David Sweetman Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Would it be possible to fix this light up to work in the US? Says it operates on 220v; could it/would it have to be changed to 120v? I assume you could just fix an edison assembly onto the power cable somehow... http://cgi.ebay.com/Arri-Arrisun-12-12k-Ol...1QQcmdZViewItem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Kevin Zanit Posted March 1, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted March 1, 2007 Well that auction isn't including the ballast which is the most expensive and important part of that light. I think there are switchable voltage ballasts for these lights. You would need to ask around. All that said, you are missing the most expensive part, so do that research before considering buying this light (called the head). You also would need a head cable to connect the light to the ballast. Kevin Zanit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sweetman Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 Ah, didn't know it needed one. Thanks for the info, in that case I'll just gel a 2k... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris kempinski Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, but 220 vs 120 is more or less just a bulb thing. My guess is that an HMI is different as there is no filliment (resistor) meaning perhaps just a ballast thing. 120 has a neutral vs 220 where as the neutral is hot, yes? that and the power sorce, I have seen the opposite and made a piece of 3/6 208 with an electronic ballast and run a 4K wich is normally 120. (though all of it Italian gear) I guess my final solution is ballast + bulb + proper power supply = light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Hard to tell from the photos, but that head may be one of the older ones which uses a self contained globe and reflector. Replacements sell for $350, substantially more than than the globe for the newer 1.2 HMI's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Minehan Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 the voltage has nothing to do with the bulb right, it has to do with the voltage it take to run the thing. Here in Singapore we run on 220 volts, i think in the US they run on 110 or 120 volts right. Normally it would state the required voltage. If it says that it runs on 220v and you use 120v, you will have power, but the output of the light will be very week, and i would think the colour will be off too. I'm pretty sure you can get a step up transformer for such a thing, but it may be very expensive. Your idea of getting a 2k and gelling it might be a safer and more logical option. especially if you're not getting a ballast. Ken Minehan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 the voltage has nothing to do with the bulb right, it has to do with the voltage it take to run the thing. I'm pretty sure you can get a step up transformer for such a thing, but it may be very expensive. Ken Minehan If you had a 220v ballast and only 115v available, you could run the ballast using a step up transformer. The voltage of the country (115/230/277/460v,etc.) is irrelevant to the globe. The HMI globe(really an arc lamp) requires a certain voltage to stike its arc and maintain that arc. That is controlled by the ballast. The ballast may be a 115v only or a manual or automatic voltage sensing one, which will run on anything from about 90vac up to over 240vac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris kempinski Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 nice to know info Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Andrewski Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 The most simplest way to think about a ballast is as a power supply for a bulb. Fluorescent of course requires a ballast too. All HID bulbs (mercury vapor, sodium vapor, metal halide, etc) require ballasts. A ballast guarantees that whatever spec of voltage the bulb needs it will get--regardless of whatever voltage is going into the input of the supply. In the HMI and fluorescent worlds you can find 120v ballasts, 220v ballasts and then you can find combinations of running from 50 or 60 hz. and then even higher and voltages too. You can also find universal ones that adjust automatically and those are always the best to get if your crossing country lines so you don't have to worry about extra external transformers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Collier Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 A quick fix if you have a 220 ballast and you want 120 would be to double the number of coils in the secondary coil on the main transformer. (or half the coils on the primary) Watch out though, since this will double the ampres draw on the supplying line, so you may need to replace the cable. that way your not toting around a step up, and introducing more draw (as the step ups are not 100% effecient) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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