# I'm making a monster...



## beach honda (Apr 13, 2010)

start with that. HID parts are ordered....


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## Locoboy5150 (Apr 13, 2010)

Oh man, you're actually going to upgrade the already powerful Professional's choice halogen spotlight? Yikes! :devil: That thing is the king of halogen spotlights.

Please keep us updated with progress reports. I'm anxious to see what you do to it because I have essentially the same housing used for my Peak PKCOTH halogen spotlight. I'm especially curious about how and where you're going to mount the ballast for the HID bulb. I'm not positive but I don't think that there is a lot of room inside the housing.


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## cccpull (Apr 14, 2010)

Got one of those and have considered modding it, but I really like it as it is. Of course, your results might just nudge me into it.


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## Prater (Apr 17, 2010)

Subscribed!

I just picked up one of these today, can't wait to see how it turns out!


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## SmurfTacular (Apr 17, 2010)

What is the make and model of that spotlight?
How much does it cost?


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## Prater (Apr 18, 2010)

SmurfTacular said:


> What is the make and model of that spotlight?
> How much does it cost?



It's the "Professionals Choice 20 Million Candlepower Spotlight"

Got it at Advance Auto Parts for $59.99

Hope this helps!


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## SmurfTacular (Apr 18, 2010)

Do you recommend it? Is it worth $60?


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## SmurfTacular (Apr 18, 2010)

I searched for "professionals choice", but nothing came up.
I began searching eBay and just happen to find it.
this one is called a PEAK PKCOTH spotlight. I think its the same thing

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220511288239




is this correct?


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## Prater (Apr 18, 2010)

That is the older less powerful model I believe. The new ones are 20 MCP and have LED's around the bezel for area lighting.

I haven't had a chance to test mine yet because you have to charge the battery for a full 24 hrs before first time use. 
It's about done now so I'll let you know tonight! One thing I can tell you is that it is BIG!


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## SmurfTacular (Apr 18, 2010)

SmurfTacular said:


> I searched for "professionals choice", but nothing came up.
> I began searching eBay and just happen to find it.
> this one is called a PEAK PKCOTH spotlight. I think its the same thing
> 
> ...



Please let me/us know how it it. And I plan on putting HID's in it anyway. Is there enough room inside for a single slim ballast?


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## Prater (Apr 22, 2010)

Wonder what happened to the "OP" (beach honda)?

I'm waiting to see if it's worth it to mod it to HID or if he had any problems getting the ballast in.

This thing does have amazing throw in stock configuration, but of course being a flashaholic now I would like it to be a little brighter.


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## ANDREAS FERRARI (May 19, 2010)

Don't you just love the reflector on that monster?????

Hope he completes his build!!!!!


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## Locoboy5150 (May 20, 2010)




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## Prater (May 20, 2010)

Well I went ahead and ordered a kit (DDM 55W-5000k bulb) and got it all to fit inside of the housing!:thumbsup:

But I can't get it to focus properly......:sigh: If I pull the bulb back almost out of the socket, I can get it to be a nice spot.

But then I will have to figure out a way to secure it. Any idea's?

I have it shimmed out about a 1/4" right now and it's basically just a big flood light.


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## [email protected] (May 31, 2010)

Prater said:


> I can't get it to focus properly......:sigh: If I pull the bulb back almost out of the socket, I can get it to be a nice spot.
> 
> But then I will have to figure out a way to secure it. Any idea's?




Ask and Ye shall receive! 

I made a focus collar that sat outside the rear of the bulb retainer (see below) then pot riveted it in place... accurate measurement is everything but it's not like you can't make a few prototype collar/shims (I know I did) :thumbsup:


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## kramer5150 (May 31, 2010)

I have shimmed 2 HIDs... maybe this will give you some ideas.

first is the stanley. I made a copper shim using plumbing pipe. The shim just drops right into the H1 socket.

I had to bevel one of the edges so it would sit flat in the socket




















Second one is a 55W HID that require more drastic measures. I cut sheetmetal into 7,8,9 mm strips and rolled them up to make the shim. Its a matter of test fitting them individually to find the one that works best. I think I settled on the 9mm.













insert the shim into the H4 socket, install the bulb onto that. I used large paper clips and fabricated new spring clips.













I also removed the ceramic wire insulator on the big HID. It fixes the pie shape wedge in the spill-beam, and does not appear to significantly alter bulb life. Its probably a durability/reliability enhancement for the automotive environment.

Results:
50 yards
ROP 3853-H





Stanley:





DIY-HID 55W





250 yards
control





ROP 3853-H





DIY-HID 55W





So most definitely the results are worth your effort. Most of these cheap spotlights are defocused for flood to make them more useful as general purpose lights.


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## daf3m (May 31, 2010)

Nice cannon!:twothumbs


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## Prater (May 31, 2010)

Thanks for the great ideas [email protected] & Kramer5150! :thumbsup:

Looks like I've got some work to do this week.


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

You wont regret it... these massive reflectors punch out a decent beam with a properly focused bulb :thumbsup:




Kramer5150 said:


> Most of these cheap spotlights are defocused for flood to make them more useful as general purpose lights.


Mine wasn't but I found the HID bulb had slightly different filament-to-base specification (when compared to the stock H4) below you can see the difference in beam quality between the stock halogen, unfocused & focused HID bulbs


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## lhw1993 (Jun 12, 2010)

What is the battery that u guys use to light up the HID with ballast ?? Can i use 6V lead acid battery to light it up ??


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## SmurfTacular (Jun 12, 2010)

lhw1993 said:


> What is the battery that u guys use to light up the HID with ballast ?? Can i use 6V lead acid battery to light it up ??



If you have two of them in series you can.

The ballasts wont except anything lower than ~12 volts.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2010)

I use 2 6v 4Amp SLAs in series in my smaller HID host (RT3500) :thumbsup:


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## kramer5150 (Jun 13, 2010)

a good percentage of 12V spotlights (incan or HID) use 2x6V in series. You can not however use 1x6V cell by itself.


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## lhw1993 (Jun 14, 2010)

kramer5150 said:


> a good percentage of 12V spotlights (incan or HID) use 2x6V in series. You can not however use 1x6V cell by itself.


 


[email protected] said:


> I use 2 6v 4Amp SLAs in series in my smaller HID host (RT3500) :thumbsup:


 


SmurfTacular said:


> If you have two of them in series you can.
> 
> The ballasts wont except anything lower than ~12 volts.


 
Thx for reply . If i connect two 6V lead acid battery in series , there are no space to put the extra 1 battery in my spotlight . Got any battery that suitable for me to use with HID with ballast and can last longer ?


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## Norm (Jun 14, 2010)

lhw1993 said:


> Thx for reply . If i connect two 6V lead acid battery in series , there are no space to put the extra 1 battery in my spotlight . Got any battery that suitable for me to use with HID with ballast and can last longer ?


This what I'm using.
 My build.
It would be possible to use two of these batteries and still have room for the ballast, much longer runtime using just one of these instead of the standard 12V 7Ah. Batery.


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