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

[m1ruf]

delete

 

[Yadao]

Ordered one from Amazon, will arrive monday.
Yadao, gorgeous paint job! (sprayed?).

Brightnorm

Yeah, just used a can of "hammered" rustoleum.

 

[brightnorm]

Is the Stanley regulated; if so is it constant or slightly dimming before cut-off? Apologies if this has already been answered.

Brightnorm

 

[BVH]

No dimming before cut-off. Full brightness till the end.

 

[Mjolnir]

Aren't all HIDs essentially "regulated?" Since the bulb requires a voltage that is much higher than the battery voltage, then the ballast already has to increase the initial battery voltage. Why should it matter if the cell is 14 volts or 10? (or whatever the difference is between fully charged and nearly depleted)
Shouldn't every HID stay at its full brightness until the low voltage cutoff of the battery?

 

[BVH]

The vast majority are regulated. As voltage falls, Amperage increases providing the same Watts to the bulb. There may be a more technical explanation of what's happening but someone more knowledgeable than me about electronics would need to jump in here.

However, and I'm racking my brain to remember, there are some that actually dim as battery voltage falls. Maybe it's the old 10 Watt WA Solarc? Just think of a two-stage ballast. When you're making the switch from low to high, you're changing something in the ballast. Not sure what it is but the end result is that it is being dimmed.

 

[Patriot]

You're correct in theory that they are, but how flat the regulation actually is depends on the ballast and how tightly regulated it is. My WE Boxer, Microfire Warrior, Jil EZnite and Mac's 10W all have noticeable drop off. The Solarcs and Boxer have the most drop, at up to 35 percent between turn of and shut down, according to the light meter. The 35W SLA automotive lights and better 24/25 watt lights seem to run much flatter. The EA lights for example seem to drop very little before shutting down. All the ones I've checked with the meter drop a slight amount including the Polarion. If I ever get around to posting graphs, it would be revealed clearly there.



EDIT: I see that Bob covered it already while I was still typing. There must be something going on with the solarcs which causes them by design to drop more than the others. Mac or Dan probably know exactly what's going on there but it's technically beyond my knowledge.

 

[BVH]

Some HID's don't have low voltage cut off. Not a rule but you can usually see some flickering going on during the last 2-5 seconds of run time. The Oracle 24 I believe does not have the cutoff as it high-speed flickers for about 5-6 seconds before going out.

 

[Mjolnir]

Doesn't the Oracle use a Lithium ion battery pack? Isn't the pack itself protected?

 

[BVH]

Yes, see the pics I just posted showing the battery pack disassembled.

 

[thermal guy]

Just picked up the Stanley H.I.D! Now i know why people have said that when you start using hid lights all your other lights will start collecting dust! This thing is amazing.Took it to my old school late last night and lit stuff 500 yards away with NO problem.Only problem i had was trying to explain to the local police what i was doing there😱

 

[Patriot]

Congrats TG. It usually follows that you'll be wanting an compact aluminum tube HID of some type shortly after. That's what happened to me anyway after I got my X990 and Costco. Having that kind of output coming out of something smaller and lighter is addictive.

You know, it's practically mandatory now for new hid owners to post a couple of beamshots....:kiss:

 

[StandardBattery]

Picked mine up Saturday. Shimmed the bulb and removed the cover on the electrode wire. I also gave the yellow case a coat of paint while I had it apart, I wasn't too fond of all the yellow.

It doesn't look right in the picture, but it's more of a dark gray color.

Looks like a beautiful paint job.

Certainly makes it look like a more serious, or professional, light. Ok course once you switch it on no one really notices the case anymore.

 

[Yadao]

Haha, true. I showed it off to a couple of my buddies last night, I almost didn't get it back.

 

[brightnorm]

Those initial few ultra-bright seconds are really astounding. If only there were some way to prolong it.

Brightnorm

 

[Mjolnir]

Yes, see the pics I just posted showing the battery pack disassembled.

Wait, so if the pack is low voltage protected (I only had a minute to skim over your thread, but it doesn't seem to conclusively say), then why did you say that it does not have a cutoff? Am I misreading/misunderstanding something?
Now I am confused... :thinking:

 

[Patriot]

Wait, so if the pack is low voltage protected (I only had a minute to skim over your thread, but it doesn't seem to conclusively say), then why did you say that it does not have a cutoff? Am I misreading/misunderstanding something?
Now I am confused... :thinking:

It was before he took it apart and realized that it did.

 

[Benson]

The vast majority are regulated. As voltage falls, Amperage increases providing the same Watts to the bulb. There may be a more technical explanation of what's happening but someone more knowledgeable than me about electronics would need to jump in here.

They're all "regulated" in a sense (more properly, ballasted), because a discharge tube is a negative resistance device, that is, as voltage drops the current increases. This doesn't result in balancing for constant power, but runs away, so some drive circuit is needed to stabilize the desired operating point by controlling the current.

However, and I'm racking my brain to remember, there are some that actually dim as battery voltage falls. Maybe it's the old 10 Watt WA Solarc? Just think of a two-stage ballast. When you're making the switch from low to high, you're changing something in the ballast. Not sure what it is but the end result is that it is being dimmed.

Yep, the old Solarcs are the only unregulated ones I'm aware of; they apparently control the arc current proportional to the input voltage (or something like that), so the brightness falls off as the battery drains. This also permits overdriving them somewhat for more brightness off fresh batteries, as in the typical setup with 3x3.7V driving a 10.4V ballast. I don't know if anyone's done it, but you could probably also use it to rig a low mode with a two-level buck convertor; I know they'll light up from a 9V battery, which is probably down around 7.5V under load... :thinking:

 

[BVH]

It was before he took it apart and realized that it did.

Correct! Thanks, Paul

 

[brightnorm]

Congrats TG. It usually follows that you'll be wanting an compact aluminum tube HID of some type shortly after. That's what happened to me anyway after I got my X990 and Costco. Having that kind of output coming out of something smaller and lighter is addictive...:kiss:

Do you mean something like a Boxer or Microfire 3500?

Brightnorm