Spider lens on the Maxa Beam.

Matt@PeakBeam said:

Hi eyesonfire,

You should keep in mind that the patent was written in the mid-1980's and was comparing the invention to existing lights at the time and the state of various other technologies and manufacturing methods at that time. A lot has obviously changed since then, but especially the manufacturing and strength/stability of xenon SA lamps. The concern about changing and focusing the lamp is not a concern with our setup. A lot of older lights the spider was part of the light (not the lens) and used to focus the lamp which means you would have to have the front lens off while the light is on to focus a new lamp.

In absolute terms, a spider style lamp support will absolutely reduce the overall output of a searchlight by blocking a small amount of light. The actual difference, at least for our lights, is much less than the normal variation from one light to the next mostly accounted for by small variations in lamp and reflector geometries which can have relatively large effects. The light still features all of the shock mounted telescopic mechanisms described in the patent with the current configuration.

The very original design featured a teflon locator that was pressed into a hole in the center of the front lens glass. In 2002, to improve environmental performance, the hole in the front lens was removed and a small aluminum locator was epoxied to the inside of the lens. In 2006 we introduced the "spyder" lens which we spell with a "Y" since it looks like a "Y". The spyder lens was initially an option but became standard across all lights in 2013. Based on our testing and feedback from the field, the spyder lens is a lot more durable through normal and IR operation, performs better in drops or large shocks, and is easier to consistently manufacture.

We actually have a new optional metal spyder lens that we recommend for lights that will be exposed to a lot of shock, that utilizes a metal lens ring, slightly beefier spyder, and rubber locator. This was designed so that it could be installed on any standard Maxa Beam already in the field, even that light featured in the patent.

Hope that helps clarify things,

Matt

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eyesonfire said:

Thank you kindly Matt for the great information.
One question. Can a new Maxa Beam be bought without the Spyder lens?

Michael.

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Matt@PeakBeam said:

Hi Michael,

I assume you mean can a Maxa Beam be bought with the old-style what we often referred to as the "standard" lens as opposed to without a lens at all. We do still have about 50 of the old style lenses in stock and could sell them individually or built onto a new Maxa Beam. As much as possible we try to keep everything forward and backwards compatible.

The presence of the spyder is really only noticeable when the beam is flooded out. Even I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the spots with and without the spyder and I've looked at many thousands of lamp/reflector/lens combinations.

Matt

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Matt@PeakBeam said:

Hi Michael,

I assume you mean can a Maxa Beam be bought with the old-style what we often referred to as the "standard" lens as opposed to without a lens at all. We do still have about 50 of the old style lenses in stock and could sell them individually or built onto a new Maxa Beam. As much as possible we try to keep everything forward and backwards compatible.

The presence of the spyder is really only noticeable when the beam is flooded out. Even I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the spots with and without the spyder and I've looked at many thousands of lamp/reflector/lens combinations.

Matt

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JoeWithABoat said:

Hey Matt.
Still got one of those standard lenses? Trying to get a hold of one before they gone. Probably gone because I'm 10 years to late… if yes how much would that cost for a lense?

Cary

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