# Amondotech Illuminator 35 Watt HID Searchlight



## mtbkndad

Hi Everybody,

Here is a new thread for posting about the Amondotech Searchlight.
The other thread was getting rather long.


Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

Old Thread
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=104545&page=1&pp=30


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## mdocod

ordered mine this morning(as well as a Nuwai ALX-253L)- Thankyou all for bringing this to fruition- I'm so excited. This will be my first HID spotlight- and from the sounds of all the work that went into getting it right- this will be a great light to have as a first HID- fits the budget as well... I promise Beamshots compared to my regular thor and other lights as soon as it gets here...


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## jfong

Did I win? Did I win??? 

FedEx just dropped of my Illuminator! I'm the first?!?! 

=D !!!!

Edit: I guess I'll give you guys the play-by-play.

Amondotech did a great job shipping. The brown shipping box was taped very well. Props for that. =) Inside is the product box. No foam/air-bags needed, it fits pretty snug. 

Product box: No ridiculous "change the tire with this light" picture. Only pictures of the product, the amondotech logo, and a beamshot down a street (that looks kinda familiar... was that posted here at CPF?)

Open the box...
A simple half-sheet instructions page, front and back. Styrofoam holds the Illuminator (in a plastic bag) in place. AC adapter and DC (cigarette/car) adapter included. 

um... er.... I just picked up the Illuminator, and it turned on by itself... Then I spend two minutes looking for the power switch to turn it off... Where is it??? Its under the handle, where your forefinger would be... Interesting... don't hate it, don't love it... I know I shouldn't be turning this thing on and off frequently, so the switch doesn't need to be in that convenient location... It increases the chances of accidental turn-on/turn-off, I think, but we'll see.

Charge-indicator button and leds work as they are supposed to. 

The million-dollar question: how's the beam? Well, its pretty bright out here, but I was able to see the intense hotspot on my wall. Yup, its definitely an HID! My Costco HID is not home right now, so maybe I'll have something for you guys tonight.

Edit 2: Looking at the reflector, there are noticable piths scattered randomly about. They look like it was poked with a needle. =/

Weight/size: well, its heavy for how small it looks, but definitely lighter and smaller than the Costco/HF HID.


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## Whitelitee

Where do I order one?. I looked at Amondotech site but could not find it.

EDIT: I found it http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=Illuminator&btnSearch=GO&Page=1


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## mtbkndad

Whitelitee said:


> Where do I order one?. I looked at Amondotech site but could not find it.




Wayne will announce these later in the Dealer section.

Till then go here


http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1129

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## Stillphoto

Woke up this morning to a box at my front door that read Amondotech on the side!

Man this thing is tiny compared to the costo hid. No regrets here at all, its smaller, lighter, waaay less artifacts. Infact, with the exception of the sorta shadowy area at 12:00 in the beam pattern, there really are no noticeable artifacts. The "shadow" is an unavoidable area where the bulb is mounted, and this does not take away from the beam at all. That was always something that irked me with the costco, it was always like wow its bright but how do I clean up this beam...

Speaking of the beam, while I do love the blue associated with hid units at or above the 5000k mark, this light is just perfect. Blue at startup, which is normal, and when it warms up its just this kick arse beam... In theory that is, its bright and sunny here, but I could see the light on the hill behind my house in direct noon sunlight.

While I loved the fact that the chargers are built into the costco, the size savings on the 3152 make me forget about that altogether...

Just wanted to give my first impressions of this thing...as I'm sure everyone else will.


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## jfong

Instructions say:


> Do not operate your Illuminator while charging from AC or DC power sources.



Shucks, I thought it would be like the Costco HID, where it could operate from DC... I don't remember any discussion in the old thread contrary... There goes my "set-up-the-Costco-HID-and-Illuminator-at-night-and-make-an-arch-out-of-light" idea for a "fancy" event.


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## 91101

You lucky sob's  I gotta wait till Friday for mine, and now I gotta listen to ya gloat about it too...


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## 91101

jfong said:


> Instructions say:
> 
> 
> Shucks, I thought it would be like the Costco HID, where it could operate from DC... I don't remember any discussion in the old thread contrary... There goes my "set-up-the-Costco-HID-and-Illuminator-at-night-and-make-an-arch-out-of-light" idea for a "fancy" event.



He does mention it in the old thread... So now you can be the first to mod it so it will run off dc...:lolsign:


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## mtbkndad

Stillphoto,



> The "shadow" is an unavoidable area where the bulb is mounted, and this does not take away from the beam at all.


I call that the "electrode pie slice"  since it is caused by the reflection of the electrode at the 6:00 position.

jfong,



> Shucks, I thought it would be like the Costco HID, where it could operate from DC... I don't remember any discussion in the old thread contrary... There goes my "set-up-the-Costco-HID-and-Illuminator-at-night-and-make-an-arch-out-of-light" idea for a "fancy" event.


That issue was talked about in the interest thread including the reasons why.
It had to do with the internal molding of the body of the light and the cost of changing it. If you search through the other thread you will find it.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## Brighteyez

Thanks for posting that info. I think you just saved me $125, as I was just about to order one. If we meet up some time, remind me to buy you your favorite adult beverage!

I must have missed the entire discussion on this light whereever it started, but the smaller size does make it look very appealing and more usable. Will be interested in hearing other comments about this light; too bad it doesn't have a 12V Charge/Usage outlet like the way many other spotlights do.



jfong said:


> Shucks, I thought it would be like the Costco HID, where it could operate from DC...


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## JimH

Brighteyez said:


> T
> too bad it doesn't have a 12V Charge/Usage outlet like the way many other spotlights do.


Well,






What forum is this? We mod anything and everything. Where's the fun if you don't mod it?


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## 91101

JimH said:


> Well,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What forum is this? We mod anything and everything. Where's the fun if you don't mod it?



Very well said  I haven't got mine in my greasy little hands yet but I'm already working on that idea....


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## IsaacHayes

Uhm, I thought I read you could charge/use it but only for 15-30 mins because after that the wires get to hot inside it. What if you were to upgrade the gauge of wire inside?

If this were at a flat $100 shipped I'd be all over it once I have some funds. Hmm just 30 cheaper... Maybe someone will sell theirs when I have the funds... yeah right and I'll win the lotto!


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## Radio

How did I miss this? I spend WAY too much time looking ar LED lights. Ordering as we speak. Thanks for all the work Mtbkndad.


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## mtbkndad

IsaacHayes said:


> Uhm, I thought I read you could charge/use it but only for 15-30 mins because after that the wires get to hot inside it. What if you were to upgrade the gauge of wire inside?
> 
> If this were at a flat $100 shipped I'd be all over it once I have some funds. Hmm just 30 cheaper... Maybe someone will sell theirs when I have the funds... yeah right and I'll win the lotto!



IsaacHayes,

You remember well as usual :thumbsup: . The instruction sheet says DO NOT, so that if people do something that is not recomended or do it for 40 or 50 minutes and ruin the light, neither the manufacturer nor Amondotech can be held liable warranty wise.

Anybody that wants to search the old thread will find out exactly how long it can be used (according to the manufacturer), what the problems are, and therefore what would need to be done to modify the light. 

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## lasercrazy

Ordered mine yesterday. Now, when does the 10-12ah nimh pack come out for it?  We need like a huge groupbuy for assembled nimh packs for all our 12v sla spotlights.


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## Delvance

people have got theirs already ? Goodstuff! And by the sounds of it, it seems this is going to be one crazy thrower for the size, just my kind of light. I've already confirmed my order and am waiting for Wayne to reply with paypal addy. Then the long international wait


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## mtbkndad

lasercrazy said:


> Ordered mine yesterday. Now, when does the 10-12ah nimh pack come out for it?  We need like a huge groupbuy for assembled nimh packs for all our 12v sla spotlights.




I actually talked to Wayne about that and he said he would be interested in having some made if there is enough interest.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## idleprocess

Feel free to borrow my staggered layout for any packs that are made... should work anywhere that you need to displace a 7AH SLA with spade connectors.


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## Archangel

If it'd be pretty close to a drop-in, i'd be interested.


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## Pila_Power

I need a HID for our boat, has a 12Vdc outlet next to the Skipper's seat so ultimately I'd want to use that.

Any chance of getting the DC mod done for me on a 2metre curly-cord if I were to buy one? Pllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaasssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee???????????


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## lasercrazy

If the price was reasonable I'd be in for 5 or 6 packs.


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## idleprocess

A NiMH pack would simply drop-in for operation, but recharging would have to be done separately since the integrated charger is for SLA.

An auxilliary input could be devised - it would just be (+) & (-) in parallel with the battery leads ... not sure if that would also attempt to charge the battery. One might want to devise a circuit to isolate the battery for such operation or use diodes and accept the efficiency penalty.


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## KevinL

Looks like a sweeeeet light.. if only international shipping wasn't going to kill me!


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## CLHC

Can't wait till I get one. Need one—well, more like want one!

Again thanks for all the info and heads up on this *mtbkndad*!


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## LEDcandle

KevinL said:


> Looks like a sweeeeet light.. if only international shipping wasn't going to kill me!



I think the shipping will be *reasonable*... but you already have your DIY 35W, Kevin. Why not save up and get a 50-75w in future... just keep upgrading! 

I'm damn tempted by this too but I know I won't use it much; just to get the kick out of it when I play with it once in awhile. Budget's a little tight recently too, with other commitments. But once there's free cash, I may jolly well consider!!


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## Stillphoto

LEDcandle said:


> I think the shipping will be *reasonable*... but you already have your DIY 35W, Kevin. Why not save up and get a 50-75w in future... just keep upgrading!
> 
> I'm damn tempted by this too but I know I won't use it much; just to get the kick out of it when I play with it once in awhile. Budget's a little tight recently too, with other commitments. But once there's free cash, I may jolly well consider!!




Yeah but candle, think of how fast you could charge up a room full of glowstickies...plus at that close of a range a good 10 count of exposure to this beam and you'd probably get your 12 hour glowtime


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## LEDcandle

Stillphoto said:


> Yeah but candle, think of how fast you could charge up a room full of glowstickies...plus at that close of a range a good 10 count of exposure to this beam and you'd probably get your 12 hour glowtime



Hey, the glowstickies do glow ard 12 hrs (to dark adapted eyes) even without HID charge! :laughing:

Anyway, my BS 24w suffices for that job in addition to my Mag50w and MagDDL  ... but a 35w IS tempting  There are however, too many other nice lights and mods that fit different (and more useful) niches that call first


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## KevinL

LEDcandle said:


> I think the shipping will be *reasonable*... but you already have your DIY 35W, Kevin. Why not save up and get a 50-75w in future... just keep upgrading!
> 
> I'm damn tempted by this too but I know I won't use it much; just to get the kick out of it when I play with it once in awhile. Budget's a little tight recently too, with other commitments. But once there's free cash, I may jolly well consider!!






I also have a Supernova waiting for me. The main gripe with my homebrew HID is that it is not even water resistant, it has vent holes in it, and that is Not a Good Thing..


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## mtbkndad

KevinL said:


> I also have a Supernova waiting for me. The main gripe with my homebrew HID is that it is not even water resistant, it has vent holes in it, and that is Not a Good Thing..



The Illuminator is quite water resistant.
I spent about 5 minutes spraying water(with firm thumb pressure from a hose) at all of the cracks and joints from about two inches away and could only get a few drops of water inside the light.

Regular rain should be no problem. 

*SECRET SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE*- You want this light, order one now!
    

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## AlexGT

I'm glad you guys are getting the illuminators I will be awaiting pictures beamshots etc. I settled for my selfmade hybrid HID but would be VERY interested in some assembled 10-12 ah packs.

Let us know if this goes forward.

AlexGT




mtbkndad said:


> I actually talked to Wayne about that and he said he would be interested in having some made if there is enough interest.
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:


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## lasercrazy

Amondotech already has 11ah Titanium D cells, it shouldn't be too hard to get tabbed versions and make some packs.


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## KevinL

mtbkndad said:


> The Illuminator is quite water resistant.
> I spent about 5 minutes spraying water(with firm thumb pressure from a hose) at all of the cracks and joints from about two inches away and could only get a few drops of water inside the light.
> 
> Regular rain should be no problem.
> 
> *SECRET SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE*- You want this light, order one now!
> 
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:



  

Response to subliminal message (also sent subliminally):

How much is shipping? I need to know so I can plan


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## mtbkndad

KevinL said:


> Response to subliminal message (also sent subliminally):
> 
> How much is shipping? I need to know so I can plan



KevinL,

I am not sure why, but I just had a sudden urge to send you a PM.

Everybody,

Here is a funny Amondotech Illuminator story.
We have a detached garage and a few weeks ago my wife came in the house at night carrying one of my two prototypes. I asked her where she was and she said she went to the garage to get something out of the freezer.
Then she said "You can't have too much light when walking around in our yard at night". 

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## IsaacHayes

Good job at converting your wife! I bet the HID lit up the garage inside without having to turn on a light! haha


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## mtbkndad

For those that are curious-

I weighed one of my Illuminator prototypes with and without the battery today.

With 8 lbs 10oz
Without 3 lbs 10oz

How much would a NiMH pack weigh?

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## 91101

mtbkndad said:


> For those that are curious-
> 
> I weighed one of my Illuminator prototypes with and without the battery today.
> 
> With 8 lbs 10oz
> Without 3 lbs 10oz
> 
> How much would a NiMH pack weigh?
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:



As far as I know D NiMH Batteries are about 160g so 10 would be about 3.5lbs and 12 would be about 4.25lbs


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## jtice

Got mine today! 

I havent had to chance to take it outside yet, 
but so far, I am very pleased for the $$$
Its actually managable size, unlike the Thor, Costco, etc.

Has a tight spot, BUT, unlike other HIDs, it has a nice bright corona around that spot.
Should make a nice USEable beam outdoors.

Battery read 12.94V out of the box.
It chaged in about 20 minutes from that point.

I dont like the switch being under the handle, 
they probably put it there to keep rain off of it, and to serve as a guard for the switch.
But its easy to accidentally turn the light on or off when you grab and hold it.

[EDIT] heh, oh yea, THE PICS !














Full Gallery:
http://www.jtice.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=3152Illuminator

~John


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## Xzn

I agree on the switch part. I've accidently turned on the light a few times. Once in my friend's face, hehe.

Met wayne and a few others today.


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## Galiphrey

mtbkndad said:


> The Illuminator is quite water resistant.
> I spent about 5 minutes spraying water(with firm thumb pressure from a hose) at all of the cracks and joints from about two inches away and could only get a few drops of water inside the light.
> 
> Regular rain should be no problem.



Thanks for that experiment! I'm glad to know it's water resistant.

Mine came in yesterday, after I got home from work!! I charged it a little, until the green light came on, and then went outside and made like a supermarket grandly openning. WOW! It's my first HID light, and what I have to say is, "WOW!!!" It made my Mag85 look like a regular mag. I was really, really impressed.

The tint of the light is fantastic; as far as I can tell it's just white. Not much blue at all, as I had previously associated with HID (just from cars on the road). This is partially thanks to mtbkndad, I understand. As advertised, the corona is present and smooth, except for a little lead shadow. And though the casing is plastic, the plastic seems like "good" plastic. I mean, strong, not like a toy. Still, I do not want to drop it.

The only negative comment I can form is that my reflector does have one or two tiny dents.... but it's certainly no impact on the beam. no big deal.

For the money, or even for more money, this is a very good value. It did start to rain on me, and, given the post above, I did not become stressed, so thanks again to mtbkndad for everything!

Oh, I do have one question: is it safe to set the light on its hind-end, pointed straight up, or is there a chance that it would perform a rotten-egg impression at that time?

Another question: when I first turn it on, it surges very brightly for a fraction of a second before beginning the warm-up cycle. Is that normal? Sorry for the generic questions; like I said, it's my first HID.


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## mtbkndad

Galiphrey,

Others have mentioned that setting HID's completely vertical can reduce the bulb life. This has been mentioned in other threads regarding HID's in general. I have run these like that for Photo's but generally make it as vertical as the stand will let it go when needing to bounce the light to illuminate a room or area.

Regarding your next question, Yes that is normal.

To All who have expressed thanks in these threads, PM's, and emails,

Your are Welcome and thanks for the thanks.
I would like to thank Wayne for his willingness to take a chance on this light by becoming a distributor and put in a substantial order. That helped get the ball rolling with the changes that were made. 
This has been a fun project.
I hope you all enjoy and use your Amondotech Illuminator 35 Watt HID Searchlights
as much as I do my two prototypes. 

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## 91101

Hello, I need someone with one of these lights to me a big favor. What I need is for someone to set their light about 10 feet from a light colored wall turn it on and take a pic of the hotspot and post it. 
I think mine's got a bad bulb. 
I've never had an HID light before but I think what I'm experiencing shouldn’t be right.

Thanks
Mike


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## DaveNagy

I just tried to take a white-wall beamshot, and failed utterly. The resulting pics don't look anything like reality, so I'm not gonna post 'em. The only "oddities" I notice in my beam are:

The shadow of the filament wire in the 12:00 position
A "pie slice" of reduced brightness which always moves to the top of the beam. (Roll the light on its side, and the dimmer slice will move to the new top.)
The hot spot is very tight, *very* bright, and irregularly shaped. Not round. It also slowly morphs itself into different shapes as you stare at it.
There are some subtle color shifts as you move the light.
None of these things are a "problem" on my light. They're just interesting to observe. If I was actually using the light, rather than staring at a white wall in the middle of the day, I wouldn't notice any of them.

Anyway, I picked up my light yesterday. It's very cool. It indicated a full charge right out of the box, so I haven't charged it yet. It's a bit bigger than I had anticipated. (It only looks small next to a Thor!) My dad is gonna love his. He lives up in the mountains where it actually get dark at night....

-Dave


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## 91101

DaveNagy said:


> I just tried to take a white-wall beamshot, and failed utterly. The resulting pics don't look anything like reality, so I'm not gonna post 'em. The only "oddities" I notice in my beam are:
> The shadow of the filament wire in the 12:00 position
> A "pie slice" of reduced brightness which always moves to the top of the beam. (Roll the light on its side, and the dimmer slice will move to the new top.)
> The hot spot is very tight, *very* bright, and irregularly shaped. Not round. It also slowly morphs itself into different shapes as you stare at it.
> There are some subtle color shifts as you move the light.
> None of these things are a "problem" on my light. They're just interesting to observe. If I was actually using the light, rather than staring at a white wall in the middle of the day, I wouldn't notice any of them.
> 
> Anyway, I picked up my light yesterday. It's very cool. It indicated a full charge right out of the box, so I haven't charged it yet. It's a bit bigger than I had anticipated. (It only looks small next to a Thor!) My dad is gonna love his. He lives up in the mountains where it actually get dark at night....
> 
> -Dave



Dave, Thanks for taking the time to try and take the shots..

One of my problems is the hotspot is only bright in the very center. (about the size of a quarter at this distance) The rest of the hotspot fades to a reddish orange color. That's why I wanted the pic of the hotspot. It also flickers (alot) and seems to "move around" in the corona. Last night took it outside and shined it at a white building about 150' away and the odd color was even more pronounced. The hotspot wasn't as bright as my ROP when I shine it at the same building...:huh2:

Mike


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## Stillphoto

The 3152 is a very clean beamed light, compared to my Costco his (which is now happily in the hands of a friend that didn't know about the 3152 coming out  )

Slightly off topic but boy, you guys would love to check out some of the lights we use on movie sets. For example, recently worked with an 18k (yes 18,000) watt light. Same sorta deal as far as warming up, not being able to re-strike the light as soon as it is turned off, and yeah, it's hotspot is changed via a set of 5 or so lenses that can be replaced while the lights on. Usually these lenses all provide some version of a soft flood, there are usually 2 or 3 desities of stippled lenses, and some more standard looking cross patterns. Lemme tell you though, these go on the outside of a house at night to simulate daylight inside. Driven by a flicker free balast about the size of 2 car batteries one on top of the other, and has an actual intensity knob that can dim it down slightly.


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## 2100

Mtbkndad, I have already sent in the order.....let the wait being!  Thanks for the PM, hope they have enough stocks.
Can't wait to get the HID! It will be a looong wait because it (together with a Nuwai 3W x 3 LED torch) will be sent to my sis's place @ Indianapolis, my mum will only bring it back for me on in July when she visits her. I am in Singapore.  

Just hope I don't get any more expensive stuff "recommended" by this forum. My wife will kill me! "WHAT? 200 over SGD for a damn torch?!". :candle:  
:lolsign: 

Anyway, I cannot check my order status through my order number even though its been 18 hours since i have ordered (tells me order not found). Is it normal for this product as it is not listed on the webby? However I have gotten the 2 emails from amondotech stating my order confirmation and payment received.


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## ddaadd

2100 said:


> Just hope I don't get any more expensive stuff "recommended" by this forum. My wife will kill me! "WHAT? 200 over SGD for a damn torch?!". :candle:
> :lolsign:
> 
> However I have gotten the 2 emails from amondotech stating my order confirmation and payment received.



:lolsign: First off, immediatly order the wife a Fenix L0P in the nice gift box, because "resistance is futile"! ( you weren't briefed on this allready? )

And your order is most certainly placed..........


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## FireStik

Two questions here from the newbie:
1. Is it safe to keep this light on the charger indefinitely, or is it better to use a Battery Tender" charging system?
2. When does turning it on/off start to damage the filament or balast? Is it only bad to cycle the switch really fast, or should I wait 2 minutes, or 15 minutes, or .....?

By the way, this is my first HID light, and I was simply STUNNED when I flipped that switch on. The wall of light this thing puts out is nothing short of incredible! You veterans know exactly how I felt as I was standing outside in the rain shining that cannon at a distant treeline, unable to move or even utter a single word. I'm pretty sure I was drooling, but I couldn't even work my jaw muscles to close my mouth. When I came back inside the house and ran into my wife in the kitchen, I looked at her and I felt dirty.....like I had just spent an hour out playing in the yard with the Swedish Bikini Team.

She eventually shook her head and rolled her eyes just like she did when I bought the A2, so I might be safe...


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## 2100

ddaadd, hey that's a nice light. However she is more into those Made-in-China LED torches. You see, she got a couple to use around the house and also to give it to relatives. You know, those 3xAAA 9 LED stuff. They are not well made or bright but i'd not call them crap, just because they are so low in cost. If I am not wrong she bargained 5 pieces for just SGD12 thereabouts (USD 7.5), batteries included (ok, the made-in-china batteries are truly crap  ). 

Nice to know that the order should be placed.


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## DaveNagy

91101 said:


> One of my problems is the hotspot is only bright in the very center. (about the size of a quarter at this distance) The rest of the hotspot fades to a reddish orange color. That's why I wanted the pic of the hotspot. It also flickers (alot) and seems to "move around" in the corona. Last night took it outside and shined it at a white building about 150' away and the odd color was even more pronounced. The hotspot wasn't as bright as my ROP when I shine it at the same building...


Yeah, that doesn't sound right at all. At 10 feet, the hotspot on my light is about the size of my palm. That's surrounded by the "main spot", which is about 20" wide. No flickering at all, but the hot spot does slowly "morph" in shape if you watch it for a while.

I took the light to my buddy's house to show him. I was explaining how the tint of the beam can change when you re-orient the light. I flipped the light upside down (handle down) and the beam got quite pink. I turned the light off not long after that. When I turned it on again just now, I noticed that the main spot is _still_ rather pink around the edges. I bet if I go move the light around for a while, that will correct itself. Maybe you've just got an extreme case of that. I understand that these bulbs get brighter and whiter after you run them a while. Several hours?

Perhaps your bulb isn't installed right?

-Dave


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## jtice

""""One of my problems is the hotspot is only bright in the very center. (about the size of a quarter at this distance) The rest of the hotspot fades to a reddish orange color."""

I think that is normal for this light, mines like that also.
They are not ment to be killer throw lights, they are ment to have a more usable beam, 
That dimmer hot spot you mentioned is actually the corona.
Theres the hotspot, corona, then spill.

~John


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## David1

Just a quick synopsis, received light Friday, all was good , everything packed good and received in fine shape. Battery almost fully charged, topped it off for about an hour or so. Played with it today and am very impressed with the sheer amount of light this thing puts out. Can put a spot on tree tops at least a 1/4 mile away and everything on the way there is lit up.
Tried to do a runtime test but could not get one continuos run due to time constraints so this is what I got: 1st burn 45 min., about four hours before I could do the second burn that lasted 65 min. before it blinked off. Thats 1 hr and 50 minutes total, not too bad I think. No heat issues at all.
The only thing that kind of bothers me is that there is a pink outline around the center hotspot. For this price and performance I will no doubt live with it, I just wonder if it is normal or maybe some kind of defect.
All in all this light is a no brainer!!


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## mtbkndad

91101 said:


> Dave, Thanks for taking the time to try and take the shots..
> 
> One of my problems is the hotspot is only bright in the very center. (about the size of a quarter at this distance) The rest of the hotspot fades to a reddish orange color. That's why I wanted the pic of the hotspot. It also flickers (alot) and seems to "move around" in the corona. Last night took it outside and shined it at a white building about 150' away and the odd color was even more pronounced. The hotspot wasn't as bright as my ROP when I shine it at the same building...:huh2:
> 
> Mike



Hi Mike,

One of my Costco HID's flickered a lot till it broke in properly.
The Brightest part of the hotspot being the size of a quarter at 10 feet may be the by-product of a VERY well centered bulb. 
Shining at a white building from 150' will accentuate the appearance of anomalies in the beam.
The Brightstar I have on loan has an orange area toward the end of the corona too.

Could you try your 150' test with the Illuminator and the ROP at 150 yards shining at a tree or house and let us know how that one turns out?

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Trouthead

*Its my first time!*

This is my first HID, and after I got over the initial surprise at how big and heavy it was ( you just have to have them in person in your hands) I was pretty impressed. That was until I turned it on (had to wait for dark) when my impressions went to HOLY COW (or holy ****).

This is so bright compared to my brightest light (ROP 2d) that I just am blown away. The color of the beam appears to be a very true color white, that when I shine it on the aspen tree leaves, they look the proper shade of green. Everthing works just fine, and the beam goes to a pure white after about 15 seconds.

The side spill lights really lights things up and the throw is good enough to make a poacher cry. All in all a wonderful light at what is a bargain price.
Just wish it was a bit smaller and lighter, and had the switch in a different spot. Thanks for pulling this one off.


----------



## Walt175

If you think this is big, you should try the Harbor Freight HID! I bought one of the Illuminator's specifically because it is so much smaller and lighter!


----------



## ddaadd

Beamshot from 10' on texured white paper, the hotspot is not as big as it appears, quite a bit smaller actually, the color is very close to what I see.....


----------



## 91101

mtbkndad said:


> Hi Mike,
> 
> One of my Costco HID's flickered a lot till it broke in properly.
> The Brightest part of the hotspot being the size of a quarter at 10 feet may be the by-product of a VERY well centered bulb.
> Shining at a white building from 150' will accentuate the appearance of anomalies in the beam.
> The Brightstar I have on loan has an orange area toward the end of the corona too.
> 
> Could you try your 150' test with the Illuminator and the ROP at 150 yards shining at a tree or house and let us know how that one turns out?
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:



I guess I'm going to have to let it break in a little before I get too excited, everytime I turn it on it seems to act a little different, better color less flicker. I saw those pics of the beamshots you took with the prototypes and mine doesn't look as nice. I guess I've never had an HID spotlight and didn't know what to expect...
Thanks
Mike


----------



## mtbkndad

91101 said:


> I guess I'm going to have to let it break in a little before I get too excited, everytime I turn it on it seems to act a little different, better color less flicker. I saw those pics of the beamshots you took with the prototypes and mine doesn't look as nice. I guess I've never had an HID spotlight and didn't know what to expect...
> Thanks
> Mike



Have you had a chance to do the longer distance test yet?
How did your Illuminator do?
What kind of reflector does your ROP have?

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## rufusdufus

Lets see lots of beam shots.

None of this 100 feet stuff,lets see 400 or 500 yds shots not of white walls,of non reflective surfaces like rocks etc.


----------



## Walt175

Got mine today and now I can't wait for it to get dark! Very nice light! :goodjob: 
It's SO much smaller and lighter then my HF. Can't really do more comparisons untill I get it home and it gets dark.

I just wish it had come by Sat so I could have brought it to PF6 and compared it to all the other HID's there.


----------



## larryk

Got mine today also. I have a question though. The battery indicator showed 3 of 4 LED's on, but when I plugged in the charger it showed full instead of charging.


----------



## hivoltage

So, whats verybody's opinion of this light? Would it satisfy the urge of somebody who just wants a bright flashlight...I mean Really bright? How bright is it compared to say a Mag85 type light? Thanks!!!!!


----------



## Monolith

hivoltage said:


> So, whats verybody's opinion of this light? Would it satisfy the urge of somebody who just wants a bright flashlight...I mean Really bright? How bright is it compared to say a Mag85 type light? Thanks!!!!!


This light is way beyond the league of a Mag85. I've got both, just no comparison.


----------



## hivoltage

Well, that sounds encouraging....is the quality decent also?


----------



## GrandPoobah

I don't think anyone has yet answered a previous poster's question regarding the chargin guidelines: can you just leave this on the charger until it is convenient for you to take it off, or must you monitor the charging progress and take it off the charger soon after the LEDs indicate a full charge?

I think I read some commentary on this point in the old thread a while ago, but as this is the new one, and will likely be frequented by new owners of the light, it seems like this info may be helpful to have handy (I'm of course assuming that this advice is not in the simple "user guide" included with the light, or I imagine the question would not have been asked... oh, and mine is supposed to come in today THANKS MTBKNDAD!!!)


----------



## elnino

I received my light today. Can't wait for it to get dark. Thank you mtbkndad for this GB!


----------



## Crot

My 35w HID arrived today. For the price, a very good value - and a extremely bright light.

Thanks mtbkndad.


----------



## mtbkndad

GrandPoobah said:


> I don't think anyone has yet answered a previous poster's question regarding the chargin guidelines: can you just leave this on the charger until it is convenient for you to take it off, or must you monitor the charging progress and take it off the charger soon after the LEDs indicate a full charge?
> 
> I think I read some commentary on this point in the old thread a while ago, but as this is the new one, and will likely be frequented by new owners of the light, it seems like this info may be helpful to have handy (I'm of course assuming that this advice is not in the simple "user guide" included with the light, or I imagine the question would not have been asked... oh, and mine is supposed to come in today THANKS MTBKNDAD!!!)




I could not find the recent post you referred to. If I remember correctly the manufacturer said there is no problem with the light being plugged in for an extended period of time. Once the target voltage is reached the charging circuit shuts off.
You are correct, this information is in the other thread. 
When I get a chance I will double check with the manufacturer again.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## hivoltage

OK....I ordered one, couldnt stand it. Although my shipping charge didnt work out like they said for some reason.


----------



## idleprocess

Mine arrived today. I couldn't test it in the dark, but it has some slight beam irregularities that I can live with and likely won't notice in use.

I'll have to do some comparison photos this week between the Costco, 3152, and my homebrew HID mod. It will be interesting trying to find a dark spot...


----------



## IsaacHayes

I really wish I had the funds for this. It's even smaller than the Thor 10mcp which I thought was a nice size. I just hope the price stays at 130 shipped for CPF'ers in the future.

Idle: look forward to it.


----------



## mtbkndad

IsaacHayes said:


> I really wish I had the funds for this. It's even smaller than the Thor 10mcp which I thought was a nice size. I just hope the price stays at 130 shipped for CPF'ers in the future.
> 
> Idle: look forward to it.



Originally the $130 shipped was only going to be for two weeks.
But since this has not "officially" been announced either on the web site or in the Dealer section here on CPF, it may be till this order runs out.
I have not talked to Wayne about that. It will likely go up to $140 to $150 shipped (Fedex ground CONUS) when the price does go up. The shipping and related fees getting to Amondotech ended up being more then Wayne was originally quoted back when he was getting quotes and we were setting the price of the initial special and projecting the final price.
I have not talked to Wayne about the specifics of the final price increase but I do know it may possibly need to be a bit more then the $140 that was originally projected.
When I get specifics I will post them. Until then the one thing I do know for sure is that the $130 shipped price is temporary.
This was also one of the reasons I wanted to be sure everybody that expressed interest in this product had a chance to get one before the introductory special or stock could run out.
An ongoing CPF only discount of this light could be a good idea, but I have no say in that matter and do not know what the exact price will be.
I will ask Wayne about it.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## IsaacHayes

Cool, thanks for looknig into it. I dont have funds now, but might land a job as a manager of a store soon. Not related to my degree or that high paying of a job, but it's something.


----------



## larryk

larryk said:


> Got mine today also. I have a question though. The battery indicator showed 3 of 4 LED's on, but when I plugged in the charger it showed full instead of charging.



Anyone else having problems with charging there battery ? I ran It down to just the red light on the battery charge indicator, and it still shows the green charged light when I plug it in. I measured the voltage at the battery with the charger plugged in and out and there is no voltage change with the charger plugged in.


----------



## Delvance

Got my illuminator today (in AU...not bad at all!). Can't wait till it's dark!


----------



## idleprocess

The 3152 is an excellent all-around performer. Decent throw with a useful, floody corona. I did a mini-shootout here. Forgive the awful photography - I did not have time to drive way out of the way and could do better with the post-processing.


----------



## pertinax

Got mine yesterday-- holy smokes is it bright.


----------



## Ras_Thavas

Ditto. Did not have time to test it against the Thor, but I suspect it is much brighter.

Thanks for the deal mtbkndad!


----------



## StoneDog

Are these still available for order? The amondotech site says $130, that's just too good to be true!


So what are the details on the ballast? Can a protected 14.4v Li-Po pack be used to power this little beast?

Jon


----------



## hivoltage

It says 130 but mine ended up costing 139, I didnt get the proper shipping option. I am curious too as to the Lipo option!!!!


----------



## StoneDog

Reading back through the original thread, it looks like the ballast is rated at 16v max. A 14.4v Li-Po will be close to 17v hot off the charger...

Hmmmm.... maybe this is another application for AWR's HotDriver? If one could be set to a 15.5v limit and the low voltage cutoff was disabled, it would burn off the excess voltage and the resulting battery pack would have a higher energy density and long-term storage capabilities. 

Jon


----------



## larryk

A 3 cell Li-po might be your answer. 11.1 volts nominal and 12.6 off the charger.


----------



## StoneDog

What are the dimensions of the SLA battery pack?


----------



## Starlight

Larryk, my charger works as expected.


----------



## TooManyGizmos

.. I have not seen any discussion or questions about the BULB ??


How many hours can we expect the bulb to burn ?

Is there any warranty on minimum hours before burn-out ?

How do we get replacement bulbs ? Do auto parts stores have them ?

How much will they cost ?

Is it as shock-resistant as a car headlight ? ( or delicate )


Someone please answer these questions ......

.


----------



## XeRay

I answered the questions that I could, only the seller can answer the others.

How do we get replacement bulbs ? *Where you bought it is the only source. Mind you this is only a guess that a replacement bulb will cost $50.00 or more.*

Do auto parts stores have them ? *No, it is not "off the shelf" D2S or D1S.*

Is it as shock-resistant as a car headlight ? ( or delicate ) *More shock resistant than incandescent.*


----------



## mtbkndad

TooManyGizmos,

I have mentioned to the manufacturer that it would be good for them to provide Wayne with prices for replacement bulbs, ballasts etc.
This would be in their best interest for warranty purposes.

I will forward your questions to the manufacturer and Wayne.

XeRay is right about the bulb not being off the shelf D2S or D1S.

The issue hear is actually rather complex and has a lot to do with government approval of specific bulb types for use in autos.

As soon as I get answers, for the questions XeRay could not answer, from the manufacturer and Wayne I will post them.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## mdocod

so the HID bulb in the 3152 operates differently than a regular HID autimotive bulb? I wonder if with mounting modifications- it could drive a regular D2S/DS1.. or if the drive voltage is different?


----------



## mtbkndad

mdocod said:


> so the HID bulb in the 3152 operates differently than a regular HID autimotive bulb? I wonder if with mounting modifications- it could drive a regular D2S/DS1.. or if the drive voltage is different?



I am not sure what you are asking. The ballast can operate any 35 watt HID bulb if you want to modify the connections. It is not that the bulb operates differently, rather it has different connections.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## mdocod

that answers the question then.... to clarify what I was asking... I was wondering if the differences in the bulb used in the 3152 were purely mounting/wiring, or if it had a completally different operating voltage requiring a spacific ballast to operate... So- it sounds to me- like if one were so inclined- one could make some mounting modifications and use autimotive bulbs-

Only reason I ask is... lets say- down the road- say, 5 years down the road, my HID finally blows, it'd be nice to know I could use an autimotive lamp if the lamp that comes in it is no longer available through amondotech or anyone else.


----------



## idleprocess

The Illuminator appears to use a D2S bulb with a unique base/connector.

D2S and D2R bulbs are electrically identical - I think that D2R has some special heat-resistant paint in strategic spots to improve beam patterns in projector fixtures.

D1S & D1R are analogous to D2S & D2R respecitvely, but with integrated ignitors.

I would be hesitant to modify the light for different bulbs. Metal halide HID bulbs have exacting electrical requirements and utilize a multi-kilovolt arc-starting pulse and hundreds of volts during warmup; adding new connectors, changing the length of the wires from ballast/ignitor to bulb, changes in resistance, changes in capacitance, etc could have a substantial effect on startup and operation.

a good reference on automotive HID bulbs


----------



## dca2

I go mine yesterday. My kids and I were in my front yard testing it out by shining on a church across the street (~200' to the church and ~150'+ up to the top of the steeple) I was laughing at how "stupid bright" the light is. We then quickly lit up the entire front of a large 2 story house that is 2 1/2 blocks away! My next door neighbor came out to see what was going on because he saw the light through his closed curtains. I never flashed directly at his house. This thing is ridiculous--I love it!

Dave


----------



## hivoltage

Ridiculous Bright!!!!....that is what I was looking for, can't wait for mine to get here!!!!


----------



## AmondoTech

I live in a densely populated area, not in a city. The light is too bright for my area. I can't use it too much else my neighbors will turn from surprise to envy to complaints. This light is definitely for people live out in the country or people doing outdoor activities.

If you live in a city or close to your neighbors, you are mostly likely not be able to use the illuminator frequent. We have a few more lights left. We place another order but it takes time to get the shipment. If you are not in a hurry or live in a densely populated area, can you put in your order later like 8 weeks later to let other members in need to get the lights first?

Regards,
Wayne
ps, The long awaited Titanium Enduro batteries( AA and AAA) will be released today. Please watch our website, www.amondotech.com.


----------



## Xzn

What was the purpose of making the lamp proprietary? Would it be easier for everyone if it used the standard D2S connectors?


----------



## FireStik

mtbkndad said:


> I could not find the recent post you referred to. If I remember correctly the manufacturer said there is no problem with the light being plugged in for an extended period of time. Once the target voltage is reached the charging circuit shuts off.
> You are correct, this information is in the other thread.
> When I get a chance I will double check with the manufacturer again.
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:


 
From post #49:

1. Is it safe to keep this light on the charger indefinitely, or is it better to use a Battery Tender" charging system?
2. When does turning it on/off start to damage the filament or balast? Is it only bad to cycle the switch really fast, or should I wait 2 minutes, or 15 minutes, or .....?

Thanks mtbkdad.


----------



## XeRay

Xzn said:


> What was the purpose of making the lamp proprietary? Would it be easier for everyone if it used the standard D2S connectors?


 
One reason (there may be others), using a D2 socket and a D2 based bulb would add $50-$75 to the price of this low cost unit.


----------



## Xzn

Isn't this just a D2S lamp with a different base?


----------



## larrymz3

Got mine today - turned it on for a few seconds - WOW this is bright! 

Quick question. I have had it plugged in literally all day, and the red charging light has not gone off. If I unplug it and press the battery test button it goes all the way over green. Plug it back in, and it seems to be charging again.

Is this normal? Should the red charging light ever go off?

Thanks!
Larry


----------



## mtbkndad

XeRay said:


> One reason (there may be others), using a D2 socket and a D2 based bulb would add $50-$75 to the price of this low cost unit.



You are correct, this is essentially a cost issue.

Regarding somone elses question- 

These bulbs rated for 2000 hours and the factory will warranty the bulbs for one year as long as there is no damage due to abuse.
Wayne will be able to get and stock replacement bulbs and once again XeRay is pretty right on about price in his guess.
I won't know the exact amount till I can talk to Wayne, but they will be in the $40 to $50 range.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## XeRay

Xzn said:


> Isn't this just a D2S lamp with a different base?


 
Very few Asian bulb producers make D2 based (P32d socket) bulbs. Their volume is in halogen style bases for auto conversion kits which are illegal in USA.

D2S is more to do with the base socket style (P32d) than the burner configuration.


----------



## mtbkndad

XeRay said:


> Very few Asian bulb producers make D2 based (P32d socket) bulbs. Their volume is in halogen style bases for auto conversion kits which are illegal in USA.
> 
> D2S is more to do with the base socket style (P32d) than the burner configuration.




Very good points again. 
It is my understanding, after having detailed conversations with a person in this industry(Saturday for about 5 hours and today for a while), that SEMA was successul in getting H series bulbs accepted under the following conditions-
The issue has to do with the mounting of H series bulbs, and making sure that they duplicate the OEM beam pattern of the lights they are replacing.
The term "illegal" is a bit strong. Rather they are not "officially" DOT approved. What I mean by that is that these are not contraband.
Kits with H series bulbs can be sold in the US legally for all manner of applications. There is definitely no problem using HID kits with H series bulbs in spotlights and other lighting applications.
The risk is that if you have H series bulbs in and automobile and they are not properly mounted, you will be cited. The D1's and D2's are DOT approved. So this will not be as much of an issue, though even with them you can be cited if you have them mounted improperly and are blinding all oncoming traffic. For that matter improperly mounted halogens can get you cited too.

Your point about the socket being the primary difference rather then the burner is a key point SEMA has been making.
The Ballast will determine the light output. If a ballast is DOT approved and a person has two bulbs of equal rating from the same manufacturer, one with a D1S base and the other with a H1 base, the light output will essentially be the same. 

Along these same lines I would not be supprised to see future DOT regulations prohibiting the use of bulbs with color temperatures over 5,000K in the future

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## XeRay

mtbkndad, call me to discuss this. I am very well informed on ALL the legalities and will give you advice on importing these bulbs. Your friend only understands 1/2 of the story including SEMA.

"Not officially DOT approved" IS illegal for automotive applications by definition. There is no middle ground. All automotive HID conversion kits are illegal to import for and use in original equipment auto headlight applications. Modifying your stock headlights in ANY way is illegal, not DOT approved.

You can "carefully" import this stuff for other applications.


----------



## mtbkndad

XeRay said:


> mtbkndad, call me to discuss this. I am very well informed on ALL the legalities and will give you advice on importing these bulbs. Your friend only understands 1/2 of the story including SEMA.
> 
> "Not officially DOT approved" IS illegal for automotive applications by definition. There is no middle ground. All automotive HID conversion kits are illegal to import for and use in original equipment auto headlight applications. Modifying your stock headlights in ANY way is illegal, not DOT approved.
> 
> You can "carefully" import this stuff for other applications.



Fortunately I have NO business interest in this. I do not even have any business interest in the Amondotech Illuminator. Call me stupid if you wish, but just in case you are new to this thread I will let you know this project has been a volunteer effort on my part. My only concern is that Illuminator customers will be able to get bulbs from Wayne in the future. That would include me for my two prototypes. Since these are not for use in Auto applications there is no problem.

When the person I talked to gave me the guidelines I questioned that person quite a bit for the following reason that I will share here but did not directly tell that person.

If I replace a bulb in my car with HID and then make sure that the beam pattern and light characteristics are identical to the bulb I took out.
In other words the light output and beam have essentially not changed.
Why would I want to spend the money on the HID kit in the first place?
:thinking: :thinking: :thinking:
Particularly since I do not like HID headlights.

My only interest in HID kits would be for making spotlights for my own use in sizes that are not currently availiable.

By the way your Barn Burner Rocks. :rock: :rock: :rock:

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

PS. I will give you a call when I get a chance because I would be very interested to hear your take on all of this.


----------



## mdocod

I just took some beam shots... i'll have them up in a few minuts.. I'll probably start a new thread...


----------



## idleprocess

I do not have a full understanding of DOT requirements, but having once had an interest in homebrewing a HID mod for my vehicle, I gathered that it goes like this:

The bulb (light source) must be DOT approved
The housing/reflector must be DOT approved
The bulb and reflector _combination_ must be DOT approved

Thus, no trying to sneak by with an approved D2S-type bulb in a fixture intended for the more common halogen incandescent, ie 9006, 9007, etc.

I can't speak to the import regulations. Interesting that D2S type bulbs are available all over eBay adapted to every imaginable automotive base.


----------



## mdocod

beams are up if you want to have a look....
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/119299

i'll definetally be taking more shots- It's hard finding ideal locations to test lights of this magnitude... Average flashlights can be tested in a hallway in the house- lights like these need 1/4+ mile of space and a backdrop of some sort... I drove around and found this place tonight... have to be carefull out there with these lights, so as not to shine them at peoples houses or out onto a roadway or something where they could blind traffic.


----------



## mtbkndad

idleprocess said:


> I do not have a full understanding of DOT requirements, but having once had an interest in homebrewing a HID mod for my vehicle, I gathered that it goes like this:
> 
> The bulb (light source) must be DOT approved
> The housing/reflector must be DOT approved
> The bulb and reflector _combination_ must be DOT approved
> 
> Thus, no trying to sneak by with an approved D2S-type bulb in a fixture intended for the more common halogen incandescent, ie 9006, 9007, etc.
> 
> I can't speak to the import regulations. Interesting that D2S type bulbs are available all over eBay adapted to every imaginable automotive base.



That has always been my understanding too. 
Even the person I was speaking with was giving the condition that the bulbs *Must NOT change the beam pattern or light characteristics AT ALL*. Which brings me back to my same question regarding headlights.
Then why go through all of the expense?
In reality the only vehicles that the above conditions can be fulfilled in is HID equiped vehicles where the owner wants a cheaper alternative to D2S bulbs. Even then, the citation for modifying improperly will likely be bigger then the savings of the bulbs.

Now four 4200K 35Watt HID's may be nice on top of an off road vehicle.
Yet even there I prefer a long throwing halogen flood like a Ken4 or Sleeper or LarryK light.

My main point, *for this Spotlight thread*, is that ballasts and bulbs are legal to be brought into the US for all kinds of uses that are not related to Automobiles that are driven on streets. It is only a matter of time before some manufacturer or organization can demonstrate that their H series bulbs perform the same as their D2S bulbs. 
HID bulbs needing to be part of total system bulb, ballast, & housing & reflector designed for them in auto use is no concern to me since I do not like HID headlights and would be fine if nobody had them.

As long as Amodotech HID owner's like myself can get replacement bulbs and our warranty issues taken care of, then all is well in the little world called Amondotech Illuminator 35 Watt HID Searchlight Thread.

mdocod,

Those were nice shots.
I look forward to seeing more 

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## XeRay

mtbkndad said:


> That has always been my understanding too.
> Even the person I was speaking with was giving the condition that the bulbs Must NOT change the beam pattern or light characteristics AT ALL. Which brings me back to my same question regarding headlights.
> Then why go through all of the expense?
> In reality the only vehicles that the above conditions can be fulfilled in is HID equiped vehicles where the owner wants a cheaper alternative to D2S bulbs. Even then, the citation for modifying improperly will likely be bigger then the savings of the bulbs.
> 
> My main point, for this Spotlight thread, is that ballasts and bulbs are legal to be brought into the US for all kinds of uses that are not related to Automobiles that are driven on streets. It is only a matter of time before some manufacturer or organization can demonstrate that their H series bulbs perform the same as their D2S bulbs.
> 
> As long as Amodotech HID owner's like myself can get replacement bulbs and our warranty issues taken care of, then all is well in the little world called Amondotech Illuminator 35 Watt HID Searchlight Thread.


 
It is doubtful that H1 based bulbs will ever be used in OEM automotive or reputable automotive aftermarket applications since the P32d (D2) base has been established as the worldwide standard. For the last couple of years things have been moving toward D1S for automotive HID headlight housings. ALL European and US made cars being made with HID are using D1S now, starting with the 2005 model year. Only the Japanese are still using D2S on current production cars.

You are correct these bulbs CAN be brought in legally for non automotive applications without difficulty. They should be declared on customs documents as searchlight (flashlight) replacement bulbs. The importer at some point may be required to sign documents stating that they are not intended for automotive applications. The customs people are trained to look for the illegal automotive conversion kits. Most are getting into the US through Canada or by deceptive declarations (lies) on US customs forms. The customs people only open and inspect a small percentage of packages from overseas.
The feds have choosen and logically so, to go after the larger importers and marketers of the products. Fines have been levied as high as $250,000.00 against the importers. You will notice that most US websites for these illegal products provide no street address for contacting them, usually not even a PO box is offered. On ebay much of the illegal stuff is being drop-shipped to the buyer so the buyer becomes the importer.


----------



## Blindspot

Just ordered one 3152. I'll try it out against my HF HID and see who is boss. :rock:


----------



## mtbkndad

XeRay,

Once again thank you for the information. I know your primary business does put you in a position to need to know this information.
By the way, I will be more then happy to trade you one of my prototypes for a Barn Burner      .

I do not know if I mentioned this before, but one of the nights Mr Ted Bear and I were doing a shootout it was very cold and very windy and I had to hold your light while he had to replace ballasts and bulbs for the different configurations. If your lights were not designed so well these items could never have been switched so easily in such terrible conditions. :thumbsup:

Blindspot,
I hope you will be able to do beam shots. 
I love looking at other peoples beam shots.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## rdh226

Some observations and comments.

This light is a keeper! (Anyone wanna buy a HF HID?)

Compared to the HF (Harbor Freight, nee Costco), the AI (Amondo Illuminator) is noticeably
less white. Neither is an indoor light! By itself, the AI's "less white" is very pleasing and I
think the right choice; the HF is over-white ("bluish"), but that does make it seem [a little]
brighter for being the same power. Swinging them side by side, the HF (this is a little vague,
on the subjective side), it is clear the HF over-rides the AI's beam (the AI is ever so slightly
trumped by the HF). However, the beam quality of the AI is much superior (at least on my
two samples) -- smoother and better filled, with fewer obvious beam artifacts -- to the
HF unit. The AI has a major stuctural shadow at 12 oclock, the more obvious because the rest
of the beam is so much smoother.

In terms of ergonomics, the AI is hands down the winner, although the rocker switch placed
underneath the top-strap/hand-grip is way too easy to hit and inadvertently switch on, not
so much in actual carry as when picking it up or putting it down (on the other side of the
equation, the HF is a serious challenge to switch on with only one hand, with the rocker
switch being well off-axis wrt the carry handle. The carry strap for the AI is non-detachable
and a damned nuisance, and I will probably just cut mine off (the HF is detachable, and
wins this minor point).

The HF very conveniently carrys both 110V and 12V charger _and cords_ internally,
readily accessible via a rear door closed with a snap lock. While this is _really_ convenient,
it comes at the cost of a _much_ larger housing. I happily trade the smaller size of
the AI for the convenience of not having to deal with yet another bloody charging brick
(those things are going to be the downfall of Western Civilization, I swear).

While my HF ran 90 minutes hot off the charger, the AI only managed 82 minutes. I got
the general feeling the AI's SLA battery was a cheaper piece of junk than the HF battery
(although for the price, I can't really complain). For what I will presume will be "typical"
folks' usage pattern -- impress friends, terrify innocent animals, and generally fun mayhem,
with occasional useful utility -- an hour is more than adequate runtime 'twixt charges.
(And you will not _want_ to actually carry either one for any extended period of time, say,
more than 5 minutes, carry strap or not.)

WARNING: Both lights show zero signs of optical distress as they are raping the SLA:
For both of the runtimes above, I terminated the run when the battery was down to 10.0V
(as a rule you should NEVER run a 12V Lead-acid battery down below 10.5 volts, you will
quickly and irreversably damage the cells) with nary an optical peep from the ballast
or lamps. In other words, both lights will seemingly be running happily while tearing the
SLA to figurative ribbons.

The HF gets slightly warm to the touch, while the AI will get slightly warmer (80-90
minutes runtime to full discharge), but neither is anywhere near alarming;
quite the opposite, how can any light this bright not be boiling water? In fact, the AI's
little charging brick gets warmer than the AI itself in operation.

The AI has a really cool-looking LED bargraph (red-yellow-green-green) battery-level
indicator that is in reality pretty much useless. As near as I can tell (remember, this is
with a sample size of one -- my light), both green LEDs are wired in parallel, and switch
at 12.39 volts (Simpson 360, which I have reason to believe is about 20mv off): OFF
about as soon as you switch the light on (unless supercharged hot off the charger, in
which case they stay on for several minutes), and ON if the light is off and the battery
has anything more than a smidgeon's worth of charge left. Oh well, it's still cute.

Charge time (immediately after dragging the battery down to 10V) is 9-10 hours on the HF,
and closer to 11 hours for the AI. Whether this is due to the HF having a slightly stronger
charger, or just a better battery I can only speculate.

Several folks have asked if they can just leave the charger connected. NO NO NO Neither
HF nor AI have smart chargers, both just keep on cooking the battery well past "done" (I
pulled both chargers as they drove the battery past 14.9V). This is my only real complaint
about them -- both have "electronic circuitry" to detect when the nominal 14.4V "full"
state is reached (like NiCd and NiMh, this is really only 90% range, and really want
another hour or two of light trickle charger to properly finish the job), so _why_ can't
they drop to a proper 13.5V trickle charge? In normal, casual use, both lights are
pretty much guaranteed to seriously abuse their batteries, either through gross over-
discharge (with no warning) in use, or by either never properly charging (topping off)
the batteries (pull as soon as green LED lights), or by serious overcharge/overcooking
if you leave the charger on indefinitely. Oh well. They're just toys, right?



larrymz3 said:


> Got mine today - turned it on for a few seconds - WOW this is bright!
> 
> Quick question. I have had it plugged in literally all day, and the red charging light has not gone off. If I unplug it and press the battery test button it goes all the way over green. Plug it back in, and it seems to be charging again.
> 
> Is this normal? Should the red charging light ever go off?
> 
> Thanks!
> Larry



The red LED stays lit, the green LED will come on (with a distinct click). As above, this
is an "all day" charge, expect 10-11 hours. If it's still on after 11-12 hours, you have
a problem -- put a meter on the battery terminals, 14.4V is nominally "full", 15V is
slowly charbroiling your battery.


----------



## db

I used a velcro tie around the strap: 



If you pull down and out on the clips I think that they'll come off. I got my rear one off. They probably won't hold up to doing that more than a few times though. It shouldn't oughta be too hard to find a replacement of some sort though.

When charging, mine has yet to light the green LED indicating full charge.
The charger gets pretty hot, but I've not checked temp of it.

Output of my Illuminator charger is 18+V.
Output of a BatteryMart float charger I have is much closer to 14V. I can't recall the exact number.


----------



## FireStik

I read a couple of earlier posts (like the one above) where people reported that either the red LED failed to turn off when full capacity was reached, or the red LED failed to turn on when the battery was known to be low. I don't remember reading that their problems were resolved, but maybe they were sorted out in PM's.

Anyway, last night I connected my charger to top off the battery (down maybe 5-10%), and the red LED was still on when I checked it 9 hours later! Either that lead-acid cell was cooking all night long, or the circuitry failed to indicate when it switched over to trickle charge mode. Either way, that's a bit of a problem.

I'm probably going to modify mine to charge with one of the Battery Tender Jr units I have scattered around the house & garage, but that won't help if I'm camping and need to charge from my vehicle.

I'm sure Amondotech would back the problem 100% if I was willing to temporarily part with it (not likely), but I'd rather find that it had something to do with the fact that my battery was only down slightly or something.

Anyone else see this?


----------



## Lincoln

Does anyone know the lumens for the Illuminator 35 ?


----------



## jtice

Should be 3000 to 3200 BULB LUMENS.
Would be nice to know whats actually comming out the front.

So far I have not really had a chance to use mine,
but so far, I think its well worth the money.
Litle large and heavy still, but not bad, its at least a usable size, 
I dont think the Thor and HF HID are a usable size at all, unless your just playing around with it.

So far, I have had no charging problems the last two times I charged it.
Though, I may end up using my Triton to charge it, 
I use it to charge just about all the batteryes I have, except AAs

~John


----------



## mtbkndad

The bulb is rated at 3200 +or - 200 lumens.
One of my prototypes does not always turn green till I un-plug it and plug it back in.
I am actually thinking of changing the connectors to handle 9Ah batteries and just charging them completely outside of the light and keeping some spares in my car or wherever I go. 

I mentioned this problem with the prototype to the manufacturer and they said it was fixed. I know that different Costco HID's have had similar problems.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## lasercrazy

You can remove the shoulder strap but it's a real pita. I was really surprised to see that the holes for the strap go right through to the inside, so much for water resistence. I plan on plugging them up with something so I can use it in rain.


----------



## rdh226

db said:


> If you pull down and out on the clips I think that they'll come off. I got my rear one off. They probably won't hold up to doing that more than a few times though. It shouldn't oughta be too hard to find a replacement of some sort though.


Figuring anything that goes together must come apart (_right??_), I tried tugging on
the little clips. No joy. Let's try Pulling. No joy. OK, let's PRY the damned things out.

_Joy!_

Ain't going back together, either (the clips, ah, experienced what we call _inelastic
deformation_ in the process -- Heh!).




db said:


> When charging, mine has yet to light the green LED indicating full charge.
> The charger gets pretty hot, but I've not checked temp of it.


Sounds broken to me.



db said:


> Output of my Illuminator charger is 18+V.
> Output of a BatteryMart float charger I have is much closer to 14V. I can't recall the exact number.


Mine is also 18V open circuit. If it's truly 750mA, that is sufficiently robust to cook
any piddlin' 7Ah SLA fer sur.

Further fiddlin'bout with mine uncovered some more interesting behavior, to wit:
When charging, the red charge LED is lit; at about 14.4V the green charging LED lights
with a distinct click; unplugging the charger (brick) extinguishes both LEDs (as
expected); plugging the charger back in lights only the green LED, the red LED remains
off, *and* the charger is not connected to the battery!

Further experimentation shows that the charger will not be connected to the battery
(green LED on red LED off) as long as the battery is above about 13.09V. Even better,
as the battery voltage drops from 13.10V (green LED on, red LED off) to 13.08V, the
light switches to charging mode (green LED off, red LED on), and then stays there,
cooking the battery.

Methinks it's time to sacrifice the battery, and see if the idiosavant circuitry will eventually
disconnect the charger at some absurd threshold...(maybe I should not do this with the
light sitting on my nice carpetted floor).



FireStik said:


> ...
> I'm probably going to modify mine to charge with one of the Battery Tender Jr units I have scattered around the house & garage, but that won't help if I'm camping and need to charge from my vehicle.


That (charging from the vehicle) actually brings up some interesting points.

A properly-operating car electrical system will be running in the 13.5 to 14.0V range,
running all the electrical goodies and maintaining a nice charge on the main Lead-acid
starting battery, so you should be able to leave the AI hooked up to the car's 12V
indefinitely. (I checked, and the light will NOT let any 12V out of the light into the
car's system, so you won't risk partially discharging your light into a weak car battery).
I think if there is a problem, it will be that at only 13.5-14.0V, your light may never fully
charge (right after starting, the car will run 14.5-15.0V as it recharges the massive
current dump incurred in starting the car, but that typically lasts for less than
a minute or two).

I've discharged my AI's battery, and have it now hooked up to my 13.7V bench supply,
I'll see if it can fully charge the battery from a "mere" 13.7V source.

This may take a day or two -- especially if there's a diode drop twixt the 13.7V and the
battery!


----------



## mtbkndad

lasercrazy,

I have actually never taken the black clips out. I do know that when hosing the light down water entry was no real problem. After reading your post, I pulled them out and will plug the insided too just in case they could cause a problem.

rdh226,
Nice post, the charging circuit is supposed to shut off like yours does.
I have already emailed the manufacturer about the problems some people have reported. I am looking forward to seeing what their reply is.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## idleprocess

I seem to recall the documentation for the Costco HID suggesting that the indicator on the intergrated charger was more for the user's benefit than anything else (read: let you know when to unplug the power).


----------



## FireStik

Great info rdh226, I wish I had more time to run some tests like yours.

Hopefully they'll get back to mtbkndad with a simple DIY fix that will allow us to "charge & forget".

The coolness factor has still not worn off yet. I just love this light!


----------



## FireStik

This photo didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but I'll post it anyway because I love beamshots. It was one of those foggy nights where the beam just seemed to go on and on.


----------



## mdocod

I'm noticing some of the bizzare charging characteristics with mine as well... I was really hoping to be able to use the stock charger for this light without a problem... Looks like I'll be resorting to the same method I used for the thor.... cut a hole, run a short wire with a plug, and hook up a true float charger for when I'm not using it..


----------



## mtbkndad

mdocod said:


> I'm noticing some of the bizzare charging characteristics with mine as well... I was really hoping to be able to use the stock charger for this light without a problem... Looks like I'll be resorting to the same method I used for the thor.... cut a hole, run a short wire with a plug, and hook up a true float charger for when I'm not using it..




Could you PM the bizzare charging characteristics to me so I can forward them to the manufacturer.

Here is the original direct quote from the manufacrturer about the charging circuit.


" Yes, you can leave it for extended period of time. Whenever the 
battery is full, the relay designed inside of the charging board will cut 
off the incoming electricity."

I just got finished looking at my Costco HID manual and there is no mention of needing to unplug it as soon as the green LED turns on.

I will post an update when I hear from the manufacturer.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## 2100

Anybody pls check for me whether the charger is able to accept 240V input? Thnaks!


----------



## gnubee

it will not accept 240v.


----------



## FireStik

I modded my power switch since I'm too damn clumsy to adapt to the stock location. Details here:


https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/120224


----------



## rdh226

rdh226 said:


> ...
> 
> That (charging from the vehicle) actually brings up some interesting points.
> 
> A properly-operating car electrical system will be running in the 13.5 to 14.0V range,
> running all the electrical goodies and maintaining a nice charge on the main Lead-acid
> starting battery, so you should be able to leave the AI hooked up to the car's 12V
> indefinitely. (I checked, and the light will NOT let any 12V out of the light into the
> car's system, so you won't risk partially discharging your light into a weak car battery).
> I think if there is a problem, it will be that at only 13.5-14.0V, your light may never fully
> charge (right after starting, the car will run 14.5-15.0V as it recharges the massive
> current dump incurred in starting the car, but that typically lasts for less than
> a minute or two).
> 
> I've discharged my AI's battery, and have it now hooked up to my 13.7V bench supply,
> I'll see if it can fully charge the battery from a "mere" 13.7V source.
> 
> This may take a day or two -- especially if there's a diode drop twixt the 13.7V and the
> battery!


Update:

After 36 hours on my 13.7 bench supply, the battery charged up to 13.01V
(was 12.86V after 4 hours).

So:

1) you can safely leave it hooked up indefinitely to your car/truck power.

2) it's got one diode drop (0.7V) twixt the car/truck electrical system and
the battery, so it will NEVER fully charge.

After 36 hours charge, I got about 63 minutes burn time (compared to 83 hot off
the wall charger), or about 75% capacity charge.


----------



## HighLight

FireStik said:


> I modded my power switch since I'm too damn clumsy to adapt to the stock location. Details here:
> 
> 
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/120224



Thats a nice mod! Missile control switch eh? I like! :goodjob:


----------



## tysonb

It looks like AmondoTech does not allow for PayPal payments, which sucks as PayPal is my 'play' money as opposed to my credit cards which are audited by the Warden. Is there any chance that I could PayPal someone to order this light to my US shipping address? I am Canadian, but have a US shipping address. This also adds to the difficulty of ordering as the amondotech site has country = USA hardcoded into their billing form.

If anyone is feeling generous with a few minutes of their time, please email me, and I can paypal same day. Once you get my dough, just order the light to my shipping address.

Thanks,

Tyson


----------



## mtbkndad

Tyson,
Email Wayne, 
I think he may be able to take Paypal even though the web site does not mention it. He does not normally work on weekends so you will not get a reply till Monday.


To Everybody else, 
I should have info to post about the battery charging issues some people have had by Tuesday.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## rufusdufus

Can someone please indicate the output of the wall charger and polarity of plug etc.,etc.

I need to get a 240v charger to give same output as your 110v.charger.


----------



## Monolith

rufusdufus said:


> Can someone please indicate the output of the wall charger and polarity of plug etc.,etc.
> 
> I need to get a 240v charger to give same output as your 110v.charger.


13.8vDC @750mA, for safety, the positive is typically the center conductor but I have not confirmed that.


----------



## BVH

Positive IS in the center - as indicated on the charger itself.


----------



## BVH

Positive IS in the center - as indicated on the charger itself. I verified with a digital volt meter.


----------



## idleprocess

I would think that any adaptor that supplies "automotive" 12V DC _(read: between ~10.5V and ~16V)_ would suffice since the light can also charge from a cigarette lighter adaptor. I would stick with at least 12V, myself.


----------



## rdh226

rufusdufus said:


> Can someone please indicate the output of the wall charger and polarity of plug etc.,etc.
> 
> I need to get a 240v charger to give same output as your 110v.charger.


The wall wart is _rated_ 13.8VDC 750mA. It is center positive.

It outputs 18VDC open circuit, and will definitely pump at least 15.7VDC into
the light (15.0V to the battery, as high as I have so far allowed it to go).



idleprocess said:


> I would think that any adaptor that supplies "automotive" 12V DC _(read: between ~10.5V and ~16V)_ would suffice since the light can also charge from a cigarette lighter adaptor. I would stick with at least 12V, myself.


You will need a _minimum_ of 14.2VDC to effectively charge the battery:
13.5V is the sustaining ("trickle") charge voltage for a fully charged 12V SLA,
and you have a .7V diode drop twixt the battery and the charge jack.


----------



## Super Dave

This is the first light I've purchased in several months. It's a home run. Good job on designing it and a big Mahalo,
Dave


----------



## rufusdufus

MONOLITH
BVH
IDLEPROCESS
RDH226

Thanks for the charger info.

Warwick.


----------



## rdh226

A couple more observations.

After leaving the wall charger hooked up for about 15 hours (goes "green"
after 10 or so), with battery voltage up to around 15.5V, I started hearing
the occasional hissing/spitting sound coming from the general direction
of the light...pulled the battery, no obvious signs of venting or other such
undesireable effects. But ... still ... do NOT leave your AI unattended
charging from the wall charger.

The ballast/control unit is a fully-regulated one (Yay!), which somewhat
surprised me (I expected el-cheapo unregulated). The AI maintains constant
beam intensity from 14.8V (as high as I could persuade my power supply to
go) down to about 7.6VDC (with the current draw roughly doubling as the
voltage roughly halved!).

Aside from the surprising quality built into the light (I just _luv_ pleasant surprises!),
the light will happily suck the life juices out of the SLA before giving you the
slightest warning that the battery is effectively exhausted. In other words, if
you run the light to dimming/strobing, you have seriously stressed (likely damaged)
the battery. (Then again, they're only $20 or so.)


----------



## mtbkndad

I have some answers for the different problems that some people have reported regarding the battery charging issues.

1. One person reported the light would not charge at all, ever, with multiple batteries. DEFECTIVE unit. I believe it was replaced.

2. Somebody reported that the light would not stop charging.
3. A few others reported that the light would sometimes stop charging and other times not stop charging until the plug was unplugged and put back into the socket.

The circuit is very simple and has a relay that cuts off electricity when the voltage gets to somewhere arountd 14.6 volts(I say somewhere around because 14.6 is the target but different lights may have slightly different cutoff say from 14.4 up to 14.8). The problem is that charger is a relatvely slow charger that only supplies a little over 15, I believe 15.5 under ideal conditions, volts. Now if the general electrical load of an area is high, the engineer said a circumstance where the charger is not supplying enough voltage to get the battery to 14.6 volts could happen until the load in the area decreases. The net effect would be a slower then normal charging cycle.
I am not an engineer and we were having a three person conversation through (like the party game telephone)
Wayne on two different lines relaying information so I may not get every detail right.
The engineer said the charger that was supplied with the lights will vary slightly in it's output if the current supplying it is subject to fluctuations.
It seems the current the charger supplies is close enough to the target cutoff of the relay to give the appearance that battery is not charging when, in effect it isn't   

I know in my area all of the lights in my house get noticeably brighter after around 11:30 PM. 

I pointed out that the Costco and Harbor Freight HID have had similar problems reported. 
The issue seems to be that nothing is technically defective. Rather there seems to have been a slight design oversight with a charger that supplies voltage so close to the cutoff voltage of the relay even under ideal conditions. 

The reason the plug can be unplugged and then replugged back in and have the light turn green is because the charging threshold for starting charging is around 12 volts( I forgot the exact amount). If the light is in a charging cycle and is over 12 volts but is not yet at 14.6 volts it will stay on till the target voltage is reached. If you unplug the chord and plug it back in it will not start charging again if it is over 12 volts, however it is more then likely not at full charge since the target shutoff voltage was never reached.

Wayne asked if a charger could be supplied with the next order that will supply more voltage to the circuit so the relay will always have a battery getting to it's target voltage. The engineer said that should not be a problem. Wayne asked for this to be tested to make sure one fix does not create other problems.


My personal long term solution will be one of the following

A. Keep the screws out of the tail cap, buy an external charger and several spare lead acid batteries since they are cheap, and use the setup like a crude cartridge battery system. (One light 3 batteries = 3 to 4 1/2 hours of run time)

B. Make some NiMH packs and charge them externally.

For the mean time I just charge them overnight since my one "occaional problem" prototype has always behaved when charging overnight.

On another note, just in case I did not mention this before, this order only has about 20 left. Wayne is not putting them on his web site yet because the second order will take some time to get here. The current order will stay $130 total cost (price + shipping). Of course us lucky CA residents pay sales tax too.

Due to increased shipping and related costs from Shanghai to Sunnyvale
then next order will have two different prices.
There will be an ongoing CPF special price of $135 total and the regular web site price of $145 total. 
These prices are good for the continental US.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## mdocod

just thought I would let yall know... posted some beam shots in a hallways compared to a typical 1MCP light over here... https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/120793


----------



## L-Fin

(my first post to CPF _ever_)

I just got my Illuminator and so far so good - works great, seems to be as advertised but alas, it came with a US-only charger (SPEC LIN model L5A-138075R, 120V/60Hz - 13.8VDC @ 750 mA). I searched through my box of chargers and the only one that came close enough AND has 230V was the charger for my trusty old IBM ThinkPad laptop.

As it was plug-compatible, I took the chance and tried charging the Illuminator with it. (The charger is IBM P/N 02K6543 with 100-240V 50-60Hz input and 16VDC 3.36A output.) I didn't time it but after a few hours, the charging light turned green and it seems to work fine.

Do you guys see any issues with what I just did here? I recall seeing something about the internal wiring not being good enough to use it while charging, otherwise 3.36A should be enough, right?

Note that I don't recommend doing the same as I did, there's probably a good chance to encounter problems...


----------



## IsaacHayes

The output of the IMB has enough amps, but the voltage is a bit high, and you might be charging it too fast. It could take some life off of the battery.


----------



## idleprocess

L-Fin said:


> (my first post to CPF _ever_)
> 
> I just got my Illuminator and so far so good - works great, seems to be as advertised but alas, it came with a US-only charger (SPEC LIN model L5A-138075R, 120V/60Hz - 13.8VDC @ 750 mA). I searched through my box of chargers and the only one that came close enough AND has 230V was the charger for my trusty old IBM ThinkPad laptop.
> 
> As it was plug-compatible, I took the chance and tried charging the Illuminator with it. (The charger is IBM P/N 02K6543 with 100-240V 50-60Hz input and 16VDC 3.36A output.) I didn't time it but after a few hours, the charging light turned green and it seems to work fine.
> 
> Do you guys see any issues with what I just did here? I recall seeing something about the internal wiring not being good enough to use it while charging, otherwise 3.36A should be enough, right?
> 
> Note that I don't recommend doing the same as I did, there's probably a good chance to encounter problems...



DC adaptor ratings are interesting. Keep in mind that a constant voltage source can only push as much current as a given load will accept. The current ratings on DC adaptors are typically maximum ratings, not what the adaptor will attempt to deliver - they're voltage sources, not current sources. Another wrinkle: an unregulated DC adaptor needs to be delivering its rated current in order to meet its voltage rating - open-circuit (no load) voltage on unregulatred DC adaptors is typically much higher than voltage at their rated current (a 50% increase is common).

In the case of your laptop PSU, odds are that's regulated. You can test that by applying a voltmeter to it which will simulate almost no load - if it's close to 16V, you'll probably be fine.


----------



## wquiles

Well, I could not take it any more. Enough arm twisting from you guys 

I ordered my own AI last night 

Will


----------



## idleprocess

Somehow, I think I'm going to be blamed...


----------



## wquiles

But of course. "You" are the one who showed me how awesome the AI was - so yes, it is "your" fault. Thanks bud :buddies: 

Will


----------



## Chris_S

wquiles said:


> But of course. "You" are the one who showed me how awesome the AI was - so yes, it is "your" fault. Thanks bud :buddies:
> 
> Will




It really is impressive..I set mine up last night pointing straight up in the back yard and walked about 50 feet away....Looks like a big searchlight shooting into the air...

Very very cool


----------



## wquiles

Chris_S said:


> It really is impressive..I set mine up last night pointing straight up in the back yard and walked about 50 feet away....Looks like a big searchlight shooting into the air...
> 
> Very very cool


IddleProcess and I had a mini gettogether to evaluate the PILA GL3 during the passaround about a week or so ago, and he came "prepared" with a couple of HID lights. The "most" impressive beam came from the AI - I was just blown away that an HID could have so much usefull side-beam as this one, plus the color/tint, size, weight, etc., felt perfect to me.

As I said, it is "his" fault I "had" to order one :naughty: 

Will


----------



## idleprocess

No-effort arm-twisting!


----------



## Blindspot

I went out last night for a few minutes for a quick comparison of my Amodotech Illuminator vs. My Harbor Freight 35w HID. 

First quick impressions:

The HF is a much more focused, brighter, whiter beam with greater throw.
The Amondotech has a better corona (the artifacts and donuts in the HF are absurd!) and is more useful for medium distance searching, especially given how compact it is compared to the HF.

Unless I was trying to put a point of light on something half a mile away, I would grab the Amondotech.


----------



## wquiles

idleprocess said:


> No-effort arm-twisting!


I got a shiping confirmation email late last week, so it should be here shortly :naughty: 

Will


----------



## wquiles

Mine came today - charging as we speak 

Will


----------



## lasercrazy

Any word on a nimh pack for it? I'd like to build one myself but it would cost more than the light lol.


----------



## mtbkndad

> Any word on a nimh pack for it? I'd like to build one myself but it would cost more than the light lol.



Wayne would need to put in too big an order to make these affordable for it to be practical to pursue a NiMH pack. There would need to be a significant demand for these packs for lights other then just the Amondotech Illuminator.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## PGP

Mine has already been put to good use!

Went to the Score Baja 500 a few weeks back to help a friend by being one of the pit/chase crew members. As you can figure I was the guy that brought all the illumination tools! I had a few lights in my chase truck and put the AI in the other chase bronco that some one else was driving! They had an alternator/electrical issue while they where off road in some forest area, about 40 minutes from any road. They could not use the truck lights at all or the truck would not run. They remebered that I had put the AI in thier truck and set it on the dash and used it as thier headlights until they met up with another chase crew to fix thier problem!

When I saw them you cant belive how thankful they where that they had the AI in thier truck. They said that they would have had to wait till morning to get out of that forest area with no truck lights at all.

AI saves another day - I mean night! :rock: 

Patrick


----------



## Azecos

I orderded mine today, payment is on it's way.

Can someone please post the specs of the charger? I'm searching for an 230V version so I need to know the output values.


----------



## rufusdufus

Go back to post 134


Azecos said:


> I orderded mine today, payment is on it's way.
> 
> Can someone please post the specs of the charger? I'm searching for an 230V version so I need to know the output values.


----------



## Azecos

Received mine today, charging as we speak. Tried it for a minute in day-light and damn this sucker is bright 

A little larger than I expected though, I guess I have to learn to live with that


----------



## Stillphoto

Trust me Azecos, if you had the costco HID in your hands first, the AI would suddenly become smaller


----------



## Azecos

Stillphoto said:


> Trust me Azecos, if you had the costco HID in your hands first, the AI would suddenly become smaller




Explain that to my girlfriend please


----------



## Billson

I received mine last week. Did a runtime test last night and got 100 minutes before it started strobing.

I plan to buy another adapter to replace the stock 110V because it's too easy to blow it accidentally due to our 220V power. Does anybody know the range of the voltage and current that the light can take?


----------



## TooManyGizmos

After running one down like this .... how many times can we expect the battery to re-charge....and how long does it take - to bring it back from the Dead ? 



Billson said:


> I received mine last week. Did a runtime test last night and got 100 minutes before it started strobing.
> 
> I plan to buy another adapter to replace the stock 110V because it's too easy to blow it accidentally due to our 220V power. Does anybody know the range of the voltage and current that the light can take?


----------



## Billson

Great. I wish I had read this thread thoroughly before I did the runtime test. It seems I may have damaged the battery. Good thing a replacement is pretty cheap around here.


----------



## larry2

Hi,
a couple of questions :
1. i have a magcharger-how much brighter would the AI HID be ?
2. any idea on the freight to australia ?

larry


----------



## TooManyGizmos

:huh2:

.......... I don't understand what your question refers to


Does anyone else ...... ???



larry2 said:


> Hi,
> a couple of questions :
> 1. i have a magcharger-how much brighter would the AI HID be ?
> 2. any idea on the freight to australia ?
> 
> larry


----------



## larry2

toomany gizmo's -what don't you understand ?

1. i have a magcharger torch (ie maglight rechargable unit) and i was wondering how much brighter the amondotech HID light would be compared to it ?

2. i was wondering if anyone knew roughly how much it would cost to freight one of these to australia ? (i just emailed amondotech, waitng for a reply)


----------



## Azecos

larry2 said:


> toomany gizmo's -what don't you understand ?
> 
> 1. i have a magcharger torch (ie maglight rechargable unit) and i was wondering how much brighter the amondotech HID light would be compared to it ?
> 
> 2. i was wondering if anyone knew roughly how much it would cost to freight one of these to australia ? (i just emailed amondotech, waitng for a reply)



This thing makes your magcharger look like a candle


----------



## idleprocess

The magcharger bulb is spec'ed at 218 bulb lumens. The Amondotech Illuminator is spec'ed at ~3200 bulb lumens - a factor of ~14.6.

The Illuminator is much larger and heavier, but will also throw a good deal further while providing some nice flood (~15cm reflector vs ~5cm reflector).

Words will only go so far... I have some comparison beamshots here. I'd say that the 3x Luxeon III magmod has output similar to the magcharger. Amondotech Illuminator at that range, thoroughly destroying the mere ~200 lumens that 10.5W worth of LEDs can spit out.


----------



## larry2

so the AI HID would be a lot brighter than a G7P scorpion R500 
http://cgi.ebay.com/G-P-Scorpion-R5...yZ106988QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


----------



## TooManyGizmos

..... Sorry larry2 , I don't know about magchargers.

But I would compare this AI HID to an automobile headlight set on high-beam as compared to a flashlight.

Just no contest .



larry2 said:


> toomany gizmo's -what don't you understand ?
> 
> 1. i have a magcharger torch (ie maglight rechargable unit) and i was wondering how much brighter the amondotech HID light would be compared to it ?
> 
> 2. i was wondering if anyone knew roughly how much it would cost to freight one of these to australia ? (i just emailed amondotech, waitng for a reply)


----------



## rufusdufus

Roughly $90 by air.


Roughly $35 by sea with 2 month wait.




larry2 said:


> toomany gizmo's -what don't you understand ?
> 
> 1. i have a magcharger torch (ie maglight rechargable unit) and i was wondering how much brighter the amondotech HID light would be compared to it ?
> 
> 2. i was wondering if anyone knew roughly how much it would cost to freight one of these to australia ? (i just emailed amondotech, waitng for a reply)


----------



## tanasit

My plan to use it is different.
I want to use it as the flood light for playing tennis at night.
We have 5 public courts outdoor but no light.
Any suggestion on how to make the beam wider? (adapter, filter or reflector of some sort??)
I can set it perhaps up to 100 feet away if needed.

Thanks....
:candle:


----------



## aryntha

Are these still available through that URL? (http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1129) ... Definitely want to get one, - new here, have lurked for a long time but this one made me take notice...

Is it orderable, (Within the US) with that above URL?


----------



## mtbkndad

aryntha said:


> Are these still available through that URL? (http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1129) ... Definitely want to get one, - new here, have lurked for a long time but this one made me take notice...
> 
> Is it orderable, (Within the US) with that above URL?



There should still be a Very Few left from this shipment.
You may want call first.
Wayne does have another shipment coming in, but that is still more then a month away and the price will need to go up a little.
I posted all of that pricing info recently in this thread.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## aryntha

Thanks -- will have to do that tomorrow... hopefully there's a few left.


----------



## aryntha

OK, whoever I spoke to certainly wasn't a Wayne, (female!) but she said that they _do_ have a few left, if anyone is interested. So I ordered one... Fingers crossed on this'un.


----------



## dca2

Has anyone found a suitable case to store this thing in? By suitable I mean: somewhat padded, holds both chargers and maybe extra battery, and cheap. (water resistant/proof wouldn't be bad either)

Thanks,
Dave


----------



## havand

tanasit said:


> My plan to use it is different.
> I want to use it as the flood light for playing tennis at night.
> We have 5 public courts outdoor but no light.
> Any suggestion on how to make the beam wider? (adapter, filter or reflector of some sort??)
> I can set it perhaps up to 100 feet away if needed.
> 
> Thanks....
> :candle:


 

Err, maybe a few halogen floodlights or even a few of these hooked up to a carbattery or two?


----------



## TooManyGizmos

...


How often should we charge the battery in this when it's not in use ???

How quickly does a batt. like this .... self-drain ???

thanks ...... TMG..

.


----------



## havand

I have a strange request...Could someone measure the diameter of the ballast? I want to know if it'll fit into another shell for a project i'm thinkin about.


----------



## TooManyGizmos




----------



## SmithB

I received mine today. Very nice. I can't wait to try it out tonight.


----------



## Ra

Hi TMG,

I presume its a Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery: You should keep it charged all time: They have no memmory effect and to prevent the forming of sulfates you should charge it after every use, no matter how short!

I don't know if the lamp has internal charge electronics, I mostly recommend the use of a constant-voltage charger connected directly to the battery.
SLA's may not be charged with voltages over 14.2 volts! And for maintenace-charging not higher than 13.8 volts

You cannot charge SLA's with constant-current like Nicads: If the SLA is fully charged it allowes the voltage to rise. If it rises above about 14.4 volts the SLA forms gas inside, causing permanent capasity loss!

I kept SLA's in perfect condition for 7 years keeping them connected to a constant voltage charger at 13.6 volt/600milliamp.

Mostly it is sufficient to charge the battery every four weeks when not in use.

Ra.




TooManyGizmos said:


> ...
> 
> 
> How often should we charge the battery in this when it's not in use ???
> 
> How quickly does a batt. like this .... self-drain ???
> 
> thanks ...... TMG..
> 
> .


----------



## DonX_Fi

I've got My AI on Monday. What can I say: 





It has not perfect beam, but who cares ! NOT ME !
HID Power



!
I'm also interested in carry case for this.


----------



## jfong

DonX_Fi said:


> I've got My AI on Monday. What can I say:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It has not perfect beam, but who cares ! NOT ME !
> HID Power
> 
> 
> 
> !
> I'm also interested in carry case for this.




I use a Nike "Mini Duffel" (B4.2). Fits very well, and has a pocket to carry the charging cords. eBags carried it a few months ago, but it looks like they don't anymore. Another duffel bag from the local sporting goods store might be suitable, however.


----------



## DonX_Fi

This was taken about 15m distance.


----------



## AmondoTech

HI All,

We are planning to put together marketing material to promote AmondoTech HID illuminator. I need your help.

Please email [email protected] what you use the illuminator for or any special incident the illuminator has been tremendously helpful? Any comments and photos are appreciated!

Regards,
Wayne


----------



## Chris_S

My illuminator is DEAD! I worked fine when I got it. Now, it just flickers.... 

The battery check feature shows green still when I push it, but just flickers! When I plug in the charger, it does NOT indicate charging anymore!

WTF?!?


----------



## gnubee

Chris_S said:


> My illuminator is DEAD! I worked fine when I got it. Now, it just flickers....
> 
> The battery check feature shows green still when I push it, but just flickers! When I plug in the charger, it does NOT indicate charging anymore!
> 
> WTF?!?



first thing to check is the battery. a voltmeter will tell you if it has charge. 

if it is low, charge it directly with a car battery charger. then try the light.

if the battery is ok the next thing to check is the wiring connections inside the light. 

if none of this helps someone here knows how to troubleshoot the ballast and bulb i am sure.


----------



## shelly

In your post #143 of 06/07, you said




mtbkndad said:


> On another note, just in case I did not mention this before, this order only has about 20 left. Wayne is not putting them on his web site yet because the second order will take some time to get here. The current order will stay $130 total cost (price + shipping). Of course us lucky CA residents pay sales tax too.
> 
> Due to increased shipping and related costs from Shanghai to Sunnyvale
> then next order will have two different prices.
> There will be an ongoing CPF special price of $135 total and the regular web site price of $145 total.
> These prices are good for the continental US.
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:



I ordered the AI 1352 today for $129.05 + $6.95 s&h (and, lucky me, CA sales tax) for a total of $136 (not ounting tax).

Can I assume that this newer price reflects a light from the newer shipment with the revised charger?

Also, where can replacement batteries be found?

Thanks.

Shelly


----------



## Archangel

The charger is being revised?


----------



## shelly

Archangel said:


> The charger is being revised?



Here is the entire post #143 from mtbkndad, which is why I assumed there might be a revised charger. I'm not trying to start any false rumors.

Shelly

06-07-2006, 08:05 AM
mtbkndad 
Flashaholic*

Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 942
Re: Amondotech Illuminator 35 Watt HID Searchlight
I have some answers for the different problems that some people have reported regarding the battery charging issues.

1. One person reported the light would not charge at all, ever, with multiple batteries. DEFECTIVE unit. I believe it was replaced.

2. Somebody reported that the light would not stop charging.
3. A few others reported that the light would sometimes stop charging and other times not stop charging until the plug was unplugged and put back into the socket.

The circuit is very simple and has a relay that cuts off electricity when the voltage gets to somewhere arountd 14.6 volts(I say somewhere around because 14.6 is the target but different lights may have slightly different cutoff say from 14.4 up to 14.8). The problem is that charger is a relatvely slow charger that only supplies a little over 15, I believe 15.5 under ideal conditions, volts. Now if the general electrical load of an area is high, the engineer said a circumstance where the charger is not supplying enough voltage to get the battery to 14.6 volts could happen until the load in the area decreases. The net effect would be a slower then normal charging cycle.
I am not an engineer and we were having a three person conversation through (like the party game telephone)
Wayne on two different lines relaying information so I may not get every detail right.
The engineer said the charger that was supplied with the lights will vary slightly in it's output if the current supplying it is subject to fluctuations.
It seems the current the charger supplies is close enough to the target cutoff of the relay to give the appearance that battery is not charging when, in effect it isn't 

I know in my area all of the lights in my house get noticeably brighter after around 11:30 PM. 

I pointed out that the Costco and Harbor Freight HID have had similar problems reported. 
The issue seems to be that nothing is technically defective. Rather there seems to have been a slight design oversight with a charger that supplies voltage so close to the cutoff voltage of the relay even under ideal conditions. 

The reason the plug can be unplugged and then replugged back in and have the light turn green is because the charging threshold for starting charging is around 12 volts( I forgot the exact amount). If the light is in a charging cycle and is over 12 volts but is not yet at 14.6 volts it will stay on till the target voltage is reached. If you unplug the chord and plug it back in it will not start charging again if it is over 12 volts, however it is more then likely not at full charge since the target shutoff voltage was never reached.

Wayne asked if a charger could be supplied with the next order that will supply more voltage to the circuit so the relay will always have a battery getting to it's target voltage. The engineer said that should not be a problem. Wayne asked for this to be tested to make sure one fix does not create other problems.


My personal long term solution will be one of the following

A. Keep the screws out of the tail cap, buy an external charger and several spare lead acid batteries since they are cheap, and use the setup like a crude cartridge battery system. (One light 3 batteries = 3 to 4 1/2 hours of run time)

B. Make some NiMH packs and charge them externally.

For the mean time I just charge them overnight since my one "occaional problem" prototype has always behaved when charging overnight.

On another note, just in case I did not mention this before, this order only has about 20 left. Wayne is not putting them on his web site yet because the second order will take some time to get here. The current order will stay $130 total cost (price + shipping). Of course us lucky CA residents pay sales tax too.

Due to increased shipping and related costs from Shanghai to Sunnyvale
then next order will have two different prices.
There will be an ongoing CPF special price of $135 total and the regular web site price of $145 total. 
These prices are good for the continental US.

Take Care,
mtbkndad


----------



## Chris_S

It would be REALLY great if Amondotech would ANSWER MY EMAILS about my product that failed after less than a month (and basically no use).

Really disappointing to buy a product from someone recommended by CPF and get such bad support!


----------



## Chris_S

How the heck do I get the back cover off anyhow? I removed the two screws and turned counter clockwise, but it doesn't go very far, only about half way to the marks and it sticks...

Ideas?


----------



## Archangel

I don't think they check e-mail daily. If an option, calling would be a good idea.


----------



## rdh226

Chris_S said:


> How the heck do I get the back cover off anyhow? I removed the two screws and turned counter clockwise, but it doesn't go very far, only about half way to the marks and it sticks...
> 
> Ideas?


Remove two screws, twist (1/8 to 1/4 turn), pull back, it should come straight off.

Be careful and don't let the battery fall out and drop on your toes! (With mine, the
battery is snug and has to be pulled out...)

-RDH


----------



## jayflash

Knock, knock, knock...Dave's still not here - but Wayne was, so let's party. Being the conservative bloke that I am, I waited awhile to join the AI festivities.

Now I'm waiting for my Harbor Freight's little buddy to arrive. From reading the many posts on the AI, it seems the two HID's will complement each other. HF has the throw while the AI has a more useable beam at closer distances and can be carried rather than towed in a wagon.

Do they use the same physical size SLA?


----------



## rufusdufus

Chris_S said:


> My illuminator is DEAD! I worked fine when I got it. Now, it just flickers....
> 
> The battery check feature shows green still when I push it, but just flickers! When I plug in the charger, it does NOT indicate charging anymore!
> 
> WTF?!?


 
Take the battery out and check it's voltage.(buy a cheap digital multimeter)
If its below about 10.5 volts that will be your problem.
Charge it by other means as there may be a problem with the charging circuit of the AI.
Better to email [email protected] direct.
See post 187


----------



## shelly

My Illuminator arrived today and needed just 20 minutes to fully charge. The charge lamp then clicked back to red, and then again to green several times, several minutes apart (very audible click). But I figured that this was normal.

Having read the two complete threads, I had the misunderstanding that the battery had to be removed to be charged. At least one (if not two) person posted that the self contained charger was left out to enable the smaller size. So I removed the battery which was not that easy as the red and black wires keep it very snug. At least I know how to do this now. Then I discovered the charging input. Duh!!

It was difficult, at first, to remove the back cover, but once I applied some extra pressure unscrwing it, it now unscrews and removes very easily. I left the two Phillips head screws off as the cover tightens up by itself and should not fall off in normal usage.

The light is as bright as reported. Some orange tinting around the center beam but it takes nothing away from it at all. I live in the country where the night is very dark and all stars are visible. There's even an astronomical observatory 20 miles away. 

The light would highlight any small animal on my 2 acre hillside property. I may have awoken the chickens as I panned across the hillside.

I put a sheet of Glad Press and Seal (as I have done with my Thor 15M) to diffuse the light into a flood. It's easy to take off and on so it offers a bit more versatility for me. I need to light up our steep driveway when guests leave at night and the flood is more effective than the spot.

I accidentally hit the (almost hair trigger) switch and turned the light off a couple of times and decided to wait 5 minutes before turning it back on, as per the instructions (the exact time isn't given but it cautions against frequent repepitive on and off cycles.

All in all I am quite pleased with the smaller size than my Thor, the brighter light and the longer run time. And my wife liked it's size but thought that it was too bright when I accidentally turned and shined into the house. She guessed at the price and thought it ok.

I have been in email contact with Wayne who indicated that this light is, indeed, from the new shipment. He made no mention if there was any change to the charger, which is rated at the same 3.8v.

Shelly

Btw, I have been reading the forums for a long time but not many posts. But it has been turning into an expensive obsession. My sig has my lights, but there are also chargers and batteries galore.


----------



## jayflash

So far I'm pleased with the AI HID. If it holds up I'll be real happy.

Comparing my HF & AI HIDs the beams are somewhat similar. The AI does have more spill-beam and, therefore, the skyward "shaft of light" isn't quite as intense as the HF, but they are close. MY AI has a truer white (towards green) less blue color than the HF HID. I realize this may be opposite with other lamps. 

The HID lamps looks similar in construction but not exactly the same. Are they both...what is it? D2S lamps?

No mention was made about avoiding vertical use. I'm not clear on over heating the lamp envelope's pinch area as idleprocess had mentioned. The lamp seems to glow orange, after shutoff, in the same places whether used vertically or horizontally. I don't know if that's a sufficient indicator of actual heat buildup in the lamp.

After I use the HIDs vertically I continue to operate them horizontally for a while and shut them off in that position with the (false??) hope the vaporized metal will condense properly. I lack a thourough understanding of the finer aspects of HID operation and will appreciate any further clarification.

When pointing the two lights skyward, about 50' apart, the beams seem to converge quite high. I'm hoping to try them out on some very low clouds. I know the HF will light up somewhat reflective objects about a half-mile away. I haven't played with or tested the AI except for last night's short use.


----------



## idleprocess

jayflash said:


> No mention was made about avoiding vertical use. I'm not clear on over heating the lamp envelope's pinch area as idleprocess had mentioned. The lamp seems to glow orange, after shutoff, in the same places whether used vertically or horizontally. I don't know if that's a sufficient indicator of actual heat buildup in the lamp.



All D2/D1 HID capsule manufacturers recommend against vertical operation, but I suspect what they really mean is that you are not to _mount_ it vertically. Occasional use vertically probably won't hurt the capsule much so long as you don't run it for hours at a time that way. I'm not sure that operating it horizontally for a time after vertical operation is going to do much anything.

Given the temperatures and pressures involved, it's no surprise that the capsule glows after use. Dozens of atmospheres in the arc chamber and outer envelope temperatures of hundreds of degress Celsius!


----------



## jayflash

Thanks for the added info, idle - I would suspect that you are correct.

Unlike the HF HID lamp, which only glows orange upon shut down, the capsule in the AI also glows a faint blue like some vacuum tubes. So I guess the lamps aren't exactly alike in the materials used. I've noticed this with different multi-million candlepower incan (H3, H4) lamps of similar wattage.


----------



## Justintoxicated

Are the chargers in this light revised yet? I want to order but I would like to get one with the revised charger...

I read a post that says the charger does not auto shut down when the battery is full? Will this be changed with the new charger?

Should i just plan on using my Battery Tender Plus to charge this thing? It charges my ATV's sealed lead acids very well, and will not overcharge a battery.

I really want one of these but don't need anymore problems to deal with right now.

Thanks,
Justin.


----------



## jayflash

The AI HID that I received last Friday does not charge consistantly and has the 13.8 volt charger. Usually I have to yank the cord because it doesn't stop charging. I probably have the old charger.


----------



## GrizRod

BatterySpace.com has a Smart Charger designed for 12V batteries that go in the AI for $21.95. With three spare batteries coming I thought I would illiminate any charging problems. One is a 12V9aH deep recovery.

I'm I reading right, the new charger in the AI is not out yet?


----------



## nitekayak

I just received my AI about 3 weeks ago. I have not experienced any issues charging my AI, even when I charge the AI when the battery is partially discharged after 1-5 minutes of usage.

The charger I received with my AI is a Spec-Lin Model L5A-138075R. It outputs 18.22 VDC without a load.


----------



## GrizRod

Deleted double post


----------



## GrizRod

That sounds good nitekayak, I did get one of the 12V9aH Power Sonic batterys you found, to go with my two 7.5aH batteries. I guess, we should not have any charging problems. My AI is supposed to get here Fri.


----------



## mtbkndad

TooManyGizmos said:


> ...
> 
> 
> How often should we charge the battery in this when it's not in use ???
> 
> How quickly does a batt. like this .... self-drain ???
> 
> thanks ...... TMG..
> 
> .



If you leave the Illuminator plugged in all of the time, it will stop charging when the target voltage is reached and the relay shuts the charger off.
It does not trickle charge, it will just sit and have a green LED on and not be charging until the voltage drops below the bottom thresh hold that will trip the relay and start the charging process again.
This is at least how the system is supposed to work and the designers did assume 110 voltage is what will be used. If you use 220 then you will need to disconnect the light when the LED turns green.
I just leave mine plugged in until the LED's turn green and then every month or so check them or run them for 50 minutes to an hour and recharge them.

Regarding the new cutoff voltage for the new batch of lights, I will call Wayne and ask about that. I do know that when the engineer said they could do this Wayne said only after they did testing to be sure other issues did not result from the change. He may have had to place a second order before those tests could have been completed.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## skalomax

I Ordered one Today! How Fast do they ship? Same Day? Cant wait to try it out, My First HID!!


----------



## skalomax

Will it come with the AC Cord??


----------



## nitekayak

GrizRod said:


> That sounds good nitekayak, I did get one of the 12V9aH Power Sonic batterys you found, to go with my two 7.5aH batteries. I guess, we should not have any charging problems. My AI is supposed to get here Fri.


I think you will really like this light, especially for hunting in South America. Compared to the Thor, the wider beam angle makes it more useful at distances to ¼ mile, not to mention the advantages from it’s smaller size. I did end up fabricating a spacer that I placed between the bulb and the reflector. The beam is more collimated (at least on my unit) with the spacer in place. When I want a slightly wider beam, I just take the spacer out! The color temperature of this light is very white and tends to preserve the surrounding landscape's colors.


----------



## GrizRod

I am really looking forward to this light, mtbkndad's beam shot thread, was the deciding factor, being able to see what the light could do was indispensable. I don't know any light in that price range will match it, except the Harbor Freight. For what I am using it for, the beam pattern was the deciding factor over the HF. 

Of course, this old news to anyone following the threads on the AI 3152.


----------



## Justintoxicated

Ok I have read both that the charger is inside and outside of the light. Which is it? Is the actualy charger inside the light? Or is it the actualy the box that plugs into the wall. If it is just the box that plugs into the wall then I would like to order one. If I will have to gut the light to use my battery tender plus, then I would like to hold out untill the next verson of the light is out.


----------



## idleprocess

The charger is inside the light; the power supply is not. The light comes with 2 charging options; an AC adaptor that spits out ~13.8V DC and an cigarette lighter 12VDC adaptor.


----------



## GrizRod

idleprocess said:


> The charger is inside the light; the power supply is not. The light comes with 2 charging options; an AC adaptor that spits out ~13.8V DC and an cigarette lighter 12VDC adaptor.


 
Actually, they are both inside, but the AC charger has to be pugged into the wall, and the other end plugged into 3152. From mtbkndad's beam shot thread pictures, the battery is real snug inside the body, which means you have to order the exact dimensions as the original, for a spare or replacement. 

My AI 3152 arrived today, turned on inside, the beam was not a perfect circle, but maybe that's the nature of an HID bulb. Can't wait to try it out tonite, am wondering if the bulb is seated correctly. Maybe some of you HID pros can comment.


----------



## mtbkndad

GrizRod said:


> Actually, they are both inside, but the AC charger has to be pugged into the wall, and the other end plugged into 3152. From mtbkndad's beam shot thread pictures, the battery is real snug inside the body, which means you have to order the exact dimensions as the original, for a spare or replacement.
> 
> My AI 3152 arrived today, turned on inside, the beam was not a perfect circle, but maybe that's the nature of an HID bulb. Can't wait to try it out tonite, am wondering if the bulb is seated correctly. Maybe some of you HID pros can comment.




The beam will have a dark pie shaped section that is from the electrode on the side of the bulb. The hotspot against an interior wall will look like a little bright spot. The coronas on mine are not perfectly round and do have "jagged edges when viewing against and interior white wall. The spill is very wide.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## GrizRod

Okay, sounds like my AI is normal then.


----------



## paulr

Could someone post a picture of the AI next to a 2D Mag or some other light of known size? How does it compare in size/weight to an X990? Any idea of the total weight (bathroom scale measurement would be great)? Also, is it possible to run (not just charge) this light from external 12 volt power (cig lighter socket)? Thanks.

Edit: Oh whoops! I found the earlier thread (linked from 1st post in this thread) and it answers all my questions and has lots of photos. Cool! Somehow I missed this or forgot about it. This light is a heck of a lot heavier than an X990 but I'm likely to order one anyway.


----------



## paulr

I wonder if there's a way to power the light on batteries like this (Sony NP-F970 compatible):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290026488656

These are big li-ion camcorder packs--I think they have six 18650 cells inside, in a 2s3p configuration for 7.2 volts at 6800 mAH. So two of them would be equivalent to the SLA pack inside the AI. But they weigh only about a half pound each. They are commonly used for running video lights, so they can put out a fair amount of current.


----------



## Paul6ppca

How would AI compare to this 10 Million light?http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93255


Sorry Im new to this HID thing,but I think I NEED one! To walk the dog.


----------



## TooManyGizmos

Paul6ppca said:


> How would AI compare to this 10 Million light?http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93255
> 
> 
> Sorry Im new to this HID thing,but I think I NEED one! To walk the dog.



.... WOW ..... to WALK the dog ???????


It might be easier to *carry* the *dog* , and *walk* the *Light * !!!!

............................ TMG..
.


----------



## paulr

I think the AI will have about the same total output as that 10MCP light, but will run a lot longer (HID is much more efficient) and is much smaller. The 10MCP will turn on right away while the HID needs some warm-up time, and once you turn off the HID you should wait a while before turning it on again. HID is not for everyone.

The AI weighs something like 8 pounds including battery, and I think the HF 10MCP is even heavier, so keep that in mind when you think about walking the dog with either of them.


----------



## mtbkndad

The AI will handily outperform a 10 MCP halogen light. If the 10 MCP light is equal to the Thor that is rather common.

In Thor equivalents the relative throw would be like this

10 MCP Thor
15 MCP Thor
AI roughly = a 20 MCP Thor
Costco/Harbor Freight roughly = 25 to 30 MCP Thor depending on how good it's focus is.

Here is my original thread for the AI
When looking at the photos remember that the original prototype had a 6,000K bulb and not the 4,200K bulb that give much better performance.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=104545&page=1&pp=30

Page 3 of the same thread shows how much better the 4200K bulb performs.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=104545&page=3&pp=30

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Paul6ppca

Well we have had a lot of coyotes running around,So Im thinking bright .Im gonna see how the mag 85 does tonight.I dont want them sneaking up on us.
Also would be nice to have on the boat at night.


----------



## A96Honda

why word on the upgraded battery packs that will fit yet?


----------



## havand

IS the ballast inside the Illuminator a square box or a round cartridge? If it is round..Could anyone please give me an estimate/measurement of its diameter and length? 

Thank you.


----------



## mtbkndad

havand,

It is a square box.

A96Honda,

The financial (quantity + cost)commitment to get them made overseas is too much. Just about every Illuminator owner would need to be getting one.
I will make a call this week. The last time I asked Wayne about it he mentioned he has a client that is in the battery pack building business and he was going to make a calll to find out about this client building packs to order for CPF members wanting an upgraded Illuminator battery. We have both been very busy since that call so I will call again this week and see what he found out.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## ADDICTED2LITE

Just thinking here, as I dont have my illuminator yet, How hard would it be to add a plug directly to the battery and putting a connector on the outside of the light? This would allow an extension cord, external battery, or a regular battery charger to be used. This would also allow long term usage as long as the unit doesn't overheat.


----------



## billlin

dca2 said:


> I go mine yesterday. My kids and I were in my front yard testing it out by shining on a church across the street (~200' to the church and ~150'+ up to the top of the steeple) I was laughing at how "stupid bright" the light is. We then quickly lit up the entire front of a large 2 story house that is 2 1/2 blocks away! My next door neighbor came out to see what was going on because he saw the light through his closed curtains. I never flashed directly at his house. This thing is ridiculous--I love it!
> 
> Dave


 
Hi, this is test.


----------



## FILA BRAZILIA

I suppose the Amondotech Illuminator 35 Watt HID will solve my problem-
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=135728 Or what?


----------



## Archangel

Yeah, that would do it nicely.


----------



## morelightnow

one more happy AI customer here. I needed my binoculars at the river to see how far the light traveled. It's a little heavy but that can be cured easily with a switch to li-on. I never knew how much dust is floating in the air all the time until I powered up this beast.


----------



## postalguy

What happened to the idea of switching from a 6000K to 4200K bulb back in the earlier posts (around March)? 

Is it a DIY or is there an option I do not see on their website?


----------



## mtbkndad

postalguy said:


> What happened to the idea of switching from a 6000K to 4200K bulb back in the earlier posts (around March)?
> 
> Is it a DIY or is there an option I do not see on their website?



Amondotech Illuminators have always come with 4200K bulbs. The only AI that has a 6000K bulb is the original prototype that was sent to me.
There are comparison photos in the original thread.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## postalguy

So when I order one from the website where it says "6000K", it will actually be 4200K?


----------



## mtbkndad

postalguy said:


> So when I order one from the website where it says "6000K", it will actually be 4200K?



Yes that is correct. The web site should say 4200K. I will talk to Wayne about fixing that. The manufacturer knows we are only interested in 4200K bulbs.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Chris_S

My Amondotech has been dead since about 2 weeks after I bought it...Repeated charges don't seem to help and I put my 12 volt airplane battery charger (Battery Tender) on it as well for a while and that didn't change that fact it just flickers like I WANTS to start but cannot.

I NEVER deep cycled the battery, nor did I leave it unplugged for more than a week!

HELP! I don't want to have wasted 140 bucks!


Edit:
Well, I got out my fancy computer controllable multimeter and it wouldn't read DC or AC voltage--beat on it, got it to read AC! then took it completely apart and finally got it to read DC (don't know what I DID, but it works now)

Voltage on my SLA battery---2.5v!

Charging it now off a power supply (charging current 0.7amps) and hopefully back to life (though with likely VERY limited life)


Edit #2:
Charged it up....Still no go, strike strike and no stay lit!


----------



## mtbkndad

Chris S,

Wayne sells these batteries.
Email him since it sounds like you have a defective battery.
He may be able to send a replacement to you. If there is something else wrong with the light that is causing the battery to drain, then it does have a 1 year warranty. 

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Chris_S

Yup, despite heroic battery charging---it is SOOOO dead.. flicker, flicker, dead..

Sigh....


----------



## mtbkndad

Chris_S said:


> Yup, despite heroic battery charging---it is SOOOO dead.. flicker, flicker, dead..
> 
> Sigh....



I am curious, did you accidentally leave the switch on after the light flickered off. If you did, that could kill the battery. If not, then email Wayne.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Chris_S

mtbkndad said:


> I am curious, did you accidentally leave the switch on after the light flickered off. If you did, that could kill the battery. If not, then email Wayne.
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:




Nope, it HOLDS ITS VOLTAGE fine when the switch is turned on! Shows all LEDS when battery check is pushed!


----------



## mtbkndad

Chris_S said:


> Nope, it HOLDS ITS VOLTAGE fine when the switch is turned on! Shows all LEDS when battery check is pushed!



So the battery does charge and does hold voltage.
Is that correct?
If the answer is yes, then there is some other problem.
Have you emailed Wayne yet?
PM me if you have any other questions.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Chris_S

Yes, battery is fine as holds voltage even when the switch is on, thus, has plenty of capacity....like I said before, it won't even start off an external 12volt power supply. I'm pretty sure it is the ballast, but for some reason the 110v charger doesn't seem to work either.

Amondotech finally did get back to me, so I can return it and get a replacement!


----------



## morelightnow

Chris_S said:


> My Amondotech has been dead since about 2 weeks after I bought it...Repeated charges don't seem to help and I put my 12 volt airplane battery charger (Battery Tender) on it as well for a while and that didn't change that fact it just flickers like I WANTS to start but cannot.
> 
> I NEVER deep cycled the battery, nor did I leave it unplugged for more than a week!
> 
> HELP! I don't want to have wasted 140 bucks!
> 
> 
> Edit:
> Well, I got out my fancy computer controllable multimeter and it wouldn't read DC or AC voltage--beat on it, got it to read AC! then took it completely apart and finally got it to read DC (don't know what I DID, but it works now)
> 
> Voltage on my SLA battery---2.5v!
> 
> Charging it now off a power supply (charging current 0.7amps) and hopefully back to life (though with likely VERY limited life)
> 
> 
> Edit #2:
> Charged it up....Still no go, strike strike and no stay lit!



last time i diagnosed a problem on vehicle with hid and your problem, it was a ballast problem. once i got the old one out i realized that it had been removed and replaced so it was obvious but testing is impossible without an oscilloscope which i didn't have. even then i may have not been able to accurately diagnose the problem. you will have a very awesome light when it functions correctly.


----------



## jar3ds

Chris_S said:


> My Amondotech has been dead since about 2 weeks after I bought it...Repeated charges don't seem to help and I put my 12 volt airplane battery charger (Battery Tender) on it as well for a while and that didn't change that fact it just flickers like I WANTS to start but cannot.
> 
> I NEVER deep cycled the battery, nor did I leave it unplugged for more than a week!
> 
> HELP! I don't want to have wasted 140 bucks!
> 
> 
> Edit:
> Well, I got out my fancy computer controllable multimeter and it wouldn't read DC or AC voltage--beat on it, got it to read AC! then took it completely apart and finally got it to read DC (don't know what I DID, but it works now)
> 
> Voltage on my SLA battery---2.5v!
> 
> Charging it now off a power supply (charging current 0.7amps) and hopefully back to life (though with likely VERY limited life)
> 
> 
> Edit #2:
> Charged it up....Still no go, strike strike and no stay lit!


 buy a new battery... there cheap as heck... buy a UL quality one from an alarm company


----------



## mcgarth

im new here i have a question about the amondotech, how much better is it than the harbor freight hid? meaning brightness and such. thanks i already have a harbor just wondering if its worth up grading?


----------



## rufusdufus

Apparently the harbour freight has more throw.(larger reflector).

However I believe the AMONDOTECH is much more manageable as it is smaller with almost identical output.

So you won't be upgrading,just going to a smaller package with almost identical output.

I have 4 AMONDOTECHS and they are great.


----------



## BVH

The other two differences are the quality of the beam - smoother, no artifacts and its a 4200K lamp, not a 5000K as with the Costco. The 4200K color, for me, is the absolute perfect color. A little "signature" HID blue to let you know its HID. The Costco has more blue in it.


----------



## rufusdufus

BVH is your PM and email not working as I have tried to contact you.Regarding another matter.


----------



## BVH

Sent a PM just now.


----------



## mtbkndad

mcgarth said:


> im new here i have a question about the amondotech, how much better is it than the harbor freight hid? meaning brightness and such. thanks i already have a harbor just wondering if its worth up grading?




I will pipe in here and agree with rufusdufus and BVH. The Amondotech Illuminator has a larger more useable hotspot and a very even transition from hotspot to corona to spill. With it's 4,200K bulb it illuminates outdoor objects much better then the 6,000K bulb of the Harbor Freight. As a result the throw is not much less and still way beyond what you will comfortably be able to see without binoculars. It is also 4 pounds lighter then the Harbor Freight which makes it a much better all around HID spotlight/searchlight. I have two of each and limit my use of the Costco HID(same as the Harbor Freight) to times when I need bright continuous light and do not need to carry it around. 

I personally think if you are on a budget, the Amondotech Illuminator is the best HID bang for the buck around right now. I really like the color temp of the Amondotech Illumator too. BVH and I have talked about this on several occasions and at several shoots. It just seems to be the perfect color temp for illuminating outdoor objects.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Chris_S

What is everyone's experience with Amondotech and returns? I returned my Illuminator several weeks ago and have yet to get a replacement!

Sigh....


----------



## mtbkndad

Chris S,

Email Wayne and ask him for an update.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## Chris_S

mtbkndad said:


> Chris S,
> 
> Email Wayne and ask him for an update.
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:




What is his email again?


----------



## mtbkndad

Chris_S said:


> What is his email again?



Chris S,

PM sent.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## ez78

Hi I am new here

I am thinking of getting the Illuminator. Based on the comments in this thread this light seems to offer very good value. I will be trying to order without the battery to lower the shipping costs which would be $70 to Finland. I know where to get the same type/size/capacity batteries here locally and a custom charger.

At the moment we have under six hours of daylight per day here and it's getting darker so it is a good time to experiment with lights. Right now my best light is the Nuwai ALX-352l luxeon 5 watt which I purchased a couple of months ago and now I feel I want to upgrade bigtime.


----------



## BVH

Welcome ez78 to CPF! I have an Illuminator and just love it. It really is a great value and you'll probably love the color temp of the lamp. I sometimes run it in my computer room as the only light because its perfect color helps with my mild case of Seasonal Adjustment Disorder.


----------



## ez78

Thanks BVH! I decided to go for it although the shipping was $70 as I could not get a deal without the battery. But it is still very much cheaper than anything else around here.

I wonder how long it takes to ship here by USPS global express mail. Anyone else ordered from europe? Should be under two weeks I think...


----------



## Chris_S

I just hope they EVENTUALLY send my returned unit back! I can't get anyone there to respond to my emails!


----------



## ez78

I was thinking I might try making one of those Nimh packs sometime. Main goal would be to reduce the weight. An hour of runtime would be sufficient. 

Ten of these in series might work:

http://www.elfa.se/pdf/69/06931562.pdf

That would cut about 2kg off the weight and give roughly an hour of runtime. And those cells are cheap. Is there a catch, since they are so lightweight...

I am uncertain about the current need of the Illuminator during the startup, is it above the normal 3A. Limit for those cells is 11,5A, is that enough?


Chris_S: I hope you get your light back soon and I hope mine comes with a working ballast.


----------



## mtbkndad

Chris S,

You should have a PM regarding your light.

ez78,
I will check into that for you, the manufacturer is off for the weekend so unless one of my ballasts has info on it I will need to wait till Sunday night to ask.
I am going the other route, I ordered 12 Titanium D's that I plan on using to make a battery pack for one of my Illuminators. Similar weight but 3+ hours of run time. I forgot which CPF member did this already.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## A96Honda

which battery, am I suppose to buy if i wanted a better battery. And where can I get it?


----------



## ez78

It seems the D size NiMh cells are propably the best way to go. Amondotech has them in 11000mah capacity:

http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=569

Those would give the 3+ hour runtime.

Found one thread where this had been done:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130436


The cells in my earlier post would be 1kg lighter in 10 pack in comparison to those d cells but I am not sure if they would work at all. Info on the ballast would be nice.


----------



## A96Honda

ez78 said:


> It seems the D size NiMh cells are propably the best way to go. Amondotech has them in 11000mah capacity:
> 
> http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=569
> 
> Those would give the 3+ hour runtime.
> 
> Found one thread where this had been done:
> 
> http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130436
> 
> 
> The cells in my earlier post would be 1kg lighter in 10 pack in comparison to those d cells but I am not sure if they would work at all. Info on the ballast would be nice.


Whoa, at $10 per cell, and needing ~10, no thx.


----------



## ez78

Got my Illuminator today. And whoa, it is bright. Almost didn't have the courage to use it much in the suburbs, people might be spooked. At least one rabbit did. Very pleased with it, and its my first hid.

Noticed an interesting thing about the bulb, it is not like I have seen on pics I think. Mine has different base, made of metal. Looks exactly like an H7 base. I wonder if I could use automotive d2s bulbs made for H7 type conversion kits...

The back cover on my light was kind of stuck. Had to push it really hard while twisting to get it open. Eventually it opened and battery read 12,75V. It is now charging with my own external euro type charger. I've got an extra SLA too, so don't have to wait for it to charge.

Well, have to go do some testing.

EDIT: Picture of the bulb base. Is this the normal base, or something new?
http://img76.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0937kg4.jpg


EDIT2: Found out why the back cover refuses to twist open properly sometimes. One of the two screw hole protrusions inside the black cover collide with the end of the battery preventing you from twisting it open. I shortened the protrusion and problem is fixed...


----------



## mtbkndad

I do believe the bases of the bulbs in mine are plastic.
Can you take a picture from the front through the lens.
I will email the manufacturer and find out about the bulb.

Take Care, 
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## ez78

Here is a picture of the bulb through the lens:
http://img185.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0958mv5.jpg


I found a local store that sells automotive HID bulbs, and here is a picture of the H7 base version. Seems to be the same bulb that my Illuminator has. 

http://www.meronet.com/catalog/images/h7_.jpg


----------



## vegasrndll

just got my amondotech and it is awesome,I live next to a police station in las vegas and I was playing with it and the police came over to see what the heck I was shining up in the air.they were very impressed but thought it was a little bulky for police use.


----------



## mtbkndad

ez78,

I got an email from the manufacturer today. They have a few manufacturers that produce HID bulbs they have tested and found to be reliable. There are also numerous manufactuers whose bulbs they will not use.

This bulb is a 4200K bulb from one of the suppliers whose bulbs have proven to be reliable and is a different supplier from previous orders. I am told the engineers tested the bulbs to be sure the specs and performance are the same.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## ez78

mtbkndad, thanks for the information.

I consider myself lucky for receiving this kind of bulb since I can use automotive bulbs now that are easily available. And the color temp is great, definetly a 4200K bulb.


----------



## vegasrndll

and the stock number for the bulb is?


----------



## mtbkndad

vegasrndll said:


> and the stock number for the bulb is?



I am working on that through Amondotech.
Wayne does plan on selling replacement bulbs for people that want spares.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## XeRay

ez78 said:


> mtbkndad, thanks for the information.
> 
> I consider myself lucky for receiving this kind of bulb since I can use automotive bulbs now that are easily available. And the color temp is great, definetly a 4200K bulb.


 
Unless it uses a D2 (P32d) socket you wont find 4200K to be common. Very few 4200K Asian made bulbs are shipped to the USA. Most are 6000K plus.

The readily available 4200K D2 bulbs would require a D2 socket.


----------



## mtbkndad

XeRay said:


> Unless it uses a D2 (P32d) socket you wont find 4200K to be common. Very few 4200K Asian made bulbs are shipped to the USA. Most are 6000K plus.
> 
> The readily available 4200K D2 bulbs would require a D2 socket.



The manufacturer will supply 4200K bulbs to Wayne to sell as spares for his spotlights.

Wayne is also interested in getting the ballasts used in the Illuminators.
I told him it would be better to have bulbs and ballasts for people that want spares and for warranty purposes then sending replacement lights.
So far only a couple of lights have had to be replaced. But as he sells more, the odds of another problem light making it through the manufacturers QC increases.

Part of the hold up has been an issue that you brought to my attention in the past. Wayne is planning on getting these bulbs and ballasts Only to support his searchlights as a dealer and to sell spares to those who want them. He has NO interest in selling any of these bulbs or ballasts for auto use. He is an established searchlight dealer and any bulbs and ballasts he gets will be clearly marked NOT FOR USE IN AUTOS. Will he need to do more then this? Things like have customers check a box verifying they know these products are not for use in autos, etc.?

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## ez78

XeRay said:


> Unless it uses a D2 (P32d) socket you wont find 4200K to be common. Very few 4200K Asian made bulbs are shipped to the USA. Most are 6000K plus.
> 
> The readily available 4200K D2 bulbs would require a D2 socket.



You are right, I have mostly found 6000K bulbs for the H7 base, 4300K is hard to find, I live in europe. Might have to go with 6000K if the bulb blew now. With google I have stumbled into couple of 4300K versions too.

This is some random site selling chinese hid bulbs and they would seem to have 4300K versions: http://www.hidworld.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16140&category_id=259

Not so sure if I wanted to try my luck with those.


----------



## mtbkndad

ez78 said:


> You are right, I have mostly found 6000K bulbs for the H7 base, 4300K is hard to find, I live in europe. Might have to go with 6000K if the bulb blew now. With google I have stumbled into couple of 4300K versions too.
> 
> This is some random site selling chinese hid bulbs and they would seem to have 4300K versions: http://www.hidworld.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16140&category_id=259
> 
> Not so sure if I wanted to try my luck with those.



Your light is warrantied for one year and that includes the bulb under normal working circumstances (ie. the bulb is not physically abused or damaged). While the manufacturer gives a longer rated life, I believe the Amondotech web site says 2,000 hours. I specifically tried to err on the side of caution with regard to any claims about the Amondotech Illuminators. 

These are not XeRays or Polarions, they are very nice and very useable HID seachlights for the dollars spent.

If you do not use the light for over 2,000 hours in the next year you should not have to worry about the bulb. Wayne will have spares way before then.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## XeRay

mtbkndad said:


> Part of the hold up has been an issue that you brought to my attention in the past. Wayne is planning on getting these bulbs and ballasts Only to support his searchlights as a dealer and to sell spares to those who want them. He has NO interest in selling any of these bulbs or ballasts for auto use. He is an established searchlight dealer and any bulbs and ballasts he gets will be clearly marked NOT FOR USE IN AUTOS. Will he need to do more then this? Things like have customers check a box verifying they know these products are not for use in autos, etc.?


 
I would get them to sign a waiver of release, even notarized if possible. We have made a few customers sign such a document and have it notarized. This way if they do something with the product which is not legal. They were clearly told so when they purchased and they took full responsibility for how they were going to use it. We will NOT sell our products to anyone who will use it on a street vehicle and We DO ask all the "right" questions to try and flush it out. We will only sell our DOT approved bulbs to all "comers."


----------



## mtbkndad

XeRay said:


> I would get them to sign a waiver of release, even notarized if possible. We have made a few customers sign such a document and have it notarized. This way if they do something with the product which is not legal. They were clearly told so when they purchased and they took full responsibility for how they were going to use it. We will NOT sell our products to anyone who will use it on a street vehicle and We DO ask all the "right" questions to try and flush it out. We will only sell our DOT approved bulbs to all "comers."



Thank you very much for the information.
Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


----------



## bucken

I hope Wayne gets some spare bulbs, soon. I absolutely love my light. It gets frequent, heavy use, but I worry about what happens if my one and only bulb blows out.


----------



## photorob

I just purchased one of these gems. I was wondering if anyone had some size comparison shots vs. say a smaller light. Maybe a surefire or something along the lines.


----------



## BVH

Not exactly surfires but maybe it will help.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=144346

post #4


----------



## mtbkndad

photorob said:


> I just purchased one of these gems. I was wondering if anyone had some size comparison shots vs. say a smaller light. Maybe a surefire or something along the lines.



Here is a link to my Elektrolumens Stunner Review.

I used an Amondotech Illuminator as a reference light.
There are lots of smaller lights including a Mag85 in a 3D host and a Surefire M6.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/132040


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## TOOCOOL

Ok after a lot of lurking here and buying a few small flashlights I got the wife to buy me the Amondotech Illuminator for xmas and I'm just loving it, wish the switch was not so easy to hit but hey I'll live ........my only problem is that the 12v dc charger does not fit the flashlight so I can't charge it in the car I have emailed Amondotech but have not heard from them  do you think I can get one from Radio Shack?


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## mtbkndad

TOOCOOL said:


> Ok after a lot of lurking here and buying a few small flashlights I got the wife to buy me the Amondotech Illuminator for xmas and I'm just loving it, wish the switch was not so easy to hit but hey I'll live ........my only problem is that the 12v dc charger does not fit the flashlight so I can't charge it in the car I have emailed Amondotech but have not heard from them  do you think I can get one from Radio Shack?



Welcome to CPF!
I am quite sure Amondotech will take care of this. PM Sent. 

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## photorob

I just recieved an illuminator and I had a few questions.
Apon recieving it the light didn't turn on and the battery siad it was dead. I then started charging it and it makes a clicking noise while charging. Is this normal.


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## rufusdufus

No that aint normal.
Take screws out of back cover ,take cover off by twisting anti clockwise and check that leads are connected to battery.


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## mtbkndad

photorob said:


> I just recieved an illuminator and I had a few questions.
> Apon recieving it the light didn't turn on and the battery siad it was dead. I then started charging it and it makes a clicking noise while charging. Is this normal.



Try what Rufusdufus said because one CPF member had the same problem and it turned out the battery connectors were loose.
Another CPF member had a problem with the Ballast. If that is the case, Amondotech will replace the light.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## photorob

Problem solved. The negative battery terminal was removed.

Thankyou,
Rob


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## cmichael

Got my 2 days ago...verrryy nice spot light, can i change different battery for longer runing time?


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## mtbkndad

cmichael said:


> Got my 2 days ago...verrryy nice spot light, can i change different battery for longer runing time?



The cheapest and easiest way is to buy another 7 Ah battery and just switch them when needed. You could get two for that matter.

The next cheapest and easiest way would be to buy a 9 Ah lead acid battery and different connectors since the 7Ah tabs are smaller.

Another way is to make a 14.4V D cell NiMH pack and charge it externally.
This will give over 3 hours of run time. I have the cells to do this but need the time to make it so when I need lots of run time I just cycle through my Costco HID's and Illuminators and Thors and then charge them all back up again  .

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:


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## TOOCOOL

mtbkndad said:


> Another way is to make a 14.4V D cell NiMH pack and charge it externally.
> This will give over 3 hours of run time. I have the cells to do this but need the time to make it so when I need lots of run time I just cycle through my Costco HID's and Illuminators and Thors and then charge them all back up again  .
> 
> Take Care,
> mtbkndad :wave:



What would that D cell pack cost and weigh ?


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## ez78

Took some pictures with the Illuminator today just for fun. Not that professional stuff and the camera on autoshutter didn't really do justice for the light. It was more stunnig view with naked eye, but here are couple of the pics.

Distance to the tip of the beam is about 400meters. There is a barn just right, but didn't aim at it since it wasn't very reflective.





400 meters of ground illuminated.




Test setup, distance to barn with Google earth.




Some sort of control shot of the ambient light. There wasn't much.




Every picture has their gamma value increased by about 50% because the surroundings and sky came too dark with the autoshutter. Now they look somewhat correct.

The Illuminator isn't afraid of cold weather as it was about -10 celsius outside.


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## nonotmethanks

I recently received the AI and took it underground to use for camcorder lighting.

I experimented with several different types of ceiling lighting panels and choose to cut a piece off a Lucite "cracked ice" panel and used a dremel tool to make a custom light diffuser that fits over the glass. 

It worked so well bringing up the colors in the rocks for the Sony camcorder - I am going to spend the $$ to make/order a NiMH pack to fit inside the AI or place in my backpack. I'll like the lower weight of NiMH to try to get 3 hour runtime. I notice Amondotech sells 11000mah D cells but they are expensive compared to 10000mah. I saw the other thread where a pack that fits inside was made.

So far, a very impressive light. I am glad I spent the extra $ for the 4200K bulb.


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