Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison-Maxabeam Gen3 & RCL600

Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison-Maxabeam Gen3 & RCL600

Here's something to get your mind thinking until I can shoot the day time pics of one of these lights. Only one because the other is my Gen3 Maxabeam. I've been waiting more than a year to complete this custom build - but I'm not really sure what to call it, it's really ugly and it's not practical in it's current and maybe permanent form! Both lights have beams rated at 1 degree when in tightest focus. It is a commercially available light (can even find it on Ebay) so you could possibly guess what it is. My version looks nothing like it cosmetically because the host was broken up.

I took multiple exposures with varying amounts of time and in each case, picked the one that is one step above/better (in Photoshop) than it looked to my eye because the pics lose something being reduced in size. Overall, I'm very pleased with the custom builds' performance but in another way, I'm a little disappointed because it is supposed to be a 150 Watt system (at the lamp) but didn't quite make it. In a day or 3, I'll try to get some shots at my test range to illustrate performance at distance.

The neighbors straight across the street are on vacation and we're watching the house for them....Can you tell??



The lower beam below is the light on the left in the second pic.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Very nice bob! Can't wait to see your test range shots!

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

let me guess, is this lips 150W short arc squreish ebay spotlight you converted to handheld?

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Well done Ma! Member Lips sent me a busted up ACR RCL600 150 Watt marine searchlight over a year ago. This light new sells for over $8000! Even with the "marine" designation, $8000 is a ridiculous price for a 150 Watt searchlight. It arrived with the framework for allowing the reflector to pivot cracked and bent beyond repair. The lamp was also broken. Even though the Anode base of the lamp had broken loose, the foil ribbon connector was intact and I was able to light it up out of the reflector a couple times before I got smart and stopped doing that.

I've looked for an OEM lamp since I got it but no luck - unless I was willing to spend over $800 for one. $800 for a 150 Watt short arc lamp is ludicrous!! I was originally going to have the guys at A.R.C. make me a replacement lamp but they were busy making me lamps for other lights and I didn't want to take advantage. I finally decided to find a generic lamp and did so on Ebay a week ago. An Osram XBO 150W/CR OFR (Ozone Free) Of course the bases did not match and the Cathode tip (Arc source) was a full 5/8" further distant from the Anode base. So I fired up the lathe and mill, made an adapter and ended up shimming the entire lamp holder assembly back out of the reflector by about 1/2".

I spent quite some time trying to figure out the best way to cobble the 3 circuit boards and ignitor box together into the absolute smallest footprint possible. There is a power supply board in the base of the lights base, an ignitor board and an ignitor box in the head of the light and a control board inside the remote control panel. What I came up with accomplished that but it is really, really ugly! Since I am not talented in plastics and I don't want to build a wooden host, the form factor you see is the result and constitutes my "handheld" light. I'd really like some suggestions on how to incorporate all the components into a decent looking host?

The original light has electric focus, elevation and rotation. I kept the electric focus function but it is not working now. I was able to get it working by using the joystick "rotation" function but now that has stopped working. The light had "auto return" which brought it back to neutral elevation and rotation positions when it was powered down. I think this has kicked in permanently because when I turn off the light, the power switch blinks forever, until power is removed. It reminds me of the first GM computer controlled cars with their "check engine" light blinking numeric codes. When all the components were installed in the original housing, there was some additional circuitry that included position indicators. I have not used these so I think she is still waiting for a "neutral signal confirmation" to allow the normal functions of the joystick controls again.

The glass reflector is 8" round with the top and bottom sections missing so it's a butterfly style. That's what makes the beam look like my old VSS-1 beam as it leaves the reflector. It exudes quality. Actually, everything about this light exudes quality. But with the qualifier that it is not worth $8000 in my opinion. The original light weighs about 65 lbs IIRC but its dual rotational ball bearings are a full 5" in diameter. It utilized an 8 element slip ring system (like found on automotive alternators) for all electrical functions in the light head which allowed continuous 360 degree rotation.

Original light





OK, now I don't want to hear any snickering!





No glass lens yet so I'm careful not to expose myself or others to the front when running for fear of an explosion and UV.




3 PC boards cobbled together as tightly as possible







Focus is accomplished by rotating the joystick knob 7 degrees in both directions. (once I get it resolved)




Lamp holder assembly bushed back 1/2" with 4 precisely milled copper bushings and 4 matched washers

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Very clean work! I think I spotted a Grizzly G0704 in the background.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Yep, sure is. I didn't realize how handy it is until I had it. Those bronze bushings are nominally 3/4" long but varied in length by up to .012". It was so simple and fast to lock them down on the flat ground bed of the Kurt vise and take them down to 1/2" give or take but they were all the same afterwards so would not negatively affect lamp alignment any more than the original flat fibrous disk did. Also, the OEM lamp was held into the OEM 4-jaw collet lamp holder by a collar nut. The collar nut would not accommodate the added diameter of the Anode base adapter. So I fired up Mr. lathe and bored out the collar. These are things that i could not possibly do before I had the machines.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

I could tell by the beam it was a long FL light. Next to the beam of the MaxaBeam, this beam has no graduation to flood to spot as with short FL. What's interesting is this lamp mount design appears similar to the MaxaBeam, but is instead a single-ended lamp mount. I don't understand the function of the XYZ alignment from the pics, nor the focus function. Can you describe these functions on this light?

EDIT... It appears as thought XY alignment is adjusted by moving the reflector?

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

X and Y are handled by moving the entire lamp holding assembly. It is held to the reflector framework via 4 screws that go thru the 4 bronze bushings I milled and as seen in the pics. The screws are 5mm in diameter and the holes in the lamp holder gray fibrous material are at least 10mm maybe a little more so when the screws are loose, you simply move the lamp assembly to the perfect focus. The hole in the reflector is large enough to allow for probably 4mm in all directions. I thought it would be difficult but in less than 5 minutes, I had it done. Granted, I focused it at 10 feet so when I get to the range hopefully tonight, I will go thru the process again to focus using my 350 yard target. Z is handled by a rack and pinion gear setup attached to the lampholder. The rack is part of the lamp holder collet and the gear is obviously on the motor that attaches to the white plastic piece. If that doesn't make sense, I can shoot some closeups. Unlike the MB with it 8 flexible contact fingers and the small hole behind the finger into which the bulb stem fits into, the collet that accepts and holds the lamp base (in my case the lamp base adapter) is a positive crimping set of 4 beefy fingers clamped tight by the taper in the collar nut as it's screwed down.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Bob, you have the coolest projects buddy! That's another classic beamshot in my book. Great comparison to see the new creation next to the MB!

Thanks for posting all the pictures and detail. You always keep this forum alive with fun, new things!

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Great explanation, got it. It's interesting to me the various methods devised to accomplish this. Please post pics if you don't mind.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

ma_sha1 said:

let me guess, is this lips 150W short arc squreish ebay spotlight you converted to handheld?

Click to expand...

Had me totally fooled on this one, thought it was some other light off ebay.

Put a smile on my face to see her live on! Nice Work!




A little background on the light. I bought the ACR RCL-600A Marine Short Arc Searchlight (Made in Japan, ACR is just brand name) for $600 from a salvage shop in Houma LA. It was listed on ebay and said to be in good working condition. Seller promised light was shipped but it did not show up for over a month. Finally got them to ship the light for real after some hounding... After it arrived it took about a minute to see the light would not function in it's current condition. The return wire was obviously detach/burned so I filed a dispute and received a refund. While searching for a marine light I saw this model mounted on many yachts and tugs for sale as it seems it's a popular model. The housing and lens is really heavy duty for saltwater operations...





Mount light was attached to






Burnt wire as received. Reflector was a little smokey but cleaned up nicely per BVH





Bracket broke as mentioned. Must have slung this thing around after taking off vessel





Lamp housing = Aluminum alloy die casting
Base = Aluminum alloy die casting
Power source, 24V = 21.6 – 26.4 V
Power source, 12V = 12V
Fuse, 24V = 10 amp
Fuse, 12V = 20 amp
Reflector = High quality parabolic glass
Lamp = 150W Xenon short arc lamp
Peak beam candle power = 6,000,000 CD
Beam spread = About 1°
Operation method = Electric remote control
Elevation angle = Up 18°, down 30°
Turning angle = 360° (Continuous)
Elevation speed = About 7.5°/sec.
Turning speed = Low about 11°sec., High about 27° sec
















Big Heavy Light!

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Thanks Lips for providing the history of this gem! Patriot, I live for this stuff! It is still as magical today as it was when I joined CPF in 2004.

OK, now I am impressed! This light performs exceptionally well for being only 136 Watts. I don't know if the stock lamp would perform as well as its arc gap was a fraction of a mm larger, however this lamp is actually being underdriven by quite a bit - 10%. I don't know the rating of the stock lamp. In real life/being there, the RCL setup is a really "usable" long distance light. In the 900 Yard shot, the MB appears to have a tighter focused beam spot and it looks slightly brighter but again, you cannot tell what you're seeing because the field of view is too narrow. Finding the tree and identifying it with the RCL was dramatically easier, night and day. I could have ID'd a human whereas I could not do that with the MB. Also, I could not find the 1120 Yard hilltop with the MB whereas, it was a very, very easy task with the RCL and I could easily see brown hillside. IIRC, the Osram lamp is 5500K whereas I'd guess the MB to be 6000K, but I don't know. Overall, I'm just very impressed with this setup. Now if I could shoehorn it into a pleasing host.

MB @ 350 Yards




RCL600 @ 350 Yards




MB @ 900 Yards



RCL600 @ 900 Yards



With the MB, I could not find/see the hill top to shoot it for the 1120 Yard shot


RCL600 @ 1120 Yards

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

A lot of the difference you're seeing is due to the long FL. Long FL is fun!!

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

I need to go back and re-read your descriptions and explanation of the short and Long FL's because I've forgotten most everything you explained and I want to know more about why I see what I see. Is the best place to do that in post 137 of your latest NS thread?

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

BVH said:

I need to go back and re-read your descriptions and explanation of the short and Long FL's because I've forgotten most everything you explained and I want to know more about why I see what I see. Is the best place to do that in post 137 of your latest NS thread?

Click to expand...

I believe #107 is most helpful.

Edit.. Actually that post tells less than half the story. You're witnessing the effect I've been wanting to discuss here. I'll prepare a summary.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

When I was viewing and loading up the shots before posting, I was thinking to myself that in then RCL, 350 yrd shot, that while the tiny spot is as defined as the 350 yrd MB spot, that the light just out of the spot is so well defined at its' edge and it is so much easier to see what is in that light. Not sure how else to describe it. But your models in post 107 make much more sense now - especially the Long FL with retro model. The RCL's beam and spot are just so much more of a pleasing and useful view. Have no idea how I quoted post #137??? 107 as you linked is what I meant.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Here you can find how I summarize that affect you're seeing.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Well I played a little more with the focus, elevation and rotation circuit issues today and managed to find data on the correct hookup of all 10 wires involved. As I mentioned, the light has auto return which rotates and elevates the appropriate pieces back to a neutral position upon power down. When this is happening, the power button lamp blinks until the operations are complete. The logic knows when to finally power down based on signals sent out to and returned by two normally closed micro switches. When it sees the two switches go open, it powers down. The two switches are activated by appropriately placed cams.

The focus circuit, the only one I care about, has no auto return. A simple -8 to +8 Volt signal is supposed to be sent to the focus motor based on the focus POT located in the joystick knob. I pulled the POT connector, I'D'd the focus wires and was able to get a 1 KOhm to 6.5KOhm smooth transitioning Ohm reading commensurate with smooth knob movement so I believe the joystick controller is functioning. The POT return signal/resistance level goes to the control board. At the other end of the control board, is a 12 pin connector back to the power board (where the motor activation pins are located) I don't know what happens to the variable resistance signal from the POT as it goes thru the control board or what happens to it back on the power board. The boards are much too dense to do any tracing and even if I could, there are many IC chips to contend with. But I do know that probing the Voltage on the focus motor connector pins nets a constant 12 Volts, never varying. So I may be out of luck. I may have to rig up an 8 Volt battery pack with reverse polarity switch. But that will make for difficult focusing without having a Voltage ramp up and down capable, reverse polarity switch. Get lit, does the focusing switch system you're looking at for the Nightsword fit this bill and if it does, can you link to it? Or do you know of something probably much more simple that would work?

I just noticed that I shot different trees in the 350 Yard shot. Dang! Both are within 50' of each other horizontally and pretty much the same distance so technically, they are the same distance shots but it makes it harder for a true comparison.

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

The switch I'm using is more than $100, but it's the only switch out there that solves all of my problems. The switch is from Otto, the premier mil spec controls company. They have lots of solutions that you might be interested in. Browse their website at http://www.ottoexcellence.com/

Re: Two Handheld, Under 137 Watt Short Arc lights Beam Comparison

Bob, from the sound of it, your lamps motor control employs a microprocessor controlled stepper motor design of sorts, those can be tricky to work with since they are often custom designed for each specific task by the manufacturer. I'd have to see the wiring that's coming to/from the focus motor to confirm this but with 12v constant going to the motor, there should be a set of control wires that send a signal instructing the motor to move x distance in accordance to the control boards i/o relative to the joystick. This signal can be hacked and a focus system designed to control it without needing the stock system.