Hello everyone!
My name is Matt, but I’ve been going by “Sig” and the Scandinavian form Sigurth® for nearly a decade and a half now. I’ve never liked Matt as it sounds like a ton of other words and I wind up getting paranoid that someone was calling me when they were just yelling some similarly short word with the same “a” sound.
I’ve had a love of light sources since my early childhood, when I would cherish my nightlight, flashlight, a special argon bulb I found in the basement, and my father’s ca. 1970’s Black light. I’ve been a laser hobbyist since the mid 90s, and have spent most of my photon related hobby endeavors in that field. I’m a veteran member of LaserPointerForums (same username there), so some here may recognize me if they frequent LPF. I’m also an active member on 4HV.org (again, same username). Recently, within the last few years I started collecting and appreciating area lighting. I have a decent size collection of HID lamps now, and as much as I would love to add to it, there reaches a point when you have installed all the area lighting you actually can use, and anything additional is just going to collect dust. I think I have reached that point now, haha.
A bit more about myself; I live in the UP of Michigan, right in the middle of a very sparse farming community. Lots and lots of wide open spaces for me to roam, which lends itself well to the laser and HID hobbies. I’m an ex-precision TIG welder - specializing in non-ferrous metals, ex-musician (concert flute, flauto dolce, tin whistle, irish flute, ocarina, and guitar), Extra Class Licensed Amateur Radio Operator, Recurve Archer, and Electronics Experimenter/Hobbyist with a focus on Tesla Coils, HV, and RF circuitry. Science, Music, and Nature are the three great loves of my life.
Here is my current light source related collection:
Lasers:
125mW PHR-805T DIY C6 405nm
80mW Uniphase 8-line (457-514nm) Multiline Argon Ion Laser
47mW BW Tek self-refurbished/realigned 473nm Lab Laser (10mW stock)
65mW 532nm Handheld
220mW 658nm Handheld
5mW 780nm DIY Handheld
15W CO2 Laser - DIY portable self-contained unit.
Lamps:
175W 22,000K 90CRI Metal Halide Accent Lamp
175W 4200K 70CRI Metal Halide Lamp - main light in office
175W 3900K 45CRI Deluxe White High Pressure Mercury bulb - swap in for the above for warmer light.
100W 5500K 35CRI Deluxe White High Pressure Mercury Work Lamp - spot light for my electronics bench.
100W 6800K 20CRI Clear High Pressure Mercury Work Lamp - came with above fixture.
100W 4200K 65CRI Pulse Start Metal Halide Lamp - car park garage interior lighting.
55W Low Pressure Sodium Lamp - yard security light.
Torches:
Craftsman 5W LED 4 “C” cell spot light. True thrower, two modes (high/low), very tight beam with dim spill.
C56 Cree 900Lm XM-L T6 5-Mode Flood-to-Throw Zoom. Terrible throw beam, too dim for good flood.
WF-501B 1W 365nm UV Torch
I’ve got a Sky Ray King 3x XM-L2 U2 torch on the way as well!
On the electronics side of things I have three DIY heavy-hitters; 2.25kW Solid State CW Tesla Coil, 225W Spark Gap Tesla Coil, and a 500W Plasma Speaker.
Welcome to BLF, Sigurthr.