# My UHP project - The 8€ Short Arc



## 3zuli (Nov 24, 2012)

Now improved version - see post #15
Now finished - see post #8

Hello guys, today I managed to get a UHP bulb from a projector TV for 8€ (what a steal ). It's a Sony XL-2000E rated at 100W. The lamp driver is a Sony EUC 100 L/00, which should be also rated for 100W. I think they should be compatible, the only problem is that they have different connectors so I will have to sloder the wires together (and use LOTS of isolation). Does the voltage polarity matter?
Also, so far I have figured out that the upper-right white connector is DC IN, which requires arround 300V DC. Again, what's the polarity of this connector? (For now I will power it from 230V AC via filter/rectifier, which I will have to build)
Last thing, the grey and white 3 pin cable should be the control signal - how do I wire this up?

Results of my research so far:
http://directories.csa-internationa...ertxml\207526-2221-81.xml&xsl=xsl/certrec.xsl
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?258152-UHP-Flashlight

Thanks for help 

pics:


----------



## BVH (Nov 24, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

The qualifier: I am not an expert in the subject of arc lamp power supplies so take my input keeping that in-mind.

The LampLighter looks like it is only the ignitor in your circuit and does not contain the arc lamp power supply that provides constant current for a warmed up lamp and a timed and boosted Voltage supply for the ignitor to do it job. I say this because I don't see all the components I would expect to see in a constant current arc lamp power supply. I usually see capacitors (large and multiple), toroidal coils, FET's on heat sinks and other parts. Did you salvage both parts from the same TV? Your posting is not clear on this. If so, then the heavy cable LampLighter ignitor connector should directly plug into the lamp housing and chances are, it's DC so polarity does matter. One reverse polarity ignition pulse might be enough to destroy the lamp. I would definitely not connect any amount of AC power to the white input connector, I think you'll destroy the board and lamp. The 3-wire cable might also be a feedback circuit to keep the lamp operating at a precise output. It appears and sounds like according to your post, that these two components came from different sources and are not matched. If this is the case, I would not attempt to make them work together unless you know they are match and you have a schematic to go by in hooking them up. If you do try to make them work together, be sure to use protective clothing and eye protection.

That's my $0.03 worth.


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 24, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

Yes, they came from different devices. But they are both from the same manufacturer and both are rated for 100W, so now the only thing I need to do is to connect them together (connectors aren't the same).
This should be a complete driver with all the electronics required to start and operate the bulb (this guy made it work: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?258152-UHP-Flashlight).


----------



## sven_m (Nov 24, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

My 0.01 worth experience, without any stressable knowledge, though. Might serve well as inspiration for searching the hard facts about your ballast, lamp and possible power supply combo.

First of all, you have best options to get this ballast running: UHP ballasts require a "go" signal (originally from the mainboard) to actually run. With the older 3-pin connectors this usually means connecting two pins (don't know which one for this ballast). But for the later 5-pin connectors this usually means talking a RS232-like protocol called UART.

Some inverters (12V DC->230V AC) provide ~300V DC at some internal point, which can be a quite comfortable solution. But this certainly requires proper knowledge about working with these dangerous voltages.

The UHP lamps I know are all AC, and I believe that DC would visibly result in quite asymmetrical electrodes.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get any 100V UHP running with such a ballast. But if I were you I would try to find out which arc gap the original lamp for this philips ballast has and run it with such a lamp. Running a different arc gap would rather be an interesting experiment about possible effects ranging from faster aging to destructive wear out.


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 24, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*



sven_m said:


> My 0.01 worth experience, without any stressable knowledge, though. Might serve well as inspiration for searching the hard facts about your ballast, lamp and possible power supply combo.
> 
> First of all, you have best options to get this ballast running: UHP ballasts require a "go" signal (originally from the mainboard) to actually run. With the older 3-pin connectors this usually means connecting two pins (don't know which one for this ballast). But for the later 5-pin connectors this usually means talking a RS232-like protocol called UART.
> 
> ...



Yeah, I understand that "go" signal. The cable is a 3-pin one, so should I just try to short 2 of them together and see if that works?
I live in Slovakia, we've got 230V AC mains power. I have pretty decent electronics knowledge, so I can build a rectifier/filter to get about 325V DC. I will try to use that for the initial experiments, later I'll use 12->230V inverter with some 3S LiPo's to power the beast :devil:
Just realised, the bulb is probably AC - having a HV diode for that current levels, that diode would be HUGE (and expensive )
To be honest, I don't know what bulb was used before that. But since this bulb is rated for the same voltage and wattage, I guess there should be no problems.
So now the question is, how do I connect the input connector?
(I'll PM the guy I linked in the OP, I hope he will help me)


----------



## sven_m (Nov 25, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*



3zuli said:


> The cable is a 3-pin one, so should I just try to short 2 of them together and see if that works?


Here someone succeeded with this ballast by bridging the output of two black optocouplers (with their anode to the connector).
But optocouplers are there for a reason, so you should be very careful (and I don't have enough experience to judge about this).



> later I'll use 12->230V inverter with some 3S LiPo's to power the beast



If you use LiPos, a 24V->230V inverter might be an option to run with less current.



> I don't know what bulb was used before that. But since this bulb is rated for the same voltage and wattage, I guess there should be no problems.


Despite same voltage and wattage they can have different arc length, here 1.0 or 1.3 mm. But I could only speculate about possible consequences.
This page suggests it doesn't matter in this case.

BTW, although the ballast has a Sony part number (projector vendor), it is from Philips.

Oh, I almost forgot: there are parabolic and elliposoidal reflector types. The parabolic type emits parallel light and is ready to throw. For the elliposoidal type you'd need an aspheric lens because it focuses again, directly in the front of the bulb. Ah, that's what you can see in my avatar, BTW. The reflector type is coded into the type number written on the bulb reflector.


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 25, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

Thank you, that chinese page helped me a lot. This is my driver: http://www.kcservice.cn/Item/Show.asp?m=1&d=226 and I most likely have a OEM version of this bulb (all the labels are the same, but mine doesn't have "Philips" written on it): http://www.kcservice.cn/Item/Show.asp?m=1&d=214
The driver is rated for 100W both 1.0 and 1.3 bulbs and my bulb is 1.3. I also identified the input polarity. That means a huge success  Now I need to experiment with the 3-pin wire and the rectifier circuit... I hope I won't kill it (and it won't kill me )


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 28, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

Success 




I cut out a complete rectifier out of some old switching PSU board and replaced the capacitor with a larger one.





The bulb and driver are soldered together, using LOTS of isolation (actually way more than on the picture)





Ready, set,...





FIRE!! 

Thanks guys for help


----------



## BVH (Nov 28, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

Congratulations! It's always fun to see short arcs fire up!

Did you measure the power to the bulb?


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 28, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

Thanks  Well, I don't have a clamp DMM so I can't measure that easily (and safely)... but it's bright


----------



## The_Driver (Nov 28, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

A lux measurement at 5m or 10m would be nice...


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 29, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

quick beamshot... the church is 200m away from me


----------



## The_Driver (Nov 29, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

Thanks for the nice beamshot 

Member sma, who is also in the German flashlightforum has made a light with one of these UHP/P-VIP mercury bulbs. Heres the Link if you need some ideas. 

Ra (Maxablaster), ma_sha1 (Swanblaster) and Ot10St have also made lights with these bulbs.


----------



## 3zuli (Nov 29, 2012)

*Re: My UHP project*

More shots  A friend confirmed, that he saw the light on a building 1.23km away (through some trees)


----------



## 3zuli (May 31, 2013)

*Re: My UHP project*

After some time, I decided to make it safer and easier to carry and operate. I decided to build it inside a small cheap (2€) toolbox. This makes it the *10€ UHP searchlight.*
Here's a short video showing the operation:

I added a safety key switch to the control circuit. Since I needed a 12V fan for forced air cooling, I added a 12V PSU, which also powers the controls.





Bad quality overview photo.





It doesn't have any tripod screw, so the only way to make it tripod-mounted is to use some binding straps along with some aluminium mounting plate  Well, it works...


----------



## bshanahan14rulz (Jun 6, 2013)

*Re: My UHP project*

How do you pair the aspheric with an ellipsoidal? Is it that you want the focal point of the lens to be where the focal point of the ellipse is, and you want the diameter big enough to catch all the light that diverges from the ellipsoidal focal point? 

Does a parabolic short arc not put out as collimated of a beam as an ellipsoidal + single lens projector setup?

Thanks!


----------



## Ferrix97 (Jun 7, 2013)

Hello (from Italy)

how did you﻿ wired the optocouplers?,
will this work on 230v dc (with just a rectifier) ?
i am trying to do a similar thing with a n EUC 100 C/00 with its original bulb taken from a rear projection tv.
Thank you!
i will post images as soon as i will upload them.

http://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-sX2s4YbUWmR3VpS2NlNTZDZzA/edit?usp=sharing


----------

