Another Thor mod !

Hello ,
Iam starting my build slowly here , you can see what i got so far , and guess what iam doing

That looks like fun! What are the specs on the reflector? Lamp looks like maybe 100 to 150 Watt? Where did the PS with ignitor come from?

delete double psot.

Hi Bob , the reflector is from Phoenix , 9.5" rhodium coated ,
For the lamp you are spot on , HBO 103 W/2 .
More to come when i get back from Weekend to my home .

Where are those beam shots of the RCL600?

I have just my phone for picture, i dont think it will show anything good .

Moving forward , tonight testing started bad , the beam was really out of focus ...




Then took the reflector out for investigation and found something has moved






One more for fun !

I took picture with my cellphone , hope to get some better shot soon .

Here is my little progress ,
I received my lathe and i spend all my time playing with it , made this part , bulb holder for the cathode :
Started like this :



and after few try :







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THe brass part i made is a replacement for this one ,








it had a teflon insulating ring that started to slowly melt and loose the tight fit while long use of the light .
I used PEEK for the new insulating ring,


This little part for the anode also :

.

Not much work on the host , just added a small fan in order to cool the first brass part .
And drilled hole for holding the ballast.

Waiting for AC/DC inverter to really move on this build , selecting batteries and final mouting .

Edgar, is there no support for the Anode end of the lamp? Without any, I would think there would be tremendous stress on the quartz when the lamp is hot at running temps with the brass adapter hung on the end.

I didnt see any support in the original maxablaster design , or i missed it , the brass part is 8 gram with the wire .
Like the RCL600 i got from you , no support either .

When the reflector is mounted on the thor , the black wire is pinched between the host and the relfector it doesnt apply any load on the light bulb ,and the wire have some slope for centering purpose.

But if its really needed i can change the plan .

If you used a solid core wire, that itself could be used as support eh?

Yes that would be an option when i am done with the centering and know the exact position of the light bulb .

Oh now that i think about it , i could make a perpendicular hole in the brass anode part , use a small grub screw on top to adjust the solid core wire

The wire could be stainless welding rod or anything i guess .

Only thing i dont know is how i would do it at the reflector edge where the wire come out and meet the othere wire from the balalst.

Looking good.

Edgar, can you explain how you mounted your focus/centering mechanism to the Phoenix reflector?

Basicly its a big hollow bolt , going inside the reflector , and the assembly holding the bulb is mounted on the nut of that bolt .
I hope you see what i mean

I lit it up tonight and measured 4.65A and 21.9V for 101Watt , as advertised .
But no cloud to point it at to see the spot .
Iam addicted to cloud bounce since last time hehe , i had to take few step back from the beam to really believe it !

Its the 2nd DC/AC inverter i try , and all it does is cut or goes into protect mode after the strike .

First one was 120W rated the one i received today was rated at 150W.

I waiting for another one rated at 200Watt , all those rating is continious , and should be almost twice in peak .

That cheap stuff is disapointing me , but the size matter to fit in the THOR host , i cant use a big one .

IF anyone know a small yet strong DC/AC inverter you are welcome to let me know input 12 or 24V is ok .

Very nice project!

Please post more pictures and be careful with all the UV radiation!!

Oddly, the inverter that I keep in the back of my Jeep is a "Thor" brand inverter!

It's relatively inexpensive, but got good reviews (I searched because my old one that I'd bought off the shelf in an auto parts store died.) Modified sine wave, so it won't work if you need pure sine wave. Also don't know if they have 240VAC versions for EU or not.

Nice work!

Thanks guys , i appreciate your comments ,
I found a suitable inverter today , belkin 300W , i new this brand was serious and aiming at twice the watt i need (140w) i might have a chance .

the inverter is so big , so i tough i could strap it to the side or under the Thor , but after working all evening on getting it to bare component it was inside the Thor , right behing the ballast .


I promise i ll make you some picture of the instalation , iam so tired now , it 2.00am so much soldering ,fitting etc ... i had to take my 7AH SLA batterie out to go for a walk with the light , iam really pleased i can move it around now .

It was not really a walk , just went to light up a pretty long road in the wood

Still not happy with the hotspot , the beam looks pretty tight but the spot id too big for my liking still .

I have alot of room left for some lipo , life , whatever , its my next purchase after mesuring inside the Thor .
I should have my UV coated borofloat lense by that time .