What about xenon car fog lights for use in this project?
They have:
1) Perfect color temperature (5400k)
2) Good light output (3200 lumens), plus you could add more lights for better output
3) Ultra long life
4) Relatively small
5) Dirt cheap on ebay (if I'm looking at the right thing)
6) Fairly directional light (b/c its for use on a car, right?)
This seems a bit too perfect a solution. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? (or did they, and I missed it?) Am I missing something? Why isn't everyone using these?
They have:
1) Perfect color temperature (5400k)
2) Good light output (3200 lumens), plus you could add more lights for better output
3) Ultra long life
4) Relatively small
5) Dirt cheap on ebay (if I'm looking at the right thing)
6) Fairly directional light (b/c its for use on a car, right?)
This seems a bit too perfect a solution. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? (or did they, and I missed it?) Am I missing something? Why isn't everyone using these?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2406223813&category=33709
are these fake xenon or real?
cause that is pretty cheap if they are real.
I searched the forum and it looks as though you need a beefy power source to power a xenon. But if they are in cars, then it can't be THAT bad of a power monster can it?
are these fake xenon or real?
cause that is pretty cheap if they are real.
I searched the forum and it looks as though you need a beefy power source to power a xenon. But if they are in cars, then it can't be THAT bad of a power monster can it?
I have bought them
I have bought them for my car.
They are not cheat but (obviuosly) are not "true" xenon lamps.
They call them xenon lamps because the mixture of gases used in the lamps contain a small amount of xenon gas.
Conclusion : perfect for car use (10% more brighter than alogen) but not suitable (i think) for projection because of the high operation temperature .
Hope it helps.
I have bought them for my car.
They are not cheat but (obviuosly) are not "true" xenon lamps.
They call them xenon lamps because the mixture of gases used in the lamps contain a small amount of xenon gas.
Conclusion : perfect for car use (10% more brighter than alogen) but not suitable (i think) for projection because of the high operation temperature .
Hope it helps.
They go for ~$6.99 USD on ebay for a pair
Other than the heat problem you mention, it seems like a perfect solution. That seems like a problem worth dealing with to me.
Do these car "xenon" lamps basically put out the same heat as a regular halogen?
Other than the heat problem you mention, it seems like a perfect solution. That seems like a problem worth dealing with to me.
Do these car "xenon" lamps basically put out the same heat as a regular halogen?
Heat
In the very beginning of the use of those lights (I bought them first in 1997) the heat output was so high that one light bulb of the pair mounted in my car has been melted.
Now the problems seem to be resolved and the heat emitted is equivalent to an halogen bulb.
The light color is a very cool white so, if you can bypass the problems caused by heat and you are able to feed the bulbs with the necessary amperage (12 v -> somewhat near to ten amperes) I think that it must be considered an adequate solution.
Greetings.
In the very beginning of the use of those lights (I bought them first in 1997) the heat output was so high that one light bulb of the pair mounted in my car has been melted.
Now the problems seem to be resolved and the heat emitted is equivalent to an halogen bulb.
The light color is a very cool white so, if you can bypass the problems caused by heat and you are able to feed the bulbs with the necessary amperage (12 v -> somewhat near to ten amperes) I think that it must be considered an adequate solution.
Greetings.
So if i get , say 4 of these, and use a base of 3200 lums for one, what am i going to end up with for light? Im assuming it wont be 12800, but roughly what woudl it be? Im willing to check it out as the price isnt out of range.
thanks
Clok
thanks
Clok
These "xenon" 12V bulbs dont put out anywhere near enough light to be workable..... I mean 400w MH bulbs start at about 30000 lumens... most of these halogen bulbs that Ive seen for auto use are under 100w.. they dont even compare to halogen OHP bulbs in intensity. although at least they have found a way to make them white. I looked at some sylvania silvertip bulbs and the color temp is comparable to Metal halide bulbs, and putting several of them together in the same "box" to use as one light wont work because you are spreading out the light.. We need a single point, bright source. just my opinion...
maybe something like these would be good:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2407672858&category=33710
i'm pretty sure they are true xenon
I can't find anywhere where the lumen rating is listed on the true xenon headlights
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2407672858&category=33710
i'm pretty sure they are true xenon
I can't find anywhere where the lumen rating is listed on the true xenon headlights
Those cheap "xenon" bulbs are just halogens with blue filters to make the light a "whiter" color temp. As goldmoth said, they are not nearly powerful enough for a projector, but they are cheap enough to play with.
Real xenon bulbs (like those Mercedes bulbs) are nice, but I would imagine that they are still not powerful enough.
My halogen OHP bulb is 600 watts...the "xenon" halogens can't be producing more than 50 watts or so. Metal halide is still the king of efficiency, as far as I know.
-f4
Real xenon bulbs (like those Mercedes bulbs) are nice, but I would imagine that they are still not powerful enough.
My halogen OHP bulb is 600 watts...the "xenon" halogens can't be producing more than 50 watts or so. Metal halide is still the king of efficiency, as far as I know.
-f4
They can just put a little Xenon gas in a halogen bulb and call it a "Xenon bulb". Not the real thing. The real thing is many, many times brighter and costs thousands of dollars.
This link explains it all. You might want to look at more of his site since it is mostly lighting.
http://misty.com/people/don/d2.html
There are really 3 types called xenon by manufacturers:
Halogen with some Xenon added so they can call it xenon. Usually with a blue coating on the bulb to give it the white color.
Xenon / Mercury vapor HID - this is what is used on those luxury cars. Works well, but hard to diy. You need to buy the ballast.
Xenon Short arc / Xenon Flashtube - the real thing. Short arcs can be operated continuously, but they are extremely expensive and have complex power supply requirements. Flashtubes are useless since
they do not like to be operated at low power. Even a disposable camera tube needs a few KW to be happy. This is possible for a few ms with a cap. I have a studio flash unit that dumps 2MW on the flashtube for 1ms.
Darrell Harmon
http://misty.com/people/don/d2.html
There are really 3 types called xenon by manufacturers:
Halogen with some Xenon added so they can call it xenon. Usually with a blue coating on the bulb to give it the white color.
Xenon / Mercury vapor HID - this is what is used on those luxury cars. Works well, but hard to diy. You need to buy the ballast.
Xenon Short arc / Xenon Flashtube - the real thing. Short arcs can be operated continuously, but they are extremely expensive and have complex power supply requirements. Flashtubes are useless since
they do not like to be operated at low power. Even a disposable camera tube needs a few KW to be happy. This is possible for a few ms with a cap. I have a studio flash unit that dumps 2MW on the flashtube for 1ms.
Darrell Harmon
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