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Retro fit a LED into a Dive-Rite or any HID light
If you have been using a HID, then odds are that you like a light that is narrow and can pierce over a long distance even in dirty water. We offer narrow beams and also a few other options to turn your old HID light, into different beasts. The following information is to assist you to choose which one suits what you are after. The table below outlines the differences between the different LED and beam angles.
Optic manufacturers try and trick you by writting -+9 degrees (actually 18 degrees) as they only measure half the angle. More on LED optics and beam angles here as well as lots of technical information. If that is too much to read, then don't worry, just email me with what you are looking for in a light and I can offer some advice. What LED's are like compared to a HIDThis is an example to show how 2 different LED lights differ from a 6
degree, 10 watt HID light that produces 500 lumens (as HID's age they
drop back to less than 400 lumen) The first light is a 18 (+-9) degree light with 3 XM-L LEDs producing a total of 3000 lumens. The second light is a 9 (+-4.5) degrees from using a single SST-90 LED producing 2250 lumens. If the HID lights up a 1m by 1m part of the cave wall or wreck. The 18 degree LEDs at the same distance from the wall will light up 3m by 3m. Simple maths show the beam is 3 times wider and also 3 times higher. This works out to be 9 times (3x3=9) the area that the light is spread across. 3000 / 9 = 333 lumens per square mete. Which one do you think is going to look brighter and go further under water? Answer the HID, as 500 lumens is greater than 333. You will be able to see 9 times as much without moving the light, however you will not be able to see as far when compared to the HID with this light. Now let's look at the 9 degree light. It will illuminate a 1.5m by 1.5m piece of the wall, this is 2.25 times the area of the HID. 2250 / 2.25 = 1000 lumens per square meter. So now we have a light which is not only twice as bright as the HID, it also lights up more than twice the area so we can see more. This light will allow you to see further under water than a 6 degree HID.
Since LED's create a lot more light, we can choose if we want to see more (wider) whilst staying a similar brightness, or have a brighter (narrower) light to see further. You can only use lumens to determin which light will be brighter, if the beam angle is the same for both lights.
Choices for upgrading your HID light to LED.
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