Believe me, I spent a lot of time searching on-line for something suitable, with a reasonable price.
I'm choking on forking out for four XHP's, never mind ~$150 for a reflector...
I have some "97%" reflective flexible adhesive mirror squares in the mail, so I'm really just looking for a suitable shape to coat with them, although a 'ready to go' reflector would be nice.
Explain to me why I can't use the satellite dish if it's tilted on an angle, or if the emitters are off-center?
This seems to be the best option I can find in a pre-made solution. Almost perfect size for the body I have, good focal length, only costs half the earth... I know I can get it in a couple of days, being local to me. Not sure what impact the small hole in the center would have, but I could patch that with some reflective material.
Of course, the other solution is to make something.... after a bit more searching, I came across this site, which made understanding the parabola easier for me.
I'm also planning to make a few cardboard parabola cut-outs that I can take to the dollar-store, in the hope that they may have a dish/bowl that just happens to have a parabolic contour.
That Edmund Optics mirror looks so perfect! Have fun trying to find/make something. Hope it goes well for you. I’m looking forward to seeing your finished product!
That 40.5cm mirror I linked earlier is still at one bid $9USD and has 14 hours left to go. It will probably end up well below the $62 price of that Edmund Optics mirror. If nobody else bids on it, somebody’s gonna get it for $9USD. It can ship to Australia, and shipping is free.
Maybe for a long focal length like that, you could use a microwave dish. It seems the main problem would be getting it smooth and shiny. A simple way might be to cover it with aluminum foil.
I spent a little time yesterday making a parabolic cut-out. I'll take it with me to the shops today, on the chance that I find a bowl or something with the same contour.
And a question for the driver gurus;
If I were to piggyback 3 or 4 FET's on the same board, will the 13a have a strong enough drive signal to operate them all?
At least the write-up is already excellent, great reading, that will impress the judges as well :-) , I hope that the mirror will work out in the end. Keep going!!!