# NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !! (the Maxablaster!)



## Ra

Hi guyz, A short while ago I made my dream (which I had for years) reality:
A mercury-arc Cyclops Thor mod:







Playing with Maxabeam for over four years I wanted to create a light that was even more powerfull, not only in lumens output, but in throw as well.

The osram HBO 103/W2 produces 3000 bulb lumens and has the highest possible surface brightness ( exept for lasers ofcource )
Combined with a high quality parabolic Rhodium reflector this gives close to 40 million cp. (measured using calibrated equipment)
It took two months to complete this monster.






Putting 54 NiMh 3300mAh cells together was a difficult job on its own !
The ballast has a 18-36 volt input range so I combined 3 groups of 16 cells to get 19.2 volt at 9.9 Ah, enough for 100 minutes of operation time.






Using mercury-arc comes with a few hazards: It radiates the complete harmful ultra violet spectrum in the book: Toxic ozone generating UV-C included ! So I made shure that the front window blocks all of the UV-C and UV-B and most of the less harmfull UV-A.

The front window also has to protect me against lamp-burst: The lamp has lower than atmospheric pressure when cold, but generates +85 atm's in full operation!
The device is thermal protected and a key-lock prevents accidental ignition, its not a toy!






The lamp is adustable in all directions with a precision of 0.01 mm, nessessary with a arc surface of just over 0.1 of a square mm.

38 million cp's create a spot on clouds up to 4 miles high with ease:






And compared to Maxabeam: see for your selves:






For max throw surface brightness is the most important, the next picture will show the difference in surface brightness of a few lamps: in the middle Maxabeam at high power, at the right the mercury-arc thor and to the left the very faint contours of my HID Thor at 50watt power! The picture was taken using a type 13 welding filter.






So,,, any questions??


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## pyro

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

WOW!
Where did you get that beautiful reflector?
I dont even dare to ask what it cost you to build this Maxabeam Crusher.

Really impressive!


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## x-ray

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

:goodjob::wow: Amazing light


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks pyro,

Yes, it is a quite expensive project: The reflector costs about 800 USD! Its a very high quality reflector used in lab-equipment. The total costs of the materials is about 2000 USD. But it was worth it (in my opinion...)


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## Taylorf

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Wow, awesome.

What is the purpose of the LEDs on top of it?


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

And to give an impression of the smoothness of the reflector:







BTW, Here Maxablaster runs with a Ushio UXL 75-XE xenon short-arc (With the same specs as the lamp of Maxabeam.)


Regards,

Ra.


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks Taylorf,

The led's are for voltage check during operation: low voltage can damage the electronic ballast that operates the lamp. So if the two red ones bigin to light up its advisable to turn off the lamp!


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## flex76italy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Hi Ra,

i'm impressed on all, many compliments......a couple of questions:


1) Why Rhodium plated and not silver plated? Silver is better than any coating, but Rhodium don't take oxidation...zero maintenance.

2) You have projected also the entire reflector design or it is stock thor reflector coated?

3) What brand is the ballast?

4) As you have balanced perfectly all cells to make a battery pack?

.....for now, just these questions  

:wave:


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Rhodium is the most durable, is very hard and can easily cope with the high levels of ultra violet light produced by the lamp.

The original Thor-reflector has too many imperfections in its shape and can only be used with larger filaments or with HID.

The ballast is a Auerswald.

The batteries are hand picked and checked on their capacity.


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## PoliceScannerMan

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Very nice! Good Job!

Can you post a large pic of your Avatar, it also shows the smooth reflector.

That light looks awesome, a real Throw King!


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## nemul

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

dude, your good!


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## greenLED

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

"just another mod"?? :huh:

Dude, that's awesome! Next thing you know, you'll be rebuilding a tank light. 

Nice job.


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## HighLight

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

:goodjob: This is the type of stuff I joined CPF to see....Awesome job!


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## CroMAGnet

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Way to go! This light needs a catchy name so we can find it in a search months from now.


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## wquiles

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Well, I am absolutely floored :goodjob:

Will


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## wquiles

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



CroMAGnet said:


> Way to go! This light needs a catchy name so we can find it in a search months from now.


How about "Master-Blaster" ???

(bonus points: remember what movie this is from?)

Will


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## ICUDoc

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Ra

Ra-ra

You ARE the Sun-God.

Wow is all I can say.

So what is your EDC?


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## bombelman

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Wanneer mag ik deze ook eens persoonlijk bezichtigen ?

(Dutch for: When can I visit ?)    

Great efforts !! Cheers !!


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## cue003

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Awesome light. How much does that thing weigh? That is a lot of batteries. It has got to be pretty heavy right?

Curtis


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## Walt175

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

WOAH! 

:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: 


Master Blaster was from Mad Max III.


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## tvodrd

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Awsome!!!!!!! :bow:

Larry


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## Icebreak

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

I'm in awe.

When I saw the spectacularly bright image return you got a 800yds I was trying to imagine the throw limit at about 2mi but this thing dances with clouds four mi away. I would truly like to see that thing in person.

There so many wonderful components to your light. I'll mention one I especially like. The way you can precision focus it with three axises. Man that takes some creative thinking and heavy skills to build that focusing apparatus.

What a stunner.


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## Lips

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Great work!!!


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Whoww,, Idid not expect this to happen. I don't have much time now, must go to work. So I'll be back later. But I can answer one question PoliceScannerMan: My avatar is part of the following:







Greetings from Holland.


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## nemul

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

DROOL!


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## Delvance

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Absolutely amazing. I am speechless. Art.


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## roguesw

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

to steal a line from another thread

"What ever you do guys, dont cross the beams"

that is an amazing mod, straight out of the movies


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## xpitxbullx

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Is it possible to use two 12V SLA mini batteries? Combined, it looks to be the same size as the original battery. I saw some of the small batteries that were half the size of the one that comes in the original Thor at Fry's. I think they were 7Ah rated and about $14 apiece, IIRC.

Jeff


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## jar3ds

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

if your feeling giving.. i'll take it ... 

excellent build! :rock:


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## WhiteHot

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Good god man!!!!! That thing is ridiculous. I love it.


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## PoliceScannerMan

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks for the Pic! That thing is smoooth. Makes my smooth Mag reflectors look like :green:


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## jdriller

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Jaw drops, drools, and forgets how to speak. What a light!


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks for your reactions from all over the world! Please ask me if you want more details.


As you can see.. I did not cross the beams, indeed god knows what would happen!! But thanks for the warning..
The 'faint' beam is from Maxabeam at high power spot focus.

And here are some trees at approx 600 yards, again (the beam on the right) Maxabeam high power spot.








Did you ever use a mirror to reflect the sun to annoy neighbours, dreaming of owning a torchlight that could do the same thing... well, I did !!
Beleve me, at broad daylight, with the sun at its highest point, this mercury Thor gives the same performance as a 8 inch diameter flat mirror reflecting direct sunlight. The spot is visible on buildings more than 400 yards away!


Stay tuned...


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## jtice

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

oo: :bow: that is NICE !!!!!!!!


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## LEDcandle

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

WOW that is CRAZY SH**!!!


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## Data

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

wow


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## Icebreak

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



Ra said:


> And below you can see the small diference in surface-brightness compared to the sun.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did you ever use a mirror to reflect the sun to anoy neighbours, dreaming of owning a torchlight that could do the same thing...


Of course.



Ra said:


> well, I did !!


Yes you did. Congratulations!


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

A few more details: The weight of the monster is exact 6 kg or 13.2 lbs, 1.5 times the weight of maxabeam (MB: including a 12v 7Ah lead-acid battery).
But it feels quite portable because the grip has a 'smooth' shape.

48 c-cells indeed add alot of pounds, but a lighter powersource (lithuim-ion) would be more dificult to maintain (I think..). Using less expensive lead-acid batteries would have given less capacity.
The cells are made for high demanding purposes: rc-racing. I found their capacity acceptable.

I failed to mention another 'con' in the world of pro's of this torch: Like HID it needs its time to start up: The mercury-arc lamp needs about 1.5 minutes to evaporate the mercury inside and build up the ultra high internal pressure (+85 ATM's!)

Another pro to compensate: The lamp operates much more stable in various burning positions compared to the maxabeam-arc lamp: At sertain angles the maxabeam-arc begins to 'wobble' a bit, creating very little but noticable flikkering.
Because the mecury-arc lamp must be mounted "anode-down" when you point the torch at the sky (the maxabeam lamp must be "anode-up") the hot gas flow inside is more smooth, causing the arc to be very stable!


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## Sway

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

"WOW" KILLER MOD MAN!!! :rock:

I love it!

:bow: :bow: :bow:


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## winny

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Simply amazing! My hat off for you! :bow: 

Where did you get the lamp and ballast? Is it an UHP Hg-lamp?


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## greenLED

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



Ra said:


> And here are some trees at approx 600 yards, again (the beam on the right) Maxabeam high power spot.



Sorry, man, but I think you forgot to turn on the MaxaBeam. :lolsign:

:bow: :bow:

Who's the CPF'er who wants to "hold the sun" in his hands? :thinking:


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## leduk

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

I like the ignition switch best....
Apart from the danger.....
And the light.....


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## nemul

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

now build a Magmod.. HID, Hotwire, or LED.. i would love to see what you come up with!


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



nemul said:


> now build a Magmod.. HID, Hotwire, or LED.. i would love to see what you come up with!



Uhhmmmm,, how about this:






And finished, it looks like this:






10Watt Welch Allyn HID, perfect parabolic dichoric (cold) reflector (98% reflection), 2hours burntime, 250,000 beam cp, 1000 yards throw!
And waterproof up till depths of 200 ft.

Comming soon in a new thread near you... Edit: It is near you!!: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=126565


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## tarsier

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Did I hear group buy? You interested in making 50 of those wonderful lights?


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## MorpheusT1

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Very nice stuff!!!


Any 24W HID`s planned for the future?


The 10W HID will do for now 




Keep the pictures comming,
Benny


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

With my busy life I don't have the time to make a lot of these lights. And it takes a lot of effort to get the most cp's out of 10watt HID: The reflector is from an old used digital projector lamp, I removed the protective bulb around the very fragile 10watt HID lamp, just to get 6% more light output. But it adds up: 98% reflective reflector, removed protective bulb, multilayer coated front window (99.3% overall transmittance) All that together gives alot more light!! and throw as well: The 10Watt Welch Allyn has much higher surface brightness than automotive HID's ! That means high throw with small reflector.






PS. As a result of the high performance anti-reflex coating, you don't see the front window, but beleve me, its there!


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## Orbit

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Well done!

you have put alot of effort into it and that is great to see...Simply awesome output as well, a fantastic effort. The only thing i beat you on is runtime 
looks like i'm going to have to lift my game:candle: 
can you provide a link for the reflector source?


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## nemul

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

awesome!


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## That_Guy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Holy Hell! Wow! This is amazing! I haven't been this excited in a long time (I guess I must be a real geek if something like this gets me excited!)

I've been dreaming of making a Maxabeam killer for quite a while now (along with a lot of other people I'm sure), not that it was anything more than a dream. Actually I had been eyeing that particular lamp for use in a Maxabeam killer. Compared to the Maxabeam’s lamp it has a shorter arc gap (0.25mm vs. 0.6 something mm IIRC) AND higher luminous output (3000lm vs. <1000lm) resulting in a MUCH higher surface brightness (170kcd/cm2 vs. 30 – 40kcd/cm2 (just a guess based on other lamps XSA lamps in the same wattage range)) than the Maxabeam lamp.

My plan was to swap it out with the lamp in the Maxabeam since the MB is the only light with a suitable reflector (high quality nickel rhodium) and it also had a ballast which may be compatible (constant current DC), not sure weather it would handle the higher operating voltage though. The only problems were the long warm up time and higher colour temperature (I think they’re meant to be around 9500K which is meant to be a disgusting blueish-purple).

It’s quite a coincidence that you’ve reappeared just now. I was rereading all your posts about your super dooper Maxabeam only last week, and mentioned you in a post only a few days ago! It was you who taught me (and a number of others) about the concept of surface brightness, and how throw is determined not by lumens, but by surface brightness. Despite your short time on CPF I’ve certainly learnt a lot from you. (Yes I’m sucking up, but it’s true).

OK, question time:
What is the colour like? Is it really 9500K like I said before? How “pleasing” is it compared to the pure white Maxabeam?

How does it warm up? Does it produce any light when you first turn it on? Does the brightness ramp up linearly, or is it more like D2S lamps which produce light when first turned on and quickly reach 80%, and then slowly increases to 100%? I think the name for the curve is logarithmic, not sure though, I’m no good at maths.

In the down the road pictures you can see a large part of the ground being lit up. Is this due to the spill light, or is it part of a much larger secondary beam?

Can you tell me more about the ballast? How big is it? Is it a custom design? How much did it cost? It’s funny because it was Marc from AE who first suggested to me about using mercury short arc lamps when I enquired about what lamp to use to make a super thrower. Actually he said that he knew of one guy who had made a spotlight using a UHP lamp, was he talking about you? He said he lived in Florida, you live in the Netherlands, so maybe not. 

This might sound strange, but why is it “only” 38 mil cp? In one of your earlier posts you managed to get a 12 mil cp Maxabeam through selecting the one with the best reflector and AR coating the lens. The HBO lamp has 4 – 5 times the surface brightness of the XBO lamp in the Maxabeam, so if used in the Maxabeam it should give 50 mil cp. Now you’re using it in a much larger reflector. It has a much larger diameter and is shallower so when taking both these into account the focal length is MUCH longer than that of the MB reflector. So shouldn’t this be pumping out well over 100 mil cp?

I gather I’m missing something here. Is the surface brightness of the MB lamp much higher than 30 – 40kcd/cm2? Or is it because the hand picked MB reflector of yours is much higher quality than the reflector you’re using in this light?

Why doesn’t the beam appear to be any tighter than the Maxabeam? The arc gap is smaller, so given the same reflector it should be smaller, but you’re using it in a much larger reflector so the beam should be MUCH tighter than the MB. Is it just because it is so much brighter than the MB it appears larger than it really is?


Some more general questions:

What do you think of the UHP lamps used in projectors? They are AC and have a larger arc gap (1mm), but are twice as efficient, have a lower colour temperature (7000K), but have a similar surface brightness. They can also have a dichroic coating on one hemisphere of the arc capsule to reflect light back into the arc, allowing a much shallower (and thus longer focal length) reflector to be used, which is pretty neat.

I’m not sure of the exact surface brightness, but looking at this PDF (which is my only source of info in UHP lamps) it appears to be between 100 - 200kcd/cm2, similar to that of the lamp you’re using. It also mentions experimental lamps with 0.3mm arc gaps with surface brightness’ above 600kcd/cm2!

What is the surface brightness of the 10W Solarc lamp? I know it has a very short arc gap (1.2mm IIRC), but it also has a very low luminous output (not sure if this is the right term, I mean lumens), so I can’t see the surface brightness being any higher than standard D2S lamps. Do you know about the larger 21W and 50W Solarc lamps? They have the same arc gap as the 10W, so the surface brightness should be quite high with these lamps (especially the 50W).

What do you think of the Cermax Xenon arc lamps by PerkinElmer? The neat thing about these is that the arc gap is constant for a wide range of wattages, so by the time you get to 800W the arc gap is very small for its power relative to standard quartz xenon lamps (0.97mm @ 800W). Do you think that this could compete with, or even better short arc mercury lamps? Only problem is that these lamps have an integral elliptical reflector which means you would need to use lens optics which as far as I know can’t throw as far as parabolic reflectors given the same size. However they give a much nicer beam pattern than reflectors.



Like I said before this light is truly amazing. It LITERALY is my dream light made into reality. OK, not quite, my dream light didn’t use the Thor as a host; I planned on either using the HBO lamp in a Maxabeam or in a large pistol grip spotlight like the Lightforce Blitz. I must have this light! I assume you’ll be willing to make some more as long as people pay you enough. There’s no way I can possibly afford one at the moment, but I am going to do whatever it takes to get enough money for one of these! This hasn’t just displaced the Maxabeam from the top spot on my dream light list; it has knocked it off completely. Who could possibly want a puny Maxabeam compared to this? Well I guess the Maxabeam does still have its advantages. It’s instant on, has electronic focus, smaller, pure white xenon light, and also produces much less intense spill light due to the lower lumens which is good for not waking everyone up when you use it on the street. But since the only thing the MB is good for is throw, and this monster has it beat there really isn’t much use for a MB anymore.

You should post something about this in the HID forum. I know cross posting isn't allowed, but I hardly ever visit this forum, it was only through luck that I found this when I saw the word "Thor" in the last post preview. The HID forum, on the other hand, I visit many times a day.



Well done Ra, you have made something truly amazing!


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

dear That Guy, Thank for all the positive remarks. I wanted to send a PM, but realized that others as well could be interested in my answers to your questions.

You are quite well informed on this lamp-business, but (how do I say this nicely..) Your theory has some very small impurities... That is, if it comes to surface brightness.

So, lets begin with that subject, shall we??: The specs on surface brightnesses of the maxabeam lamp and the HBO103 W/2 are right on the spot: 40kcd/cm2 for the 75watt Xe-lamp used in Maxabeam and 170kcd/cm2 for the 103 W/2 mercury arc. But there is something they forget to mention: The surface brightness distribution over the arc! The arc does not have the same surf br. over its entire surface! And here lays the big diference between the Xe and the Hg lamps. The 40kcd for the Xe is a mean value, but the arc has a very bright hotspot close to the cathode! The surface br. towards the anode is much lower than 40kcd/cm2 but is still part of the arcsize you mentioned! This means that the hotspot has a much higher surface brightness, I don't know the axact value but my guess is close to 100kcd/cm2
so that makes the diference between Hg and Xe a lot smaller!

And now this: The tight spot you see coming from Maxabeam in spot mode is created by the hotspot of the arc only, If you have a perfect reflector and the Maxabeam lamp is collimated well you will see a tight spot in a round hase of sidespill, this sidespill is formed by the rest of the arc.

The spot of my Maxabeam-exterminator is formed by the entire arc, the Hg arc has a much, much more even suf.br. ditribution with two only slightly brighter hotspots close to the electrodes!
So with that in mind, its obvious that the Hg-arc has a larger 'usable' surface, creating a slightly bigger spot than Maxabeam does using only the one small hotspot of the Xe-arc. 
I cannot give the exact mathematics, but my feeling is that with all this in mind the "usable" surface brightness of the Hg-arc is about 1.5 times the surface brightness of the Xe-arc generated in Maxabeam.
I hope to come with arc-pictures soon, then you can actually see the diference.

And now Hg-arc in Maxabeam: It is possible, but there is one big problem: The maxabeam has no problems starting the lamp, it starts at high power, the problems start when the electronics switch to nominal power after a few seconds! Nominal power is much to low for maintaining the Hg-arc. So this is what happens: Maxabeam starts at high power, after a few secs loses the arc, performing an imidiate restart at high power (very fast, the 'off' period is about 1/10th of a second). It will do this again and again till you switch off the lamp. So If you can find a way to keep Maxabeam at high power from start to end, it would perform well with Hg-arc!
I could not find a low-volt input Hg-ballast so I'm using a Xe-ballast as well!

The "only 38 million cp" has two reasons: The one mentioned above: The surface brightness being not as much higher than Maxabeams Xe than you thought. And... I operate the lamp at 85 watts, close to the minimum needed.

As for the 12 million cp for my Maxabeam I mentioned earlier: My calibrated equipment was not as calibrated as I thought! It measured 8 million cp when I found the flaw in my equipment, a few months ago. Did not feel nessesary to correct an old post, sorry for that.

Colortemp: Indeed that also was one of my concerns, but it turned out to be not that bad!: Indeed its more bluish, but not much. The diference is best noticable with skintones! But hey, I made this monster to throw, not to reveal axact colors. I could be wrong but my guess is about 7000K compared to the 6000K Maxabeam.

You asked about the light level at startup: Very dim!!! I'll have to be honest about the fact that starting this lamp takes its time. Maybe because of the Xe-ballast reacting to the high Hg arc-voltage needed during startup: When the arc forms it switches off one or two times. During that proces the inside pressure rises, dropping the maintenace voltage within acceptable limits.
However hot restrike goes as smooth as it possibly can!

As for the UHP-lamps: I'm not familliaiaiair (please correct me..) enough with those, to say anything other than this: Promissing, I've saved the Pdf you mentioned, interesing stuff, I'll look into it.

10watt HID: Its about the same story as above: The arc has two hotspots close to the electrodes. Using a high quality parablolic reflector, I managed to concentrate the light of the hotspot close to the anode to a very small, tight spot. That cannot be done using mag-reflectors: too many imperfections in the shape. But there is another important issue, and I hope you will understand this: Optical arc-dissplacement... The main reason I removed the protective bulb around the 10watt HID bulb: This bulb is formed like a tube: Not a round, globular bulb. If you want to concentrate the light from a hotspot only 0.05mm wide the tubelike bulb causes an optical dissplacement that makes perfect parabolic reflectors useless for this purpose! The bulb around the arc must be round, creating the same optical effect in any direction, the very small bulb around the 10watt-arc is round enough to do this.
The 24watt and 50watt Welch Allyn HID's indeed could have higher surface brightness, but I found the 10Watt most suitable for this small light.

So, now I'm going to feed the cat..

Laterrr.


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## Lunal_Tic

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Amazing! :thumbsup: I'd love to see a shoot out with this and the BarnBurner and others.

That 10W looks very nice too.

-LT


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## That_Guy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks for the reply Ra.

You’re explanation of the difference between peak and mean surface brightness makes sense - thanks. It would sure make things a lot easier if the manufacturers when specifying surface brightness on lamp data sheets said weather it was peak or mean!

So the advantage of Hg lamps over Xe lamps isn't so much the higher surface brightness, but the more even distribution of light across the arc which results in a larger, more even beam. So if I wanted instant on and used a 75W Xe lamp (like the Maxabeam lamp) instead of the Hg lamp I wouldn’t loose too much cp – only approx. 25mcp vs. 38mcp – but would have a much smaller (less lumens), less even beam, making it harder to tell what it is I’m actually looking at. The only thing I don’t understand is why the DC Hg arc is so uniform. I thought only AC arcs were uniform, and that all DC arcs had a “hotspot” at the cathode?

Is there any particular reason you’re only operating the lamp at 85W? If you drive it at 100W you could break the 40mcp barrier or even the magical 50mcp barrier if you overdrive it a little.

*As for the UHP-lamps: I'm not familliaiaiair (please correct me..)*
Correct spelling is “familiar”.

*But there is another important issue, and I hope you will understand this: Optical arc-dissplacement...*
I think I know what you mean – let me know if I’m on the right track. The problem is due to refraction. When the outer bulb is perpendicular to the arc hotspot there isn’t a problem because the light passes through unaltered. However when it passes through at an angle (not perpendicular) the light refracts when it enters the glass, and refracts again when it exists. Even though the angle of the light remains the same after it exits the glass (remains parallel to the original ray), it has been offset by a small distance due to travelling through the glass at a slightly different angle. So the distance the light is offset would be dependent on the angle and the thickness of the glass. This offset means that the hotspot is effectively out of focus at all angles not perpendicular to the arc. I haven’t explained it very well, it would be clearer if I drew a diagram, but I’m too lazy.


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## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

And I thought that it would be hard making you understand optical arc dissplacement.... You perfectly understand what I'm talking about That Guy, you are right on the spot !! You gave a better explanation than I did, so you are not as lazy as you think! (I think..) Now you also understand that optical dissplacement is not such a big issue on this forum: when you use halogen or HID The size of the filament or HID-arc is too big to be moved totally out of focus by optical dissplacement, unless the glass that causes the dissplacement happens to be very, very thick!! Even with the 10watt Solarc-arc this is not a problem: I made it a problem because I concentrated on the very small hotspot at the anode: less than 0.1 mm wide!

85 watts is about the max power my ballast can produce, I'm looking for a higher power ballast. But at 85watts I have longer lamplife (aprox 450hrs) If I could get my hands on a higher power ballast, I would create at least two power settings (like Maxabeam) 85watts lo, and 120watts hi.
Somewhere I must have the schematics of the Maxabeam ballast, maybe in the future I try to make one, I think it should give more than 100watts.

But let me tell you that I'm very pleased with the performance of this Maxablaster, even at 85watts: 2.5 times Maxabeam on lumens, more than 5 times Maxabeam on candlepower, (1.5 times the weight of MB....): For the moment I don't need more !!

As for the uniform mercury-arc: I'm not sure, but I think its a combination of high pressure and gas-type: The pressure in Hg-arc lamps is much higher than in Xe-arc lamps. And Hg-gas is heavy, so the arc is forced to follow a narrow path to the anode, keeping it dense with a uniform surface brightness.
I'll try to photograph the Hg and Xe arcs and post the pics so you can see the diference, it will take time cause its not an easy job.
BTW: When I look at the Hg-arc at startup using a welding filter, I can see the arc becomming narrower as the pressure builds up! (can I post little movies???)


----------



## Mike Painter

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



Taylorf said:


> Wow, awesome.
> 
> What is the purpose of the LEDs on top of it?



What a silly question. It's to tell if the light is on.


----------



## monkeyboy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



xpitxbullx said:


> Is it possible to use two 12V SLA mini batteries? Combined, it looks to be the same size as the original battery. I saw some of the small batteries that were half the size of the one that comes in the original Thor at Fry's. I think they were 7Ah rated and about $14 apiece, IIRC.
> 
> Jeff


 
Nimh is definitely the better option. 2x 12V 7Ah SLA gives 168 VAh and 48 x 1.2V 3300mAh (sub C?) gives 190VAh. Not to mention that the discharge curve of NiMh is more suited to the constant output required by an arc lamp. So a regulator circuit will maintain regulation for longer with Nimh.

Ra, with a battery pack this large, it would be a good idea to use an active monitoring board to monitor each cell. 

http://www.powerstream.com/pack-control.htm

If you had a death wish, you could use 18650 2400mah LG li-ion cells. I estimate, you would get at least 300VAh in the same space. It would be much lighter too.

Just a thought


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks Monkeyboy,
Very interesting info. Brainstorming about this creates better mod's in the future!

I'm well aware of the problem with large packs. But in my case monitoring each cell is not an option, simply because I don't have the room for the electronics!! I already had to buckle my mind to get the the ballast + igniter along with 48 sub-c cell's inside the Thor: My reflector assembly is deeper than the original Thor reflector!
So maybe not the most perfect option, but I settled for 48 cells without monitoring each cell.

BUT... The LED-voltage controll at the top has its advantage here: Keeping the voltage within ballast-range In my case also means keeping the voltage within reasonably battery-pack range: The two are very close together. 
Ofcource this means that I don't use the entire capacity of the pack (by far!), but hopefully will enjoy a longer pack-life.

And don't forget, I mentioned earlier the the cells are matched for RC-racing: also a demanding job!

Anyhow, thanks for trying to help making this a perfect mod.
Very interesting website you mentioned.

Thanks.


----------



## That_Guy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Ra,

I have the Maxabeam schematics if you're interested, although they’re from 1993 so they might be out of date. I'm not an expert at electronics, but as far as I can tell the different modes change the current by changing the gain of an op-amp by selecting different feedback resistor combinations. So to overcome the problem of the lamp dropping out when the Maxabeam switches from start-up to normal mode you could change the resistors to be the same as the resistors on start-up mode.

The only thing I don't understand is why the lamp works on start-up mode but not on normal. If anything I thought it would be the opposite. On start-up mode the lamp current is 14A which overdrives the lamp which is rated at 4.44A. On normal mode the lamp current is 7A which is closer to spec. I thought the main problem would the ballast not being able to supply a high enough voltage. The Maxabeam’s lamp operating voltage is around 10V, while the Hg lamps operating voltage is 20 – 25V.

Looking at the AE Light website there are two low voltage DC ballast for XSA lamps. One is 30 – 70W, which I guess is the one you’re using. The other is 75 – 180W so if you used that you could run the lamp at a higher wattage.

Just a thought, mercury short-arc lamps don’t require ignition voltages anywhere near as high as XSA lamps. The ignition voltage of the lamp you’re using is specified at 850V, so you could potentially get away with using a smaller igniter with a lower ignition voltage, although you’d probably lose the hot restrike.

*(can I post little movies???)*
You can’t post videos directly on the forums, but you can host them on a number of free video hosting services, although many of them use an embedded flash player which is the devil. The only ones I can think of at the moment are Google Video and YouTube.

Looking at the pictures of the Maxabeam and Thor monster reflectors while operating through the welding filters there are noticeable dark fringes. Is this due to imperfections in the shape of the reflector?


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

That Guy,

The voltage-rang of MB is suitable for use with Hg-arc, but at startup the arc-voltage is higher than when hot. BTW the MB-arc lamp is rated at 14 volts, if indeed it gets +14 amps at startup it would vapourize the electrodes.

Can it be that the +14 amps you mention are the current draw from the the input source??

Starting at high power ensures the lamp to ignite and warm up the electrodes faster, high power on MB is higher than the lamp can handle for longer periods: I'm not sure but my guess is it runs at aprox 90watts at high power, that is also the reason for MB to swich back to nominal a few secs after startup and aprox 17 secs after you switch to high power.

Indeed I'm using the 30-70watt ballast giving a max 85 watts.
Ofcource I wanted the 75-180watt ballast but that one is unavaiable, that is if you want less than 100 pieces (500 USD each!!)!!!!
They should mention that on their site!!!

Indeed the dark fringes you see are imperfections in the shape of the reflectors, but they are gone when you fotograph them at more than 200 yards: I was to close when i took the pic. The outer rim of the "Maxablaster"-reflector didn't even show, its much bigger than you see on the pic.

Laterr,

Ra


----------



## That_Guy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

I'm pretty sure the figures are for lamp current. They are:
14A on start-up
9.8A on high
7A on normal
5A on low

This is from 1993 so perhaps the newer Maxabeams have different specs.


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

The following picture shows the arcs of a few lamp-types: The surface brightness distribution of the 450watt XE arc is similar to that of the maxabeam arc, only the MB-arc is smaller in size.
Note the hotspots clearly visible (XE and HID-arc)







And as for the powerlevels of MB That Guy, I still cannot beleve those are values provided directly to the lamp: If so, at low power the lamp already gets its nominal power (Advanced Radiation Company 75 Watt XE-lamp used in standard MB is rated 14 volts 5.4 Amps!)


----------



## That_Guy

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

That picture is really interesting Ra, thanks. It does a good of showing the differences between the different lamp types.

I don't know if it's just the camera, but the hotspot on the XE lamp actually looks a good deal brighter than the HBO lamp.

The WA HID arc looks huge (and dim)! Really shows the difference between metal halide and true xenon/mercury short arc lamps. And this is with a relatively short 1.2mm arc gap. Imagine a standard 4.2mm automotive D2S lamp! The hotspot on the WA looks almost as bright as the HBO lamp, and is really small as well. I can see what you mean about how important it is to focus on the hotspot rather than the middle of the arc for maximum candlepower, and the difficulties with correctly focusing on it due to it's incredibly small size both relative to the rest of the arc and in absolute terms.

I don't really know what to say about the power levels of the MB, just quoting the 1993 repair manual. Like I said before the only thing I can think of is the older Maxabeams used a different lamp, so this could be from before they switched to the newer lamp.


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



That_Guy said:


> I don't know if it's just the camera, but the hotspot on the XE lamp actually looks a good deal brighter than the HBO lamp.
> 
> The WA HID arc looks huge (and dim)! Really shows the difference between metal halide and true xenon/mercury short arc lamps.



Yes, I forgot to mention: The arcs should not be compared in size or apperent (??) brightness, the above picture is only for determination of the shape and surface brightness-ditribution of the arcs.

The mean surface brightness of the Hg-arc is higher than the surface br. of the hotspot of the XE-arc.
The surface br. of the 10HID-hotspot is about 1/3 times the surfbr. of the XE arc-hotspot.


----------



## Ruockolt

*Incredible, man!*

This is an incredible work of craftsmanship. After all that hard work you certainly deserve to be complimented. I visited this site today and looked through some of the other posts, but only joined after seeing your amazing work on this... I don't really know what to call it, "searchlight" certainly doesn't do it justice. 

Anyway, you defininely are en-lightened!


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Greetings Ruockolt,

Let me be the one to welcome you at the CP-Forums. If you are a torchlover this is the place for you. Here you'll find much very interesting stuff, and many very skilled modifiers, designers and manufacturers if it comes to anything producing light!

Have fun...


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Guyzzz,, guyzz,,

Do a netscape search for "Maxablaster".... I think that is the name I'm going to use !! (and this will propably show too...)

Ra.


----------



## ZeissOEM2

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

edit


----------



## EvilLithiumMan

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



Ra said:


> And below you can see the small diference in surface-brightness compared to the sun.



I'd return it. That donut is unacceptable


----------



## Ra

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



EvilLithiumMan said:


> I'd return it. That donut is unacceptable




Yes,, I know...: There is no sugar on it !!! At least to me that is the only reason that makes donuts unacceptable !!


----------



## AlexGT

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

 RA!!!!!! 

YOU SHOULD BE REPORTED TO THE MODERATORS!!!!!! :banned::nana:  Making such awesome, shocking, incredible kickbutt lights just for yourself, that is just MEAN! :rock: You turned about 99.99% of the CPF community green with envy! Incredible lights! NICE work!!!  :twothumbs 

I don't know what your real job is but you certainly could make tons of cash selling lights like those.

Drool! :goodjob:


----------



## Ra

*More Maxablaster beamshots*

Here are some more beamshots that speak for themselves:






The spot on the cloud is approx 4 miles away. The nice thing about this picture is that it was not completely dark yet, I could read a newspaper without the help of a torch ( I didn't because I don't like to read newspapers!!)

Another object:






And....






Enjoy... if I can find the time more will come.


----------



## ChrisDallas

Please add me to ANY one of your group buys I'd love to own ANY of your lights.

Cheers
Chris


----------



## rufusdufus

RA,

This outstanding effort deserves a Bump back to the top.

And to think I never even knew it was here.

You have built my dream.


----------



## ChrisDallas

Ra, will you be selling this light soon to the members of this forum?


----------



## 270winchester

ChrisDallas said:


> Ra, will you be selling this light soon to the members of this forum?




ditto


----------



## Ra

*More beamshots...*

Here are two more beamshots..






And..


----------



## ianb

Wow, only just found this thread, absolutely awesome beast, I love the 10w too, very nicely designed and put together, I undertsand that time taken means it(10w) won't be made, but boy they both look sweet 

Ian


----------



## Ra

ianb said:


> Wow, only just found this thread, absolutely awesome beast, I love the 10w too, very nicely designed and put together, I undertsand that time taken means it(10w) won't be made, but boy they both look sweet
> 
> Ian




Thanks Ian,

"Time taken means" is a nice way to put it. You are right: If you only know how much more time I needed to squeeze every last drop of candlepower out of these monsters... But it does not stop here: There is more squeezing to come! But indeed it takes time, so don't wait up for it...It can take months of thinking, designing, testing and stuff like that !!

In the mean time I'll try to keep this thread alive with intresting stuff like beamshots..

Regards,

Ra


----------



## Long John

:wow:...:twothumbs...:bow:

What a nice light and great pictures too:goodjob:

Best regards

____
Tom


----------



## 3rd_shift

Man!!! hitting a cloud from 4 miles away with a cordless light!

Flashoholism literally taken to a new height! :bow: :thumbsup: :rock:


----------



## Loomy

This mod is hot like a nuclear furnace. The top of the thing looks like the inside of Doc Brown's Delorean!


----------



## FNinjaP90

Since you're not selling them, mind giving us some detailed instructions on how to build one, i.e where to get reflector?


----------



## Lips

I think I remember he said his reflector cost $800 (medical source) :green:


----------



## rufusdufus

FNinjaP90 said:


> Since you're not selling them, mind giving us some detailed instructions on how to build one.


Exact ballast.
Bulb
Availability and cost.
I would prefer a white light but if this is the only bulb capable then thats it.
Detailed construction of your bulb centreing device.


----------



## Manzerick

I'll take one and some financial aid papers 



Lips said:


> I think I remember he said his reflector cost $800 (medical source) :green:


----------



## FNinjaP90

I'll start a GB on medical reflectors


----------



## tonyd

Going back to post #51, Ra and ThatGuy are having some great conversation. I can get my Maxabeam to run only in high mode by powering it with A Lion 14.8 volt power pack (produces about 15.9 no load volts) This causes the Maxabeam to operate at only the high output setting. So at this setting would the Maxabeam drive The Hg- Arc lamp? Secondly if it could and a bulb existed would the focus mechanism of the Maxabeam be a benefit of a deterent? Actually to date no one has been able to provide a good source of info on a dc-dc converter to drop the voltage of the Lion Pack. Not sure how much real harm I'm doing to the lamp at this voltage put the output is increased over the Maxabeam at 12-13.9 V.I have been told that new Maxabeams are "recalibrated to use Lions"


----------



## Ra

Sorry guyzz, I was away for a while, and will be away again for a month next week...

You can find most answers to your questions in this thread, I don't have the time to make detailed drawings of the monster (most drawings are in my head !!) so some of the problems you have to solve yourselves..

BE WARNED: THIS IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS MODDING A THOR TO HID !!!

I don't want to be responsible if things go wrong..

If you are not experienced enough to complete a project like this then don't go there: From the outside it looks nice, but it has many hazards!! (like open-curcuit voltages of over 15,000 volts !!)

I can hear many members think: I WANT IT,,, I WANT IT !! Not thinking of the complexiticity (blarbb, blarbb..) of someting like this: Making detailed drawings would take weeks even months !!

I learned that few of you know what I'm talking about.. One of the members settled for modding a thor to HID when he learned about the hazards.. (a whise decision..imo)

It was hard for me to decide what was best: I knew I would get questions like "how can I make one..???" when I posted about this. The other option was to not post at all !!

Some of you meight think I made the wrong decision, others are satisfied just reading about it, they want to know this. So I posted, knowing that sometimes I would have to dissapoint a few of my CPF-friends.

No hard feelings, I hope...

Regards,

Ra.


----------



## greenlight

Man, that's bright.


----------



## Ra

*IMPORTANT NOTE !!!!*

Ok guyzz,

There is another reason that I'm not eager to fill you in on the details: As nice as it may look, it still is an experiment: No one has ever done this before.

With experiments things can go wrong. And being a honest guy I I'm going to fill you in on something that went wrong...:

The Maxablaster performed flawlessly up till a few weeks ago: the ballast I used began to protest !! First there were only a few moments it wouldn't start, but about a week ago it completely died on me !!

I can't find burned components in the electronics, it just doesn't work.

For now my conclusion is that this ballast, being designed to operate xenon short-arc lamps (like the ones used in Maxabeam), could well have a problem with the Mercury-arc lamp of Maxablaster !! Indeed there are differences: The mercury-arc need higher voltages (23 volts i.s.o. 14 volts for xenon). And it has totally different start-characteristics.

THAT ALSO BRINGS A WARNING TO THOSE WHO WANT TO FIT MAXABEAM WITH A MERCURY ARC LAMP !!!

Although the Maxabeam-electronics are a totally different ballgame, meeting millitary specs and high standards, they could well give the same problem as time passes !!

SO THINK THINGS OVER BEFORE YOU ARE GOING TO EXPERIMENT !!!



So now I'm rethinking the entire electronics division of the Maxablaster !!!

I think I already have a solution, but I'll wait to fill you in on that when I'm shure it works. I'm on vacation next month so then I'll have plenty of time to experiment on this.. Too bad there is no internet where I'm going...

Regards,

Ra.


----------



## Ra

And Tonyd,,

If Maxabeam is fixed at high power it could be that it has no problems with the mercury arc lamp, however, like I said a post earlier, I don't know anything about the long-therm performance.

Also you must redesign the lampmount of Maxabeam to fit the mercury arc lamp !!

The mercury lamp must be mounted 'anode-down', the xenon lamp in Maxabeam is mounted 'anode-up'..

The focus-mechanism will work just as well as it does with a xenon short arc..


----------



## tonyd

Thanks

I may look into it for fun if you have a source for the Hg Arc lamps. Mine is just a party toy and sees little real use. But as a flashoholic it sure is fun to have a mile long light sabre that weighs 3#'s:rock:


----------



## crampedson

You probably could go for a Guinness World Record with that thing.


----------



## Ra

Tonyd: Use a search-engine with "hbo 103" or "hbo 100".. you'll get plenty of places where they are avaiable !!

And crampedson: I never thought of Guinness.. Not a bad idea,, I'll look into that shortly..

thanks.

Ra.


----------



## tonyd

Thanks. Let me see how I can *******izy my poor Maxabeam


----------



## LuxLuthor

Ra, I'm one of those noobs that is perfectly content enjoying your masterpiece and imagining what fun it must have been before the ballast stopped working. 

LOL! I bet there are some dudes at the MaxaBeam company that are like: "Who the hell is this 'Ra' dude that put our superstar light to shame?" 

I enjoyed reading this thread, and am really glad there are people like you who know about stuf in this much detail.


----------



## Ra

Thanks, LuxLuthor.

Sorry about the few pictures that don't show. I must have deleted them during one of my cleanup actions at ImageShack.. Ofcource the most important ones still work..

In a week or two I'm going to take some new beamshots with Maxablaster: Those windmill-shots I posted were with the older electronics that operated the lamp at 85watt.. The new setup operates the lamp at 105 watts: That should give quite an improvement !! The only problem is that its hard to find a target other than a cloud, further away then the windmills at 4 miles I posted earlier.. Its hard to measure the distance to a cloud..

The new electronics still work flawlessly, with dazzling performance. 

Evertime I see that monster standing on my nightstand, its hard not to grab the "ignition-key" and turn it on, just to see (and feel) its power once again !!

Thanks for giving this thread a bump !!

I'll keep you posted...


Regards,

Ra.


----------



## kingoftf

Ra said:


> Sorry guyzz, I was away for a while, and will be away again for a month next week...


 


That´s the answer to all our doubts.

RA is a Alien and he has to return to his home-galaxy to respire some vitriolic acid and his extraterrestrial engineers will give him a new monster flashlight when he returns to our planet.

And all this will make us crazy and weak and then they will conquer our planet.


----------



## LuxLuthor

Quick bump to a great thread that someone was asking about. Ra, did you ever find out what would be involved in a Guinness record for this light?


----------



## Ra

Hi Lux,

I decided not to do that: I have a relatively new release of the world record book, and don't like the direction they are going: Less scientific, more like what's the longest running soap on TV.. The interesting stuff is brought down to a few pages! But that is ofcource how I feel it.

EDIT: Maybe interesting: more beamshots: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/139958


Regards,

Ra.


----------



## Nitro

I must have been blind to miss this thread, literally. Actually my father passed away last year, so I was preoccupied.

Though I must say, that light is truly insane. "Kids, don't try this at home." should have been your title.


----------



## LedLad

............


----------



## karlosk98

Ra said:


> Hi guyz, A short while ago I made my dream (which I had for years) reality:
> A mercury-arc Cyclops Thor mod:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Playing with Maxabeam for over four years I wanted to create a light that was even more powerfull, not only in lumens output, but in throw as well.
> 
> The osram HBO 103/W2 produces 3000 bulb lumens and has the highest possible surface brightness ( exept for lasers ofcource )
> Combined with a high quality parabolic Rhodium reflector this gives close to 40 million cp. (measured using calibrated equipment)
> It took two months to complete this monster.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Putting 54 NiMh 3300mAh cells together was a difficult job on its own !
> The ballast has a 18-36 volt input range so I combined 3 groups of 16 cells to get 19.2 volt at 9.9 Ah, enough for 100 minutes of operation time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Using mercury-arc comes with a few hazards: It radiates the complete harmful ultra violet spectrum in the book: Toxic ozone generating UV-C included ! So I made shure that the front window blocks all of the UV-C and UV-B and most of the less harmfull UV-A.
> 
> The front window also has to protect me against lamp-burst: The lamp has lower than atmospheric pressure when cold, but generates +85 atm's in full operation!
> The device is thermal protected and a key-lock prevents accidental ignition, its not a toy!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The lamp is adustable in all directions with a precision of 0.01 mm, nessessary with a arc surface of just over 0.1 of a square mm.
> 
> 38 million cp's create a spot on clouds up to 4 miles high with ease:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And compared to Maxabeam: see for your selves:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For max throw surface brightness is the most important, the next picture will show the difference in surface brightness of a few lamps: in the middle Maxabeam at high power, at the right the mercury-arc thor and to the left the very faint contours of my HID Thor at 50watt power! The picture was taken using a type 13 welding filter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So,,, any questions??


 
Ra,

Because it might be dificult to replace a mercury arc bulb into a maxabeam without knowing how will it work, did you ever wonder if a 120 or 175w carbon arc bulb would work in a maxabeam without doing too many modifications besides changing the ballast? I heard that megaray uses some type of cooler.

Which of both lights do you think produces more lumens and throw? (blaster or megaray)

Thanks.


----------



## Ra

Hi Karlos,

Changing the bulb of Maxabeam is dificult.. I tried the HBO 103/W2 mercury arc of Maxablaster in Maxabeam: That will not work unless there is a posibillity to permenently run Maxabeam on high power!

Then there is the behavure of mecury-arc: It has a totally different startup-behavure and needs around 23 volts to operate correctly, the Xenon bulb of Maxabeam has a less dificult startup and needs around 14 volts to operate.

So, the mecury bulb worked in Maxabeam on high power, but I don't know about the long term performance: Parts of the ballast can have problems with this and overheat!

The ballast must be suitable for handling mecury bulbs, the Maxabeam ballast is not..

If you want to run higher wattage Xenon bulbs in Maxabeam, you need forced cooling. The bulb in megaray is a total bulb-refector assambly, designed for laboratory equipment. That will definitely not fit in Maxabeam!

On top of that: you need a higher wattage ballast hat works on 12volts (or reconstruct te batt and use 24volts..) And it has to fit in the MB-body..

Beleve me, I'll think very hyghly of the person that succeeds in doing this!


Best,

Ra.


----------



## Hallis

Holy crap! I think I just had an accident!!. lol

Best handheld (read handheld within reason due to the fact that you do carry it) light EVER!

My god man. I can't get over that. Proof that the only difference between men and boys is the price of the toys  

I dont know if this question has been answered already in the thread as I only read the first page but why did you go with such a monster NiMH back build rather than a SLA cell like the one that came in it? Granted I dont know the MAH of the origonal cell but I know that they are capable of high amp draw. Reason I ask is that the pack likely cost you at least a hundred $$ to build by itself. 

Take Care

*runs off to find a clean pair of shorts*

Shane


----------



## Ra

Hallis said:


> I dont know if this question has been answered already in the thread as I only read the first page but why did you go with such a monster NiMH back build rather than a SLA cell like the one that came in it? Granted I dont know the MAH of the origonal cell but I know that they are capable of high amp draw. Reason I ask is that the pack likely cost you at least a hundred $$ to build by itself.
> 
> Take Care
> 
> *runs off to find a clean pair of shorts*
> 
> Shane



Quite simple: More power in less room! The stock SLA has 7 Ah, my pack has 16.5 Ah and still leaves even more room to play with!



Best,

Ra.


----------



## iSleep

Man ~ This one REALLY Pwned almost all lights ... 

How did you manage to charge a massive battery pack like this ? How many hours did it take to charge ? how about it's output in lumens ?


----------



## Ra

iSleep said:


> Man ~ This one REALLY Pwned almost all lights ...
> 
> How did you manage to charge a massive battery pack like this ? How many hours did it take to charge ? how about it's output in lumens ?



I use constant-voltage charge at 14.2 volts, 1.5 amp nominal. When the pack-voltage and charger-voltage meet, current drops to a safe 100 mA..

It takes about 12 hours to fully charge. To avoid memory-effect, once a month, I connect one of my 220volt livingroom-lights (40watt) to the inverter till it shuts off (batt low). This is the safest way: the inverter automatically protects the pack from over-discharge.

Output is about the same as high quality 35 watt automotive HID: 3200-3400 bulblumens..


Best,

Ra.


----------



## 276

i got a popular science issue for FEB. and it has you in it!


----------



## DaFABRICATA

276 said:


> i got a popular science issue for FEB. and it has you in it!





What does it say?
What is the subject?


----------



## 276

They call it the handheld sunbeam (maxablaster) has a reach equal to 38 million candlepower


----------



## Ra

38 Million ????

They sent me lots of mail, checking every fact and detail !!

I've mailed them a few times with the explicit remark that 38 million was with the old electronics !!

[size=+4]With the new setup, it's 52 million cp !![/size]



Ra.


----------



## That_Guy

Is this article available anywhere? I'd be really interested in reading it.

Thanks.


----------



## Ra

That_Guy said:


> Is this article available anywhere? I'd be really interested in reading it.
> 
> Thanks.



Yep ! In the US !

If they keep their promise, they'll send a few issues over to me.. If you cannot get your hands on it down under, I can make some scan's for you when they arrive..


Best,

Ra.


----------



## 276

Ra said:


> 38 Million ????
> 
> They sent me lots of mail, checking every fact and detail !!
> 
> I've mailed them a few times with the explicit remark that 38 million was with the old electronics !!
> 
> [SIZE=+4]With the new setup, it's 52 million cp !![/SIZE]
> 
> 
> 
> Ra.


 
damn No wonder in the articel it talks aobut you getting sunburns from your light.


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## WySilv

The Maxablaster was in Engadget the other day.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/03/maxablaster-mega-flashlight-is-a-step-away-from-lightsaber/

*Maxablaster mega-flashlight is a step away from lightsaber*

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 3:38AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets


​ You thought the goggles did nothing before? Shine the 38-million-candle Maxablaster (which, we hear, has been bumped up to 52m in a recent build) and watch as faces melt Raiders of the Lost Ark style under its concentrated mercury arc plasma bulb powered by a 54 battery pack. Right now it's just the pet project of a Dutch engineer by the name of Ralf Ottow, which is probably for the best, since this would be far more effective at boring holes in concrete than lighting any scene.

[Thanks, Trev]*Tags:* flashlight, insane, maxablaster


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## hopkins

Hail Sungod Ra!
Congradulations on bringing your awesome idea into existence!

How much do you think production models would cost consumers
if you got a Mfg'er to start building them? Just your guess?


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## Ra

hopkins said:


> Hail Sungod Ra!
> Congradulations on bringing your awesome idea into existence!
> 
> How much do you think production models would cost consumers
> if you got a Mfg'er to start building them? Just your guess?



I think close to $7000 each !! It's hard to build a Maxablaster: Some ingredients are hard to get, room inside the Thor-host is limited.
So I think mass-production is out of the question!

Even the one and only unit on this earth is not finished yet: It still needs an electronic focus (IMO)..


Best,


Ra.


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## Mark620

Ra said:


> Evertime I see that monster standing on my nightstand, its hard not to grab the "ignition-key" and turn it on, just to see (and feel) its power once again !!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ra.




On the night stand - an intruder would be blinded by the light :laughing:


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## Ra

Mark620 said:


> On the night stand - an intruder would be blinded by the light :laughing:



Well, not quite.. First I must grab the ignition-key, then power up the inverter (7 seconds or so), then, when the lamp comes to life, output is very low and needs at least 20 seconds to get to decent output...

I think, by the time I'm ready to point Maxablaster at the intruder, I'll see this: :sleepy:



Best,

Ra.


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## 276

i went to www.dvice.com and got to page 8 has another link to your light


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## Ra

276 said:


> i went to www.dvice.com and got to page 8 has another link to your light




Yep... Found it.. Thanks

Ra.


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## Jarl

Ra said:


> then, when the lamp comes to life, output is very low and needs at least 20 seconds to get to decent output...




When you say very low, do you mean very low, or very low in comparison to the 54mcp it normally puts out? 

Beautiful light


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## Ra

I didn't measure it, but my guess output is about 5-10% of total output at the biginning of startup.


Best,

Ra.


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## scabbard

Read the post and may have missed it, but what's the run-time on this behemoth?


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## Ra

scabbard said:


> Read the post and may have missed it, but what's the run-time on this behemoth?



About 70 minutes.. But the batteries must be in exellent condition to reach this runtime.. A small capacity-loss causes a higher internal resistance in the batteries, causing a severe runtime-drop to about 40 minutes or even lower!

When Maxablaster is not used for a few monts, the batteries need a few full discharge/charge cycles to be able to reach the 70min runtime. 

Best,

Ra.


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## brightnorm

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Ra,

I realize the expense, time, effort and difficulty involved in this mini creation of yours. However, if you now are able to build one for me, I'd be willing to (hopefully) meet your price, which I know will be high.

Is there any possibility of this? 

Brightnorm







Ra said:


> Uhhmmmm,, how about this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And finished, it looks like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 10Watt Welch Allyn HID, perfect parabolic dichoric (cold) reflector (98% reflection), 2hours burntime, 250,000 beam cp, 1000 yards throw!
> And waterproof up till depths of 200 ft.
> 
> Comming soon in a new thread near you... Edit: It is near you!!: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=126565


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## bungle

hey saw your torch on tv last week. search google for the show:

Friday.Night.With.Jonathan.Ross.S14E06.WS.PDTV.XviD-SPAREL


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## Der Wichtel

Please, can you put a batman logo on the front glas and make a picture shining to the clouds?


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## BlueBeam22

Ra, What an incredible light you have built,
I have always been so amazed by your Maxablaster, it is my favorite light on CPF.
Great job:thumbsup:


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## Stereodude

Was just looking through this thread as some nostalgia. The beamshots always brings a smile to my face.


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## proline

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*



wquiles said:


> How about "Master-Blaster" ???
> 
> (bonus points: remember what movie this is from?)
> 
> Will


 
"Thunderdome"


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## flashguy

:thumbsup:

GEWELDIG! ik heb deze een keer in zo'n vliegtuigblaadje zien staan. ben zelf op het moment bezig met een soortgelijke modificatie, maar 't wil nie echt lukken 

ga zo door


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## flashguy

hi ra,

this thing simply is AMAZING

this is a masterpiece. i'm working on my own mod at the moment (halogen spotlight with HID) it's actually my first HID mod  i started thinking about moding a spotlight after reading an article about you and your maxablaster in a aircraft magazine  . keep up the good work:thumbsup:

greets,

flashguy, the Netherlands (also )


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## LightSward

I love that light. I'd like to buy or build one some day!


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## LightSward

Awesome lighting tool. I'd like to have something like that someday. 

LightSwardlovecpf


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## LightSward

Awesome! I like the small size and light output. I'd like one of these. I just finished my first HID recently and obtained many ideas from this.

Jared


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## LightSward

What is your next project?


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## Ra

LightSward said:


> What is your next project?



A telescope ! (I already build a mere 12 telescopes, just can't get enough of it)

I noticed you finished a quite incredible project yourself!
Congrats on the beautifull result..

Regards,

Ra.


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## LuxLuthor

What has Ra been up to now? That is pretty damn cool looking. Bravo!


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## Tigman

ANy specs on the reflector and where to buy? A starting point to build from.All I can say is WOW!!!!!!


Thanks
Mark


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## Ra

LuxLuthor said:


> What has Ra been up to now? That is pretty damn cool looking. Bravo!



Hi Lux... No, that was not me... I think that someone took a long exposure photograph of a sky-beamer, looks neat tho..

And Tigman: its the (02?)RPM-018 parabolic Rhodium-reflector by Melles-Griot.


Regards,

Ra.


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## Mjolnir

The Russians have actually confirmed that it was a failed missile test.

At first, one of the pictures seemed almost like a de-focused maxabeam...


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## csshih

this thread needs a bump for the new year :twothumbs


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## Linger

did he ever make those mini hid's?


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## Ra

Linger said:


> did he ever make those mini hid's?



Hi Linger,

No I did not, the design is too complicated to set up a (not too expensive..) production line !!

The one I did make still performes flawlessly, it's one of the two most reliable and practical torches I have (the Microblaster is the other one). They never failed to operate, the reed-switch setup is the most reliable of all the switch-setup's I ever felt beneath my fingers!

So if I ever start another mini-super-torch project, it definitely will have exactly the same switch-setup !!

Regards,

Ra.


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## Magic Matt

I am completely lost for words! That Maxablaster is just incredible... and so are all the other creations. Glad this thread resurfaced... that is a monster....     

I would love to see some of the telescopes, Ra, if you wouldn't mind.....


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## Linger

Ra said:


> No I did not, the design is too complicated to set up a (not too expensive..) production line !!


Greetings,
Thank-you for the update.
That was some great work you did:thumbsup:


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## andromeda.73

Ra excuse but the chassis Maxablaster, from which comes torch?


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## Ra

andromeda.73 said:


> Ra excuse but the chassis Maxablaster, from which comes torch?



The host is a 15MCP Cyclops Platinum Thor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OPK1UY/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Yep, it's under another name (and specs..), but the picture shows the exact model I used as a host. And when you enlarge the picture by klicking on it, you can read the '15 million CP', written on the 'Cyclops' sticker..

Specs of these halogen spotlights are almost always over-exaggerated: I once measured the CP output of the 15mcp Thor befor I began modding: 400,000 cp was the dissapointing result.. But expected, because optical laws say it can't be much more than that: You can try overdriving, but around the 600,000 cp-mark, the filament of the halogen bulb will melt, ending the bulb's (very short) life..


Regards,

Ra.


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## andromeda.73

Tank's Ra, Great! :wave:


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## LightSward

Ra said:


> The host is a 15MCP Cyclops Platinum Thor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OPK1UY/?tag=cpf0b6-20
> 
> Yep, it's under another name (and specs..), but the picture shows the exact model I used as a host. And when you enlarge the picture by klicking on it, you can read the '15 million CP', written on the 'Cyclops' sticker..
> 
> Specs of these halogen spotlights are almost always over-exaggerated: I once measured the CP output of the 15mcp Thor befor I began modding: 400,000 cp was the dissapointing result.. But expected, because optical laws say it can't be much more than that: You can try overdriving, but around the 600,000 cp-mark, the filament of the halogen bulb will melt, ending the bulb's (very short) life..
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ra.




I experienced a similar dissapointment. My Cyclops Searchlight says 15 million CP as well...and I always doubted that claim. When I made some HID improvements, it looked to be about 3 times brighter and better focused, but that would have made it 45 million CP and that is totally unbelievable! My 36 inch "Gorilla" searchlight looks, to the eye, to be at least ten times brighter with a 100 watt HID. That would be really bright if the 15 million CP claim was true.


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## Mr. Tone

Thanks for the sig links to this thread, Ra. It is very inspiring and enlightening(no pun intended)! The reflector is beautiful, I am glad you posted these nice pictures for everyone.


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## The_Police

That is amazing!! I love how it looks like a green laser beam, but it's SO bright! Nice work!


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## japudjuha

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

I have just completed A LarryK and yowsers I thought that was bright.

Major congrats on such a masterpiece :thumbsup:


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## edgar

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

i was wondering , what was the white material used in the center of the lamp holder , if anyone know ?


----------



## BVH

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Could be ceramic if it's hard or PTFE/Teflon. I've also used Fluorocint - a mica impregnated teflon. depends on the temps the lamp base ends generate.


----------



## edgar

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Base temperature allowed is max. 230°C.

Iam looking for something easy to work with that can hold this temp. and isolate .


----------



## BVH

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Look up max temps for Teflon - I think you're close at 230C. Fluorosint (corrected spelling) goes quite a bit higher and its' still an easy to work with plastic, but very costly. You can find small pieces on Ebay.

EDIT: Looks like they both are good up to 260C/500F, too near your maximum to be reliable. And the Fluorosint wasn't a higher temp material as I remembered. It is much more resistant to expansion and contraction under temp changes.


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## edgar

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Thanks Bob , it should be ok with teflon , as i cant find the other one


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## edgar

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Ralf , or anyone that knows , iam wondering what kind of coating was used on the glass lense ?
To filter the UV .


----------



## Smood

*Re: NOT JUST ANOTHER THOR MOD !!*

Sorry to necro the thread, but I would like to see the pictures and they are gone. Ra could you re-post them?

Thanks.


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## gooeytek

Same here. I just joined after lurking for a while, would like to see pics.


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## Theodore41

I found it ,so you can look the pictures. :twothumbs

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-01/handheld-sunbeam#page-2


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## hahoo

i want one !
where can i buy one?


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