JD Hartman

No Mark, you didn't "open a can of worms". Everyone is here to exchange information. There is a fine line that you cross, where the value of what you build, exceeds the the time you spent on it. I always read the, "Build a Daylight Balanced Fluorescent, Just like a Kino" articles. One day a clever person will finally pull together all the right pieces and all of us will have 4 bank Kino look-a-likes in our kit. The lamps are available (sources other than Kino), the lamp holders and wiring harnesses already exist (thanks to our friends in the Marine aquarium hobby), the reflectors/housing (corrugated plastic from the sign industry), copper wire for hinges, but the ballast, electronic ballasts abound, but the slick looking Kino packaging stymies me (I don't do sheet metal work). Sorry for the delay in photos, parts lists, but the week ended badly, damaged equipment and requests for favors: Can you wire an Edison on this? (A Strand-Century, Leko that is older than me); Can you find me some globes for it? I apologize to everyone here, for veering off topic into anything remotely political in my last post.

Dan, I'm not trying to start a flame war here. Someone asks for information, I'll provide it. I will dispute your statements about time and parts. All of the components for a 600w or 1000w dimmer can be bought at a single location: Home Despot, Lowes, Menards or you local electrical wholesale. If you are building anything, grip equipments, electrical, "what have you", it probably isn't a one-off. So you build it assembly line style, even if you are the only worker on the assembly line. Three hours per dimmer, more like one hour for a three or more dimmers. CE and UL listing mean nothing to the Chinese. The labels may be as fake as all the comsumer goods they conterfeit. Did you actually measure the size of conductors in the power cord with a Brown and Sharpe wire gauge? Or is that the claim on the box? I will not support the efforts of the Chinese to put Americans out of work, by buying inferior goods. What will you do when the film industry leaps over to China, because they can hire entire crew for a bowl of rice a day?

The biggest negative aspect with the DIVA lights is the integrated ballast. The fixture is no featherweight.

Sometimes you can't put a value on the experience gained by doing things yourself. As for price, just rough numbers here: Lutron 600w rotary dimmer $5, 2 gang metal box $2, duplex receptical $1, power cord $5, cover plate for box $2, romex connector $.35. Total $15 or less, depending on shopping/scavenging ability. You can get usable 14 gauge power cords off DOA air conditioners. Just use the round cords, not the flat ones. Even if it was cheaper, do I really want to send my money to China, which is where 99% of the Harror Freight junk comes from. Do you think their quality or design safety is any better than something you have built yourself? I still intend to post some images and parts lists for simple 600w and 1000 or 1500w dimmers.

Own and use a few brands of fixtures, Arri, Mole, Altman, Bardwell, etc. Recently need another nook and found a used Colortran at a bargain price. It came along with a Colortran open face mini. Construction of the nook, wasn't bad. But there isn't much to one of these other than some sheet metal. But the open face mini seemed nicely made. The only detracting features: the switch, which is integral with the cast yoke; the plug in power cord. Am I missing something? Are LTM fixtures as bad as I hear they are?

I guess that in the U.S.A, we would call an RCD a GFCI or Ground Fault Circuit Interupter. But I fail to see how that would have any bearing on the current capacity of the branch circuit. The real question is: how much current can one draw from a 15a, 120vac circuit before it trips. While it may vary slightly depending on the manufacturer of the breaker, a 15 amp. breaker does not trip at precisly 15a. For example, you can run a 2000w tungsten fixture on a 15amp. branch curcuit all day without a trip, as long as it is the only load on that circuit.

I think if I lived by your suggestion, I'd wouldn't have built or repaired half of the equipment I use today. The original post(er) is seeking advice because he isn't sure of his skills. That is a good quality right there. I'm going to conclude that the person lives in the USA and is dealing with 115vac. Assembling a dimmer is a simple project and uses standard, off the shelf electrical components. I'll take one of my units apart and take a few photos, make a parts list and wiring diagram and email it to you. If you are still unsure of yourself after having constructed it, maybe you could ask someone else to review your work. You would be surprised at the number of electricians, plumbers, welders, skilled trades, etc., who will bend over backwards to help someone out who shows a genuine interest in their craft.

You could try the Ebay seller "Lights64". I've bought globes from them in the past, reasonable shipping policy. Here is a link to one of their auctions, just email them with your needs. http://cgi.ebay.com/HMI-1200W-SE-1200W-SIN...1QQcmdZViewItem No, I don't own "Lights64".

A 12vdc auto flasher isn't going to work wth a 120vac bulb. Here is a link to one possible circut: http://www.techlib.com/electronics/powerflashers.htm I sure there a more on the 'net. JD

Here is a link to a "real" generator, a Pow-R-Guard. Not cheap, but quiet, good frequency regulation, etc. Multiquip also makes generator intended for the movie industry. http://cgi.ebay.com/BALDOR-Towable-Diesel-...1QQcmdZViewItem

The generator has all the marking of an import P.O.S. Note the key word in the engine description, Yanmar "type". Yanmar diesels are very good, a Chinese made clone of one, probably isn't. Where will you buy parts? Who will service the engine? The frequency regulation is listed as "condenser", not electronic, not crystal-sync, Barber-Coleman, or anything else. The sound rating states 70dB, but at what distance? Ten meters, I believe the standard for comparison. If you want to buy a cheap diesel for conversion, buy one that is labeled as Chinese. China Diesel Imports generators are also sold on Ebay, without the hype and smoke screen.

Reading all the suggestions and distilling them down, I would: keep the camera in a bag, duffel, cardboard box and just expose the lens; use available light with bounce boards small enough to be slipped into large shopping bags; ride near the center of the train, so you have a chance to spot the police and evade them; shoot a camera test; claim ignorance if caught.

Depending on the brand of the globe and the type (tunsten, halogen, HMI) the lumens will vary dramically. Not so much a factor with a 650W, but starting from a halogen 2K on up, you can get more lumens per watt by choosing a globe from a specific manufacturer. That is why some Gaffers specify globes from Ushio, OSRAM , Radiac, etc. So as already stated, watts (power consumption) is the only unifying factor among different fixtures.

You could also try a 12x12 china silk on a frame and see if that gives you the look you are expecting.

You have linked two arms together for the boom, but the overlap isn't great enough to keep the assembly ridgid. Since a boom wasn't available, a better choice would have been a single piece of 3/4 electrical conduit (EMT) for the boom. A 10' lenght is a few dollars at a home improvement store and can be cut down to 8' for a substitute boom. It will be more ridgid and fits in a jumbo grip head. You can pin or bolt a baby pin in the end.