# Another Thor mod !



## edgar (Aug 9, 2013)

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


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## BVH (Aug 9, 2013)

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


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## edgar (Aug 9, 2013)

delete double psot.


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## edgar (Aug 9, 2013)

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


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## BVH (Aug 9, 2013)

Where are those beam shots of the RCL600?


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## edgar (Aug 10, 2013)

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


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## edgar (Aug 13, 2013)

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








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









One more for fun !


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## edgar (Aug 13, 2013)

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


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## edgar (Aug 30, 2013)

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





and after few try :












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










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


This little part for the anode also :



.

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

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


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## BVH (Aug 30, 2013)

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


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## edgar (Aug 31, 2013)

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

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

But if its really needed i can change the plan .


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## Hoop (Aug 31, 2013)

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


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## edgar (Sep 1, 2013)

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

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

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

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


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## mode-locker (Sep 1, 2013)

Looking good. 

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


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## edgar (Sep 1, 2013)

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

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


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## edgar (Sep 12, 2013)

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

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

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

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

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


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## The_Driver (Sep 13, 2013)

Very nice project!

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


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## N8N (Sep 13, 2013)

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

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


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## get-lit (Sep 13, 2013)

Nice work!


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## edgar (Sep 13, 2013)

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

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


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

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

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

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


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## Walterk (Sep 14, 2013)

BVH said:


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



Maxablaster has a support in the glass window, similar to the Maxabeam. 
A hole in the window, and a synthetic piece connecting to the metal that holds the bulb's end.







Note : Maxabeam has two versions; synthetic piece glued to the glass, and another version synthetic piece through hole in the glass.
Assume the 'through hole' version is the manned crew weapon light version, less prone to loose collimation.


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## edgar (Sep 15, 2013)

Thats interesting Walter , i might come with the same setup i dont know yet , if its just about drilling a hole in the lense and making a new extended light end piece with insulating sleeve its will be done 

Here you can see how it look from the backside ;







And all the room i have left for a nice battery :





After mesuring i choose to order one 8400mah, LiFe po4 4S (13.2V) pack . Its big but fit inside .
Should have plenty of runtime with this one .


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## edgar (Sep 23, 2013)

Small update , as i received today my huge battery;
13.2V 8400mah LiFe.






Its one really big life 

I received my luxmeter also !

Battery fit very well ,


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## The_Driver (Oct 14, 2013)

Updates?


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## edgar (Oct 15, 2013)

Hey , 
here all goes well , just the winter coming with high humidity so its not easy to light target too far.

Right now i lit some house up to 1.8km , or 1800yard , next goal is 2km target .

Did some passive cooling hole for the inverter and ballast .
And added some batterie stopper to the front .











Next thing , iam installing the borofloat lense ,as i didnt find anyone to coat it for me (ANTI UV ).


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## The_Driver (Oct 15, 2013)

1800m should be nothing for this light. You can do this with led lights these days and yours will definitely put much more lux. 

Didn't you tell me that you bought a UV-Filter-lens from that company in Germany...?


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## edgar (Oct 15, 2013)

The coating was too expensive for one unit, i have to find another company. For the throw i know it can do alot more ,its in a différent league than led.


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## ThirstyTurtle (Oct 15, 2013)

In for updates!


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## The_Driver (Dec 7, 2013)

Any updates?
Lux readings?


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## edgar (Dec 8, 2013)

Hey , the luxmeter i got only read a max of 20000 lux , i dont know how far is should stand to get a good reading .


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## get-lit (Dec 8, 2013)

Of course Lux decreases with distance, but the conversion to candlepower increases with distance, depending on the searchlight's etendue or collimation ability. Here's the breakdown for measurement-distance to relative-candlepower when plugging in the values for the HBO 103 W/2 and the reflector (9.5"CA, 1.5"FL?) into the beam calculator...

100' 27.9%
200' 41.9%
300' 51.6%
400' 58.5%
500' 63.7%
600' 67.7%
700' 70.9%
800' 73.5%
900' 75.8%
1000' 77.5%
1100' 79.3%
1200' 80.6%
1300' 81.9%
1400' 82.9%
1500' 83.9%
1600' 84.7%
1700' 85.5%
1800' 86.2%
1900' 86.7%
2000' 87.4%
3000' 91.2%
4000' 93.2%
5000' 94.6%
10000' 97.2%

EDIT: But as you get further, there's other factors like atmospheric absorption of the light and a dimmer spot relative to ambient light, so I'd say measure at 1000' and divide by 77.5% (Lux / 0.775) , or multiply by the inverse (Lux x 1.29) to know the full candlepower ability.


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## edgar (Dec 8, 2013)

1000' is 1000 feet ?
its so cold and foggy that i dont play alot with my light a this time of the year , but when i get a lux reading it will be posted here , dont worry


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## The_Driver (Dec 9, 2013)

Did you subtract alle the necessary amounts for reflecor and lens losses?


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## get-lit (Dec 9, 2013)

Those are candlepower percentages relative to measurement distance, not absolute candlepower figures. Reflector and lens losses are static losses, not relative to distance.


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## The_Driver (Dec 10, 2013)

get-lit said:


> Those are candlepower percentages relative to measurement distance, not absolute candlepower figures. Reflector and lens losses are static losses, not relative to distance.



Yes, I wasn't paying attention there. Sorry.


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## edgar (Apr 26, 2014)

i put my maxablaster "replica" for sale if any of you want a nice handheld monster to play with 

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?315127-WTS-maxablaster-replica&p=4830546#post4830546


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