Spectrolab A120b 500 Watt Terrestrial Use "Handheld" Searchlight - Pre SX-5 Starburst
It's been a very dry few years for finding old military and aviation Short Arcs but with the discovery of the Pichel Mini-Nova's and now a couple old Spectrolab 500 Watt Terrestrial Use lights, it's been an exciting time for me. These are interesting lights in that they use Right Angle construction. As you can see in the pics, the reflector faces down when the light is in normal use orientation. The light hits a 45 degree mirror which sends it out the front of the light. It uses a 5" reflector and the lamp appears to be the same lamp used in the SX-5 Starburst. This light is exceptionally clean and new-looking inside. It runs on 10 to 16 input Volts. From the info I could find, these were to be used on "First-Responder" / S.A.R. type vehicles. The term handheld "NightSun" has come up but it is unknown if that was it's official name. All of the ignition components are located on the top and bottom chambers of the light body while the power supply is a separate unit. One switch on the power supply is labeled "U.V." and switches between "9.5V" & "10.5V". I don't know the meaning of this function other than "UV" typically meaning Ultra Violet. I wonder if there is some relationship with the purple tinted glass. Note the "LM" (lawn mower) spark plug used as a spark gap. A larger NGK brand spark plug is used for the same purpose in the NightSun. The light is forced-air cooled with a fan drawing air from two side located intakes and discharging the heated air from above the front control panel. It is an electrically focusable light via the control panel switch. Although I don't have one, it accommodated a corded remote control. But it should be completely controllable from the front panel, I think. It seems to be a two-level light based on the operation of the pull on-off switch and the associated icons. The front glass has that purple coating typically found on some eye glasses. When i shine white light through the glass onto the mirror, the color of the light I see inside is a bright yellow/amber.
I have not fired this light up because I don't have any power/control cables and any schematics. I am working on this but it does not look promising. The lights are obsolete and the old docs may be difficult to obtain. Another fun, challenging project to keep me busy.
You're looking at the 45 degree mirror in the below shot
Now you're looking up at the actual reflector/lamp
Ignition components on top
Cooling fan and air discharge
Inside the regulated power supply
Power supply panel
It's been a very dry few years for finding old military and aviation Short Arcs but with the discovery of the Pichel Mini-Nova's and now a couple old Spectrolab 500 Watt Terrestrial Use lights, it's been an exciting time for me. These are interesting lights in that they use Right Angle construction. As you can see in the pics, the reflector faces down when the light is in normal use orientation. The light hits a 45 degree mirror which sends it out the front of the light. It uses a 5" reflector and the lamp appears to be the same lamp used in the SX-5 Starburst. This light is exceptionally clean and new-looking inside. It runs on 10 to 16 input Volts. From the info I could find, these were to be used on "First-Responder" / S.A.R. type vehicles. The term handheld "NightSun" has come up but it is unknown if that was it's official name. All of the ignition components are located on the top and bottom chambers of the light body while the power supply is a separate unit. One switch on the power supply is labeled "U.V." and switches between "9.5V" & "10.5V". I don't know the meaning of this function other than "UV" typically meaning Ultra Violet. I wonder if there is some relationship with the purple tinted glass. Note the "LM" (lawn mower) spark plug used as a spark gap. A larger NGK brand spark plug is used for the same purpose in the NightSun. The light is forced-air cooled with a fan drawing air from two side located intakes and discharging the heated air from above the front control panel. It is an electrically focusable light via the control panel switch. Although I don't have one, it accommodated a corded remote control. But it should be completely controllable from the front panel, I think. It seems to be a two-level light based on the operation of the pull on-off switch and the associated icons. The front glass has that purple coating typically found on some eye glasses. When i shine white light through the glass onto the mirror, the color of the light I see inside is a bright yellow/amber.
I have not fired this light up because I don't have any power/control cables and any schematics. I am working on this but it does not look promising. The lights are obsolete and the old docs may be difficult to obtain. Another fun, challenging project to keep me busy.
You're looking at the 45 degree mirror in the below shot
Now you're looking up at the actual reflector/lamp
Ignition components on top
Cooling fan and air discharge
Inside the regulated power supply
Power supply panel
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