# 80W UHP flashlight project



## PolarLi (Feb 12, 2017)

Project 80W UHP flashlight. 

A little bit info: 

-Lamp is a UHP/P-VIP projector lamp.

-100W (80W) ballast.

-Reflector is 120 mm/4.75", Electroformed, Aluminium Quartz from Phoenix. 

-Fan cooling.

-Battery pack, INR 18650 4s2p.

-Borosilicate front glass.

-Host is called Jiage YD-6800.

*EDIT:

Project completed, scroll down for all the updates  *

*Performance:

-4800 Lumens
-6,300,000 Candela
-5000 meters ANSI FL-1 range
-45 minute+ runtime*
*-1390 gram total weight






*


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## PolarLi (Feb 12, 2017)

Inside the LED host before I pulled out all the other stuff:






One of the special parts in this project, is the ballast. It's a "100w" 12v automotive ballast. Thanks to Ma_sha1 findings on this forum many years ago, I gave it a try, and so far it seems to work! 
First some testing:











The test gave me 80 watt to the lamp, and I think that's pretty good for a $28 ballast. And while the lamp is rated for *1*80 watt, I wouldn't be able to run that much power in this plastic host anyway. *I would however, love to do a resistor mod if possible, so I got around 90-100 watt to the lamp. Any advice on that, let me know.*

When I got the ballast, I immediately saw it wasn't going to fit inside. So I removed it from the alu housing, and glued on some heatsinks.











The result is a significantly smaller ballast!











So over to the lamp modding. Started by cutting out two identical 4mm thick aluminium discs. M3 threads in the one that I bonded to the reflector. Then cut out the lamp from it's original reflector, and silver soldered on HV wires. The potting alone was a two day operation. First cement the lamp in the base, let that dry, then make a form, and fill in around the wires with more cement. Rounded off the edges for a cleaner look. If this lamp goes, it will "only" take me 4 days to make a new one :duh2:


























On to the reflector mount. It's bascially the front of the old reflector, glued on the new one with silicone. Focal length was about the same, so the fit was good. Slight difference in diameter, so I had to split the ring, and grind a little of the flange. 
But overall, i'm very happy with how this turned out. 






Always clean your reflector with sandpaper... Wait, what?
















Mmmm, shiny!





Unfortunately, the focal length on the new reflector is a little short for the lamp i'm running (all UHP for that matter) so i'm not getting max performance. But it should still be pretty good 


Well, that's how far I am with this project when I write this. Waiting on the batteries and the front glass. More to come.



PS: I came across this thing:





Unconfirmed rumors says it's a so-called light emitting diode. If you want it, you can stop by and pick it up


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## A_L_R_O_M (Feb 12, 2017)

Would like to see them. as i'm building the UHP project too, 150W version of xenonics xn-01.
I really enjoy to see what you are doing!!!!
That can help me to get some energy!
Thank you for posting!!!!!


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## PolarLi (Feb 12, 2017)

You're welcome!


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## A_L_R_O_M (Feb 14, 2017)

*PolarLi*, could you please!!!!, make an closer image of the burner 
I ordered 2 more burners with 0.8 declared arc gap, but seems to be your burner has even shorter gap, or it just varies due to different burners or photo equipment.
I want to compare it, i want to find the shortest arc gap burners, may be i will try to ask them to make for me 0,6-0.7 burner.


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## PolarLi (Feb 14, 2017)

I doubt my lamp has any shorter gap. 
This lamp was sold as 0.8 mm, but compare the gap to the caliper I set at 1 mm. One electrode tip was unfortunately hidden by mercury, but the gap seems to be approx 1.1 mm. And that seems to be the norm for all no name burners. It will however shrink a little when hot, maybe 0.1 mm? If you can't get a custom lamp, you could try out a genuine Osram or Philips. 
For this project, I won't bother. I'm trying to keep this a "budget build" :thumbsup: And I still think I will get 4-5 million candela+ when i'm done.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Feb 14, 2017)

Thank you!!!
I'm waiting for your results, it seems to be my electroformed reflector has almost the same problem with proper focal length for the UHP-like, but i was able to found ~ nice point of focus... still hope for the nicer results with shorter arc gap burner.
P.S i will post the beamshot of the 0.9 200W being now in XN-01, if you want...
my new burners are on their way, but for the picture they sent to me, i highly doubt there will be an improvement...


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## PolarLi (Feb 14, 2017)

No problem, just post them. By the way, what is the diameter of the XN-01 reflector?


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## A_L_R_O_M (Feb 23, 2017)

I'm waiting for your beam 
Because, you know, mercury arc burners are not effective while they are operated at lower power range
But sometimes it creates more perfect beam, without outter shiny ring.
It's such a shame, but i'm not able to do nice photo.
Only an video, and there is a frame from that video.
https://postimg.org/image/optaym4hb/
https://youtu.be/OMwjOz5yhKk?t=6m16s


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## PolarLi (Feb 23, 2017)

Your UHP light has an incredible small hotspot! I bet you would get some really nice numbers if you put a lux meter in front of it.

As for my light, well, I ran into some delivery problems.. First, the lipo packs was lost in the mail, registered mail no less  Seller actually refunded me today. I will instead make a 4s2p 18650 pack. As a bonus, I get more capacity. I really don't know why I didn't think of the 18650's to begin with... Anyhow, it means I have to wait for those batteries and a BMS. Probably another 1-2 weeks before I have that.

Then there was the glass. The deal I already had, went south. So I had to look for new suppliers, and I eventually found one in China. So now I'm also waiting on the glass, again. So another 10-15 days for that. But when I have everything, things should move pretty swift. 

While I've been waiting, I have not worked much on the light. But yesterday I started on the fan/filter/intake, so I can make a small update on that.


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## Mr. Tone (Feb 23, 2017)

Thanks for the updates, hopefully everything will arrive for you and work out.


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## eyesonfire (Feb 23, 2017)

Nice project. I did a similar thing with the potting using stoneware clay.. 
Question.. Can you tell me where to get the ballast. I want one without potting such as yours.. Thx.


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## PolarLi (Feb 23, 2017)

Thanks! The ballast cover was actually potted or glued to the housing. 
There was also a dab between the transformer and cover. So I first had to break off the aluminium lugs and flange around the housing using a flat screwdriver, then run a knife around the seem, and carefully pry the cover off. Ballast is Beeqi brand and seems to be pretty common, but I'll PM you the link in case there are copies out there.


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## PolarLi (Feb 25, 2017)

Small update on the cooling. 
The host originally had a small LED array on the back that I removed. 
Cut some holes in the plastic lens, and put the filter material over it. 
It would be preferable with more filter area for less restriction, but I will try this first and see how it turns out.
















(I will use some black button head screws to install the fan) 

For the outlet, I will cut a couple of openings in the red plastic ring in the front of the light. These will also have the same filter material to keep dust out.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Mar 30, 2017)

Hi there!!
Any news about your project???


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## PolarLi (Mar 30, 2017)

Been busy with so many other things. But have all the parts, it's just a matter of putting it together. Update coming soon :thumbsup:


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## dudemar (Mar 30, 2017)




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## PolarLi (Mar 31, 2017)

So i'm finally getting some work done here.

I prepared the inside of the front bezel with some high temp fiberglass tape where the glass sits, so it doesn't overheat the plastic. Hopefully it will be enough:










And speaking of glass, that whole story became an interesting one. It started with me getting some quotes. And highest was the local dealer: $270! The other quotes where around $100. Still too expensive. 
So I contacted a company in China. Well, they could do the job. But the bad news was MOQ of 10. The good news? $2 a piece :twothumbs So yeah, I ended up with a few spares! 
And hey, if you happen to need a 128 x 2mm borosilicate glass for a project, I can help 







Yesterday I put the battery pack together. Samsung INR 18650 30Q, with a 30A BMS. Will probably fuse it with 15A for this application:






_"No you didn't!"_ Oh, yes I did! And if you know what i'm talking about, I'm happy to answer all questions on why and how 

I installed a separate charging cable that will be connected to the original charging port in the host. I already had a 2A, 16.8V Li-ion charger for a helmet light, that use the same plug, so battery maintenance will be convenient.






The shrink wrap I had was a little bit to big, so I went with the good ol' electrical tape:











And then finally, I did a test of the lamp in the reflector. 
The frame on the test stand, is actually something I put together for the 14" spotlight a couple of years back. 











It's alive! 






..And it put's out a lot more than I thought it would:





15880 lux @ 20.5 meters, is 6.6 million candela  
That was the highest reading I did. On the first focus setting, I got 14200 lux, or 5.9 Mcd.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 1, 2017)

Nice!!!
I'm also doing hard work on my project.... consuming so much resources...


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## FDP (Apr 2, 2017)

Excellent job!


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## PolarLi (Apr 2, 2017)

Thanks guys!
But now the real job start, get everything to fit inside here :green:


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 4, 2017)

PolarLI!
May i ask you?
Did you actually try to drive the bulb for significant period of time?
Let's say 20min or 1 hour?
I'm experiencing some blackening in the arc chamber while underdriving the bulb and jumping arc, but i think it's due to electrodes, they are not pointed exactly... non original bulb.
You are driving it at only 80W Significant loss of efficiency and flickering arc may occur. I just want to have a person with who i can talk about those issues. And have you tried to hot-restrike bulb immediatly after power off? I did that for 150W build and it caused a lot of damage to electronics and forced me to investigate and repair components. Now i'm using antenna coil around upper electrode, that drops ignition voltage to hot-restrike...


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## PolarLi (Apr 4, 2017)

I've had five "long" runs and a few short ones with this lamp, and so far no problems. I first tested this lamp, as it was with the glass reflector and the original antenna coil. Two 30 minutes+ runs and some short ones. I did observe voltage increase with less cooling, as you would expect. I could go from around 55 to 67-68 volt with less cooling. The voltage is still a little low, but it doesn't seem to be an issue with this one. Then I did a long run with the bare lamp after I made the new base, and now without the antenna, and got the same result. 
And now I have two 30 minutes runs inside this reflector, and it's still good. 
But, the ignition isn't perfect with this lamp, but it's been like that since new. No difference with or without the antenna. 
The lamp always ignite immediately. But the igniter continue to run, and this make the lamp flicker 2-3 times before it stabilize. Not optimal, but it is what it is. Have never tried a hot restrike. 
However, since I've been messing with UHP for a while now, I have a few different lamps. So I did try a "100/120w" lamp with this ballast. And you would think it was a better match to run at 80W, than this 180W lamp. Well, it wasn't. The 100/120 lamp flickered badly when warm, so definitely not good for this. Funnily enough, the ignition was perfect on that lamp... But I rather take some flicker the first two seconds, than constant flicker.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 4, 2017)

Well seems to be it's working fine. 
However i would expect blackening after a while, failed tungsten-halogen cycle ( I tried to drive using automobile ballasts, it seems to be ignition causes tungsten to evaporate but due to not enough Temp it's not being transfered back) I only noticed that after checking the bulb, looking through it using light.
And the point to use antenna is only hot-restrike for me, it helps while pressure is still high. Like 35% reduction ignition



The vey first 10 sec are missing, it seems to be interesting info there.
Do noticed the color shift while driving at 80W?, i just want to know is it really enough to evaporate and build high pressure.


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## PolarLi (Apr 4, 2017)

Have never tried this lamp on a ordinary UHP ballast, and it's hard to judge color temp by eye. But I will compare the beams on a target with the 350W UHP lamp in the Francis light when i'm done. Just waiting on a day without rain or snow, so I can do some long distance testing. 
Regarding efficiency, I figured it can't be that bad. If I do throw calculation based on reflector area*luminance*reflectivity*glass transmission and compare that to my own lux readings I did on this and the Francis light with the 190w lamp, this lamp driven at 80W, has exactly the same luminance pr watt, with the same arc length, as the 190W lamp had, driven at full power. And is has 30% more luminance pr watt than the 350W, but that would be considered normal for the bigger UHP lamps.
I may be overlooking something obvious here, but feel free to correct me


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 5, 2017)

Sorry for long response )
Time difference and tired/ill !!!
I'm trying to compare book knowledge with real experience.
http://docdro.id/TCwSx4W
It's complicated things.
I tried to power up my 200W burner with ~120W and ~200W. Measured current was 1.4 A and 2.5 A ( was higher when voltage is low ( start phase) and drops after, even on standart magnetic ballast)
Huge difference in brightness, i made a switch connecting additional ballast in parrallel ( inductive magnetic), which allows me to choose the mode.
Drop in brightness was not equal to the power drop, looks like drop in efficiency, but the good thing is that actual drop do not affect the center of luminance so much. Looks like corona and outter discharge is affected (not sure which words to use) Actually i appreciated more the 120W beam, more pencil like and more stable. ( i remember, since i pushed it to the full power the arc starts flickering, i forgot about it, sometimes it stable btw) 
However i believe the failed tungsten-halogen caused blackening, it is slowly raising, since it is working, but not perfect. The very bottom and up inner arc chamber surface is not very well heated. I found in book that temperature should be within 1100K and 1400K range. Was suprised, since i believed in much lower temps.


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## PolarLi (Apr 9, 2017)

So the good news is that i'm basically finished, and I got all the parts inside :thumbsup: 





...well, almost all the parts. I accidentally broke this power inductor off the ballast. The clearance beween the ballast and host, was so small, that tiny thing was the one that snagged :duh2:
Oh well, it only needed a small adjustment, and a new one is ordered.


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## PolarLi (Apr 14, 2017)

Final update, for now.

Got the part the other day, so finally is everything working:






And this is how it ended up inside. Looks pretty crammed on the pictures, but it ain't that bad. Plenty of air around all the hot parts.






The neoprene pieces on the battery, is to force the airflow over the ballast. I have tested it with temp probes on both ballast and reflector, and nothing was hot. 
I can probably slow down the fan quite a bit.











I wired the battery meter to the second button on top, so I can toggle between volt, percent or off. I connected the relay to the red LED that came with the host.










Charging setup. I usually have the display on, so I can monitor the voltage:






Front button activate the relay, that power the ballast.






Main switch on the back:






Acebeam K50v3 for scale (I didn't have any bananas ): 






Definitely a sleeper look :thumbsup:
















Beamshot at 104 meters: 






And a video that show a cold start. It take about 20 seconds to get good useable light. The last part of the video is about one minute in, when the lamp is fully warmed:

https://vimeo.com/213286050

So to sum this up, i'm overall pleased with the light. But there is of course a couple of things I would like to improve. The most important thing is a safety feature. The main switch on the back is really easy to turn on, and the momentary power switch is even easier to press. The light can be accidentally activated inside a bag under transport, with catastrophic results... To solve this, I will add another momentary switch in series with the other, so you have to press two buttons at once, to turn on the light. The other thing I would like to improve on is the color temp. There is no denying it does have a blueish tint, especially in the spill. I haven't compared it to my other UHP yet, but It's very visible side by side with a LED light. However, I can't really say I see to much blue in the hotspot, so it's no big deal. And when you pass 200-300 meters, color temp is pretty irrelevant anyway. I may try out another type of lamp, but that's not a high priority right now. The performance is otherwise great. *I clocked in 6.3 Mcd yesterday with everything installed in the host, and after some ceilings bounce tests, I figured it's around 4800 lumens. I'm also very happy with the battery pack/runtime and weight. 40-50 minutes on the only setting: "turbo" and the complete light weigh 1390 gram, or 3 lb.* It's obviously not the most robust thing in the world, but hey, atleast I have plenty of spare glass :naughty:


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## FRITZHID (Apr 14, 2017)

:thumbsup: niiiiceee!


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 14, 2017)

Very nice.
Please tell me something about bulb's life after a long period of time.


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## FDP (Apr 15, 2017)

Excellent job!


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## PolarLi (Apr 15, 2017)

Thanks guys!
----
Alrom, I will definitely keep you updated on the lamp. Although, I won't use the light much in the comming months, as I'm running out of darkness here in the north. One month from now, the sun won't set anymore for the rest of the summer.
Anyhow, I did do a 47 minute continuous run today, to see how the battery held up, and if I noticed any changes when the voltage dropped and the fan slowed down.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 15, 2017)

Thank you!
If it is inteesting to you i will give you my results with different bulbs
I tried new lamp, and it's jumping arc once again.
it seems to be when current is high it's making a several connections on each electrode. And Philips patented current shape ballast is trying to keep only 1 connection to relieve arc jumps.
I'm very interested for your setup.
Will make an huge update for my project. I hope it will help for all of us. I modified it a lot.
I can now run for an hour+, my light is consuming around 17A for 9.8 v LIFEPO$ setup and nothing is blazing hot, except radiator 
Before there was a blowing mosfets, capasicitors and almost broken ballast to to poor voltage control


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## PolarLi (Apr 15, 2017)

It's definitely interesting! By the way, when you say blown mosfets and caps, was that on the power converter or on the ballast itself?


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 15, 2017)

Actually 1 ( i have 2 pieces, but i think i can repair) ruined ballast for the voltage pulses. Poor filtration, and a bit too high voltage (420-430 with some spikes around 40V sinus, terrible until i took my oscilloscope)
But blown mosfets and capacitors were only at power inverter. 
Actually it is not designed well, it must be upgraded. What i did to inverter - i replaced mosfets with some IRL series 3705, not a big choice of FETs in my country.
Snabber RC connected to the drain's ( first ~ of a transformer, push-pull design) 
Snabber parameters- 2 ohm resistor and 30nf capacitors(USSR works better that chinese, measured with the oscilloscope voltage spikes)
The problem is, when the upper mosfets closing it creates voltage spikes, inductivity of the transformer. And they were very high, and some high frequency ringing . Now the spikes are only a little bit higher than main voltage and absolutely no ringing. Also no ringing or spikes at 320 V powering mosfets, filtered with the coil and film capacitors. That reduced heating of the fet's greatly, but some heating still there, especially on the first low-esr silver-tantalum capacitor ( ЭТО-2 15 V 400uf). But no blazing hot surfaces. I added good radiator to the ballast radiator and installed 2 fans creating enough air blow to cool down components.
The only problem is to find very high quality bulb with the electrodes pointed exactly to each other and 0.8 true arc gap, precision portion of halogens(bromide-mercury) Extremely clear quartz glass.
And for the first run with the high power setting should be at least 30 min to reduce risk of the arc jumps and blackening.
For what happened to my bulbs is:
Only a few 2 min runs, due to no high-capacity battery setup - failed tungsteen halogen cycle.
Several attemps to strike the arc when bulb is hot, but no stable arc - off within 3-4 seconds, blackening suddenly appeared.
Due to low quality halogens and tungsten with a poor glass - overheating started in the arc chamber, quartz crystallized, consuming tungsten, mercury, whatever.
Now the tungsten-halogen cycle cannot clear the arc chamber, even after a long burst - the blackening only grows, until the bulb will fail/boom( unwanted due to very good reflector, don't want to ruin,)
The electrode shape - was flat surface, instead of original osram/philips shape. I installed new bulb and after 15 of 150W run, suddenly arc jumps appeared. I think if there will be no blackening and quartz crystallizing, i will wait until the right shape will be formed. But i'm afraid i will ruin reflector with the blown bulb. The 25$ and 6$ silver not the big deal compared with a very high quality reflector/base.



IF you want some help for the boosting your ballast... I think it can be done with the reading datasheet of controlling IC, which resistor of feedback loop to change.
But the actuall improvement must be done with the transformer, as they are almost at their critical current setting. I thought of buying some of "100W" ballasts, but i realised that i must build my own ferrit-core transformer and replace mosfets + may be IC levels can be reached so it cannot drive mosfets any higher. And the current shape is not like in philips, so flickering will appear ( it just matter of time), if 150W+ setting will be done. With your 80W setup, i think no significant arc flickering will be, due not enough current in arc to reform the electrodes. I think you found the bulb with the good portion of mercury-argon-halogens, and electrode initial shape is good so there is no flickering even if the form of automotive ballasts pulses is not perfect for our bulbs. BTW, even if the lifetime will be reduced to 300+ hours it is acceptable for us, i believe. Because each strike vaporizes tungsten ((((


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## PolarLi (Apr 16, 2017)

I do keep an eye out for blackening. Don't want the lamp to pop in that reflector  If I start to see any weird behaviour, I will replace it with something else.

Last year, when the user Enderman asked for low voltage short arc solutions, I did a test with the same type of 12-380v power inverter you have, but I only tested it for 10 minutes or so. 
When it comes to electronics, my knowledge is pretty basic, so a lot of what you mention, is beyond my skill level. But I did read somewhere you should have schottky diodes on the rectifier, so that's what I used. I didn't see any flicker or arc wander on that short test, but I did lose about 15% power to the lamp, so it definitely had some issues compared to when I ran it with a ordinary 380VDC powersupply. The inverter also had the same problem you had with overvoltage if I increased input voltage, so I never went any further with that setup.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 21, 2017)

Here is some news!
I installed new bulb, cutted from ceramic socket/reflector as you did, thank you for pointing that it can be done easily with dremel/diamond cutter , before, i was thinking to contact Phoenix wick company ( Japan)
Really 0.8-0.9 mm arc gap but electrodes are mispointed!
But it's an original lamp, since the color is different and tungsten-halogen is finally working perfect
Lamp was blackened due to ignition(wire was broken and ignition arc caused flame over insulation) But!!!!! now is clear.
And i can notice beam is better, more yellow/white (warm) on 150W!!!
So, Polar Li!!! - actually chinese non-original bulbs have a poor portions of bromides ( halogens) or whatever 
Will upload picture of blackened old bulb after only 1 hour of use...
I'm happy, and i hope our bulbs will last long enough


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## PolarLi (Apr 21, 2017)

So you're saying the new lamp (philips or osram?) was having misaligned electrodes, and did become black because of ignition problems, but cleared up after more use, and is now working great? Either way, it's great news that you got it to work!
And yes, there's no doubt there is quality differences between various lamps and brands. So far, I have only used lamps that comes with the reflectors. Perhaps the quality controll is overall better on those, than the "wick burners" you had issues with?


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 22, 2017)

Yeah, i get brand new Osram P-VIP 180 0.8 from BulbAmerica for 49 with shipping(within US)..
I get the wick burner out from reflector and realize that electrodes have different shape, like original ones, but misaligned too.
Actually there was a blood portion , in the quartz tube, where it was broken to fit in the ceramic/cement socket, i felt like Whoooah - is it real....
I installed bulb in my NH-01 mod, but made bad soldering between HV wires and ignition arc sustained for 3 sec burning wires and caused blackening in the bulb, like it was before with the old lamps.
But after only 20 min of use arc chamber seems to be clear!
And the beam looks more like MH bulb but almost pure white with slightly warmer colors. 
That's why i start thinking about chinese wick burners - they simply don't put the halogen mixture or their portions are smaller, may be they have dirty halogens.
Quality seems to be as bad as it can be, in the original chinese Osram factory, may be i was unlucky this time..
But they put halogens and electrode shape is correct, except misaligning electrodes, due to misaligned quartz tubes.
They actually have to weld 2 tubes together with the arc chamber correctly.
Anyway i will show you it 
Just need some time...
P.S forget to say - warm up time reduced greatly. Like ~70 seconds, compared to the ~130 s before to achieve 100% and no color shift.


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## PolarLi (Apr 22, 2017)

Thanks for the info. Perhaps it's still a counterfeit lamp you got, but just built with better specs, but poor assembly? Anyhow, what you said about warm up times are interesting. With the automotive ballast, this lamp is fully warmed up after 70 seconds too. I just tested this with the lux meter indoors, and filmed it while the lamp was ramping up. After 20 seconds, I have 50% output, after 40 seconds I have 75% and 100% after 70 seconds. 
I also tested the 350W Francis with the real UHP ballast, and it needed 60 seconds to 50% and 110 seconds to 100%. However, the Francis light has very efficient cooling, perhaps a little too efficient... So I might have been able to reduce the warm up times a little on that one.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 23, 2017)

Hi there!!!
I'm gonna show you my video 
Hmm, camera is not capturing exactly beam.
I tried without camera to get the tightest beam on the mountain and it seems to be it's even tighter than 75W xenon Ushio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD6QpKqMKWA&edit=vd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l47W7vV4dyg
P.S finally i realized that again 150W is on ECO mode
For some reason it starts on ECO mode
To get high beam i must reignite ballast (


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## PolarLi (Apr 23, 2017)

Thank you for the videos! First, I envy the low sound level on your light, especially compared to my "vacuum cleaner"  And that beam definitely has a warmer color temp than mine, although, color temp settings on camera can manipulate a bit. But when compared to a LED or any light with a know color temp, the difference is easy to see. 
And secondly, after I saw the lamp video, your new lamp definitely has a very different design, compared to most of the fake ones. So it may not be counterfeit after all. The electrode shape is one thing, but it also have a big "uv enhancer cavity" (where the antenna is meant to be) where the cheap ones often have a very small cavity, or none at all. 
Regarding the ECO mode, i'm going to see if I find some info on how to deactivate it.


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 24, 2017)

May be i should post in my thread but for some reason i wanna stay there..
May be since there is a man who is building some amazing lights also 
So i have to say it's definitely logic ballast issue( not a big issue).
When lamp is cold it going eco mode. If the lamp is at least 50C it's going full power. Anyway after reignition it works great, i have to wait 10 sec or it will not ignite, but i don't want to put antenna over arc chamber and uv cavity to reduce V needed - it seems to be causing flickering too.
I hope you still enjoy my videos. Making for you, first of all xD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwvRERVhEX0 ( installation/construction)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0nBFr0gCP0 (walkaflashes part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y_Z41uyuEc (part 2)


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## PolarLi (Apr 25, 2017)

You could be on to something with finding the correct resistor to the optocoupler. One alternative, is to buy these small voltage regulator step down modules, that give you exactly 5 volt on the output, and has a wide range on input, so you're not affected by the battery voltage. You can buy these for like $2-3 on ebay. 
But what I did to run the "5r" and 350W ballast on full power, was to simply bridge the middle (of the three) optocouplers on the ballast side. BUT I know this doesn't work on all ballasts, and the one you have seems to have a different layout. Anyhow, here is a video that cover a lot on bypassing ballasts by applying power or a signal to the opto. I don't remember if he talked about the "ECO mode" but you can take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaeBD5rdFvI


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## A_L_R_O_M (Apr 25, 2017)

Glad to see you!!!!
I'm happy to tell that i used 47K resistor on board which controls power output of the ballast!
Now - there is 185W and no ECO mode!
The actual trouble was the voltage on the lamp. Logic decides -something wrong with the lamp when voltage drop is so low ( due to 0.8 arc) 
The ballast wasn't designed to power up such bulbs.
Now it's 20Amp draw from battery and 2.65 A on the lamp wires!!!
So much difference, now it's going close to 12300 lumen output.
Will make a nvew video!!!
Thanks to God!!!
I'm also going to add 2 LED's on the bottom...
Thank you for helping me, i should go for 330W in that case Xenonics One
May be i will use ballast in that video!


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## Enderman (May 4, 2017)

Really interesting stuff going on here 
Great job both of you.


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## PolarLi (May 5, 2017)

Long time no see!


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## Enderman (May 5, 2017)

I've been working on non-flashlight related projects lately.
Still researching stuff though, I plan to do some tests in the future with blue lasers and phosphor crystals, really curious to see if I can reach short arc lamp levels of intensity...

The laser can be concentrated on a <.5mm spot, so It just depends on how many lumens i can get out of that tiny spot


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## PolarLi (May 6, 2017)

Sounds intriguing! Have just briefly read a little about this tech.


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## juan diaz (Jun 6, 2017)

Thank you for sharing this project. I am in Brazil and looking for ready made or instructions on how to make a UHP lamp testers I have over 200 projector lamps, Epson, Hitachi, Toshiba... but I cannot tell if they are ok. Everyone tells me to find projectors that used those uhp lamps and test them. Are there ways to test them. I know what voltage they are rated at and for what projector but I have no other information. Any ideas. Thanks.


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## PolarLi (Jun 10, 2017)

Thanks! And sorry for late answer. 
You can buy UHP ballasts and powersupplies on aliexpress and ebay, and the cheapest ones seems to be the moving head ballasts. You can also search for moving head powersupply. You can go a little over or under the rated wattage just to see if the lamp is working. The problem is that you need to "hotwire" the ballast for it to ignite the lamp. I can help you to do that with a specific "5r" 200w ballast and a 350w one, but other than those two, it will be a little trial and error. 
If you want a more professional lamp tester with adjustable wattage, you could try to contact the lamp and ballast manufacturers in China.


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## PolarLi (Apr 20, 2018)

Had to share a little teaser for my next flashlight project - a part of the custom made carbon fiber host. And yeah, it's a "little bit" bigger than the 80W. But it will pack some serious power, and even more serious throw


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## djjoonie (Apr 20, 2018)

PolarLi said:


> Had to share a little teaser for my next flashlight project - a part of the custom made carbon fiber host. And yeah, it's a "little bit" bigger than the 80W. But it will pack some serious power, and even more serious throw




Awsome build PolarLi!
Looking forward for your next carbon fiber monster project!


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## PolarLi (Apr 20, 2018)

Thanks! And yeah, i'm looking forward to it too. Will make a project thread for it when I have all the parts. Btw, I already have a name for it: BFF


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## djjoonie (Apr 20, 2018)

PolarLi said:


> Thanks! And yeah, i'm looking forward to it too. Will make a project thread for it when I have all the parts. Btw, I already have a name for it: BFF



Nice name! Badass Freakin Flashlight


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