Metal Halide Searchlight

[pSlawinski]

OK, I am looking to turn my 1000W metal halide lamp into a searchlight.? I need some ideas on how to do this.? I know I will need a reflector that I can fit the lamp.? I need to know where to find a reflector that would work for this lamp and create a tight beam.? Would a regular spotlight (sports light) reflector work?? Would I need something specially machined?? I need to keep this as cheap as possible; I do not have a very large budget.? ?http://www.metal-halide.net/index.php?id=gallery&cat=HID&scat=MH&bulb=M1000BX-U

[mr_big]

you can try a sports reflector although I am not sure how bright it would be

[Zelandeth]

Problem you're going to have there is that the MH lamp you've got has a very long arc.  Due to this you'll need a HUGE reflector if you're wanting to get a laser-like beam.

It's for this reason that most professional searchlights of that sort of power rating use short arc lamps, so that it's a far smaller source that needs to be focused.

You've got a LOT of light there, and if you can track down a reflector with the right characteristcs I'm sure it's doable...but I think you're going to need a reflector the size of one of those massive satellite dishes that started appearing for TV reception in the late 90s...

[mr_big]

I saw your short arc mercury vapor bulb today and maybe yo could use that if you have the right equipment to run it and the right enclosure for it these can and do explode