# 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light - INFANT AN/ASQ-132



## BVH (May 9, 2012)

After 2 weeks of excitement and anticipation this up till now unknown military light has arrived. I’m extremely pleased and a little bummed at the same time. The seller could not tell me much about the light except that is was tested (according to the inspection tag) and in working condition. He could not tell me if it was incandescent or Short Arc. He offered to remove the infrared lens and snap a pic but that never happened before the end of the auction. So, I just took a chance and bought it knowing it could be simply an Incan. Without further adieu, I introduce the 6" Light Cannon:


Short Arc de Triomphe. Arc chamber is 1.125" in diameter. I'm guessing it's a 300 Watt light but conceivably, it could be 500 Watts EDIT: It's 600 Watts








Short Arc Powered by Eneloop







All Business







All More Business. The reflector is 5" in diameter







Target In Sight, Sir







Fan The Flames







Cool it Dude







Half Life






Cover Your Eyes







Cannonized







Bottoms Up







Locked But Not Loaded







Now for the disappointing part…The ballast is not in the can! Big disappointment! EDIT: The ballast IS in the can!!! The reflector, bulb and its support system occupy the front half and the heat exchanger, input connector and cooling fan occupy the back half. Looks like I have my work cut out for me to find the ballast and power supply. But all-in-all, I’m still ecstatic in having the light.


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## FRITZHID (May 9, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

 u have my condolences my friend! GL in ur search! it's a beautiful find!


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## ma_sha1 (May 9, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Nice Find BVH, shapes like a big brother of Mega ray, is it about 3 feet long?


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## BVH (May 9, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

No, just 15" long and 6" in diameter


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## larryk (May 9, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Nice find. I have complete faith that you will get it up and running.


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## Parker VH (May 9, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Bob, You never cease to amaze me with your great finds. Good luck with this one also.


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## CKOD (May 10, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Nice find, is the igniter internal to the head or is that seperate too?


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## BVH (May 10, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Although I have not pulled it completely apart yet, from what I can see from both ends, there appears to be no lamp electronics in the can. But I'm not 100% sure. In between the back of the bulb and its support mechanism, and the rear radiator, is another radiator in the bulb chamber. A metal bulkhead separates the two radiators. What has me wondering though, is why there is a 9-pin connector leading into the can. Besides the Cathode and Anode connections (the two large pins), there needs to be + and - leads for the fan and possibly a common ground between this light and whatever it mounts to and the power supply. So that's 5 leads. What are the other 4 for.


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## BVH (May 11, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Well I was 90% sure there was no ballast and ignitor in the can but to my amazement and sheer joy, its all there, built on the framework that holds everything together. There’s also another cooling fan inside the lamp chamber and it looks to be a closed cooling system. The inside fan recirculates air from the inside of the radiator throughout the lamp chamber, by the bulb and back to the radiator. The outside of the radiator is cooled by the fan in the back chamber.

I sent pics of the lamp and light off to Advance Radiation Corp. (ARC) and they think based on the pics that there are some broken connections and that the bulb may not work. They say it's somewhere between a 500 Watt and 800 Watt lamp and that they can make me a replacement. So no issues there. If I can get this baby going, I'll have the "500 Watt Spectrolab Starburst" that I've always wanted but in a much more compact, handheld package! I'll be excited to find out how tight the beam is. By coincidence, ARC's founder, Ray, the gentleman I spent some quality time with in trying to get a bulb made for my communicator, had a bulb mfg business before he started ARC. The company name initials were PEK. Guess what's on the base of my bulb and who made it? ARC also believes this is/was a tank light. 

I’ve only given the circuits a cursory look but am still not quite sure why all the 9 wire connections are needed. There are 2 small pin grounds to the case. There are the main connections for the Cathode and Anode lamp bases (large pins) and one small pin positive for the fans. The other 4 small wires are going to components on various places on the boards, one being a small blue wire to the transformer. I’m hoping some of you might be able to suggest the purpose of them and what I should feed them with, if anything. I'll come back later with some pics showing where all the wires go.



































































The recirculation fan in the lamp chamber






One of 3 magnets affixed to the reflector. Two small and one larger. Purpose is to straighten out the arc. The larger the Wattage and gap, the more tendency for the arc to bow.







The Lamp













Gap is 2.5mm


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## FRITZHID (May 11, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

WTG Bob!!!!! I'm Glad to hear all the components are there in what looks like a very nice, neat lil package! should be a beast then shes up and running! Great pix as well, ty for shairing them with the rest of us! cant wait for the beam shots!


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## BVH (May 11, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Thanks to Phil Ament, I know know the application of my light. It's an Infrared 500 Watt, M-134 Gatling gun mounted light used on Huey helicopters in Viet Nam in conjunction with the INFANT1 System. Here's a link to a pic. Look just below the horizontal stabilizer at the round tube sitting on top of the cannon.

//cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/p/90402/883686.aspx

An excerpt describing the system: The Iraquois Night Fighter and Night Tracker (INFANT) (AN/ASQ-132) system was equipped with Low Light Level Television (LLLTV) eqipment to find targets at night (2 8 inch screens up front and a 14 inch screen in the cabin). The right sensor formed electronically intensified images and displayed them on a TV monitor. The left sensor housed the LLLTV. All the INFANT hueys were armed with eth M21 weapon system (M134 Minigun+M158 7 shot rocket pods). a 500 watt Xenon searchlight was on top of each mini. "Dim tracer" ammo invisible to the naked eye was developed especialy for the INFANT system. The system was developed by Hughs aircraft in 1967. It went to Vietnam with the 1st Cav in 1969.


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## FRITZHID (May 11, 2012)

*Re: 300 or 500 Watt Short Arc Light Cannon*

Thats Great Bob! it's always nice when you can find origins of new and unusual toys. now if only you can get the rest of the huey to go with it!!!!


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## BVH (May 15, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Can someone knowledgeable in electronics ID the two (one larger and one smaller) somewhat rounded diamond shaped components just below the black transformer?


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## 2filthy3 (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> Can someone knowledgeable in electronics ID the two (one larger and one smaller) somewhat rounded diamond shaped components just below the black transformer?



I believe they are both power transistors.


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## electromage (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

The small one is a Motorola 2N3767 (TO-66) power transistor. A little digging reveals that it's likely rated at 4A, 20W. The bigger one is more worn, but seems to be a Motorola MJ413 (TO-3) power transistor, rated at 10A, 125W.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Damn Bob,.... i wish i were in CA.... within about 1hrs time, i could figure the whole system for ya.  sorry i live so far away.


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



FRITZHID said:


> Damn Bob,.... i wish i were in CA.... within about 1hrs time, i could figure the whole system for ya.  sorry i live so far away.



Would more specific pics help? A pic of where each of the 9 wires lands?

I know 3 already. The Anode and Cathode connections - the biggest pins/wires and separate power for the fans. 3 down-6 to go. Two pins went to frame ground at least in testing with the continuity mode of my meter. But one of those seems to go to ground thru a tiny component. So maybe it's 4 down and 5 to go. Nowhere in the light does it indicate that it's a 28 Volt system so I am making that assumption, too. I've got a huge TM manual on the entire INFANT system coming that has some pages dedicated to the light. It's mostly electrical schematics in the manual. I asked the person before I bought it if he could look at the searchlight pages for me to see if he could make anything out regarding the 9 connection wires which he did but he is not electrically inclined and he does not see any type of pic of a 9-pin input so I'll just have to wait till it arrives.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well the schematic would be the most helpful, that would give your the exacts of whats what, however, it may not give voltage ratings. does it have a focus mech? if so, i'd gather 2 of those pins are for spot/flood. they COULD conceivably be for a "strobe" function however i find that unlikely on a huey target lighting system, perhaps a "standby" circuit? closer _pix_ may help, however, tracing electronics is alot easier with hands on view. if you have any issues reading the schematic, i'd be more then happy to take a look at it for ya! 


edit: upon closer look, id say that atleast ONE of, if not 2 pins are "trigger" pins used to "strike" the light upon start up, much like some of the larger home made XSA systems, where constant power is applied to the bulb while lamp is "on" but it won't fire until actually lit 1st. then to shut off, all power is killed.


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

No, no focus/bulb movement. I'll know more when I get the pages. Interesting the fan is marked 19V.


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## bshanahan14rulz (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Curiosity is getting the best of me. Why do some discharge tubes like flashtubes have that wire that wraps around it or goes end to end?

Also, what is the part labeled S1 here, a solenoid, or a switch?
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/BVH/PCboard.jpg

Also, what's the big green box? Look like a big cap?

All the connections look good to me, and all the parts look to be in good condition. Maybe one of those transistors shorted itself or something.


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Good question on what that part is. One of the 9 connection wires lands on it. It's very thin so I don't think anything moves inside it. The big green box is the igniter. I have no reason to suspect that any ballast parts are bad. ARC thought by looking at the pics of the bulb that it might have lost it's seal. But they can't definitely tell nor dedicate time and help to me until the beginning of June.

EDIT Add. I should mention that the OEM connection cable that came with it is, of course, is 9 pin on the light end but it's a 15 pin on the other end. I haven't rung out the cable yet so maybe a bunch are not used or some are connected together at the 9-pin end.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

the large green box Could be the spark gap.... i've seen them that size, but only on larger systems.... usualy designed for 5kW pulsed CO2 Lasers.... BUT being this is a Mill Spec device, over compensation is NOT uncommon. maybe disconnect it and test witn DMM? if it's open, i'd say 85% thats what it is... (without looking right at it and following the wires thru the device) but it does look like it connects to that smaller white cap mounted near it.



Side Note: was watching some old Voyager episodes and the name "500w Photonic Cannon" pop'd into my head for this lil gem of yours.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



bshanahan14rulz said:


> Curiosity is getting the best of me. Why do some discharge tubes like flashtubes have that wire that wraps around it or goes end to end?



that is the "trigger" wire... it's used when the HV starting surge kicks. on flash tubes, a Flyback xformer is the source of the HV pulse and unlike the auto HIDs, it only causes a "static" charge, which travels through that wire and ionizing the xenon causing the main charge from the "low" voltage high current cap to discharge across the tube. on XSA lamps, i'd guess it's just an added measure to insure the trigger spark gets the lamp started using less voltage then would normally be needed to initially jump the gap by ionizing right through the quartz itself.


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

There is also another "trigger wire'ish" half loop of wire that comes up from the reflector housing directly underneath the stem on the bulb, half loops around only the bottom half of the stem and goes back down to the reflector housing. I've never seen this before. It does not offer any type of support so it's not structural. Any ideas?


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

thats a ground wire. reduces static charge around the envelope and may reduce some (tho not alot) of the ozone. i've seen these on some high voltage glass discharge tubes of various types. helps lessen degradation of the tube and eliminates the static build up between bulb and chassis. (usually only found in systems with high potential in a confined package. i've had some gas lasers with those in them)


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Should it be touching the bulb or just close to it when I go to re-assemble? I can't remember how close it is to the trigger wire right now.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well, having never seen one on a XSA persay, i'd have to say NOT touching the trigger wire for sure, and bulb contact.... well i'd say assemble it and see how close it is to the envelope,... if its looks like it's going to touch no matter what, i'd have to say it's sapposed to, if it looks like it's close but can go eather way, i'd say play it safe and keep it off.


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Yes, I guessed it should definitely not touch the trigger wire. I assume it would instantly melt.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> Yes, I guessed it should definitely not touch the trigger wire. I assume it would instantly melt.



and possibly fry the starter circuit as well


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

OK, the mystery is getting easier by process of elimination. First, only 8 of the 9 pins are used. #3 is not used. Also, wires #6 and #7 are directly connected thru this "sensor" (see pics) and go nowhere else - wire from Pin 6 comes from the connector, lands on one of the sensors' terminals and wire #7 is connected to the sensors' other terminal and goes directly back out to pin #7. The sensor is not connected to anything else by wires. It does, however ride on the frame but I don't know if this is just the way it's mounted or if it is actually grounded. So I'm guessing this is to trigger something else in the INFANT system and not used to run the light. Maybe an overheat condition sensor? So....3 Pins out of 9 could possible be defined now. One for the Anode and one for the Cathode. 5 out of 9. One black wire Pin for frame ground. 6 out of 9. Somethings got to power the transformer - light blue (thicker) wire, so there's another Pin - 7 out of 9. One pin to the cooling fans - 8 out of 9. So what is the purpose of the small Lime green wire that's going to the power transistor? Here's a diagram of the 9 Pin connections.


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## FRITZHID (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

pins 6+7 i think are thermal cut off sensor..... easy to test... pull it off, throw a DMM on it, if reads 0 ohms *or there abouts* apply heat slowly and see if it opens
8 ground to ignitor and control circuitry. 
9 would then be iginitor trigger (what voltage in, is anyone's guess.)
and pin 1.... thats a tough one to guess at... but i'd have to say.... maybe strobe trigger, or perhaps variable brightness? whats that smaller Transistor also connected to?


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## BVH (May 16, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

All sounds plausable except the possible strobe, only because of the usage of the light. What would be the purpose of strobing a target? Well, if the ground based enemy was wearing NVG and could easily see the light, they could possibly fire on the chopper so maybe it's not out of the question. Strobing might incapacitate. Variable brightness. seems possible. Will investigate the small transistor and report back.

Not only does the pinout need to be sorted out, but appropriate applied Voltage needs to be determined. So many variables. I've got both INFANT manuals coming. The -1 which is mostly text in operation and maint of the entire system including pages on the light and -2 which is mostly electrical diagrams. Hopefully, between both, all questions should be answered. But it is fun trying to figure it out.

What is a fly-back transformer and what does it do?


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## BVH (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

The lime green wire is Pin 1 and goes first to the small PT. From the other terminal of the small PT, it divides two directions.

Path 1 is: From small PT to a diode then to brass colored resistor, out the resistor to the same input terminal on the transformer as the Pin #9

Path 2: From the output of the small PT to the big PT, then divides - goes thru a diode and back to frame ground where Pin # 8 lands. The other path is to terminal #2 on the transformer. I'm thinking terminal #2 on the transformer is the ground leg on the input.

I forget, does current flow against the arrow in the diode or with the arrow? Trying to figure out which way current in the green wire is going. I now think I've got it backwards and that the green wire conveys current out to Pin 1, not from Pin one.


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## get-lit (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

The arrow ALWAYS points toward the flux capacitor.


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## BVH (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I keep all my flux in a small applicator bottle and use it very sparingly. Does that help?


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## FRITZHID (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> All sounds plausable except the possible strobe, only because of the usage of the light. What would be the purpose of strobing a target? Well, if the ground based enemy was wearing NVG and could easily see the light, they could possibly fire on the chopper so maybe it's not out of the question. Strobing might incapacitate. Variable brightness. seems possible. Will investigate the small transistor and report back all i can say is it's not a main power control transistor, not if it connects to a 2nd larger "Q". i'd have to say it eather controls brightness or perhaps its used to pulse the lamp as needed, that way it's not "constant on". any light, just like a laser, makes you a target, whether IR or visible.
> 
> Not only does the pinout need to be sorted out, but appropriate applied Voltage needs to be determined. So many variables. I've got both INFANT manuals coming. The -1 which is mostly text in operation and maint of the entire system including pages on the light and -2 which is mostly electrical diagrams. Hopefully, between both, all questions should be answered. But it is fun trying to figure it out.yes, that will be VERY helpful! (i can't wait to see it, i'm just as curious as you are!)
> 
> What is a fly-back transformer and what does it do?


a flyback transformer it whats used in many electronics where High Freq/High Voltage is needed, theres large ones in TV's, they can be ID'd by the LARGE WIRE that comes off the outside of the back of the picture tube down to the board, are usualy large odd "towerish" shaped devices with the output wire coming out the top. they use multiple lower voltage primary coils at high rotating pulse rates to a single high voltage secondary coil. between the flyback and the "charging cap", it's the whining you hear in a TV when it starts up. the whine you hear from a camera flash is not exactly the same, they still use something similar to get the lo-V DC batt power up to the 600-800v the tube needs and that requires lo-V DC changed to AC to step it up, then it's rectified and stored in a large Cap (2200 or more uF) *WARNING, do NOT use screwdriver to discharge strobe cap while people are in room and not pay'n attn!, this may cause parent and/or other relations to jump wildly and then proceed to hit you* that cap is directly connected to the anode and cathode of the strobe tube, then theres a smaller cap on the board that is connected through the shutter control on the camera, and THAT closes the circuit between it and the small flyback transformer that causes a low current 30K volt static charge to shoot across the trigger wire on the tube and ionize the gas enough to where the large cap "pops" across the tube resulting in flash blinded persons anywhere near by.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_transformer



BVH said:


> The lime green wire is Pin 1 and goes first to the small PT. From the other terminal of the small PT, it divides two directions.
> 
> Path 1 is: From small PT to a diode then to brass colored resistor, out the resistor to the same input terminal on the transformer as the Pin #9
> 
> ...


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## bshanahan14rulz (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I think S1 is a temp sensor too.

Also, three legs of transistors often called collector, emitter, and base. I think that the collector terminal is just the case of the transistor, and probably is at ground potential? The base is kind of like the trigger pin.


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## FRITZHID (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



bshanahan14rulz said:


> I think S1 is a temp sensor too.



S1 signifies SWITCH #1, not sensor, hence why i figured a temp switch. prob doesent shut the light down but just sets off a warning light and buzzer in the cockpit of the huey letting them know it SHOULD be shut down... COULD also just turn the cooling system on and off as needed, but i find that far more unlikely.


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## BVH (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Me too as this is such a small volume of space inside the light chamber and there is no direct cooling. Inside fan recirculates sealed system air and sends it over a radiator which is then cooled by fan number 2 which draws in outside air. Without both fans running full time, it would be tremendously hot inside the can.


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## FRITZHID (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

is there a clear lens for this as well? or just the IR unit? if there IS a clear lens, and the canister is well sealed, something that may help it all around in future use, is to purge the inside with N2, this will help with moisture, cooling (since N2 is a larger molecule) and with the absence of O2, the production of ozone will be less, and ozone can be hard on the insulation and other parts inside being a strong oxidizer. (just a thought that popped into my head as i opened a bag of chips today and remembered that they purge food bags with N2 to reduce stale food issues as they sit on the shelves)


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## BVH (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Just the IR so I'm on the hunt for some .108" Borofloat, 6", round. I've tried a couple of times with Chris at Flashlightlens.com, a CPF member, but have got no response. Know of any sources? Found some sheet for $11.00 per square foot in 11 sq. ft sheets but that doesn't do me much good. The N2 is a good idea but not sure the seals are all that great such that it wouldn't leak out over a few months time.


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## FRITZHID (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well, as far as borofloat, no i don't, sorry.
the N2 back filling shoulden't be that hard or expensive and could be re-filled every so often... could even add an attachment set of valves that would allow easy purge/fill. but with the larger atom size, nitrogen shoulden't leak as bad eather, thats one of the main reasons they've been puting it in tires for some time now. i honestly believe this would save you some headaches on a few fronts.
i'll keep my eyes open for some borofloat sources for ya. do you care if it's AR or not?


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## BVH (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

AR if it would hold up, but not a big deal either way.


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## FRITZHID (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

okies, will see what i can find (pulls out glass cutter and an old pyrex pie plate) hehehe:devil:


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## get-lit (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I'm finding that Borofloat blocks 92% of the Infrared spectrum, and Infrared is needed for night vision applications.

What are the advantages of Borofloat glass over Borosilicate, Pyrex, and tempered etc?

BTW, Surefire uses Pyrex and the Maxbeam uses tempered.


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## BVH (May 17, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I'm not planning on using any NV equipment with this light. I don't own any and so far, have not had an interest in having any. I don't know the differences and was just assuming the Borofloat would be the most heat resistant.


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## ma_sha1 (May 18, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



get-lit said:


> I'm finding that Borofloat blocks 92% of the Infrared spectrum, and Infrared is needed for night vision applications.
> What are the advantages of Borofloat glass over Borosilicate, Pyrex, and tempered etc?
> 
> BTW, Surefire uses Pyrex and the Maxbeam uses tempered.




Borofloat, Borosilicate and Pyrex are the same thing. 
Borofloat and Pyrex are just different brands of borosilicate glass made by Schott vs. Corning respectively. It can withstand high heat & is used often in making lab glasswares where heating is involved, also kitchen wares. In our case, front lens, HID lamp outer envelopes etc. 

Tempered glass is heat strengthened glass for safety, they are less likely to break. when they do break, they don't leave behind sharp pieces.

All silica based glasses (as well as polycarbonate) transmit Near IR: (800nm to 2500nm),
longer IR wave length will need specialty glass


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## BVH (May 18, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Ma, I forgot to post the 100 Watt ballast output Voltage to lamp. Not sure what thread we discussed it in but... 103.56. Amp = .858 for 88.8 Watts.


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## FRITZHID (May 18, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

http://www.newportglass.com/


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## ma_sha1 (May 18, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> Ma, I forgot to post the 100 Watt ballast output Voltage to lamp. Not sure what thread we discussed it in but... 103.56. Amp = .858 for 88.8 Watts.



Thanks Bob,

Looks like you actually measured the AC volt at the bulb? 103.56V? That's exactly the info. I am looking for. Thanks!


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## BVH (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Well I'm really excited and really bummed again. The manuals arrived and they have all of the info needed to answer all the questions. First, the exciting part. It's a 600 Watt Short Arc, not 500 Watts. The lamp runs at 33 Amps @ 18V. Now the not so exciting part. While I'm not an electrician nor an electronics engineer, I can read block diagrams and wiring schematics fairly well. What I don't know is how and why the parts work nor would I be able to build something remotely complex like a ballast. The text-based manual in great detail tells exactly what happens when the operator turns on the switch. "+28v flows to part A which does this, this and this, then it goes to part be which compares signals from X and Y and then does this............and finally the 8KV is stepped up to 30KV to ignite the 600 Watt lamp". The Block diagram does not show all the individual parts but the main components. The wiring schematic shows detail down to the chip-based electronic switches contained within the components, shows resistor and capacitor values, ect. So I can identify the 8 pin connector and where each wire goes. What is glaringly apparent and disappointing is that I have Searchlight Assembly 8688 (which I already know) and that Searchlight Assembly 8687, which I do not have, contains many of the components for what I would call primary ignition and the circuits to "run" the light once ignited. Voltage regulators, boost circuits, pulse generator, lock out, etc. All or practically all of the parts on my light are for final ignition only. (The big turquoise box is, in fact, a spark gap.) The two "Power Transistors" in my pic are called the "ignitor". Not sure where I go from here except to try to find an 8687 which was located within the cockpit of the Huey. Pretty slim chance, I think.


For the experts like Fritz, a question. Maybe another avenue is to find a bench supply with built-in ignitor. I have a 300 Watt bench supply designed to run Cermax/Lutel and G.E. short arcs like in the Megaray. I have a 500 Watt with ignitor coming. It has a current output range, ignition Voltage spec and running lamp voltage spec that meets the specs cited in the manual for the 600 Watt light. I don't know enough to know whether meeting those specs is enough to make it compatible or not? There's also a spec on the PS that gives the ignition pulse duration but I don't see that in the 600 Watt light manuals. Another thing I don't understand is that these power supplies are constant current (adjustable via a small knob) and somehow the Voltage magically is at the spec of the bulb - it's automatically determined. How does that work?


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## FRITZHID (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well Bob, i'm sorry to hear that the main power supply is lacking, that woulda been the easiest way to work with this light, however, i do have some good news (IF you just want to get the light up and running and care not about keeping it stock) and that is the coming 500w PS will run this lamp, you will probably have to bypass most if not all the internal electronics tho.
the Ignition Pulse Duration setting is just that, the # of pulses per second/min in order to excite enough of the xenon gas to cause a plasma to form and stay steady at 18V with 33A running through it. Normally the Spark Gap would control this setting, it does just what it says, a gap that as power increases with in a cap, will jump across the gap terminals (set at a certen distance) and then through the bulb, igniting it. usually make a clicking sound. The faster the setting, the lower the power of that charge, so, you'll want to start at the highest setting and then slow it down until the lamp fires, and keep it at that setting, and slower and the higher strike current/voltage could start to wear on the bulbs electrodes.
the voltage @ bulb will be automatically sensed by the PS by the current draw. kind of like an old iron core welder, as you very the CC output, voltage will very to match based on resistance (the xenon gas). the PS is basically an amplifier, if you run a 1000w amp @ 8 ohms you can get 2000w @ 4 ohms, and 4000w at 2 ohms... ect... tho the amp may not like being run that low of resistance. IDK the specs of the PS your getting, but it shouldn't have any issues with running that bulb, tho it may not run it at full power. 
if you would like, i can take a look at any of the schematics that you are having an issue with and help you the best i can. 
i'm confident that you'll get this photon cannon running in no time!


----------



## BVH (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I was certainly looking forward to this light being a complete working light all contained inside the can but it is not to be. When I said the PS has all the same specs, I actually need to confirm that when it arrives with it's paperwork. I based what I said on the spec of the Cermax 500 Watt bulb that this PS is supposed to be made for. (It's an older ILC brand, not a Cermax brand) Here's the Cermax bulb spec sheet.

http://www.alkansan.com/pdf/Perkin-Elmer-Endoskopi-Ampul-Katalogu.pdf

Look at the Elliptical and then further down the page, the Parabolic 500 Watt models. The Elliptical current range that the bulb accepts is up to 35 Amps and the Parabolic is up to 32. So I am just assuming that this supply is capable of 35 Amps. Example: On the 300 Watt Cermax bulb specs, the top of the range current is 23 Amps for the Elliptical. The Cermax 300 Watt PS I have can be set up to 24 so there is some headroom. I'm hoping this is the same with the ILC 500 Watt unit.

Another ?. IF the cermax 500 Watt bulb requirement is for 32 Amps and 15.5 Volts (496 Watts) then if I set the PS for 33 Amps (my light bulb spec) will this Cermax-geared supply only supply the same 15.5 Volts that it does to the Cermax lamp or does it somehow know it's driving a higher Wattage lamp and adjust the Voltage upward (to 18) to put out the higher Wattage? Or is this what you meant when you said I might end up under-driving the bulb? (for reference the max voltage range of the 500 Cermax bulb is 16.5 so the ILC PS may only provide up to 16.5, not the 18V my lamp wants to see)


----------



## FRITZHID (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

thats what i meant when i said you may end up under-driving the bulb.... that bulb is 600w and the PS is made for 500w, so it may not run it at full potential.
but it should still run it without any issues, other then less output then it's capable of. would be like running the MB in Med mode rather then High.
but then again, it MAY compensate for the difference, but i find that unlikely.
as far as keeping it a one can unit, that Still may be a possibility, you'd have to look at the PS internals and see if you can cram it in the can :devil:


----------



## BVH (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Based on the Cermax 300 Watt PS internals, no way will even half of it fit, not counting the ignitor module. 

More reading shows they set the focus for their use at 6.5 degrees. A 6.5' circle at 30' distance. So I guess about 6" at about 2'. (5" reflector) I wonder how much tighter it will go, if any.

If the PS is capable of more Amps, would there be significant bulb wear as a result of gaining back some of the Watts with an extra Amp or two?


----------



## FRITZHID (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

there shouldn't be any more wear, with amps or volts, since its DC... if it were AC i'd say yes, there could be more wear.
the most significant wear i believe will be on start up, thats why i said start at faster cycle rate at lower power then the slower, higher power start up. the slower will be more like a strobe then a strike charge (i would think anyway) and with that, harder on the bulb.


----------



## BVH (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Probably should have asked it differently. Will driving it with more Amps create any higher pressures, physical loads such that the bulb could explode - even though it would still be a theoretical 600 watts?


----------



## FRITZHID (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

hhmm... THAT is a good question... and with little exp in the XSA area, i'd have to honestly say, IDK. maybe Ra or Ma Sha would know the answer to that question.
if i had to guess, i'd say probably not, BUT with these one shouldn't guess.
in truth, i find it unlikely that the PS will drive the bulb in that manner, the PS is designed to run a bulb at Xv @ Xa, and be regulated as such. if they diden't as a bulb ages or factory defects, gaseous mix differences would cause allot more failures, i would think. from what i've read, these are fairly stable power systems and shouldn't/wouldn't over run a bulb eather way. an increase in V or A eather way at 500w is Less then the bulbs designed capacity, if it were a 600w supply but only capable of 15v, then i'd worry more since that would be a significantly higher amperage.


----------



## BVH (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

OK, thanks for all the info and I'll figure out a way to get you copies of the docs.


----------



## BVH (May 19, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

This just popped into my brain. The Cermax PS knows its a 300 Watt PS and it knows the Amps it's going to provide based on the user setting entered prior to ignition. So isn't it just going to provide the Volts needed to make 300 Watts? (after warm up, of course) I did notice on the display which has a Watt meter built in, that it provides about 292 Watts on start up and within about 5 minutes it's up to about 302.

So based on this, I could program more Amps on the 500 Supply but it might just crank down the Voltage to maintain the 500 Watts so I may be stuck with 500 Watts.


----------



## get-lit (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

BVH, the ballast doesn't control voltage, it's determined by the amount of and excitation of the lamp gas (Xenon in this case) between the electrodes. Voltage increases as the gas vapor heats up.

I'm confused about this configuration. I wouldn't think a 600W Xenon ballast would fit inside that housing because the current regulator circuit would be too large. Maybe just the high voltage ignition components are in the housing so as to not have to run potentially unsafe thick cables and connections. In the early stages of planning for my light I considered such a configuration to safely reduce the hand-held weight, but since Mercury-based lights operate at much lower current than Xenon and thus require a much smaller and lighter current regulator circuit, it didn't make sense to separate the circuit from the housing in my case.

Fortunately, there is a plus side to coping with the mass of the high current circuit for Xenon lamps over Mercury; the higher current better concentrates the light to a smaller point between the electrodes.


----------



## FRITZHID (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> This just popped into my brain. The Cermax PS knows its a 300 Watt PS and it knows the Amps it's going to provide based on the user setting entered prior to ignition. So isn't it just going to provide the Volts needed to make 300 Watts? (after warm up, of course) I did notice on the display which has a Watt meter built in, that it provides about 292 Watts on start up and within about 5 minutes it's up to about 302.
> 
> So based on this, I could program more Amps on the 500 Supply but it might just crank down the Voltage to maintain the 500 Watts so I may be stuck with 500 Watts.



yeah, thats pretty much what i was getting at. it's a 500w PS, it's going to provide 500w of power +/- x%.... and it's a XSA PS so its going to provide the power that those devices require. as opposed to a welding PS where it would provide 200a @ 6v (or what ever the case may be depending on the design) but none the less, its won't go much over what it's rated for, thus under driving the bulb. even if u did crank it up some, it still shouldn't be enough to damage the bulb or fully power it for that matter. it should however be enough to strike the lamp and power it even if its a lil on the dimmer side of things. maybe in the future a 600w PS can be found that could/would come close to fitting, keeping the ignition system in the tube and the rest on the ground or auto mounted? the electronics of today are far more advanced then the ones used when that lamp was built, so who knows what you'll find in the future! but until then, you can still get it up and running. 
just like Get-Lit said, the control system may be to large to fit in the tube along with ignitor and such, but a large portion should be able to fit and make it as "hand portable" as possible, but keeping the power flowing to its still gonna take some pretty hefty cable and heavy batts. but with your tank lights kicking around, i'm sure your in no short supply of these 
we'll just have to take a look at the schematics and see what we can come up with.


----------



## BVH (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



get-lit said:


> BVH, the ballast doesn't control voltage, it's determined by the amount of and excitation of the lamp gas (Xenon in this case) between the electrodes. Voltage increases as the gas vapor heats up. So would the bulb running Voltage ultimately be determined by the initial filling pressure of Xenon by the manufacturer? Or at least does cold fill pressure have a direct bearing on running voltage? I think this is what ARC was trying to explain to me when they were making my 150 Watt Communicator bulb. If so, then there must be charts/tables/calculators that mfg's go by when designing and making bulbs?
> 
> I'm confused about this configuration. I wouldn't think a 600W Xenon ballast would fit inside that housing because the current regulator circuit would be too large. Maybe just the high voltage ignition components are in the housing so as to not have to run potentially unsafe thick cables and connections. Yes, only the high voltage ignition components - ignitor, spark gap, transformer and some caps are in the can. The regulator board, some relays, lockout oscillator, pulse generator, ignition detection logic, converter ***'y, booster caps and other misc components are in the other "box" in the helicopter cockpit.In the early stages of planning for my light I considered such a configuration to safely reduce the hand-held weight, but since Mercury-based lights operate at much lower current than Xenon and thus require a much smaller and lighter current regulator circuit, it didn't make sense to separate the circuit from the housing in my case.
> 
> Fortunately, there is a plus side to coping with the mass of the high current circuit for Xenon lamps over Mercury; the higher current better concentrates the light to a smaller point between the electrodes.


----------



## FRITZHID (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

ok Bob, got the pix you sent of the schematics and block diagrams.... and at 1st glance... even if you had the main PS, .... it's designed for 2 600w XSA!!!!!  (i can't imagine how bright THAT would be!) so it woulden't work with just the 1 lamp anyways... the safety system would detect the lack of lamp and cause shutdown...
i do have some good news however.... i'd say that 80% or more of the total circuitry is just control or "safety" circuitry... meaning it can be condensed into a much smaller package!
as nice as it would be to have one of these photon cannons on each side of your truck :devil: it would be a HUGE power draw!
so... in that, now we will have to come up some other PS for this, and since most XSA PS's have the striking systems built in, you can gut whats in the tube out and use it as a lamps holder/cooling system only. *you could keep the Spark Gap in as a stock starter preset device, but seems kind of redundant to me.*
i'm almost sure we can find SOMETHING that would mostly fit in the tube, minus a few small things. maybe something out of a VSS1 or 3 would do the trick, IDK, i haven't been inside of eather.
worst case you'll need a small external power source with heavy cables to the lamp. :shrug:

(perhaps gutting the current gizmos would leave room for a servo focus system?)


----------



## get-lit (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

The *Warner Power SafeArc PFC 500W *is the smallest 500W Xenon power supply I've come across over the years, at just 5.8 lbs.
It's 90-265VAC input with PFC so it "should" take 90-265V DC for battery power.


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## FRITZHID (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



get-lit said:


> The *Warner Power SafeArc PFC 500W *is the smallest 500W Xenon power supply I've come across over the years, at just 5.8 lbs.
> It's 90-265VAC input with PFC so it "should" take 90-265V DC for battery power.



see???!!!! Yes! this is the type of thing i'm talking about. compact units that COULD be parted out of their stock casing and crammed into a tube! then just a smaller PS to power it, or perhaps just the large bank of batts, lol.
only thing i don't care for on that particular PS is the "added features" that would seem un-needed to me, in a spotlight application.... RF/EMI protection, extra power outputs, ect... who needs that on a spotlight?? lol
so if those could be weeded out, theres even less to cram into the tube.
perhaps a home built PS is the best way to go?
using an industry standard PS as a template, it woulden't be that hard to come up with a slide in canister PS for this light.


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## BVH (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Well that sounds like good news! At this point, I would be happy with a small external source and I could run some McMasterCarr 40KV rated, 60 amp cables to the external Anode and Cathode pins on the 9-pin connector. Kinda like the MR scenario with an umbilical. Of course, fitting a complete system inside would be the ultimate accomplishment and make for a great "hand held SA.


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## FRITZHID (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> Well that sounds like good news! At this point, I would be happy with a small external source and I could run some McMasterCarr 40KV rated, 40 amp cables to the external Anode and Cathode pins on the 9-pin connector. Kinda like the MR scenario with an umbilical. Of course, fitting a complete system inside would be the ultimate accomplishment and make for a great "hand held SA.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ thats my thinking! (this project is making me wish i lived in CA instead of the icelandic wasteland of WI!!) i'd LOVE to be able to get my hands dirty with this project! you have the lathe, would want access to a milling machine, and then an electronics test bench, and it could be done fairly easily!


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## BVH (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

WOW! That's a lot of "ifs" 

I sold a big Delta 20" drill press and have been wanting to buy a mill for a while to double as a drill press. Every time I get into it, the size grows from an X2 size up to the PM25 or PM30 and then I find they won't be available for quite a while and even then, the importer isn't too happy with them right now. So I put it on the back burner.


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## FRITZHID (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> WOW! That's a lot of "ifs"
> 
> I sold a big Delta 20" drill press and have been wanting to buy a mill for a while to double as a drill press. Every time I get into it, the size grows from an X2 size up to the PM25 or PM30 and then I find they won't be available for quite a while and even then, the importer isn't too happy with them right now. So I put it on the back burner.



well maybe this is the project to get that pan on the front burner!


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## BVH (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Was distracted for a while. Had to pick up that rare VSS-3 control box set off Ebay so I'll have two working -3's. Might split my for sale set and keep one. Long drive tomorrow 440 miles round trip.


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## FRITZHID (May 20, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well those VSS's of yours are items i will ALWAYS be jealous of! if i were you, i'd Definitely keep one handy! (i can't imagine owning 2!)
Drive safe my friend!


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## get-lit (May 21, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Even at just 5.8 lbs, I'd prefer the ballast to be carried in a separate enclosure in a backpack with the battery, rather than burdening the hand with that weight.


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## BVH (May 21, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



get-lit said:


> Even at just 5.8 lbs, I'd prefer the ballast to be carried in a separate enclosure in a backpack with the battery, rather than burdening the hand with that weight.



Yes, I agree, a 10- - 12 pound hand-held light is pretty heavy - think Costco HID +. Even though I don't want to look like the Megaray guy in the red hat, I don't find the battery vest that bad to wear.


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## FRITZHID (May 21, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well, i wasent suggesting you take _THAT _exact PS and stuff it in there, i was suggesting building one, and in that, parts can be lessened and lightened 
just use a standard PS as a template.


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## BVH (May 21, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I'm just intimidated at the thought of trying to build a PS from scratch! Sounds very daunting!


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## FRITZHID (May 21, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

idk about Daunting, ... i guess can be intimidating, perhaps even scary at times poof but in the end, you'd have the pride of say'n "I Built That!" for an impressive piece of equipment.
....maybe its just me. lol


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## BVH (May 21, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

OK, I'm game for it. Doesn't need to be quick, either. And I do enjoy soldering and pretty most all electrical work. Where do I start?


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## get-lit (May 22, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I went down that road for a bit. I started by talking to short arc quartz lamp ballast engineers, and I soon found that they guard their secrets very closely. I realized it would take me years to learn it all and come up with a design and construction process, and it still wouldn't be as good as the ones made by people that dedicate a lifetime to optimizing them with smart features for the most arc stability and lamp life. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, just a little background from my experience. I hope it works out well if you give it a go.


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## FRITZHID (May 22, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

well, thats kind of the point i was making with this,... does it really need to have smart features? does it need to be a perfect arc? i can understand these on a projection or medical/scientific lamp, but just a spot light, that may see 1000hrs in a year?
i think with some reverse engineering and practical application of new electronics, a ballast that serves up 18v @ 33a and then a small ignition system shouldn't be that hard to build. it should be more then adiquite for a hobby spotlight. and should as well, be able to fit in the can with little weight. i'm thinking ether a flyback transformer or small coil pack from a car as the lignitor, and keeping the spark gap as the flow-back preventer.


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## get-lit (May 22, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

While smart features would be a requirement for some applications, they're surely just a benefit for this application. You can increase arc stability with magnets. The difficulty I ran across was not with current regulation nor ignition, but in integrating a startup phase to transition from initial ignition to full operation. I was excited to go my own at first, but the research became mundane and I got terribly bored with it. It's a worthwhile venture for someone that's really into electronics. Going with a production unit freed my time to move onto other aspects that motivate me more.


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## snake36bravo (Jul 9, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

This is an amazing once in a lifetime find! At least from my perspective. I am authoring a publication on the INFANT system and this is proof that portions of the system survived. If you ever want to part with it I'd be interested. Thank you for posting these images.

Do you have an image the IR lens cap fitted to the unit? I would really be interested in seeing the unit with the cap on. The AN/ASQ-132 was manufactured by Hughes.


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## BVH (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

The light didn't come with a lens cap unfortunately and neither me nor my sleuth investigator, Phil Ament have yet to come across a pic of it. I'd be most interested in reading your publication when it comes out. Please provide a link to its' availability when the time comes. What is your connection to the INFANT system? Did you operate a system, maintain one, help design it? Can you give any other specifics on the lights' performance? Did Hughes actually manufacturer the light or was it subbed out? 

I have a "thing" for military lights and I usually don't ever sell them off. (The VSS-1 and one my VSS-3's being the exception)


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## BVH (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Maybe I mis-interpreted your "IR lens cap fitted" question. Did you mean a pic of the front of the light with the IR lens installed or was there a lens cap protective cover that you are referring to? I just went back to see and there are no pics of the IR lens installed. Yes, I have the IR lens and I can certainly rig a pic up. Have any preferences on camera angle, how close/far away, other preferences?


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## snake36bravo (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> The light didn't come with a lens cap unfortunately and neither me nor my sleuth investigator, Phil Ament have yet to come across a pic of it. I'd be most interested in reading your publication when it comes out. Please provide a link to its' availability when the time comes. What is your connection to the INFANT system? Did you operate a system, maintain one, help design it? Can you give any other specifics on the lights' performance? Did Hughes actually manufacturer the light or was it subbed out?
> 
> I have a "thing" for military lights and I usually don't ever sell them off. (The VSS-1 and one my VSS-3's being the exception)



Yes, indeed you do have a thing for military lights. If you can swing it a head on view and 3/4 view from the front would be choice. I understand your unwillingness to part with it. My hope was to find all the components one day. Cant tell you how excited I was to see a piece survived after the turn in at Phu Loi and Long Bihn. What happened to the whole systems is a great mystery. Most of those who operated them believed they were destroyed. 

The 'package' was manufactured by Hughes who acquired Litton Systems, Inc of Garland, TX. This includes your IR searchlight. 

My publication also addresses the various searchlights, C-123 and C-130 landing light arrays used on slicks for helicopter night warfare. I have plenty O images for you including shots of your MX-8688 IR Searchlight as they were in use in Vietnam and during testing at Fort Rucker, AL. The INFANT package was unique. Up to then Army pilots took the Sheridan and M-60 tank searchlights off, rigged up a mount sometimes equipped with a starlight scope on top, attached them to the gunships and slicks and used them to deny the Vietcong the night. They operated in gun teams and were coupled with lots of mean fire power. There were also flare ships, two 50 gallon drums cut in half, mounted starboard & port loaded with flares and sent up with crews who would drop them out. 


Here are some images. I can provide more detail.


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## snake36bravo (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> Maybe I mis-interpreted your "IR lens cap fitted" question. Did you mean a pic of the front of the light with the IR lens installed or was there a lens cap protective cover that you are referring to? I just went back to see and there are no pics of the IR lens installed. Yes, I have the IR lens and I can certainly rig a pic up. Have any preferences on camera angle, how close/far away, other preferences?




My apologies, I meant the IR lens. I'm interested in a head on shot with it installed and a 3/4 view with an unobstructed view of the whole unit. I can always zoom the image for detail. 

Now if you suddenly had the nose mounted unit with the other IR searchlight in the housing and the LLLTV housing that would be something and like me your quest would have no end. Talk about a holy grail. 

There were a total of three IR search lights. The nose mounted searchlight could also be traversed giving the entire unit 1500w of lighting, in variable directions, all IR. To my knowledge the IR lenses were never removed as that would defeat the purpose of the system.


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## BVH (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I've got all the parts out of the "can" since I am in the process of sending the probably damaged bulb to A.R.C. for a custom replacement to be made. But it's easy to simply put the lens back on and grab some pics. If you want other pics, OEM hi-res pics, let me know and I can send via email.

You mention 1500 Watts of IR. The two tail units are 600 Watts each. Was the front light a 300 Watt unit? I'm going to have to take another look at the manual to see where I missed the part about a 3rd light.

I also acquired an OEM INFANT system manual set consisting of two separate books from the guy on Ebay who sells tons of TM's. The largest one is about 5" thick when put in a loose leaf binder. The second is pretty much fold-out, 11 x 20 (more or less) schematics.

I'd love to see more pics and hear more about the systems use. Do you know how large and heavy the power supply is that powers all the lights? I assume it was a fairly large box located somewhere mid-ships or maybe in the toe-kick area? IIRC, the schematic shows the PS as powering a Right and Left light but nothing on a front light. Maybe it had a seperate PS?

How did you find this site?

My email is bvh at bvh dot net.


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## snake36bravo (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

BVH,

Thank for taking the time to set those shots up for me. Your faster than the speed of light! I had to....sorry =)

Great to see you have the right cable! 

What the TM/FM calls for and what works are usually two different things all together. I will ask the electrician who worked on this at Can Tho but I'm sure he'll tell me they stepped it down. From every source I have including those veterans and avionics technicians/electricians who used these, the IR searchlights are always quoted at 500w including the official report on INFANT.

"At the cabin sides, perched atop the gun mounts, were two 500W Xenon infrared searchlights to aid in pin-pointing a target. Once a target was established, the XM-21 armament system did the rest. Significant modifications were made to the wiring, instrumentation, and control panels of the UH-1M, as well as strengthening the nose mounted XM-5 grenade launcher hard points, in order to accept the LLLTV periscope assembly. To avoid compromising the crew’s night vision and to avert detection, the miniguns were lipped with flash suppressors and fired ‘dim tracer” ammunition which was specifically developed for INFANT." 

I'll send you an email with much more detail. I think you'll get real kick out of the history and images I can provide both of INFANT as well as Firefly, Nighthawk and Lightning Bug. A lot of what was used in INFANT was used in all the others. 

I found the site while conducting research on the AN/ASQ-132 with the hope of providing better detail other than after action reviews or images. Technical aspects would be something I would not want to leave out.


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## BVH (Jul 10, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I just had a re-read of Pg 2-46 in the DS GS Depot Maintenance Manual, TM 11-5855-208-35-1 to be sure I read it correctly. Section 2-12 b is indicating that, after strike and boost cycles and the light is operating normally, that the electronic regulator is providing 18 Volts and approx. 33 Amps to the bulb which translates to 594 Watts, give or take. I really would like to hear what you find out from your in-field experts about this. I wonder why the discrepancy. Might change what I do with the mfg of the new bulb.

Ready and waiting for more pics via email!

That's the earlier of the two VSS-3's in that pic. 8-sided housing versus a more 4-sided (with rounded corners) for the VSS-3a. There was a postcard on Ebay a while back showing the VSS-3 and the star scope you mentioned on a Huey. Quite a sight to see.


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## BVH (Jul 25, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Got some great news today. Wife and I made the 410 mile round trip to A.R.C. today to deliver the old OEM bulb that, as it turns out, is not functional. The first bit of good news is that even though my light lamp is rated at 600 Watts, it is very similar to the Spectrolab 500 Watt Starburst lamp when it comes to physical dimensions and arc gap. The bases are a little different and will have to be special made. But they have all the raw products and tooling to easily make the bulb. The other great news is that I took one of my two, $100 Ebay scored ILC brand, new old stock variable 100-500 Watt Short Arc power supplies with built-in ignitor up with me just in-case there was some reason they needed to see it and because this is what I plan to use to power the INFANT light when it's got its new lamp - temporarily until I can find a used 600 Watt supply. They suggested I bring it to the test area of the shop and try to power up a 500 Watt Starburst lamp. To our great joy, it lit it off with no issues and......I had the power cranked up to full (thinking it's 500 Watts max output) and when I looked at the display, WOW!! - it was putting out 605 Watts! We confirmed this with Volt and Amp meter readings. It did this without overheating nor any other negative effects. So it looks like I won't have to try to find an almost non-existent used 600 Watt supply or buy a new one for $2100. Things are looking good to get this baby going. I've got a new, clear borosilicate lens coming for it, just waiting on some info on whether or not they can supply single or two-sided AR coatings that will take the heat. ARC will make the lamp during their next programmed production run of 500 Watt bulbs which is around 6-8 weeks away. I can't wait! By the way, the bulb will easily be capable of being powered with 750 Watts continuous and even up to near 1000 Watts for medium run times, if I can find a supply somewhat portable to power it.

I also got to fondle their engineer sample NightSun and Starburst! Sure would like one of each!


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## jcaimhigher (Aug 8, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Dunno if that gear was acquired properly, hopefully it was and it's decom through DRMO, as in, hopefully they upgraded to a new system. Typically the teams will look for mil items being sold on ebay for theft investigations. Just an FYI. IIRC they did upgrade this system a few years back. Not 100%

That being said, that is one huge choke on that thing. I'm guessing it's strictly to pass EMC testing, meaning EMI and RF emissions. Nice find indeed.


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## snake36bravo (Aug 9, 2012)

*Re: 500 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



jcaimhigher said:


> Dunno if that gear was acquired properly, hopefully it was and it's decom through DRMO, as in, hopefully they upgraded to a new system. Typically the teams will look for mil items being sold on ebay for theft investigations. Just an FYI. IIRC they did upgrade this system a few years back. Not 100%
> 
> That being said, that is one huge choke on that thing. I'm guessing it's strictly to pass EMC testing, meaning EMI and RF emissions. Nice find indeed.



Dont think you have anything at all to worry about on this light. Developed in 1969, deployed by ACTIV 69-70 for four months and left on station in Vietnam with final turn in at Phu Loi and Long Bihn. The Army Aviation Museum at Ft. Rucker almost has a complete unit though I'm sure they would love this but it's not for sale. The report on the system is unclassified now whereas during the war it was confidential. Forerunner for our systems today. 

Trust me, I'm authoring a book on these systems developed during the Vietnam War, we have far better capabilities than this searchlight. One of the failures experienced was one of these lights going out because the genious engineers that drilled the dissipation holes never counted on rain getting in the unit. The team in Vietnam developed a cover for the lights.


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## snake36bravo (Aug 9, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> I just had a re-read of Pg 2-46 in the DS GS Depot Maintenance Manual, TM 11-5855-208-35-1 to be sure I read it correctly. Section 2-12 b is indicating that, after strike and boost cycles and the light is operating normally, that the electronic regulator is providing 18 Volts and approx. 33 Amps to the bulb which translates to 594 Watts, give or take. I really would like to hear what you find out from your in-field experts about this. I wonder why the discrepancy. Might change what I do with the mfg of the new bulb.
> 
> Ready and waiting for more pics via email!
> 
> That's the earlier of the two VSS-3's in that pic. 8-sided housing versus a more 4-sided (with rounded corners) for the VSS-3a. There was a postcard on Ebay a while back showing the VSS-3 and the star scope you mentioned on a Huey. Quite a sight to see.



Not sure if I got your email address, just PM me. I have the final report for you with diagrams.


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## snake36bravo (Aug 9, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*



BVH said:


> . The other great news is that I took one of my two, $100 Ebay scored ILC brand, new old stock variable 100-500 Watt Short Arc power supplies with built-in ignitor up with me just in-case there was some reason they needed to see it and because this is what I plan to use to power the INFANT light when it's got its new lamp - temporarily until I can find a used 600 Watt supply. They suggested I bring it to the test area of the shop and try to power up a 500 Watt Starburst lamp. To our great joy, it lit it off with no issues and......I had the power cranked up to full (thinking it's 500 Watts max output) and when I looked at the display, WOW!! - it was putting out 605 Watts!
> 
> I also got to fondle their engineer sample NightSun and Starburst! Sure would like one of each!



Remember what I said about them stepping it down? Capable of more but rated for the power system of the helicopter 

From the report

(a) 3rrorr- were repeatedly found in the procedures
section, For example, "Measure voltage between plug 1, pin J and plug 1,
pin H," Measurement should have been between plug 1, pin J and plug 1,
pin '£. Some instructions Wijre impossible to accomplish. For example,
"Connect voltmeter between TP5 (+) on chassJ? and test point TP3 (-) on
card A-2 of the INFANT control panel (012 unit)." Test point TP5 should
have read TPjj. as there is no TP5 on the equipment. Typographical errors
of this type caused unnecessary confusion and increased troubleshooting
time.

(b) In the section of the POMM titled Proper Indications,
the following errors were noted.

1 Several notations direct the measurement of AC
voltage where it should have indicated DC voltage.

2 One statement, "AC voltage proportional to
turret (OOk unit) elevation position" gives insufficient information for
maintenance personnel to act on, and there were no other references or
examples given to clarify the statement.


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## BVH (Aug 9, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Capable of more but rated for the PS of the Huey.....That makes perfect sense! Good to see you back here!


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## The_Driver (Nov 25, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

Did you ever get this thing running?


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## BVH (Nov 25, 2012)

*Re: 600 Watt Short Arc M-134 Cannon Light*

I'm just waiting on the bulb from A.R.C. I could not use the OEM Cannon brand connector that came with the light because the high Voltage arc jumped the pins in the connector. So I found another Cannon connector that looks identical and bolts right up to the light shell with pins that are further apart. That's been installed and tested successfully. I will be using 6 of the pins. Two for Anode and Cathode, 2 for the on-board, OEM temperature sensor (so I'm still using the OEM over-temp shut down system), 1 for the 2 OEM fans and 1 for frame ground. All of that is done and ready to go. I received my clear Borosilicate front window. If I only had the bulb! I hope to have it within the next 30 days or so.


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## windstrings (May 6, 2013)

Wow!... Now that's a knife! 

When you get it working, give me a call and point it my way here in central Texas, I'll like to see what it looks like! 

Alan.. Sent with Tapatalk 2


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## BVH (Feb 27, 2014)

I'm told I'll have a couple lamps soon. I've wanted to get this puppy going for a long time!


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## BVH (Aug 5, 2014)

Hurray! It is ALIVE and working! The MX-8688 AN/ASQ-132 is functioning once again after decades of sitting.


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## NITE LITE (Aug 6, 2014)

That thing looks cool.
I tried watching the video you linked but it said it's private.
GW


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## BVH (Aug 6, 2014)

Opps, I think I forgot to "publish" it. I made it public but didn't hit the publish button. Try again and let me know.


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## Onestep (Aug 8, 2014)

Watched the video. What a light but someone has to stop using a running shop vac as a tripod for the camera.


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## BVH (Jul 27, 2016)

A shameful plug... I'm selling one of the tiny 500 Watt Short Arc power supplies (with built-in ignitor) I used to run this light.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ply-amp-300-Watt-Module-with-Lamp-Lots-of-Fun!


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