diy 4 Bank and Diva challenge response!

This could be the greatest picture ever posted on DVXuser:laugh::laugh::

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I'll sell you guys the sockets that they use on Kino Divas... (and the best bulb supports)... for $1.95 each for the socket and $.95 each for the support.

Check pricing against aquarium supply or anyplace else... that's a THIRD the price of the generic stuff they sell.

+shipping... and no charge for paypal payment.

I'm getting ready to blow these parts out on ebay... I originally used these in my own lighting design... and I sold lots of them on ebay for $6 each... which is still matching the generic socket's cost... but now... cost... $1.95. (no bulbs included OF COURSE)

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and get this ballast... the Fulham Workhorse 3 from here:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/Fulham-Ballast-Workhorse-3/

You can choose the "long" case or the "compact" case... depending on your lighting design... they both operate the same... and you need one ballast for each lamp that you want to be able to switch off... so 4 for a switchable "kino" 4-banger... if you only want to control half the fixture... as in 2 bulbs on, 2 off... then you can wire 2 bulbs each to a Workhorse 5 instead... but for the extra $40 TOTAL... I'd give yourself the option of 4 switchable levels of output... and if you want the ballast array to be separate from the fixture (to save a couple pounds of weight on a stand)... then look at a Longhorse model instead.

5 year warranty on the ballast... and before you ask... yeah, they're good (and as you can see, very affordable).
 
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hey MattinSTL

Hey MattinSTL,

can i buy 40 of the socket supports? i dont need the socket right now? will you sell them seprately?

my issuse is the AHS puts the kino flos too high up and so the focus of the light is not entirely foward. it spills too much?

please pplease. i've been looking for these thigns everywhere.
 
No problem... everybody on the boards can buy whatever they want. That's the point of my post... to help you guys out! If you check the prices on these things you'll see that you guys get screwed on this stuff... for inferior product. Back when I was building my own "kino" style lights I had to buy thousands of $$$ in parts to qualify for OEM purchasing of stuff like this... and since I've got it... I thought it might help you guys out. There's no reason to use cheap connectors and zip ties for lamp supports. Even from aquarium supply places you'll pay something like $3 each for the supports and $6 each for the sockets... and they won't be this good.

I'll shoot you a PM with my Paypal... but to clarify... yes, anybody can buy as much or little as they like. Shipping will be very reasonable. For 40 supports I think I can ship that to you for about $3-4 via USPS (as long as you are in the USA)... so your total will be $41.
 
oh hey accdient! i just relized i need more (2 for each ligh) Can i order 60 of them?

thank you so much and sorry for all the work (can u send me a new pay pal thing?)


-Nate
 
twocom are planning on giving coollight.com a run for its money with these? or are you just building your own huge green screen?
 
Jason Miller said:
twocom are planning on giving coollight.com a run for its money with these? or are you just building your own huge green screen?
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ah theres no way i could compete. so much work to build these things! lol i would cringe everytime someone put an order in.

I'm just building a bunch of them cause i need a bunch for like lighting larger sets and i figured it would take like 5 of these things to light someone during the day time... not sure though...
 
If you look back on page 3 you can read my post for an easy recipe for a DIY kino diva style light. Even though the Fulham ballasts are $18... they're good. If you want to run 2 lights per each ballast (cutting the ballast cost down, but also reducing the selectable "banks") then you can pay about $20 for a WH5 which will run 2 lamps instead of just one. These Workhorse ballasts are very small and come in several configurations to accommodate any lighting design.

Is everybody good for switches or do I need to break those out as well?

Also... I should have fuse holders, and I may or may not have fuses... Oh and I've also got power cord strain reliefs... these things took some serious searching. If you don't know what the strain relief is from this picture... then you probably don't want one. It's flexible in all directions and it fits a wide range of power cord diameters... but I used them on everything from a round, 10 amp power cord, up to a round 15 amp power cord. The best way to power your lights is to buy a nice extension cord from Lowe's, Costco, Home Depot... and then cut off the female end.

Strain reliefs... $2 each also. I think I have about 40 of those left... and as I recall... they cost me around $4 each. They are very nice, and very very heavy duty.

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PLEASE confirm your Paypal addresses for me... you should do this anyway to simplify future use of Paypal. Most ebay sales REQUIRE this already. I don't talk about this that much on the forum... but back when I was building these lights I had a guy try to take me for over $500 because he seemed like a nice guy and I talked to him on the forum a lot before shipping out on his word vs. my common sense about Paypal confirmed sales. Even after I miraculously intercepted the shipment... the guy kept on assuring me that he wasn't trying to cheat me... and Paypal kept assuring me that EVEN THEN he was trying to con me into letting the shipment go through. So PLEASE confirm your Paypal! When I see a Paypal payment and it says "unprotected" I get that sick feeling of "do I just risk it again?"... and I'd rather not. Confirming address is good for me AND you.

OK, now that I've got that out of the way... I've also got a ton of these really great knobs... these are ultra premium and I have them in both 3/8" standard female... and 5/16" standard female thread. I used these to lock barn doors into position, but they can also be used to lock ANYTHING into position, closed, down, etc. It's a very simple thing to add this functionality to any DIY project... because you simply mount your bolt from the inside, sticking out of the object... through a 3/8" or 5/16" hole that you attach your wing, door, face-plate, etc... and then you put on one of these knobs... a quarter turn locks/unlocks the item... or spinning off the knob reveals the light face, etc. These knobs are VERY VERY heavy duty... solid unbreakable plastic with STEEL inside... and the female threaded holes (in steel) are DEEP... so they accommodate a wide length of bolts and projects.

You can find these knobs on occasion at a specialty hardware store for around $4-5 each... but for the DIY forum... $1.25 each. Just specify thread 3/8" or 5/16" and add to whatever else you want.

blackknobs38.jpg
 
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Somebody pleeeease write up a tutorial on how to make these things. I'm a moron when it comes to this type of DIY, but I want to give it a go.

There's a lot of good info, but it's scattered all over the place, and too hard to decipher...
 
This thread is getting rather conclusive. You're getting the tutorial right here and now. A very basic electrical knowledge should be the starting point... since we are talking about high voltage systems with the potential to be dangerous.

Black is hot, white is neutral, and green is ground. There... now run with it.

Just kidding... anyway... the ballasts I've linked offer wiring diagrams on the Fulham site. It's as simple as "choose your lamp" and then it offers the solutions... which are very easy. For a Kino Diva style fixture you have 55w twin-tube lamps. You need one ballast for each switchable circuit... so if you want a simple on/off system with 2 kino 55w twin-tubes then you can build your light with only one ballast... a workhorse 5 I believe. If you want to add 4 levels of control... meaning 4 switchable circuits... then you could do this with only 3 ballasts and 4 switches... have a ballast run 2 tubes... and then 1 ballast each for each of the other 2 tubes... so you could switch on 1 tube... or switch that off and switch on the 2 tube circuit... and then switch the single tube back on... and then switch on the 4th tube. See? 4 levels in only 3 circuits. Cheap and easy.

A 2 lamp Diva style fixture w/ only on/off functionality... also the same portion of a 4 lamp 4 level fixture as described above...

wire11.gif


Now this is the diagram for each of the other lamps... or you can take this times 4 to get 4 individual switching bulbs/circuits (although this gains you nothing over my suggestion at the start of this post... except buying one extra ballast and adding the weight of one extra ballast)...

wire3.gif


Is this getting clearer? If not then you may want to have somebody else build this for you... and no I'm not being sarcastic or smart-ass... I'm serious about electrical safety.
 
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A little different, just a slightly more permanent for my kitchen - 2x55w with parts from coollights. These make a really nice light to work under.
 
Chenopup said:
Nice, Jeff.

Now all you need is a cooking show host ;)
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It's definitely bright enough... Have a 24" china ball a few feet from there over the kitchen table - both of those on and it is BRIGHT.

I'd be happy with someone that would just come over and cook though. All that stove sees is mac and cheese and ramen. Good place to stack pizza boxes too though...
 
BTW... I shipped two packages today... one to the OP and one to McGee... and I charged $2 and $5 respectively... and both packages cost me $9 to ship... so let's say $5 shipping from now on. I have NO problem eating some shipping for DVXusers... but let's just call it $5 and I'll eat the rest. At this point I seriously have probably a thousand bucks in parts sitting here... so I have no problem recouping 50% or more of that cost and helping members out at the same time... so if you get enough stuff then I'll pay at least as much shipping as you will.

It's all good... I'm hoping to see some really cool projects from you guys before too long.
 
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