DIY Illuminator?

[CollinR 0]

Anyone ever tried?

 

http://www.bgmicro.com/search1.asp?page=5&cri=LED&stype=2

 

Maybe 3 of these.

http://www.bgmicro.com/prodinfo.asp?sid=0601192129629637014252204&prodid=LED1099&page=6&cri=LED&stype=2

 

Outdoors would still be tough but you could mount those boards inside is loads of applications.

[cachecreekcctv 0]

Tried to build my own by using IR Leds' bought off internet. Big Pain In The xxx (BPITA). Soldering them yourself it super tedious, and when you get done, you have to go buy outdoor mount for it. Went to Home Depot and bought regular outdoor floodlight housing, took out internals, and installed LED board. In the end, I didn't save anything , cost wise. Maybe someone else has had better luck with home-made IR's?

[CollinR 0]

Those boards had 72 LEDs assembled.

 

Really though I am thinking that LEDs might not be the way to go.

 

 

How about theatrical light filters and a basic outdoor flood?

 

The filters are 20"x24" and about $10, I would think those filters are used to bigtime heat as their lamps often don't vent.

 

http://www.bellacor.com/detail.cfm?Cat=38&ItemID=32447

 

and

 

http://www.stagelights.com/color1.htm

 

Should be wildly more powerful then the LEDs I've seen.

[JMANOFNVS 0]

Soldering leds?? What a pain!!! I bet your fingers were cramping the next day. That board is basically whats in this http://www.armelectronics.com/web/pdf/irillum/ir40.pdf except this is already to go with power supply and all. I once had a guy looking to buy 2 -3 thousand laser diodes (like used in dvd burners)and 1000 computar lens..he said he couldn't tell me what they were for!!?? Hmmm thats a tough one huh??

[rory 0]

Lets see, how much is your time worth ..

[CollinR 0]

Well how much light does the biggest ExtremeCCTV put out? Candlepower Lumens whatever specs they may release, don't think I can do anything with watts though since they are LED.

 

EDIT: You guys should follow the links, I would NEVER consider building the LED array by hand.

[cachecreekcctv 0]

You bet my fingers were cramping when I got done. And those of my son, who just happened to drive over to borrow some money from me. Guess what he did for his "borrowed" money! Glad I was off that day, and it was raining. I did end up buying another IR LED arrangement, with 140 LED's, and it works very well. Have had it powered up for many months now and still going strong. Uses 12vdc and gives a pretty good pattern. Definitely "lights up" my driveway area enough to make me happy I bought it. I put two in, one under each eave in corner of driveway, get excellent coverage that way.

[CollinR 0]

I did end up buying another IR LED arrangement, with 140 LED's, and it works very well. Have had it powered up for many months now and still going strong. Uses 12vdc and gives a pretty good pattern. Definitely "lights up" my driveway area enough to make me happy I bought it. I put two in, one under each eave in corner of driveway, get excellent coverage that way.

 

Thats awesome, what do you think the final cost was? Does it put off any visable light? Thats one of my concerns, I want them to be totally invisable. I alot of the prebuilt units don't clarify, often they claim invisable but in reality they aren't.

[cachecreekcctv 0]

Got the two IR Led w/housings for around $150 total. They are 12vdc, so had to get a decent power supply for them. Only draw around 20 watts, so won't break the bank here. Photocell control. If you walk by and stare real closely at night, you can see a slight red glow, but you really have to look closely. I installed them under the eaves of my home, about 20 feet from the sidewalk. I know they are cheapies, but when it comes to IR's, I am still in the "test driving" phase. Nothing like spending hundreds of dollars for something you wish you hadn't.