BLUE XENON STROBE

Blue Xenon Strobe, retail $88.52 (www.jwspeaker.com...)
Sold at http://equipsol.net...
Manufactured by J. W. Speaker Corp. (www.jwspeaker.com)
Last updated 04-09-10




This is a fairly small strobe (warning light) that is designed to be affixed to virtally any motor vehicle -- though they can also be used to liven parties up if desired. It is J.W. Speaker Corp. model # 400.

It operates on DC (direct current), at a voltage of +12 volts all the way up to +80 volts. Current consumption (maximum value here) is advertised to be 0.650A (650mA) at 12 volts and 0.150A (150mA) at 80 volts.

It uses a xenon flashlamp (thus making it a true *STROBE*) that has a flash rate of 60 FPM (flashes per minute); this is 1Hz (1 flash per second) -- though this can vary from 50 FPM to 70 FPM according to the advertising materials -- however, the furnished instructional materials state the flash rate as 70 FPM +/- 10 FPM.


Size of product w/hand to show scale SIZE



Mount the strobe to any horizontal surface with a width of 4.80"; use a pair of #10 screws to mount it with. The distance between the two screw holes on the strobe's base is 4.380".

Connect the black wire to (-) negative, and the red wire to (+) positive. No on/off switch is furnished; you'll need to procure that elsewhere. Connect it between the positive (+) voltage source and the strobe's red wire.

If overcurrent protection is desired, a 4 amp inline fuse wired between the positive (+) voltage source and the strobe's red wire (preferably before the switch) is recommended.



This product is designed to operate on +12 volts to +80 volts, not batteries, so I do not have to tell you which part to remove, gently place on the floor at the top of the basement stairs, carefully push over the side with your foot so that it clatters down to the basement full of piss ants with full bladders, and then rather emphatically tell you not to.

The flashtube assembly is user-replaceble; here's how to replace it when or if necessary:
  • Unscrew & remove the plastic lens and set it aside after waiting at least five minutes after power was last applied to the unit -- if you do not wait that long, a capacitor in the unit could "bite" and you'll run away cussing (because you got zapped!!!).

  • Squeeze the tabs at the sides of the flashtube holder and pull the old flashtube ass'y off.

  • Handling the replacement only by its connector housing, insert it straight down into the receptacle. It will only fit one way, and will click into place when you have it in there correctly.

  • Screw the lens back on, and you're good to go.
I say "handle the replacement only by its connector housing" because skin oils will shorten the life of the flashtube if you touched the glass part with your fingers. If you did touch the tube, clean it with some bungwipe or Cleanax (or store-brand nasal tissue for that matter) moistened with alcohol -- cassette tape head or VCR head cleaner would be marvelous here -- do not use rubbing alcohol if glycerine is listed in the ingredients.



This is a vehicle strobe light with a rather fragile xenon flashtube, not a flashlight meant to be bashed, thrashed, trashed, and abused; I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toliet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a porch, use a medium claw hammer in order to smash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata, drop it down the top of Mt. Erupto (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout (located at Piņata Central), with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; the cannoņata (also located at Piņata Central) is only used to shoot piņatas to piņata parties away from picturesque Piņata Island, and Mt. Erupto is an active volcano on Piņata Island {In the episode "Les Saves the Day...Again", Paulie Preztail says "Hey, ever wonder why this park's called 'Mount Erupto' anyway?", then Franklin Fizzlybear says "I think its an old native term. Means 'very safe.'"}), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them.

The high voltage DC (that makes the flashtube "flash") was measured (not advertised, but actually measured with a DMM) at +268 volts, and the flash energy is advertised as 2.50J (joules) at an input voltage of +12 volts.



Photograph of the strobe in its "on" cycle (it was flashing at that moment).



This is what you see when the lens is unscrewed & removed.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of this strobe (not filtered).


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of this strobe (filtered).

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


Video (Quicktime .MOV format) showing strobe flashing.
This is the older video.

This clip is approximately 2.4 megabytes (2,607,852 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than ten minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

*** VERY IMPORTANT!!! *** This video does not show the strobe flashing properly; in reality, it flashes at approximately 1.0Hz (60 flashes per minute) in a very regular fashion.




YourTube video showing the strobe flashing.

***VERY IMPORTANT!!!***
The flashing (at 1Hz) is ***FAR*** more regular than this video depicts!!!

That sound you may hear is an episode of Chain Reaction playing on the boob tube.
This product is not sound-sensitive; the sound may be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.

This clip is approximately 17.9684334599 megabytes (18,038,912 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than ninety minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.








TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by a fan of this website and was received on 09-24-05.

As far as I'm able to determine, this product was made in the United States.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
Bright, attention-getting flashes
Weather-resistant
Convenient power supply range (+12 volts to +80 volts!!!)
Flashtube is user-replaceable


CONS:
None that I have yet to find


    MANUFACTURER: J. W. Speaker Corp
    PRODUCT TYPE: Quasi-portable (req. +12v to +80v external source) xenon strobe light
    LAMP TYPE: Linear xenon flashtube
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: 360° torroidial (ring-shaped)
    SWITCH TYPE: None
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; flashtube protected by thick plastic cover
    BATTERY: N/As
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Not able to measure (stated as 0.650A at 12V, 0.150A at 80V maximum)
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Yes (weather-resistant at minimum)
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: Foam mounting gasket, foam washer
    WARRANTY: Unknown/TBA

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Blue Xenon Strobe * www.jwspeaker.com...






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