Feel free to laugh, I don't mind. Does an upside down ellipsoidal reflector equal a Wavien collar? I'm thinking of putting something like an RLT collar into a Dereelight XSearcher host, and from what I've heard, nobody has really managed to mimic the collar yet, so maybe this will work? And suggestions?
No, it needs to be spherical.
An ellipsoid takes the rays from one focal point and focuses them at another:
You want the rays to focus back at the same focal point, the LED, in order to increase the intensity.
This means it needs to be spherical.
Thanks man
:+1: np
Wait, so by spherical you mean parabolic?
No…
Spherical has a round spherical surface.
Parabolic has a parabolic surface.
Do you know what a sphere and a parabola are?
Kind of? The parabola has a straighter surface than the sphere?
Imagine being at the center of a hollow sphere. Every point at the surface is perpendicular to the direction you are looking. This means light is reflected directly back to the source at the center, which is the principle behind the reflecting collar.
I imagine making a spherical reflector is simpler (both conceptually and mechanically) than a parabolic one, but its use is still restricted by a patent. This is why you don’t see them more, not because they are too complicated. At least this is my understanding.
Thanks :)
A parabola collimates the light rays, it does not reflect them back at the focal point.
Ahhh, I see. So the spherical has a sort of focus, while the parabola just sort of puts the light forwards
Technically it would not be much more difficult than a parabolic reflector to manufacture, right ?
Did anyone ever suggest a chinese manufacturer to do a small batch to, say, fulfill the niche market that Wavien collars let ?
I talked to knight optical, having them make something like this even if it was not cold mirror coated would cost over a grand.
I’m not surprised that YOU did, well I’m not surprised either about the price…
What dimensions are we talking ?
About the same size as the original L collar.
Going to medium or small doesn’t really reduce the price since most of the cost is from it being a custom job.
So, a quick quote from a chinese optics manufacturer for a spherical reflector made from aluminum and with reflective coating similar to reflectors used in flashlights is $250 tooling cost, and $0.40/reflector for 1000units order. Total cost is $650. If there are 20 people the price would be around $30/unit, 100 people $6.5/unit. Here is their drawing. Would that work if used upside down?
