low priced HPS ballasts

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#61
cool, you inform me and i'll help inform you as well.

first, i went to home depot and sure enough, they don't have any mogul socket E-39's, but i was suprised, as i thought they sold some metal halide stuff.

umm, i will go tomorrow and look at pier one and stuff for the reflectors from soup laddles and such.

thanks man, good luck
 
#62
here is what the reflector from DIY looks like, and they admit it's just from a soup ladle but it's a hard to find truly spherical one. (if it's not perfectly spherical, i think it's harder to eyeball the center for light source..........)


but 7.95 ain't bad, i might just buy it if i can find out how much shipping is....
 

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#63
i was looking at that one on dpc site but my ? is is it big enuff for this bulb sence there useing it on the hqi bulb? and if you sign up like your making an order put it in your cart and hit checkout the next screen will show you shipping amount befor asking for payment.
 
#64
Ushio retrofit lamps

I don't think a soup ladle is big enough for a Ushio Retrofit lamp. (I tried.) I am using a stainless steel hemispherical quiche mold, that is about 4 inches in diameter. I cut away some of the edge part with a Dremel running thin cutting disks, so I could get the center of the lamp arc to the center of curvature. Works pretty well.

I have never seen an E39 mogul socket at a hardware or home improvement store. This is an industrial lighting socket. Home Depot may have a security light fixture with one inside, along with an HPS lamp. But that would cost much more than the socket alone. Find a warehouse-type place that supplies electrical contractors. Every city of even moderate size will have one or more of these places. Look in the yellow pages for Electrical Supplies. They sell mostly wholesale to contractors, but every one I have visited will sell to anybody who walks in with cash in hand. If you can't find one locally, look on the internet. Some DIY projector stores have them. Lots of electrical supply online stores also have them.

And $38 (at Atlanta Light Bulbs) is the cheapest price I have seen for the Ushio retrofit lamps. Most MH lamps that are cheaper have lousy light quality and are much bigger.
 
#66
reflector

A quiche mold is a stainless steel mold used for making half-sphere-shaped baked items. I bought mine from a culinary supply place over the internet. (They have multiple sizes, so you can pick one to fit your lamp.) It has a perfect half-spherical shape with no flat spot on the bottom, so it makes a good reflector if you get it with a polished surface. I improved the reflectivity of mine even more by having it silver-plated.

Here is a picture of it after I cut off some the upper part, and had it plated. And another picture of it in place within my light box. (The front of the light box is removed so you can see inside.)
 

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#68
sweet idea......

but how did you cut the edge off with a dremel keeping it straight? did you build yourself a jig or something?

i cut my computer cases for modification alot with my dremel and using same discs but never stainless steel which is very dense...

how much did the quiche mold cost, and how much for silver plating?

i know from motorcycles that if you just plate one small thing at chrome shop you get charged the minimum 100 dollars anyways,

but maybe silver plating is different.. is silver plating brighter than chrome plating?
 
#71
not sure,

but Guy says they are called E39's i think that means the size?

and your link says nothing about E 39 so i would be wary, probably a different size metal halide bases.

did you try a local electrical contractor supply? you should be able to get them locally and not pay shipping on a 6 dollar item.
 
#72
i tryed looking for a electrical contractor supply? in the phone book but there doesnt seem to be one. i did find out lowes carrys e39's so i may have to go look sence the guy sayed they have all difforent types. and i cant seem to find any e39 sockets online just bulbs.
 
#75
if they have 20 kinds, then i wonder if the guy at home depot was wrong and maybe they have them too.

oh well, no matter,

i'm taking my business to lowes now.

this is the same kinda crap with Video to VGA transcoders.
I can't believe Best Buy, Comp USA, or Circuit City does not sell them.


(well, com usa does have some for online ordering, but you pay alot for shipping)

shouldn't video to vga transcoders be common now with all the mulit-media and imaging devices now?
 
#76
yea home depot kinda sucks lowes seems to carry more stuff iv notest.

most places dont sell vid to vga cuz they know they wont make much money off it specily sence alot of people make there own.

give lows a call or stop in and check it out. to bad they dont show them on there web site it would be much easyer for me cuz im in a wheelchair so its harder to just jump up and go browsing store's.:wchair:
 
#78
no i rode a few when i was younger but after i turned 15 i found out i had a desies kinda like musculer distrofy. mines cmt there causens. i cant use my arms or leggs so my nurse/best friend does the phyiscal work im just the brain and teacher have to tell her step by step what to do and how to use some of the tools. my first ps1 pj came out ok was a good way to try and learn the basicks just wasnt satisfied with the hole thing so im going for better/brighter.:wchair:


oh and my brother rides motercycles he has a 05 honda cbr600RR
 
#79
Just a quick update: my ballast just arrived. Should be wiring it up whenever the bulb and socket arrive, and I'll post pictures of the wiring as long as no one has any objections (I know there was some discussion that posting pictures was unsafe because people unable to read wiring diagrams probably shouldn't be doing the high powered wiring.)
 
#80
cool i may need some pic's for when my ballest comes in always good to have something to look at for duble checking everything befor fireing up.

i just got my bulb in little bigger then i expected so refiguring my box size befor i buy the wood. still need a e39 socket though.
 
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