Review: 150 Million Candlepower Militay Xenon Arc Battlefield Illuminator (AN/VSS-3A)

Oh wow! That entire rig looks like a lot of fun. But if you only show a glimpse of the engine in the pictures you simply have to give us details. 350 V8? Ford or Chevy? 4-valves/cyl twin overhead cam or pushrod? Is that a carb or an air filter I see? Or is it diesel?

Truly incredible write up, and a sweet job on this project. And bonus points for the beautiful scenery. Automatic frontpage and sticky for this article. Mind if I move it to the "spotlight" category?

Thanks again!

P.S. You forgot to post the link to this light on DX. :p

Wow, your small vessel is subjected to high-impacts? In what sense?

OT a bit and just for knowledge....Not really sure about that range part, technically/theorectically speaking, the MH range also have "short-arc" versions as well, i sure did not know this till recently. Ignoring the accuracy of the specs (they are pretty close, as Ushio/Philips/GE also have similar stuff), 240000 lumens for 8mm arc length = 30000 lumens /mm. But basically the lines are somewhat blur at this juncture, because as you can see such bulbs which are used for advertising/stage don't have a lot of hours as well. With a 18" aperture, you can get like 0.6-0.8 deg divergence which hangs around with the tank lights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APbk6vcZR5E If one is after such things for fun, it is 850 bucks shipped to here for a 5kW version, but it is big. A UPS would make it movable. (I don't think that is expensive, people can pay 2.5k for a PH50/Maxabeam!). Has even CE certification.

Anyway, if you want another one (and since you said that it is the cheapest component LOL!), there is another on sale at CPF right now, in the Spotlights and HID section.

You can get such bulbs on aliexpress. Someone made a 1.5kW bike light. Comparison with dealextreme's SSC P7. (this belongs to Siamese on CPF)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVz8P9H8nME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um7oRyHt_1s

But seriously, on a bobbing boat, i'd really prefer say 5 deg beamwidth than 1 deg beamwidth. Luckily the tank light is focusable. Laughing

PS. Your 1kW bulb has a 3.5mm arc gap. Interesting, thanks a lot for the diagram! Compare with the HMI 2500W used in the stage/advertisement lights.

Edit, just saw your 150 million CP figure. That's impressive with 1.6kW power (1 deg?) and approx 15" aperture, the front is 16" square. If you look at the Francis FH560 model with 22" aperture (big), it is 2.5kW and 141 MCP. So converted to 1.6kW is 90 MCP if you hit the dimmer. But you get 3 deg beamwidth to play with, due to lotsa lumens....the downside is it's a bit bigger. To get twice the throw, you need 4X the CP. 90MCP and 150 MCP is something like a 3 XM-L and a TK35. LOL! Sealed

http://www.francis.co.uk/_includes/docs/pdf/datasheets/___FH560_2500w.pdf

Not saying which is better or what....just pointing out the technical differences on paper. Just last night we had like 50 over these 100-250 MCP spotlights shining during our National Day parade just 1.5km away from my house. It probably has a few billion MCP when one cluster of 20-30 shine at a spot during a particular program mode.

You mentioned NightSun, those lights has a bad central donut in flood. So they are like spot only. I know, definitely VSS-3 wins (i think I have seen some beamshots couple years back). Expensive stuff with a 11" aperture! http://ils.spectrolab.com/sx-16_enhanced_prez.html

http://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/illumination/Searchlights/SX-16%20040309%20REV%20D.pdf

I think ma_sha is aiming to break the 100 MCP mark in a portable set (!!) as in you can actually carry with 1 hand easily, but it is put on hold temporarily as i think he changed job and thus needed to shift to a new house. Now the record is 56 MCP.

Howly s#$t :O I have beamshots for comparison 8) (mouse over - mouse out to see the difference)

Very good.

Lol SashiX.

Sick light. It says 5.7 4V on the valve cover so that would make it a Chevy 350 push rod 2 valve per cylinder 4 barrel carb, great motor.

Truly impressive!

2100, thanks for the information. While your comparisons, conjecture and thoughts are interesting, this light wasnt made in China, nor is it a consumer or commercial level product. After seeing literally hundreds of different short arcs in operation, I have no doubt that it delivers exactly as the mil spec documents rated it. There was an earlier model tank light, the AN-VSS-1, which was absolute massive, heavy at over 200 lbs., and utilized a 2.2kw short arc. The much smaller and technically superior VS3 walks all over it in terms of the amount and quality of light delivered on target. It was designed for one thing in mind and that was for putting a 105mm shell directly on target during night hunting. At over twice the wattage and size reflector, the VS1 still didnt have the range of the VS3. Thanks for the heads up about another unit for sale, but at this time in my life I have no use for another one. If you're thinking about setting up one of these behemoths, please consider that they require an APU or constant power source other than batteries to deliver maximum output. Most owners run them on a pair of deep cycle batteries and will never know what they are missing by not investing in the APU.

Thats about how it was! Unfortunately, I no longer have the beam shots to post, but Im sure we all get the idea.

Yeah, as flashaholics would call it, its definitely a pocket rocket. LOL! Bro, don't worry I know what "Mil-spec" means, I have spent 2.5 years full-time in the Air Force, and after that 10 years of reservist (each year you get to go back to base for 2-3 weeks, up to 40 days a year but my vocation does not requirement it to be that lengthy), i fully discharged just 3 years ago. (Yippee!) South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore require mandatory army training for the guys.

I have been following the 60" carbon arc thread since 2006/07, problem with such things is that the user better prays that nothing gets blown because it is "mil-spec". 1 pair of deep cycle marine batts is not sufficient.

The good thing about those advertisement spots is that you can run them off a server UPS. So while that route is not so glam, as high-end, and is bigger, it is definitely cheaper, easier and gets the job done through sheer power. (i think they can do up to 15kW now) I don't have 10k to spend on lights due to other hobbies and also commitments plus i want to retire by age 45-50, but 800 bucks shipped for a 200 MCP advertisement spot made-in-china is definitely doable. Laughing

But the sad thing is, all this is on paper and pretty unattainable, it is not about the money, it's about the space (storage) as I live in an apartment. And I did some photography jobs for yatchs as well as on yatchs (small 55-70 footers), it is extremely expensive to operate a boat, if you do not have 50 million, can just forget about such luxury stuff here. It costs a little over 400k to own a BMW E92 M3 here! I think the base spec in the US it'd be about 52k.

With the really short short-arcs, focusing precision and reflector quality is very important. That is how Ra's Thor got to the 50 MCP mark with just 100W and 9" aperture.

Hey bro, nobody asked this, how much did the ramping system, batts, lights cost ya? It'd be good if you can do a breakdown, probably the light is the least expensive.

Thanks guys. I wasnt sure it would be appropriate to post the searchlight here and Im glad you enjoyed the reading. Looks like I'll have to dig through my other lighting projects and post some more of the sick things Ive completed in the past. The light was more fun than I ever could have imagined, but then I had the proper application to make full use of it. Setting one up on a stationary tripod didnt quite cut it for the long-term fun, and using it while the boat was on the trailer became boring very quickly. But cruising on the water at night while at speed through narrow waterways... unrelenting smiles (and often sheer terror) from everyone on board.

The engine started life as a Chevy 350 small block and ended up at 405 CID. The build sheet was extensive, which replaced almost everything but the original marine block. It included full "blueprinting" and balancing of all internals, aftermarket heads, roller cam, 11.5:1 pistons with reshaped domes, ceramics, extrude honed porting to the cylinder heads and intake manifold, billet stroked crank and rods, block punched out .090" over, multiple spark ignition, knock sensors with alcohol injection. Although intended as a torque monster (525 lbs), it delivered 445 hp on the dyno and roughly 405 through the propeller, so about 1 hp per cubic inch actual to the water... not bad. The best part was it could sustain 5700 rpm all day long and not fly apart.

The vette I linked at the end of the first post started life at 345hp, which delivered 301hp on a chassis dyno. It currently delivers about 560 normally aspirated hp to the rear wheels and is a continuous work in progress. My friend owns one that currently puts down over 850 hp to the rear wheels with twin turbos and alcohol injection and can smoke the tires (street tires) at speeds over 100 mph. With slicks he runs high 9's in the quarter with IRS. Mine is set up for road racing so Ive never ran the quarter... yet.

Then there's the airplane...

Searchlight kits complete and still in the sealed crate from a military service depot and resold at public auction ranged from about $500-2000. When the military rebuilds them, they are set back to factory spec and the hour meter will read about 1 hour. I got the $2000+ (custom built to spec) alternator directly from a Balmar distributor in trade for a complete searchlight kit. -(The guy mounted his light on a tripod on the back deck of his home overlooking a tall sheer cliff on the WA coast... cool stuff). The alternator in itself was a work of art. I think the batteries were about $150-200 ea (x 6). The 28V charging controller about 400, the link monitor & shunt 200, over 1000 in marine grade switches and wiring, pan tilt 3000-5000 (good luck finding a good used one of this size), mount by the time it was done 1500, and well over 500 hrs of head scratching and fabrication. 3kw class A sine wave marine inverter 1500. You can probably add at least another 1000 in miscellaneous parts and equipment. Then there's the high dollar stuff; engine and hull mods required to turn that big alternator and still run the boat at "fun" speeds... dont ask. The idea was to have the largest reasonably trailer-able boat that could provide as much utility as possible so Id want to use it often. Execution of the "Work hard/play harder" theory.

The US military had 4 cylinder gensets that ran 2700 rpm and noisy as hell (opposed flat 4 configuration almost the size of a VW bug engine) that output 28V@100A. I almost bought one of those massive units to hog up the passenger compartment until I finally found a source for custom alternator. There was also a generator and installation kit to mount and power one of these from a jeep, etc., but collectors are unwilling to part with them since they usually still own the jeep, APC or tank they came with. Also, since I didnt operate at constant RPM, I needed an alternator (not generator) and full battery standby when I was below about 1200 rpm. Im not aware of any plug-in commercial DC charging systems (electric forklift charger, etc) that can output 100A @28V that dont require 3 phase 377-440VAC input. I went the "light weight" route on my installation, which still added about 600 lbs of equipment to the boat.

A few thoughts for anyone who read this far: If you get serious, I wouldnt attempt a short-arc unless I could buy at least two complete searchlight kits with all of their accessories. You will need spare parts because NOS military off-the-shelf parts are specialized and very expensive or usually unavailable. Just keep in mind that accidentally illuminating a persons face within 200 meters while in spot mode for only a moment, stands a very good chance of causing permanent eye damage to that person. So judicious forethought of setup, configuration, how and were you will use this, is paramount above all else. Also, these units WILL eventually explode. The VS3 case is billet aluminum and is supposed to contain the explosion, but the blast, shrapnel and shockwave will likely rip outward through the lens and destroy most of the internals. Anything near the front of this thing when it lets lose will probably get fragged in a major way. If the aluminum case or clamps fail during an explosion, then you have a bomb going off in your face, no matter where you might be standing. These lamps are under many more ATM's pressure than your usual short arc tube. No one that I am aware of currently makes a replacement that will fit or work, even with extensive mods. Just improperly handling of a VS3 lamp (and short-arcs in general) while removed from the searchlight can kill you if it explodes... and they do explode. I took extraordinary measures when I removed mine to clean and photograph it when I was seeking replacements to keep on hand. Also for your best information, find a forum where people collect armored military vehicles... not flashlight forums. Speculation and assumption is also very dangerous and can kill you and others near you. Get your facts and know them.

And of course - I will accept no responsibility for any deaths, injuries or destruction of property in the advent that you use any of this information, weather stated or implied.

2100, yeah its a definite miserable affliction, but logistics are half of the fun. I keep thinking about how boring this rock would be if there were no night cycle. Its even more fun spreading the illumination contagion to others. This hobby has probably broken families and caused long drawn out divorces.

There was a time in my life where I was trying to find a way to supplement my income by doing searchlight advertising with a pair of these. The price was (and still is) reasonable for what you get, but I couldnt secure enough clients to make it worthwhile. In retrospect, I would have been quite happy to have simply broken even as way of feeding my sickness. LOL! Im so happy to have scratched that itch and now be quite content with flashlights and household lighting.

Yeah, I know it is extremely tedious and in the end it might not even work. That is why I am not even looking at this way, anyway I am not so hardcore.

I actually have a HP R5500 UPS which is not in use, coz we purchased extra by accident. Along with 4 ERMs (external batteries, the internal ones in the UPS lets you rip full power for just 5 mins)....all in the company, not used at all. Could easily power the darn made in china searchlight (really plug and play) and have mobility.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantstorage/power-protection/rackups/r5500xr/index.html

Actually you don't need carbon arcs. Nowadays the smaller xenons can operate in groups with DMX, like i mentioned in another thread which was deployed on our National Day. But probably very tedious to setup and calibrate to operate as a "single unit" so as to point at a few particular spots. But then you get disco modes. Sealed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aySFA_KAw_k (the lights are actually brighter, the scene is underexposed)

I didn't manage to search youtube for a cloud pointing video for that, but a few weeks ago I did see it able to light up some pretty high level clouds few kilometres up when they are all programmed to point at 1 particular spot, the wispy kind not those low-mid level 1-2km stuff which is easy.

Wow, that officially takes the cake for most impressive DIY project. Awesome. :)

2100

Thanks for the video. Singapore has a very beautiful skyline at night. Synchronized advertising with combined searchlight arrays have probably been around for 20+ years in the US. Although impressive in localized areas for putting on dazzling downtown shows, even when culminated they still dont have nearly the sheer range of the old ge sperry carbon arcs. Setup and maintenance is a chore but it was something Id have enjoyed doing at the time. I cleaned a mirror and lens on one while at a circus and it was no more difficult than cleaning a large window. I think the operator thought I was crazy for asking but I needed to know for myself. The carbon rods are self feeding and it does its job well. The largest part of maintenance was keeping the old generator engine going.

I remember many years ago being a computer operator working in the basement of a massive corporate data center. We tended an IBM 3090 MVS mainframe and thousands of square feet in peripherals and communications equipment. The UPS room consisted of 10,000 lead acid batteries larger than car batteries and provided the center with 50 minutes of standby, at which time a diesel engine & generator that stood 2 stories tall would kick in to supply a constant load. My crew had the honors of performing the hardware diagnostic tests, including transferring full power to the UPS every month. Id have to blame them for making me the gadget freak that I am. Today, Im on the applications side and enjoy clients with deep pockets that depreciate their hardware and replace it every four years.

Oxy, thanks! Construction of that project nearly became my life's work for about 2 years.

Haha....yeah I think those big searchlights just caught on big time last year over here. The local astronomers are complaining though! :D

I mean i am aware of advertising searchlights being used here for quite long as I do photography and they do use them for product launches/opening of pubs indoors and outdoors etc...but just not very big ones as in maybe a couplle of 2-3kW rented from the event company that's about it. What they are limited by is not the $$ or size, but rather the electrical feed, ie 240V 20A. This affects the sound as well, either that or you get a lot of 13-20A circuits and extensions.

The 1.2kW "small moving head" disco type ones are popular because they do pack a punch and are very versatile to deploy in all sorts of jobs, hey no sweat just plug 2 to a 240 13A socket here in a regular hotel ballroom, lay your control cables and you are ready to Rock n Roll. Just that it is like a fat 10 deg beamwidth, similar to what you get from a XM-L with a 40mm reflector, hence a 1kW XM-L. LOL! Definitely not to the scale that you see at Las Vegas. I hope it is not insensitive for me to say, but the 9/11 "Tribute in Light" is impressive as well. That 2011 National Parade was probably the biggest searchlight show that was ever put up here. They had to use a whole farm of gensets to power them, no joke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU_qK-XvTwQ&feature=related (yeah I know, the hotspot is huge, so lux is not there, but the ones i have seen last week is setup to add up to be much tighter and brighter hotspot)

OT and you probably have seen it on youtube, but for the benefit of others.... Carbon arc searchlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qDc1MIKnMo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zqLAin9HHs&feature=related

We will never get them here, because trailers are not exactly allowed here on the roads, i mean not for ordinary citizens.

Each 60" Carbon Arc is probably 2 billion CP max if i remember correctly, and of about 12kW. Those Made-in-China big ones can go up to 10kW from what I see on alibaba (they claim 15kW though), but you can never be sure of the mirro reflector/ballast/bulb specs, read cheap ass MIC bulbs vs expensive GE/Philips/Ushio bulbs. But anyway the biggest here on Francis searchlights it is Polaris/Stardrift/Moonraker http://www.francis.co.uk/_includes/docs/pdf/datasheets/__polaris-moonraker.pdf

7kW, 1.5 deg, 10 lux at 10km. 28" aperture and 25" mirror. So that means 1 billion CP. Exact cumulation is very difficult of course, this is not an exact science setup like those 600 concave mirrors trying to melt 1kg of steel in 1 second hotter-than-the-sun stuff you see on Discovery channel. LOL! I think about 50pcs of those 5-10kW individual lights, maybe not as big and bad ass and high performing / collimated as the Francis biggest ones, but still easily packs a bigger punch than a single carbon arc. Of course it is an absolutely unfair comparison, 50 vs 1 and extremely large-scale commercial vs personal hobby, and nobody is preventing one from getting 2 or 3 carbon arcs. LOL! But I think it has never been done before now, though during WWII it'd have been a usual sight! (ie WOW!)

The good thing about Carbon arcs vs the regular HIDs that we come across is - carbon arc lives! The sound and jumping arc.

Interesting experience on your mainframe/DC and UPS infra. Yeah I have been to the genset room and battery room before, but just as a guest as I am not directly in charge of operations. 10,000 SLAs is WOW, hehe.... I actually tried to count and gave up, just a rough estimated I guess they have about 150 to 200 x 2V cells on each rack and about 12 racks. They do that for both IT as well as telephone switches, as I work in the biggest telco in this part of the world. They don't pay too well though, hey what is new? :D

They use bigger gen sets in the Air Force/Army though....

BTW, you met BVH/ShortArc, and those guys in CPF before? (or are you guys too far apart in USA)

Hey I found a cool site! : http://ancientskyscraper.com/85601.html

http://www.victorysearchlights.com/victory4.html

Light Output:
The average multi-beam has 2 or 4 Xenon lights, but each of the lamps are only 2KW to 4KW in size. Beam output is 208 to 332 million candle power for each lamp.
Our Carbon Arc light output is 12KW at 800 million candle power