36 inch Gorilla

[LightSward]

Here are some Beam Shots from the 36 inch 100 watt HID Gorilla, taken Valentines Eve, 2010 over the Portland, Oregon skyline.

The beam was slightly out of focus, seems to have spread to around 60 feet or so at 1,800 feet distance. This light is begging for a 1,000 watt, medium arc size, HID

:candle: :laughing: :thinking:


Downtown Portland, Oregon

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, one of the most expensive stretches of sidewalk in the world! This is how things looked when I arrived.

The buildings I aimed the 36 inch Gorilla searchlight at; range in distance the light beam will travel from 1,800 feet to about 3,300 feet, (1 km). I will include a Google map with locations and distances, next few days.

Enjoy! ...A gathering crowd did.

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the 36 inch, 100 watt HID Gorilla Searchlight shining on one of the buildings of the cluster of buildings called the World Trade Center of Portland, Oregon.


36 inch Gorilla Beam Shots

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the sky line with no searchlight.


36 inch Gorilla Beam Shots

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the 36 inch, 100 watt HID Gorilla Searchlight shining on one of the World Trade Center buildings, of Portland, Oregon, the Standard Insurance Center building picks up a little of the light.


36 inch Gorilla Beam Shots

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the sky line with 36 Gorilla Searchlight pointed upward.


36 inch Gorilla Beam Shots

This photo shows the skyline without the Search Light.

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the 36 inch, 100 watt HID Gorilla Searchlight shining on one of the World Trade Center buildings, of Portland, Oregon, as well as partly the light shines a little on the Standard Insurance Center building. This is after all just a 100 watt light bulb!

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the 36 inch, 100 watt HID Gorilla Searchlight shining on the Standard Insurance Center Building 2,500 feet from Searchlight location, the darker building to the left is the United States Courthouse building. The World Trade Center of Portland building cluster, is the closer set of buildings at 1,800 feet distance from Searchlight.

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the sky line with 36 Gorilla Searchlight pointed upward.

This shot is from the Eastbank Esplanade, about SE Main Street and I-5. This photo shows the 36 inch, 100 watt HID Gorilla Searchlight shining on the World Trade Center of Portland, Oregon.


Distant Bldg Beam Shot no light

Distant building, (Standard Plaza with North West Power Planning), is 3,300 feet, (about 1 kilometer) from Searchlight location. You can see the Portland Building in front of the Standard Plaza building. This is the before shot, no searchlight.

Distant Bldg with 36 inch Gorilla light shining on it


Distant building, (Standard Plaza with North West Power Planning), is 3,300 feet, (about 1 kilometer) from Searchlight location. You can see the Portland Building in front of the Standard Plaza building. This is the after shot with 36 inch Gorilla Searchlight.


36 inch Gorilla Beam Shots

The 36 inch Gorilla is shown here just leaning on my automobile, plugged into cigarette lighter and lighting up Downtown Portland.


36 inch Gorilla reflected from window

The light from the 36 inch Gorilla Searchlight is seen reflecting from a window of the World Trade Center building complex. the light travels 1,800 feet one way to the building, or a total of 3,600 travel distance, round trip.


This was a lot of fun. This 36 inch Gorilla will really shine once I get a 1,000 watt HID!

The 36 inch Gorilla is the easiest light to transport, easier than the 24 inch LightSward, or 50 inch Monster. As I can, I will Beam Shot the other lights and go to other locations.

 

[Jarski]

Nice pictures! It really puts a nice beam on those buildings :twothumbs

 

[DM51]

That is very impressive - especially as there is a lot of ambient light around from street lights etc.

I look forward to seeing it with the 1,000W HID!

 

[LightSward]

Nice pictures! It really puts a nice beam on those buildings :twothumbs

Thanks. This has been a fun project. Here is a map that gives an idea of the buildings I Beam Shot.
Downtown Portland Oregon Beam Shots

This map shows the approximate location of the 36 inch Gorilla, (green circle), and building locations, (red circles), for the Beam Shots. Distances Range from 1,800 to 3,300 feet from Gorilla Searchlight to beam target.

With a little focusing and/or 1,000 watt HID bulb, I should be able to light the buildings up bright!:thumbsup:

 

[LightSward]

That is very impressive - especially as there is a lot of ambient light around from street lights etc.

I look forward to seeing it with the 1,000W HID!

The Beam Shots came out well. I look forward to seeing them when I install the 1,000W HID.

Here is a day time Google street level photo from approximately the location of the Searchlight.

Portland Oregon downtown

Google Day time view from approximate location of the 36 inch Gorilla Searchlight; for Beam Shots.

Soon I hope to do some other location shots. I plan on installing a 1,000W HID, but it is fun with the 100W HID because I get an hour of run time from a small portable rechargeable battery.

 

[LightSward]

I've made some adjustments that should improve the brightness and efficiency of the 36 inch Gorilla Searchlight.

:naughty: I'm planning on driving up the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge, some time during March, and shine the Gorilla across the Columbia River to Multnomah Falls and Vista House, on the Oregon side, over a mile away. I'm still using the little 100W HID, so I can use my small battery pack, in case I have to "Huff" it up a small hill or trail to get a good vantage point.
:twothumbs

 

[LightSward]

I will be traveling parts of the Western USA, starting in a few weeks. I will bring the 36 inch Gorilla with me, since it easily fits in the trunk. I will take photos along the way, with it shining on various Landmarks. Hope the weather cooperates.:twothumbs

 

[David Gretzmier]

I've been following this threaad for a while now, and you have got to get a 1000 watt HP sodium or metal halide in there to see what it will do. at 100 watts, you are only at 7000-10000 lumens max. most 1000 watt metal halides seem to be in the 110,000 lumen range, and the pretty white color. The hps 1000 watt would get you in the 130000-140000 lumen territory. That is a beamshot I would like to see !

 

[LightSward]

I've been following this threaad for a while now, and you have got to get a 1000 watt HP sodium or metal halide in there to see what it will do. at 100 watts, you are only at 7000-10000 lumens max. most 1000 watt metal halides seem to be in the 110,000 lumen range, and the pretty white color. The hps 1000 watt would get you in the 130000-140000 lumen territory. That is a beamshot I would like to see !

I totally agree. The 100W HID works well but 1000W HID will make this thing work the way it was designed to.

Thanks for the good words! :twothumbs

 

[LightSward]

:twothumbs The 36 inch Gorilla Searchlight Road Trip Begins Monday! One area I'm going to try tor lighting up, is the famous Red Rock climbing area outside Las Vegas. Should light up a nice beam spot on the cliff-sides from a mile or so. I should get some decent shots with the 100 watt HID portable unit. ( I'm still dreaming of a 1000 watt HID ).:naughty:

 

[Al Combs]

I thought perhaps a simple formula from my telescope making days might be helpful with the curve generating process. Well figuring more people have access to a spreadsheet than a CAD program. If you were to put a straight edge across a parabolic mirror, the distance between the straight edge and the vertex of the parabola is called the sagitta. Well in ATM world that's what it was called. Useful to know if you Google for sagitta & parabola together. Solving for sagitta is a simple formula r^2/4F. Where lower case 'r' equals the radius of the mirror, or half its diameter squared. And cap 'F' equals the mirror's focal length x 4. Really the formula is r^2/2R for any ATM's out there. But since there is no such thing as the radius of a parabola, it's easier to use its focal length. I made a simple spreadsheet to show what this would look like in the case of the Gorilla. It has 18 different radius points and the formula for sagitta was cloned by dragging the little box on the cell down 18 rows. I had assumed an 8 inch focal length for the mirror. But any focal length could be used.

I found your page on the directrix concept very interesting. The idea of points on the curve being equidistant from the focus and the directrix was something I'd never come across it in telescope making.

BTW, I love the work you've done on the Gorilla and the 50" Monster. I've been ghosting both these threads for a while. Keep up the good work. :twothumbs

 

[LightSward]

Thanks for the kind words.

Future projects, I want to go for telescope mirror precision. I may use this spreadsheet for my next project, ("Super 18" ???).

I'm almost to the Red Rock Cliffs. See about some beam shots. :thumbsup:

 

[LightSward]

:twothumbs I just got back yesterday from Las Vegas and the Red Rock Cliffs Climbing Area / Frenchman and Sunrise Mountain over looking Las Vegas. I got some good, (sometimes a little grainy), photos of the 36 inch Gorilla light beam shining on some of the cliffs and mountains surrounding Las Vegas.

I have many photos to sort through. I need a couple days to figure out which photos are the best. The light traveled up to two and a half miles to Mountain Wilson of the Red Rock Cliffs Climbing Area. Awesome how this 100 watt searchlight does so well.

I will post some of these photos in the next few days. :naughty:

Frenchman Mt. Beam Shot

36 inch Gorilla Searchlight shares the night with the Full Moon. Here the Beam is shining to just below the top of Frenchman Mountain's aviation beacon, about a mile and a quarter.

 

[attaighEscali]

It has a 1/2 inch diameter hole right below the spinner, and there is a large outlet at the trailing edge of the wing, underneath. Also, there is an exit where the pushrod connects to the stabilator, so I think it will be ok. I expect it will be flying at low power most of the time.

 

[LightSward]

It has a 1/2 inch diameter hole right below the spinner, and there is a large outlet at the trailing edge of the wing, underneath. Also, there is an exit where the pushrod connects to the stabilator, so I think it will be ok. I expect it will be flying at low power most of the time.

This is perhaps for the AOPA or other aviation website?!

 

[LightSward]

At long last. The beam shots are finally here:

Frenchman Mt., as seen from my hotel room at a distance of about 6 miles.

Here is the mountain I used to ride my bike to with friends and family, when I was a kid. It stands a little over two thousand feet above the Las Vegas Valley Floor.



Frenchman Mountain Beam Shots. For a variety of reasons, this is the best place to get a good sight line. I drove near the base of the mountain, where the beam would travel an average of a mile. Plenty of Full Moon light and Much light pollution from Las Vegas, lights up the mountain at night like a gold pile.

36 inch Goriilla Searchlight shares the night with the Full Moon. Here the Beam is shining about 2/3rds the way up Frenchman Mountain, north of the aviation beacon near the top of the peak. (many people call all of this Mt., range Sunrise Mountain, which is actually another mountain peak to the North, ).This Beam Spot is located nearly a mile away on this part of the mountain, The mountain towers over two thousand feet higher above the ground the searchlight is located on. (I will use my tripod next time...)
There where several off road vehicles and 'partiers' out here when I was doing the photo shoot.


Frenchman Mt. Beam Shots; March 2010

36 inch Gorilla Searchlight shares the night with the Full Moon. Here the Beam is shining just below the top of Frenchman Mountain's aviation beacon, (many people call it Sunrise Mountain, which is actually another mountain to the North, ). The beam travels nearly a mile to this part of the mountain



Frenchman Mt. Beam Spot, shining next to the aviation beacon and radio towers

36 inch Goriilla Searchlight shares the night with the Full Moon. Here the Beam is shining to just below the top of Frenchman Mountain's aviation beacon, (many people call it Sunrise Mountain, which is actually another mountain to the North, ). Here the beam travels over a mile and a quarter to the top part of the mountain.

(In loving memory of my fathers recent passing away, I dedicate this Spot Shot to My Dad, Herbert Wells.) Memorial: 2pm, April 25th, 2010, Alumni Center UNLV.


Frenchman Mountain Beam Shots 2010

36 inch Goriilla Searchlight shares the night with the Full Moon. Here the Beam is shining just below the top of Frenchman Mountain's sister peak often called Sunrise Mountain as well, (many people call it Sunrise Mountain, [or "Snoopy's Nose" of the 'Peanuts' comic character lying on his back nose up...]), which is actually the next mountain peak to the North, ). The beam travels nearly a mile and a half. Here the mountain towers over two thousand feet above the ground level the searchlight is sitting on. Notice all the light pollution from Las Vegas lighting up the mountain. The Full Moon came and went behind some clouds.


Frenchman Mt. Beam Shots 2010

36 inch Goriilla Searchlight shares the night with the Full Moon. Here the Beam is shining just below the top of Frenchman Mountain's aviation beacon, (many people call it Sunrise Mountain, which is actually another mountain to the North, ). The beam travels nearly a mile to this part of the mountain. I will provide a distance map, once I find more photo bucket space somewhere.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

During the day, I hiked part way up Frenchman Mountain to one of the spots I was shining the light to and snapped this picture of Mt. Wilson, (the other Beam Shot Participant).


Mt. Wilson seen over Las Vegas Strip

Here Mt. Wilson is seen from nearly 29 miles from Frenchman Mt., (the other Photo Shoot Spot), with the Las Vegas Strip seen in between.


Mt. Wilson seen over Las Vegas Strip

This is how Mt. Wilson looked from my Hotel Window, over 23 light beam miles away. As much as I wish, my light won't shine that far!


Mt. Wilson as seen from 14 miles distance according to Google maps

This is how Mt. Wilson looks from the outskirts of Las Vegas, just West of the Las Vegas Strip


This picture is from about four and a half miles distance

This is how Mt. Wilson looks from four and a half miles distance, just outside of the town of Blue Diamond and Gypsum mine, Drywall mill, (my father was Foreman of, just before his teaching career of Geology and Engineering at UNLV known as SNU originally an extension of the Reno campus.).



I have arrived at the spot 2 miles distance from Mt. Wilson; where the Gorilla Searchlight is awakened

This is what the area looks like in the daytime. Later, I backed the car up in a slightly different spot to get a better sight line. Climbers are seen here, after returning from Mt. Wilson, as this is a world climbing destination point...the Red Rock Cliffs.


Here I am hiking to the base of Mt. Wilson to get a good look at the beam travel distance

I love this area. This is a world climbing destination. The quiet, solitude, spiritual amplification, and Indian influences, make this for a great escape. I hiked part way up Mt Wilson as seen in the next few photos.


Part way up the base, just below the cliff line

I hiked part way up Mt Wilson as seen in this photo. This is how close to Mt. Wilson I got. The Beam Spot is at the upper half of the cliff area you see here. I turned around to see my car as a tiny dot, nearly two miles away.


Look close, car is parked two miles away near highway.

I hiked part way up Mt Wilson, turned around to see my car as barely a tiny dot. This is about two miles away from the highway, where the 36 inch Gorilla shined from.


This is how Mt. Wilson looks from two miles away, here is where the Gorilla will shine from

This is how Mt. Wilson looks from two miles away. This is where the 36 inch Gorilla will be aimed from. The next few photos will be the Gorilla lighting Mt. Wilson.


The ignition sequence begins

Here the Gorilla 36 inch Searchlight is prepped and readied for lighting the Red Rock Cliffs.


Mt. Wilson Beam Shot

This Photo shows Mount Wilson of the Spring Mountain Range from over two miles away! (Some of these shots, the camera didn't show some of the top portion of Mt. Wilson, perhaps too dark for the LSC.)


Beam Shot of Mt. Wilson. View from Highway

My camera does okay to a point, then the darkness causes noise in the image and gives the 'Big Foot' grainy look. The image looked much better on the cameras large video viewfinder.


Beam Shot of Mt. Wilson. Some call it Sunset Mountain

The beam travel over two miles to reach the mountain cliff of Mt. Wilson, otherwise known as Sunset Mountain.


Mt. Wilson Beam Shots

This Photo shows Mount Wilson of the Spring Mountain Range from over two miles away!


Years ago, the hotels of Las Vegas tried to use high powered lasers from the Strip. They actually looked nice, gracefully moving about, looking like giant neon tubes stretching from horizon to hotel casino. The green lasers could be seen shining twenty miles onto the surrounding mountains including the Red Rock area, with a small but intensely bright, green dot. Then the hotel casinos started over doing the use of the lasers, creating visual 'pollution', flittering laser paths, using mirrors, made the sky look like a Disco, at first fun to watch, but then annoying, night after night, the sky was just a Helter Skelter of of flickering advertising.

All this changed when a commercial jet flew through one of the intense 1000 watt laser beams, and nearly blinded the pilot and many of the passengers as the jet flew through the laser beam. With a quick review, the FAA said no more! This all happened, about the time I bought my first laser pointer, which practically nobody had ever seen back then, getting grown adults to follow the 'bright red spot' like it was some strange 'alien entity', some adults I got to actually climb up a tree trying to 'grab "it"'.

Anyway, I talked with an FAA spokesman, who told me that regularly focused traditional light optics and light sources, using prisms, (lenses), and mirrors, (reflectors), is not as much a problem, because of the 'softer' effect, and blindness is not so much a problem, (still need to be careful!).

 

[DM51]

Wow!! I've been away for 3 weeks - only just seen this. Fantastic shots! That is an amazing achievement - well done!

 

[petrev]

Hi

First up - love your work. Looks like a great trip.

Next . . .

Do you have manual control on your camera ?
If so you might be able to get rid of the grain.

It looks like you are using an auto setting and the camera is pushing the ISO rating up quite high
maybe ISO800 or 1600 (or more ? depends on the camera) and that is causing the grain.

If you can set a manual ISO100 and using a tripod experiment with manual exposures -
- Try f8 at 2 seconds ISO100
- Leave it at f8 and try longer or shorter exposures as needed for your composition and target.

. . .
This shot was f4 at 1/2sec ISO100 (f8 at 1sec ASA100 equivalent)
Slightly misty which helps the beam effect.
[URL="http://imageshack.us/"][/URL]


Not hitting a mountain like your monsters can - but you get the idea.

Good luck and keep up the great work
- as always can't wait for the next installment.

Cheers
Pete

 

[LightSward]

Wow!! I've been away for 3 weeks - only just seen this. Fantastic shots! That is an amazing achievement - well done!

Thanks. This has been interesting and fun!

I will be traveling back to Vegas this week for a few days, but won't have room for any searchlights except the 'Cyclops', need room to carry some of my brothers stuff from Vegas. I want to do another road trip when I get a 1000 watt HID installed, (budget permitting), and get something in the narrow part of the Grand Canyon, or something. No matter, even if I still only have the 100 watt HID, I plan on being at the CPF get together later in May up in Washington.

Glad this has been a fun and interesting site to visit. :twothumbs

 

[LightSward]

Hi

First up - love your work. Looks like a great trip.

Next . . .

Do you have manual control on your camera ?
If so you might be able to get rid of the grain.

It looks like you are using an auto setting and the camera is pushing the ISO rating up quite high
maybe ISO800 or 1600 (or more ? depends on the camera) and that is causing the grain.

If you can set a manual ISO100 and using a tripod experiment with manual exposures -
- Try f8 at 2 seconds ISO100
- Leave it at f8 and try longer or shorter exposures as needed for your composition and target.


Good luck and keep up the great work
- as always can't wait for the next installment.

Cheers
Pete

Thanks for the good words.

I like your beam shot of the high voltage, power, transmission tower illumination.

Thanks for the camera tips. I have tried a little experimenting with the manual settings, but I end up with a shot not looking good, or just too dark. I'm sure partly operator error. I have read the instructions and understand most of it...but..? Mostly, just to get the camera to photograph anything at night, I just use, (as you noted), the automatic settings. The night shots always look fantastic in the large camera view finder, but when I transfer the images into the computer, the night shots take on a darker, grainier look.

I will try some of the recommendations you suggest, and see if I can improve the photo quality.