tool, nicely done, IMHO.

To be contunued

 

[Mr Ted Bear]

Re: New Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights

two stage ballast?
:thinking:

Whats the TO-220 doing there behind the trigger? and whats under the handle? an accessory plug?
the SLA room looks big enough to stuff some IMR cells in

I called the deisgner/importer of the Stanley HID in Deerfield Beach, Florida 2 times on Friday. It's more like a 3 stage ballast (expalnation in part 2). At the base of the pistol grip is a "12volt DC charging port" per instruction book. The instruction book clearly states that the included DC power cord may be used to "operate the unit"... the instruction book has a section about recharging the light using the 12 volt charger, and in parenthesis (optional accessory). The second sentence of this section reads "plug the double tip of the supplied 12 volt charger".... Bottom line, the DC cord can operate, and/or recharge the battery.

With regards to the TO-220 (Semiconductor Controlled Rectifier) in the base of the handle, it's wired in series with the DC charging port, the third leg leading to the pc board in the end-cap of the unit. My guess is that the TO-220 is being used to regulate current? Sorry, graduted in Physics, not electircal engineering

 

[Mr Ted Bear]

Re: New Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights

The hii/low switch does do some thing... read part 2

Part 2 - How It Works & Thinking Outside the Box

Quoting myself, "this light ROCKS.", "…It's more like a 3 stage ballast", and "This light, with it's pistol trigger, is very unique." , it is now time to offer an explanation for these comments .In post #24, I stated that the light "flashed on" the very first time I squeezed the trigger. I chose my words carefully when I made that statement. Un-like any other HID, when you squeeze the trigger, the light is "ON"; there is not the 1-2 second delay to ramp up to "useable light levels". The lumens are there, instantly. As I cycled the light, I noticed, the light would come on instantly, and then throttle back after a couple seconds. So, for what ever reason, I associated these two distinct levels as the "high/low" , but the problem was, I had not touched the switch. Time to call the factory !

This is what the factory had to say. It was by design that the light starts up as fast as it does. The immediate start up is accomplished by overdriving the bulb by "30 or so" watts. A slow start-up was one of the stigma's they wanted to do away with when they designed this light. (this "boost" is number two of three light levels/stages for the ballast)

Please view these two you tube videos taken in slow motion, The clips are 12 seconds long, but in real time, they are 3 seconds. The first clip is of a Polarion X1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhjCknVG5tQ. The second clip is that of the Stanley HID. What appears to be a slight drop after the initial burst is sensor lag in my video camera. Towards the end of the clip, you can see the distinct drop in output http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB0ZN5AVqao

In my discussion with the factory, we talked about the high/low switch, I noted that when I operated the switch, I could not see a difference in light levels. And the explanation… when switching from high to low, there is so much energy stored in the ballast, that it can take up to two minutes to dissipate so there wont be any noticeable drop. Time for more time lapse photography. .. Forget the camera, easier to breakout the light meter

I set the Stanley up at one end of the hallway, light meter 25-30 feet away. I waited 5 minutes for the Stanley to stabilize, and took the first measurement. Damn, something wrong with my light meter…. I could see the numbers dropping 7.05, 7.03, 7.00, 6.99 …. 6.3 BOING 7.05 7.03 7.00 ….6.3 repeat repeat repeat EACH CYCLE ABOUT 40-45 SECONDS. There is no way for the human eye to realize this drop Could it be that is some kind of pulse modulation to save energy?

Finally after two minutes, did the light dissipate the extra energy in the ballast. Down to 3.86…3.55, nearly the same percentage change as in high mode ., same slow modulation. High /Low would be the third stage/level for the ballast, but this slow modulation make it a multilevel balast

Now you know why this light ROCKS, is unique, has outside of the box thinking in it's design, and is not like any other HID that I have ever seen.

Part 3 - Exttra Credit (Stanley with a 4300k bulb) back in an hour

 

[Mr Ted Bear]

Re: New Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights

Part 3 Extra Credit - Stanley with 4,300K Bulb Photos courtesy BVH

Picked up their only two. Tools out and ready to go to work.

4300k bulb, hmm sounding better and better Should be more lumens going out the front than the 8000K for sure... Crush that return wire cover !!!
Waiting for the sun to go down

I can't tell what type of bulb it has from the photo, but I totally agree the bulb is easily replaceable and should be upgraded to a warmer color temp....

MAKE IT SO !

But first a quck review...
Wide angle L35 and STANLEY Lots and lots of upfront spill

and another, this time N30 and STANLEY (photo's from BVH)

Nice pics bvh... show us more Here is the N30 solo

STANLEY 8,000k

and now the STANLEY with 4300K bulb

Stanley 4,300K and Stanley 8,000k

and in gif Stanley 4,300 and Stanley 8,000

Wow, that 4300K bulb makes a big difference. Still not convinced ?
Here's the N30 and Stanley 8,000 in gif

 

[JetskiMark]

Re: New Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights

Mr Ted Bear, excellent work as always.

I made an animated gif from your first two shots comparing the L35 to the stock Stanley with the 8000K bulb.

I really don't need any more lights, (major understatement) yet I feel compelled to check my local Walmart for the Stanley.

If the flashaholics don't snap them all up, they might be marked down after sitting in the store for a few months.

I wonder if I could shoehorn in my 100W ballast and some LiPos?

 

[DM51]

Re: New Stanley H.I.D. and 1365 lumen spotlights

This is continued from Part 1, which had reached >400 posts.

I have copied across Mr Ted Bear's posts and the gif rotating image from JetskiMark, as these give a useful intro to the light, but obviously there is a good deal of discussion and other useful detail remaining in Part 1.

 

[Mjolnir]

I just fired up my Stanley HID today, and could illuminate the bottom of the clouds with it. The cloud height was apparently about 1,000 feet, which seems well within the range of this light.

 

[richardcpf]

can't wait to get mine....

 

[Mach1]

I'm interested to know why people on this forum are concerned with color rendition and swap 8,000K bulbs for 4,300K.

How many of you use HID spotlights for photography? I see no need to swap out the 8,000K bulb in my Stanley. In fact, I find the 8,000K more useful for actually locating things in the dark.

 

[Mjolnir]

I tried to take some beamshots tonight, but there was an incredible amount of moisture in the air (basically fog), which made it a little difficult. I also have no idea what settings to use to photograph an HID at night. I tried different F-stops as well as different shutter speeds, but I kept either getting some loss of color, or an overexposed beamshot (it looked brighter than in real life).
I have a Nikon D90, so I should be able to adjust it enough to take some adequate beamshots, once I figure out the settings.

So I can have a starting point, what settings did you guys use to take your beamshots?

 

[StarHalo]

I tried to take some beamshots tonight, but there was an incredible amount of moisture in the air (basically fog), which made it a little difficult.

Fog will completely screw up your beamshots (unless you just want really well-defined pictures of a beam itself), the ideal beamshot conditions are with dead calm and bone dry air.

Settings will vary from different cameras and conditions; the best way to resolve it is to experiment until you find the setting that, according to the display/viewfinder, produces the image that's closest to what you're seeing, then take several more shots with settings that are near that. So for example, I get a shot that looks about right with a 10 second shutter speed. I'll then also take a couple that are one and two steps higher, then a couple more at one and two steps lower. That way when I review the images on an actual computer monitor, I have a range to choose from that look closest to what I saw. Just be sure that all the pictures you finally post have the same shutter speed, for proper comparison.

 

[Jarski]

And try to use as low ISO as possible, because with long exposure times the noise is more noticeable than lower exposure times. ISO 100 or 200 should do it.

 

[Benson]

I'm interested to know why people on this forum are concerned with color rendition and swap 8,000K bulbs for 4,300K.

I don't think most of us are concerned about color rendition -- the 4300K is brighter, which is the only reason I changed.

 

[BVH]

IIRC, my best settings were around 5 to 6 seconds at f3.5 to 3.2. Yep, more lumens is the reason for the 4300K swap. I actually like 5000K for color.

 

[dwminer]

Yesterday there were 4 of the Stanley H.I.D. lights at the Federal Way WalMart in WA. For $69 I couldn't past on one. No disappointment here.
Dave

 

[redsticx7]

you guys are killing me.. read this thread and have the light in my hands an hour later... going outside to light up the nightlife!

 

[Mach1]

I don't think most of us are concerned about color rendition -- the 4300K is brighter, which is the only reason I changed.

I wonder why the pictures in this thread do not indicate a higher brightness with the 4300K bulb? In allthe photos, 8000K looks brighter

 

[Benson]

I wonder why the pictures in this thread do not indicate a higher brightness with the 4300K bulb? In allthe photos, 8000K looks brighter

Essentially, because cameras aren't eyeballs. I can assure you that in real life, the 4300K are brighter, as the numbers indicate.

For me, at least, this did come at a cost in warm-up time, and the beam looks weirder (more color shifts and jumps) as it warms up. (Others have reported no warm-up increase, so this is probably just the particular variety of cheap bulbs I bought.) In my second HID (a POB), although I've got a second 4300K, I haven't changed it in yet for that reason. I'm thinking of a 5 or 6 kK replacement now.

 

[richardcpf]

MINE JUST ARRIVED!!! ​

All I can say is wow.

Here are some bad and quick shots so you can get the idea. Will post more night shots and size comparison when I get back from work.

Size comparison.

Reflector has a adequate size.

LEFT: MY BRIGHTEST FLASHLIGHT, WF-1000L P7. RIGHT: STANLEY HID SPOTLIGHT RIGHT OUT THE PACKAGE, NOT EVEN FULLY CHARGED.

It came partially charged, but still able to put out amazing output. Just FYI, the WF-1000lP7 is about twice as bright as my TK11R2. I guess 600lumens. The stanley hid is about 4x that. You can see the spot at 30yards away in plain daylight. And that wasnt fully charged yet (I hope it can will get even brighter when charged). So you get the idea...

 

[Mjolnir]

I was under the impression that the stanley HID didn't dim because of a voltage drop. Since the light needs thousands of volts to run, then the ballast will have to raise the voltage several orders of magnitude either way. I don't think that a slight voltage drop from a partially charged battery makes a difference. Was I wrong?
I have not noticed any dimming as the battery gets low, but this light is so bright that I probably wouldn't notice it anyway.