Took a gamble

[chillinn]

Just ordered 3x G4 lamps from Bulb America.

USHIO JC 35w T3 12v G4 JC12v-35wB/G4 2900K because of the warm color temperature, and 2 of them, just in case, because of the low stock, and because 2.9A. I'll see what it does on 11.1V. 2000 hour life, so I am not expecting. I doubt anyone would be interested in this one, but warm light thrills me. Maybe it will be decent room lighting.

OSRAM 64265 HLX 30W 6V G4 Base Xenon Halogen because I couldn't find any information on 64265, and all the other Osram 64xxx listed in Lux Luthor's Destructive Incan Bulb Tests post, and it is 5A. I'll try it with 7.4V.

What was shocking was Bulb America's $8+ in shipping for First Class Mail. Why?! Also, the coupon code they gave me for creating an account, for 10% off my first order, was invalid. Come. On.

Post your predictions, and I'll post back after arrival and checking, and maybe try to get beam shots, but it's tough for me without my tripod. Unfortunately, with no light meter, all I will be able to say is anecdotal impressions, like "sucked, ignore" or "wow, really bright!" and/or "I can't get this to focus," etc.

 

[Buck91]

I'll be interested to hear how that 64265 does

 

[DRW]

I predict first class parcel postal rates will continue to rise with no appreciable increase in quality of service.

Here are the rates https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#_c037

Add the cost of some kind of mailer (box, bubble envelope, packing material).

Make peace with the idea that there isn't a guarantee of delivery.

Wait 3 to 5 days for delivery.

8 bucks is about as cheap as it gets and just a bit of a roll of the dice...

What was shocking to you?

 

[chillinn]

What was shocking to you?

fivemega is shipping me 9 lamps for $6. I thought this order might be 10g of product. But I didn't consider the lamps may be in little boxes. Bulk costs more than weight at that size.

I predict first class parcel postal rates will continue to rise with no appreciable increase in quality of service.

Other shippers' prices are obnoxious, like UPS and FedEx. USPS mailing and shipping is a bargain, and I think they operate at a loss because conservatives have been trying to destroy the USPS for decades because their interests want to take it private (along with a steep increase in cost and a steep decline in service), but the USPS is proud and works harder and longer for less money to keep it going, nearly miraculously. Surprisingly, USPS loses far less packages than competitors, and is much gentler on them, and for less money. The shipping rate I was given probably has more to do with Bulb America's packing and handling surcharge.

Here are the rates

Rates have increased in the last 30 years, but not nearly as much as UPS and FedEx and other private shippers have jacked rates using gas prices as a lame excuse for their periodic money grabs. It is pretty incredible that it still only costs 44¢ to send a postcard or 60¢ to send a letter ~4800 miles (straight line w/ Google Maps measure tool, actual route distance much farther) from Key West FL to Utqiagvik AK or Honolulu HI or 5500 miles to Attu Island AK.

If UPS was the shipper here, because the destination is a residence, I'm pretty sure the cheapest rate would have been $18, but that may have gone up since I last knew. I worked as a package slinger for UPS in college. Every day there were destroyed packages spilling their contents all over the place. Unpacking the trucks, I saw that whomever packed them paid no attention to whether something was heavy or light, and invariably things got crushed. One day everyone got a letter from corporate congratulating us on only losing 40K packages that year in the state. Apparently, the annual number of lost packages in any state was usually much higher.

I have never had anything sent to me or that I sent First Class Mail get lost. Two Day once arrived weeks late, though. But Two Day Mail isn't guaranteed or even prioritized.

 

[knucklegary]

There is a savings using independent shipping services such as PirateShip. They sell you a label at decent discounts. Just make sure you do not go over set weights. First Class you're allowed up to but not over 16oz. Where as with USPS 12oz is max for first class.
Beware, US Postal does not like these independent services, and they'll check size/weights. Any differentials will get kicked back to you by way of added charges.

 

[chillinn]

This is just preliminary, still too much daylight to tell anything, but I can already guess the Ushio isn't ever going to focus. Changing out the IMR-13, found it was sort of glued to the KT4 collar. Weird. A twist unstuck it, but I am concerned it left something in the throat. Can't tell. Discovered the spring in my Tad Custom's G4 socket is rather crushed and lost its springy, rather flat. Would appreciate suggestions on what to do about crushed springs, as I am weary of accidentally pulling things apart that aren't supposed to come apart.

Bulb America's box is 6" or 7" square by 4". Notice all the crap my neighbor leaves permanently lying around. Check out his garden he planted in the shade of the oak when COVID hit.

Packed well with a lot of paper. The rescue kitten confiscated the paper.

Rise up this mornin', smile with the risin' sun...

Ushio was sort of crammed in the little box, took tweezers to extract. It's a little plastic baggy that isn't sealed. I'm holding the open end upside down and its lucky it didn't slip out onto the floor. Reads "JAPAN" on the opposite side, this side reads "12V 35W" and below that "X6 1A." Hope that doesn't mean amps, as it would contradict itself.

I apologize for these pictures... are they even in focus?

Last with the exposure as low as it goes on the iPad mini 5th Gen camera.

I'll play tonight with the Ushio. I like the color temperature already. I have to change battery configuration for the 64265, at least to start. Don't want to blow it before I can even see it.

It's not night yet, but dark enough to tell... I would guess 300-500Lm range. Specs on the Bulb America product page say 650Lm, I think. Close enough. I can use this as a room light with a little better runtime than my other G4 lamps, which was what I was hoping.

I am showing a comparison against Tad's A3712 80Lm lamp, but the battery in the E is probably 3/4th to half full, so not 80Lm. I tried with auto exposure, then with pushing the exposure to maximum. I'm just shooting at the ground at 20 feet so the camera can see the A3712. Shots are still embarrassingly bad.

End of dock maybe 40 yards. Too far for camera to see the A3712, but it does light it up, too.

Forgot to mention, I found a few lamps Greenbean sent me that he wrote "unidentified" on. When I get a chance I'll post pics of them, maybe someone knows. They have round tops like WA1185 and look like some of the GE lamps. I just need to figure out their voltage, but I guess I can test with one cell, two cells, etc., until they look bright.

 

[chillinn]

I swapped the IMR-6 out of the Greenbean for the WA1185 again last week because I was missing it. Flashed the WA1185 this evening after a battery swap. Upsetting, but I used it way beyond its experation date. It had hours on it when I got it in 2020, and I've used it through many battery swaps, probably a few every month at least. So then I couldn't get it out of the socket. It was really stuck in there, and I had to use plyers. Finally it came out and one of the pins was still stuck in the socket. The whole ordeal was upsetting and worse because I violenetly mutilated it, tore off one of its legs. And I'm a little freaked out because I only have two left and I'll probably never see more than these for this light.

But I immediately installed another. The hot spot seems focused, but the corona is eye shaped. I monkied with shims for a while before I gave up. I wonder if I damaged the reflector with the IMR-6, running it for too long. When I uninstalled the IMR-6, it was kind of stuck in there, as though the print on the top of the socket shoulder melted to the bottom of the reflector collar and adhered.

I bought 3x WA1154 from fivemega, and I have a lot of hope for those, but I don't have the cells to run them yet, takes four IMR18500. Hopefully I can order them next month and try one out. They're supposed to be brighter than WA1185, though with 18500, my runtime will be somewhat reduced. But if the beam is nice, I'll stock up on them while they're still available. I'm actually kind of excited about running four cells.