A wee while ago I made a Halogen 35W MR16 Can light.

The alloy is 6061 and the collar around the lighthead (which has now been reduced in size and profile to something not resembling a club) is homopolymer acetal.

There is a magnet in the collar which activates a reed switch in the light housing negating any need for further holes..

The batteries are 12x 1.2 volt NICD so the 12v globe is overdriven and produces in the region of 1250 ( I think it's about 1400) lumens at 8 degrees of divergence. In otherwords it throws a ton of light a long way..

Here's a pic or 2 of it..








So what am I wanting to change with the MK 2?

I want it to be:

Lighter

Brighter

Smaller

Longer lasting

100 Metre pressure rating

So the globe will be a 13w HID (not brighter but untill I make the MK 3 which will be an LED it will suffice).

I have found a more suitable gland for sealing the cable entry (11 bar rating)

The can will be black acetal as the 6061 is just overkill for the job and has a huge weight penalty..

The batteries are NIMH 10x1.2. Just a 12V output this time as there is nothing to be gained by higher voltage as it is regulated by the ballast of the HID. The current draw will be approx .9 AH so the batterise will last for about 4 hrs.

The Lighthead will be 6061 as the heat dissipation requirement makes using Acetal very problematic and can cause the ballast to thermally cutout. There will be no switch in the head instead it will be a reed switch on the lid of the can, the convenience of a switch on the lighthead is negated by HIDs not taking kindly to being repeatedly swiched off and on, so you turn it on and leave it on for the dive..

I'll add more as the work progresses..

Where/ how much for the 11 bar glands?

About $4.. I'll grab ya a couple f ya want they're M16

Yes please.

I need 4


Shhh

Bob, wouldnt mind a canister if you are going to make a couple

I'll be making a few of these lights as there seem to be quite a bit of interest.

I'm really unsure of how to price it out to be competitive I think if I can produce a 1st rate reliable light with the above mentioned specs for under grand i'll be happy, this may be a little higher than some of the US products but being a local manufacturer will have benefits for warranty etc.. , I will of course discount for SODS members.

Azza I can do a Can for ya, it'll be at cost of materials plus whatever the machining comes to (which won't be all that much).

I am just having a bit of a hard time getting tool time at the moment as the lathe is very busy on a big order that's profitable as opposed to my DIY..

You are a good man Bob. Might have to do a trip to Welly at some stage and do some training for you...and if you don't want a card it'll be free free free

Ta for the offer!

I hope you're after a can the same size as the production run will be..

Yep. You might have to fill me in on which size batteries you are looking at. I might be able to get a goodish deal on them. (My brother is a sparky and should have some contacts)

The batteries that the can is sized for are these..http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2219

I'd imagine you may get a "would ya fuck right off mister!" look if ya walked into a battery shop here and asked for a couple of 4/3rds AF.

That's a very good price and I would be surprised if anyone in NZ could undercut that, I got gouged for almost $300 for 12 D NICDs here in NZ so for about $90 NZD landed you can't go far wrong..

If you do want to go with those ones then hang fire as I'll be getting in a few more items from them and you may as well piggyback on the freight..

<edit>

Haha

Oh Azza not you too... Maybe a pantomime horse would be a more appropriate avitar

Very good kind sir