mr16 "spots" best pattern?

[Patrick Mitchel]

Went to the big box retailer looking for a "spot" pattern mr16 to use for a home made light and all
I found was 50 watts..... OK, I'll get ine just for the first light, then have to hash out where to
find something of lower wattage after I build the light. The darned thing is nowhere near a spot-
from a distance of 5', the thing must be 5' wide. Labeled as a "esx"- dunno if that is supposed to
be a spot or not. Does anyone (in the us or canada) have a favorite brand "spot" ? Was further
thinking that if the lower wattage (no more than 20 watts) are hard to find, then perhaps I'll buy a
non front glass mr16, dig out the capsule bulb, and cement a lower wattage in it's place. What would
be a good -I hope I'm using the correct term- "potting coumpound" to bind the bulb to the reflector.
Anyone done that? The compound on the one I played with was pretty friable- sort of a hard plaster-
and the glass didn't seal the back of the capsule to the reflector. I noticed on another tha the
front lens was one piece (least it looked like it through the package) with the reflector which
would make the process of replacing the bulb kinda problematic (cept if I had a diamond saw and a
lot of patience) By the way, a 2 liter soda bottle (in southern california) has a label that is made
of some kind of heat shrink plastic- I tried to wrap a sub c nicad with the stuff, sealed the seam
with a film of polyurethane glue and let it dry. I then hit it with the heat gun and the plastic
took the shape of the battery nicely.

Pat

 

[Ray Heindl]

"patrick mitchel" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Went to the big box retailer looking for a "spot" pattern mr16 to use for a home made light and
> all I found was 50 watts..... OK, I'll get ine just for the first light, then have to hash out
> where to find something of lower wattage after I build the light. The darned thing is nowhere near
> a spot- from a distance of 5', the thing must be 5' wide. Labeled as a "esx"- dunno if that is
> supposed to be a spot or not. Does anyone (in the us or canada) have a favorite brand "spot" ?

ESX is supposed to have an 8 to 12 degree beam width, depending on whose specs you believe. The
width is measured at the point where the intensity is half that at the center of the beam, if my
memory hasn't completely atrophied, so if you're just looking at the beam in a dark room it will
probably look wider that it "really" is. Are you sure it's 50 watts? All the places Google found say
it's 20 watts.

<http://www.crw.org/CheapLights.htm> mentions using this lamp for a bike light.

--
Ray Heindl (remove the X to reply)

 

[Patrick Mitchel]

Ray Heindl <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> "patrick mitchel" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Went to the big box retailer looking for a "spot" pattern mr16 to use for a home made light and
> > all I found was 50 watts..... OK, I'll get ine just for the first light, then have to hash out
> > where to find something of lower wattage after I build the light. The darned thing is nowhere
> > near a spot- from a distance of 5', the thing must be 5' wide. Labeled as a "esx"- dunno if
> > that is supposed to be a spot or not. Does anyone (in the us or canada) have a favorite brand
> > "spot" ?
>
> ESX is supposed to have an 8 to 12 degree beam width, depending on whose specs you believe. The
> width is measured at the point where the intensity is half that at the center of the beam, if my
> memory hasn't completely atrophied, so if you're just looking at the beam in a dark room it will
> probably look wider that it "really" is. Are you sure it's 50 watts? All the places Google found
> say it's 20 watts.
>
> <http://www.crw.org/CheapLights.htm> mentions using this lamp for a bike light.
>
> --
> Ray Heindl (remove the X to reply)
Yep - phillips halogen accentline 50 watts - says spot- hmmmm, the small print on the pack states
"est" not esx shows an order cose of bc50mrc16/sp ext

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"patrick mitchel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Ray Heindl <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > "patrick mitchel" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > Went to the big box retailer looking for a "spot"
pattern mr16 to
> > > use for a home made light and all I found was 50
watts..... OK,
> > > I'll get ine just for the first light, then have to
hash out where
> > > to find something of lower wattage after I build the
light. The
> > > darned thing is nowhere near a spot- from a distance
of 5', the
> > > thing must be 5' wide. Labeled as a "esx"- dunno if
that is
> > > supposed to be a spot or not. Does anyone (in the us
or canada)
> > > have a favorite brand "spot" ?
> >
> > ESX is supposed to have an 8 to 12 degree beam width,
depending on
> > whose specs you believe. The width is measured at the
point where the
> > intensity is half that at the center of the beam, if my
memory hasn't
> > completely atrophied, so if you're just looking at the
beam in a dark
> > room it will probably look wider that it "really" is.
Are you sure
> > it's 50 watts? All the places Google found say it's 20
watts.
> >
> > <http://www.crw.org/CheapLights.htm> mentions using this
lamp for a
> > bike light.
> >
> > --
> > Ray Heindl (remove the X to reply)
> Yep - phillips halogen accentline 50 watts - says spot-
hmmmm, the small
> print on the pack states "est" not esx shows an order cose
of bc50mrc16/sp
> ext

For a few dollars more ($20-23), you can buy a lamp from Nightsun with a "known good" beam pattern.

You may get lucky and find a good one at a hardware store, but there's no guarantee. Not only are
they not completely standardized, the quality control isn't as good as with a bike light company --
the beams may be uneven, with annoying dark spots, etc. By your third try, you'll have wiped out any
savings, making the "overpriced" Nightsun lamp a better value than it may seem.

Matt O.

 

[Patrick Mitchel]

Matt O'Toole <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "patrick mitchel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Ray Heindl <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > "patrick mitchel" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Went to the big box retailer looking for a "spot"
> pattern mr16 to
> > > > use for a home made light and all I found was 50
> watts..... OK,
> > > > I'll get ine just for the first light, then have to
> hash out where
> > > > to find something of lower wattage after I build the
> light. The
> > > > darned thing is nowhere near a spot- from a distance
> of 5', the
> > > > thing must be 5' wide. Labeled as a "esx"- dunno if
> that is
> > > > supposed to be a spot or not. Does anyone (in the us
> or canada)
> > > > have a favorite brand "spot" ?
> > >
> > > ESX is supposed to have an 8 to 12 degree beam width,
> depending on
> > > whose specs you believe. The width is measured at the
> point where the
> > > intensity is half that at the center of the beam, if my
> memory hasn't
> > > completely atrophied, so if you're just looking at the
> beam in a dark
> > > room it will probably look wider that it "really" is.
> Are you sure
> > > it's 50 watts? All the places Google found say it's 20
> watts.
> > >
> > > <http://www.crw.org/CheapLights.htm> mentions using this
> lamp for a
> > > bike light.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Ray Heindl (remove the X to reply)
> > Yep - phillips halogen accentline 50 watts - says spot-
> hmmmm, the small
> > print on the pack states "est" not esx shows an order cose
> of bc50mrc16/sp
> > ext
>
> For a few dollars more ($20-23), you can buy a lamp from Nightsun with a "known good" beam
> pattern.
>
> You may get lucky and find a good one at a hardware store, but there's no guarantee. Not only are
> they not completely standardized, the quality control isn't as good as with a bike light company
> -- the beams may be uneven, with annoying dark spots, etc. By your third try, you'll have wiped
> out any savings, making the "overpriced" Nightsun lamp a better value than it may seem.
>
> Matt O.
>
> I'm starting to get a bit zen about this ...It's sorta the journey not the
destination thing...or more like it feels much better when you stop beating your head against
the wall....