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Luar Selbor
11-18-2007, 03:52 PM
Dose any one know what kind of lens ultrsabers use?

Hasid Lafre
11-18-2007, 03:55 PM
The kind like in flashlights

xwingband
11-18-2007, 04:00 PM
He uses a reflector in some. It's okay... I don't fret if I can't use one.

Er Dan Gill
11-18-2007, 04:07 PM
Would painting the backside of the lens, with say a silver or chrome paint, yeild a better or more focused beam? Almost like a flash light lens.

Dregan
11-19-2007, 07:25 AM
I don't paint the lens, but I do paint the lens holders on mine. Whether or not it helps, I dunno. But I figure it can't hur to concentrate as mich light on the lens as possible.

Jonitus
11-19-2007, 08:44 AM
I apply chrome reflective tape to the inside of the lens holder and polish it the best I can. I think it makes a small difference in the overall brightness of the blade. It does help to capture a bit of the spilled light and reflect it back to the lens.

Eandori
11-19-2007, 11:31 AM
I apply chrome reflective tape to the inside of the lens holder and polish it the best I can. I think it makes a small difference in the overall brightness of the blade. It does help to capture a bit of the spilled light and reflect it back to the lens.

That's a great idea! I was just using aluminum foil and gluing it to the backside of my optic lens but this is much better.

Thanks,

Luar Selbor
11-19-2007, 04:53 PM
So they don't use the ones like those TCSS sales.

xwingband
11-19-2007, 09:27 PM
So they don't use the ones like those TCSS sales.

Not really... he uses both. Remember some of his kits are TCSS kits that use the collimnator vs. a reflector

My opinion is that a reflector is a bit more efficient, but not enough for me to go out of my way to use them exclusively. With a few really good blade methods out there the benefits to evenness are moot and the brightness difference is barely there even in a side-by-side comparison.

Novastar
11-20-2007, 02:19 AM
I will go ahead and agree with X-wing on this one... with the caveat that... hey, reflective tape in strategic places:

1. Cannot hurt.
2. Costs like... what... a few CENTS for the small amount needed, and maybe $10 for a gigantor ROLL of it???

I place reflective tape in the bottom portion of the blade JUST BEFORE the film/diffuser used. This naturally would only be about 2 inches or so... the amount your blade is mounted into the hilt (where it won't be showing).

I haven't tried it below a collimator lens, but... again--could it really hurt? No.

Luar Selbor
11-20-2007, 05:23 PM
Thanks you guys for the info.

Steeljack
11-20-2007, 07:06 PM
Would painting the backside of the lens, with say a silver or chrome paint, yeild a better or more focused beam? Almost like a flash light lens.

I tried this once, using Krylon Looking Glass paint, which is specifically designed to be sprayed on the back of a clear piece of glass to turn it into a mirror. The results were abysmal.

I tried another silver paint, just to see if there was something about the Looking Glass that didn't agree with the plastic. Same result.

My working theory, grubbing back to high school physics, is that the lenses are dependent on the difference in the index of refraction between the plastic and the air. It's the plastic-to-air transition which reflects the light back and out along the blade.

When you paint the plastic, you replace the plastic-to-air transition with a plastic-to-paint one, and whatever you gained via reflection off the paint you more than lose in terms of refractive efficiency.

Like I said, that's my working theory. I'd love to hear from someone with a more thorough understanding of optics. I don't imagine that painting the lens holder, and any other tricks you can think of to reduce light leakage, can do much harm, but my advice would be to leave the lens itself alone unless you really know what you're doing.

(By that same token, if you do find a way to mirror the back of the lens in a way that actually improves it, do please share with the rest of us...)

UltraSWG
12-13-2007, 05:29 AM
I use IllumiNation reflectors whenever I can. You can get them from Quikar. Besides the lumen benefit, reflectors are easier to use since they are once piece and cost less than the price of a collimator+holder (about 40% less). When you have to order thousands of them, the time saved and money saved really adds up.

Novastar
12-13-2007, 10:12 AM
Excellent points... although... the reflectors really cause for higher lumens? I imagined it was about the same.

P.S. -- what is "Quikar"?

xwingband
12-13-2007, 11:02 AM
Excellent points... although... the reflectors really cause for higher lumens? I imagined it was about the same.

P.S. -- what is "Quikar"?

http://www.quickar.com/

Spelled wrong...

For coring blades I noticed it being better, but with the good methods of diffusion out there now I don't fret if I can't use one.