hi guys,
i have recieved one of the new electronic ballasts from brainchild that he will be offering to the site in the near future.
i have it installed and i am impressed with the results, so i am offering my review.

1, the ballest is very light. this will be important if you want to move the projector around. it is long and thin, and can be mounted inside or outside of the box. also it can be mounted in any direction hor/vert. which makes placement easy.

2, it was super easy to wire, all in one unit, it took me 1/2 hour to remove the old ballest and install the new one. only 120v hot/neutral /ground going in, and hot /neutral to the lamp. brain says he will also offer other voltages for non us customers.

3, the ballest is protected by a rugged aluminum heatsink casing.

4, it runs cooler than the coil ballast.

5, no noise

6, softer ignight of the bulb, but faster full lumenance

7, a brighter picture with better colors.

8, faster cool down of the projector when turned off

i love this thing, i like the nice, clean, neat apperance of the ballast and it opened up alot of room in the projector.

here's a picture with the old ballest installed.

and here is a pict. with the new ballast installed

pictures come out brighter and the colors are even better using this ballest.
these picts. were taken with the same camera settings, and i have not edited them.

first pic. with the old ballast

second with the new ballast,

note: ( i used the same settings on my camera, which did produce over exposure by the brighter image, should the image look darker). but do notice the changes in skin color.

it may be hard to tell with a picture taken from my camera, ( because i used the same settings for the shot, so the picture got more exposure), but still if you look at frodo's face you can see the change in the skin color, from a washed out white with the old ballest to a more natural skin color with the new. as soon as i fired the projector up my wife and i both said it was brighter, and you can really see this when light flashes in the movie , like lightning, and it "really" lights up the room.

Excellente!! There will always be just one more thing to improve on this projector - if you thought you were done, think again.
Bring it on Brainchild, what RU waiting for?

I will be purchasing one also.

how much are they?

$99

ill definately be getting one when they come in...

Would the shipping cost be lower?

Yes the ballast only weighs 3.5lbs. The average cost for priority shipping is $8-$9 which means you get the ballast in 3 days. I'm also stocking these in the 240v flavor for non US cutomers.

I have installed the electronic ballast and put about 6 hours total on it.start up time on it is super fast about 2 minutes tops.The lamp color seems better smoother I actualy had to back off the saturation just a little.There is no lamp flicker at all.
brightness is awesome!
I will be taking temprature readings on the ballast to see what the operating temp is.So far I love it!
I think cool down time is cut in half.
I dont have any screen pics because i need a better camera

here are some pics of the ballast installed.

the install is much cleaner four wire conections and your ready to go.
Peter

another

I want one. Can they be used with HQI and other pulse start bulbs?

Sure can. They'll fire any metal halide with the same wattage rating.

Sweet.

how can i buy one?



EDIT: nm, answered in other fourm.

Reserve them now, going fast.

http://lumenlab.com/store/

this was probably already answered but hey I want to be sure.

Will the ballast work well with ushio and eye?

Yes

Bah, I keep getting a PHP error when I click the buy button. :angry:

How are you guys calculating cool-down time? Exhaust temperature? Internal mounted temperature meters?

I doubt this will work with the USHIO if it is a MH intended ballast. I have tested the USHIO with a MH ballast and it does not work . I have discussed this with a ballast mfg tech and a USHIO tech because I had a bulb prob at one point (vaulty bulb traded out for free). HPS bulbs fire differently than MH. They start/run at different voltages. I forget which, but one starts at a totally different voltage than it runs (pretty sure the HPS) and the other runs and starts at the same voltage.

I would definitely discuss this with the mfg of the ballast and/or the mfg of the USHIO before making assumptions.

For the Ushio if you mean the conversion bulb we do not know yet. I have one on order and I will let you know. It was reported on another site that it did work but it would be best not to take any chances until I can report back

Brainchild,

Can you please list the specs of the new ballast? I'm curious to know how many Amps it puts out as I'm currently running HPS gear at 4.1 Amp in order to get the full 36000 lumen out of the Osram.

Do the electronics come in varied ratings?

Thanks.

Cheers,
Arkay.

1) Input power: 90V-130V AC (120VAC series) or 160V-260V AC
(230V AC series)
2) Power frequency: 40 - 400Hz
3) Power factor: >0.99
3) THD: <10%
4) Current factor: <1.4
5) Static consumption: <1W
6) Save energy: 30%
7) Starting time: 3 sec
8) Current of decline range: 60% - 50%
9) Ambient temperature: -30 ~ 40ºC
10)Max case temperature: 80ºC
11)Max length of output line: 15m

Long time "no build"

I finally forced myself out of work earlier to dedicate more time to my beloved PJ project, I will go to home depot to get the wood (cutted according to specs) and all the other material I can find there. Still don't know if I would find all I need, but most of all I am going for the darn enclosure which is quite impossible to manufacture inside my small NYC studio apt.

'Bout the store...

If I may suggest,I think that it would be great if the store would list solid and serious providers, may be linking directly to specific projector related products, so that users can find all they need on the lumenlab store, although from different providers. That way Lumenlab new customers will go to the store with their "shopping list" and get all the components to start building the PJ... yeah and that may include LCDs if a wholesale retailer is willing to use lumenlab as drop shipper!

Now back to the "ballast' topic

I am lost about the ballast and bulb! So... should we not buy the MH400/BT28 U EYE? (btw should it be horizontal mount only or can it be universal mount as well?)...Should we be going for the new Ushio? Or the tubular HQIs? Reading threads I dug up in the LL forum is my understanding that the new electronic ballast that Brainchild will have avail in a few days (today is 07/22/04) should work with any MH lamp, but is the tubular lamp with better lumen and ºK color temperature an MH as well?
I am really looking forward to assemble my PJ ASAP, but I want to make sure I get the right stuff to save time, dough and though luck ...

'Bout keeping track of the evolution from the "Projector nehanderthalis" to the "Projector Erectus" (and may be in the future the "Projector Sapiens" namely the Lilliput 7" LCD!!!)

It would be nice if Brain or Lustra could create a sort of memorandum by pinninig a topic that all of those like myself who can dedicate limited time (against my will though ), can go and read to find a full list of parts necessary to complete the project to keep track if anything new is added, if not to just double check what's left to get. That would be really useful for newbies as well and should give to anyone a "bird's eye view" of all the bits an pieces involved in the project...while at the same time works as a sort of a quick spec list, a "lumenlab groceries shopping list" if you will

But I believe that the most helpful part of having such pinned topic it would be that by keeping the posting up to date by periodically editing it as needed when major improvements are made to the PJ layout or components (such as in the case of the new ballast/lamps, fans etc.) everyone will know right away!!!
Personally it took me a while searching the posts for electronic ballasts (but not before reading tons of unrelated posts along the threads) and at the end I discovered that they are way better then the old ones and are worth to switch to them for many reasons I will not relist in here...I also found out that the store was out of US version of the elect. ballast...but more digging the forums brought up to light that Brainchild is getting more ballasts to be made available via LL online store (am I wrong Brain?) along with:



In conclusion about the pinned topic mentioned above, I really think would help, because if I wouldn't have spent that much time digging through the posts, I wouldn't even know that there is an electronic ballast and new lamps on the way... So (although I know that brainchild is always on tha move and experimenting to improve the original PJ and can expect things to be changing periodically:) ) the pinned topic updates may be just a tool for all the Lumenlab netizens to keep abreast of the latest news and major improvements on the way or already happened to the PJ, consider that a substitute of a newsletter and/or a product version history.

I apologize to all for the verbosity of this posting, but you may forgive me for that is due to returning to my passion after a quite long period of forced absence.

Keep up the good job! Please anyone shed some "bright" light on the PJ lighting engine... what should I get at this point?
PS: And of course, plz let me know what you think about the pinned topic on PJ major updates.

Yes I'm thinking about running a blog to report my daily progress.

I seconf that Brain, I think that will really help keep hope alive; I'm always wonder how Brain is doing with his testing of this and that - I know you got so many things going on at the same time, but a daily progress of sorts will just add a little bit of a flavor to the forum, especially on those tests that a lot of people are waiting for or wanting to start on. Having said that, I'd also like to say that you shouldn't feel pressured to come up with a progress report daily - when you have, you do, when you don't, you don't, it's that simple, really.
Thanks once again Brain for all your hard work for this community.

Did it work?

I wasn't happy with the 250w performance on the netal halide ballast but another user said the 400w seems to work fine. Got the Ushio pulse strikes in and they are awesome.

When you say Ushio pulse strikes are you refering to the USHIO 400w HPS conversion I use? If so, it fires on the electronic ballast? Who manufactures that ballast?

I am not referring to the s400dd that you have. I am referring to a new lamp I just ordered in quantity from Ushio directly. The conversion lamp is not a pulse strike lamp, it is a new technology. The lamp produces 3000 more lumens than the EYE and many more than the conversion lamp. The electronic I was selling is made in China and a user reported today that the ballast fires his s400dd. I am now selling the 'Blueline' domestic electronic.

I got the electronic ballast and it seems to work great with my Ushio HPS Retrofit

sorry it is so faded. . . the flash washed it out but it would not come out without a flash.

6 foot tall morpheus head in widescreen [does not fit blackout in widescreen]. I kept jacking the front of the PJ up, but my design prevented lifting it too much higher to get it on the wall above the screen instead of down by the floor

Uhhh...so...are there any more of the $99 400w Electronic Ballasts? I emailed sales@lumenlab.com and didn't get a response.

Got my Ushio pulse-strike bulb and i am anxiously awaiting a ballast to test it out and see if i'm gonna have some of the same problems other people have been having.

Hello brainchild, I'm a newbie and I'm just starting my project with a 15" LCD monitor.

I was reading about this new lamp that you have ordered and about this new electronic ballast. Do you have them for sale already?
Can I buy it from you?

Let me know,

Thanks.

No $99 ballasts yet, I just have the Bluelines at $150. What problems have other people been having? There was one defective lamp that broke during shipment...

Sales did write you back yesterday so you might want to check your mail filters. Here's the email:

Kellie Sigler: From: kellie@lumenlab.com
Subject: Re: ballast
Date: August 6, 2004 8:10:32 PM EDT
To: room101@peaknet.net

Hi Christopher,

We're out of the 120V ballasts... but do plan to get more in stock this month.

Take Care,
Kellie



On Aug 5, 2004, at 3:29 PM, room101@peaknet.net wrote:

Hello.

Are there any more of the $100 "1006 400w Electronic Ballast"?

Thanks.
-Christopher

Hi rdefrei1, welcome to the forums...I only have the $150 Bluelines right now. The lamps are available from the store. If you'd like a Blueline write to sales@lumenlab.com

Got the e-mail after I had already posted. Thanks!


Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought some people were having problems firing up their Ushio pulse-strike lamps? ...Or maybe I'm confusing this with problems others had with the EYE bulb? Ahhhh...

Is the Blueline worth spending the extra fifty bucks on, rather than waiting an indefinite amount of time for the old $100 electric ballasts to be back in stock? I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of price versus wait here.

Found a new supplier of ballasts but it might take a month to get the next shipment.

Are they the same ones as before? Will they still be $99?

Scott

Nope different ballast but they should still be around $99.

So are you thinking sept 1 they should be in? Count me in if thats true, should be right when I want to order all my stuff.

Scott

I should know more soon. I'll keep you updated.

brain,

do you know appox the weight of these new e-ballast??

Sample on the way, I'll report back as soon as I get it.

I want to get the E-ballast that you were selling. I need the 240v flavor. Your store says that you dont know when you are getting more. I want to get my projector running now. What brand are the ones you sell so I can try to get them here in Australia?

How I can order one kit like that and from who? Thank you very much![color=#3333FF]

I like to order one kit. My email is Jdimac1453@msn.com