Wrist Mounted Spotlight

[MikeRD03]

Hi Aquamaster,

But it does not change the fact that however fast LED technology is growing, it is not what you could call mature yet and of the commerically available choices, HID is still probably your best bet for a serious yet still reasonably affordable primary lcannister ight.

You´re right when saying one who wants to BUY does not have many choices. I know only of a very few lights that CAN replace 10W HID lamps by doing better. That´s one reason I build them on my own. But what I wanted to show you was an outlook of what is comming (soon) and is already possible. So think twice buying a HID light light right now: ;-)

cheers,
MikeRD03

 

[nwbrewer]

Jake, that is one nifty project. But are you saying that your cannister contains 6 AA batteries?

Any link or something to this project?

Yep, it's a 3 watt Terralux LED.

LED-Replacement; TerraLUX TLE-6EXB MiniStar5 EXTREME LED Replacement bulb for your 2 or 3 Cell Maglite

I power it with 6AA batteries. It runs 3 watts a 7.2 volts. With 2.7 aH batteries I get plenty long burn time, and batteries are really cheap and readily available. I wanted to keep the AA type battery pack for travel. If I'm going somewhere I'll want my light I just buy AA's when I get there.

This Pic shows how I was powering my 12volt Halogen with AA's. The LED uses basically the same thing.

I don't have a webpage setup or anything,but there's lots of good info on Padipro's webpage. Total cost with batteries and charger will be a little under $150 assuming you have the tools.

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you plan on building your own and I'll be glad to gove you part numbers and where to get most of the stuff.

Jake

 

[nwbrewer]

This company makes some options if you're interested in high intensity LED dive lights.

SOLUS Submersible Products - Products Page

Jake

 

[MikeRD03]

@nwbrewer I already saw that light. If I´m counting right they put up to 12 x 3W LEDs in one head. Regarding to my own experience of such a high density lamp (I tried it with 9 of them) you have great problems in collamination with this small diameter for every LED emitter. Besides that they obviously use hexagon shaped TIR optics that have not the best efficency compared to round ones. So my gues would be around 1500-2000 Lumen with best P4 emitter at 36W power consumtion - that´s what I expect form a 24W HID light (for half the price).
Would be interessting to hear something from an owner.

cheers,
MikeRD03

 

[CompuDude]

From what I've seen, the very best commercially available LED-based canister lights (Solus) can actually compete fairly well with the 10w HIDs.

But when you can get a nice 10w HID canister light for $525 from Divers Supply, I think the person who wants to get into an entry-level canister light (the 10w class) really only has the option of looking at HID... not that there is any problem with that.

I have yet to see the LED-based can light that can truly take on a 21-35w HID and meet or exceed it feature-for-feature.

To the OP: Your best bet for the light you seem to be describing is probably the Sea Elite light I linked above. (Made by Salvo, btw... and for a little bit more, you can get a slightly better light with a better warranty directly from Salvo.)

I look forward to the day when LED finally de-thrones HID at the high end, but it's not here just yet. May come in just a few short years, depending on what advances come, but as of today, it's not here.

 

[shadragon]

Oh, I also found it interesting in the MP-1 home page where they had their model Danielle smiling after her dive... and her hair was completely dry!

Latex hood?

I am also looking for a good wrist mount. I just bought a pair of MP-1 lights, but have not yet received them. I did find this site:

Nocturnal Lights

...but no one I know has seen one. I see the ad to the left of this as I type this actually so has anyone on here bought one and willing to fill us in on pros and cons?

Any other suggestions? I do not want a separate light head and battery if at all possible for simplicity. So an all-in-one as I am on a budget. Thanks.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

You can get used HID's, usually of the 10 watt variety, for $250-$350ish usually, if you wait for a while, in the B/S/T forum here or at TheDecoStop.com (technical diving site, don't you dare post there unless you know what you are talking about, they do not take kindly to uninformed people nosing around. But the B/S/T forum is active and HID's pop up every few days for sale)

 

[shadragon]

Does anyone know of a decent "hands free" light. The only one's I've stumbled across have been this mp-1 thing, and a head strap one from OMS (as I recall). Since the wife is a photo-bug and it's hard to juggle a light and a camera, she's been looking for something that would avoid the juggling.

One that doesn't cost $1000 would be nice as well.

I just bought a pair of MP-1's and posted a review here on SB Tuesday. I also ordered a SLX LED Technical Dive Light Package from Nocturnal lights and will post a review of that when I receive it. I was in the same boat as you. I did not want to spend $1000 for a light.

My list of 'must haves' was:

- Lightweight
- Low maintenance
- Hands free operation
- No cables or separate battery packs.
- Low cost <$250 US

The MP-1 and SLX lights fit those needs and were fairly cheap. The MP-1's (apart from recharging the batteries) are maintenance free, light weight and small. Perfect for trips. They both mount on the back of your hand letting you use your hands for other things. The MP-1's have decent light distribution and are good for general lighting. I have not gotten the SLX yet, but suspect that will be a good candidate for a primary light as the beam is a lot more focused. The SLX uses 6 AA batteries while the MP-1's have sealed internal rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

I shied away from head lights as you would blind anyone you looked at. However, they are viable choices for some.

Will post a review of the SLX when I receive the package.

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

Hi Guys,

Sorry I must have missed this thread You guys are mostly right about LEDs... they're becoming brighter and brighter and they're catching up to the lower wattage HIDs with the added benefit of not having to have a ballast, igniter, and the sturdy bulbs will last you thousands of hours.

I, of course, would recommend the SLX technical package and don't just take my word for it, a lot of scuba board members own it and have written some reviews on it. Sharadon's detailed review is posted here in case you guys missed it: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...-led-technical-dive-light-package-review.html

We have a lot of customer reviews on the bottom of our products page, feel free to check them out and see what people are saying about the SLX

I'm here to answer any questions that you guys have, feel free to ask me anything here or though a PM, whatever works for you.

 

[UaVaj]

Great Info DA Aquamaster.

I too - am in need of one of these super bright light for diving/spearfishing in clearer tropical waters.