There is Getto and then there is GEET OH

[ChrisForbes]

My first attempt at DIY


With all five sockets filled 500 watts of cool light

[ChrisForbes]

Each socket is individualy switched and it can run regular bulbs too. Or a mix of CF and Incandesant

[JasonFox]

That's much too good to be ghetto. :)

[ChrisForbes]

Next time I won't try so hard.:dankk2:

[JasonFox]

Is that 500 watts of fluorescent light, or 500 watts equivalent-to-incandescent light? (5 125W bulbs or 25W bulbs?)

[ChrisForbes]

Either, I actually found a 200 w Comact fluorescent (not so compact at 15" long) that is the equivelent of 1000 watts of incandescant power. I designed it to hold 4 of those. Because it is only 1.6 amps per light or 6.4 amps per fixture i can run 2 of those off one 15 amp breaker that is 8000 watts equivalent-to-incandescent. Don't know if I'll ever need that much power. :eek:

[Drew Ott]

That little thing can hold 8000 watts?

Wow...

Very nice.

[insanityfw]

that's VERY cool.

[dustino]

Do you have something in the works for mounting on a stand? Nice work, by the way.

[ChrisForbes]

With two of them I could run 8000 watts of light. But 4000 watts per light is not to shabby.

I plan on using one of these to adapt to a lightstand but one of the attractions of this is it is so small you could hide it any where on set, behind a couch or under a table.

[HorseFilms]

That's way too freaking cool! :thumbsup:

[ChrisForbes]

Tnks, the greatest thing about it was it was about $40.00 to build. I need two more to complete my 3 point light kit and buying all the switches and sockets at one time should cut down on costs. Plus lower fabrication costs at the metal shop.

I scavanged the power plug from an old nonfunctioning computer power supply a friend gave me (he works at a computer repair shop) and I'm thinking of going with only 3 switches on the last two. ( one to turn on one light, one to turn on 2 lights, and one for the other two) So that'll save me $6.00. All I need now is a gross of CFL's

[TeamJoeDawn]

Tnks, the greatest thing about it was it was about $40.00 to build. I need two more to complete my 3 point light kit and buying all the switches and sockets at one time should cut down on costs. Plus lower fabrication costs at the metal shop.

I scavanged the power plug from an old nonfunctioning computer power supply a friend gave me (he works at a computer repair shop) and I'm thinking of going with only 3 switches on the last two. ( one to turn on one light, one to turn on 2 lights, and one for the other two) So that'll save me $6.00. All I need now is a gross of CFL's

Parts list and schematic, my friend??

Great work!

J

[ChrisForbes]

Can we post a .pdf file here?

[Zander]

big bump

any new info on the lights? I'd like to try building one of those

[MattinSTL]

I can hook you up fatter then sh*t on those parts. I've got german-made sockets that are super light-weight, unbreakable, SUPER-easy to wire up, bulbs glide in with ZERO friction, sockets are held in place by a double-clamping system that's slick as heck... etc. etc.

Sockets w/ double clamping locking collars = $4/each... switches = $2 each Black wire to hook it all up? FREE with other parts, but I have black ONLY, no white... so if you can't keep the electrical paths straight then don't say I didn't warn you.

You can build this thing with any empty box, cake-pan, or whatever you want to use... just pop in the sockets and switches and it should just take you an afternoon. This is NOT a high-tech endeavor... a few hours tops. If you're remotely handy then you could get it done in literally ONE HOUR.

PM me if you need some parts.

[Luis Caffesse]

... I'm thinking of going with only 3 switches on the last two ...
...that'll save me $6.00.

That's awesome.
I love the DIY spirit around here.
:thumbsup:


Nice work on the light.
Seriously.


EDITED TO ADD:
I JUST realized this post is from over a year and a half ago.
Oh well...
...I wonder if he saved those 6 dollars?

[Kdawg]

I JUST realized this post is from over a year and a half ago.
Oh well...



I asked myself why have I not seen this post? Then saw the date and realized I was just a child when this was made. Ok thats going to far, but its pretty old.

[Spartacus]

Wow this is so old but was kind of avangarde back then...
ChrisForbes, are you still there?

[Luis Caffesse]

He's definitely still around (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/member.php?u=12417) - his last post was just a few days ago.

[Bob Gruen]

A few things to keep in mind:

1) The bulk of the light comes out of the sides of the bulbs, not the tips. If you want t be able to direct the light you must create a reflector that bounces the light emanating from the sides of the bulbs to the surface you want to illuminate.

2) Any light that emanates from a bulb and strikes another bulb is lost, so I would guess that the 8000w of estimated power is actually less. This is why good flou fixtures (like Kinoflo) have a gap between bulbs and reflectors that bounce the rear emitted light out of those gaps. You might be better served by removing the center bulb and adding some type of chromed cone or tube to reflect the light from the four other bulbs out. Crumpled aluminum foil with something non-flammable under it to give it shape maybe...

3) Tungsten equivalent ratings are very liberal, rule of thumb is about 80% of what the packaging claims.

What you could do with what you have is to hack up a softbox and attach it to your fixture. The silvered interior of the softbox is designed to bounce light around until it eventually finds it's way out, so you may end up with a 3000W softbox. I actually am planning something similar to drive a softbox, but I want the bulbs on a 45 degree angle with respect to the diffuser.

Bob

[mainstreetprod]

Are these mogul base bulb sockets, or normal size as in household bulbs?
They don't make a 200w bulb in normal size base do they?

[MattinSTL]

Get a photoflex speedring for a TOTA... chimera also makes these, but the photoflex is pretty cheap... then use whatever size softbox you want. I realize that this will seem pricey... once you get the ring plus the softbox... but it's still cheap relatively speaking... and way more effective then a normal flo (as far as control, etc)... Westcott and Photoflex make the best values in softboxes also... and for the removable eggcrate... again... photoflex.

Get all that and then the fixture that goes inside is pretty low-tech... but the softbox is what makes this effective as a tool.

Softboxes are tools that you will ALWAYS need... so if you don't have any then get used to the idea of using them. I see a lot of crappy lighting jobs from DP's who don't use them... and a lot of great results from those that do.

This fixture BELONGS in a softbox.