IR Floodlight

[Lightspeed]

Hi, yes, I had a play with it last night.

There's good and bad news.

Bad first:

Yes it has a glass lense but there are vent holes all around it, and behind it. This lamp is 100% NOT Waterproof.

Actually its not even creepy-crawly-proof....Little beasties will get in there for sure.

All that ventilation is either to make it look like a powerful lamp, or because it overheats in use ( unlikely) For fear of overheating I decided not to leave it on all night. I'll test it for heat build up when in extended use in the next few days. (I'll put an ammeter on it at the same time to see what power its drawing)

Power cable enters the rear of the ball of the lamp through what at first appears to be a rubber grommet. Closer inspection reveals that its not a grommet at all, but a moulding in the case material.

It exactly mimics the real CCTV dome cameras ( atart from the vent holes) but its made of rigid plastic, not metal. Mounting screws have to align perfectly otherwise the base distorts and the locking collar will not engage correctly.

The locking collar is a bayonet twist and click type of affair. It does not lock the ball of the IR lamp in position. It holds it tight, but does not lock it.

Good news: And there is some:

The lamp works really well. It extends IR viewable range of my CCTV camera by more than 30 ft. This is what I wanted it to do.

Value of the components is 48 x IR LEDs, Daylight sensor cell and control circuitry, cable and CCTV power supply compatible plug. These alone are worth more than the £6.00 I paid for it. With a fery small amount of modding I can make this whole lamp assembly fit within one of the dummy dome cameras that I have laying around. That I can waterproof with silicon corking....provided the lamp doesn't run too hot....

[Scythe13]

(23 April 2014, 10:55)Lightspeed Wrote: Value of the components is 48 x IR LEDs, Daylight sensor cell and control circuitry, cable and CCTV power supply compatible plug. These alone are worth more than the £6.00 I paid for it. With a fery small amount of modding I can make this whole lamp assembly fit within one of the dummy dome cameras that I have laying around. That I can waterproof with silicon corking....provided the lamp doesn't run too hot....

Would you be able to cover the vents and try that out? Maybe just a little tape to cover the higher ones would work?

Overall, sounds good.

What kind of ranges are we looking at now?

If you're up for more experimenting, you could even get an IR Spotlight to play around with! That could be a lot of fun!!!

[Lightspeed]

Yes the vents could be closed off using tape. I need to see how hot this little device gets before doing so though as It will be left powered on for long periods without me being around to watch over it. It mist ne totally fire proof.

Range is good for around 45 ft with my cameras. Range will very much depend on the camera's sensitivity.

Spot lights: Yes it could work, but I'm not able to find time for experimenting at the moment as IR spot lights are not a high priority for me. I get where you are coming from tough and it might be interesting. What about something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/808nm-Focusable-...1297714760 Its is a variable focus device so by de-focussing it, you'll end up with a broader beam.....a bit expensive to play with in testing though?

[Scythe13]

That's a little intense there LS. I was thinking more like a big ol' hand torch lamp style thing. Looks cool though.

When you have it sorted, it'll be good to get a heads up on how it's working out.