DIY Fiber Optic Illuminator

phero66 · Post by **phero66** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:25 am

Group,

I know I have seen DIY illuminators either here or in the old forum but I can't seem to find the posts.

Can anyone comment on their homemade setup or has everyone bought the cheap sub $300 ones off ebay?

Thanks,

-John

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:33 am

You know I am not a big fan of ebay but a used fiber optic illuminator would probably be a safe alternative from ebay. There is not much to go wrong with them and if it did, it should be very easy to fix. I paid $350.00US for mine, new, and have had no problems with it. Most of these are pretty much the same, though some have some conveinent but not necessary features and cost a little more. Unless you like to tinker with things, I would consider a used one off of ebay.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:08 am

John,

I have no experiences with used illuminators. Regarding what I bought, see my post at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... php?t=1222 . A few more details from my notes:

2006-06-01 I received today a fiber optic illuminator purchased from Precision*World on ebay. It works OK except that the fan has never turned on. I emailed the company. The unit appears identical to the HEI-FOI-110 unit sold by Howard Electronic Instruments Inc at http://www.howardelectronics.com/HEISco ... ators.html . Howard’s price for the illuminator is $250, and for the dual fiber head with lenses $120, total $370. The Precision*World price on ebay was $399. Interesting. Same illuminator also available from http://www.engineeringlab.com/illuminators.html, $250 and http://www.professionalmicroscopes.com/ ... nator.html $350.

Oh yeah, regarding my comment at the post linked above, that I'm "completely satisfied" with the illuminator. That's true now, but I forgot to mention that there was also a silly problem with some setscrews on the focusing lenses. See my post in the old forum, "Possibly the world's worst setscrew..."

Hope this helps.
--Rik

phero66 · Post by **phero66** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:03 am

Ok so I can't let this potential DIY project go quite yet...

I’m thinking, and correct me if I’m wrong, that one could build a illuminator with High powered LEDs at probably half or less than half the cost of buying a 150w Halide two port one on ebay.

First if you are thinking why make when to buy is cheap (which my wife has reminded me of already), its because you can add more arms, and possibly vary the shape or diffusion of the light output. You could even use a multi stranded cable consisting of varied diameter fibers to create different sized patterns of light.

So far I think I have the light engine worked out using 4 high powered LEDs focused with LED lenses to push the most light they can through 4 solid core fiber cables (1 LED per cable). I’m not sure what diameter cable, or what degree of lens would be best at this point. Light loss due to inefficient projection is a concern as these LED’s are not outputting like a 150w Halide, but they are more efficient, and with the right lens perhaps more light is focused through the cable.

The proposed light engine:

1. LED Driver: Xitanium 120v 25w 1050ma (can power up to 5 5w LED’s) = $50
2. (4) LEDs: Luxeon K2 1500ma 140 lumens (around 113lm per LED with above driver) = $40
3. (4) LED 5° or 3° spot lenses = $9.60
4. (4) lens holders = $2.00
5. (4) heat sinks for LEDs = $15.00 (?)
6. 80mm DC fan (if needed) = $10.00
7. Wood box = $10.00
Cost = $136 +/-

I’m still researching the fiber cable side of the project. The best prices I have seen are at this site: http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Endglow.htm

What I still don’t know:
1. The best diameter\$$value of cable
2. If a x° spot is used on one end of the cable will it project @ x° on the other?
3. Flexible cable jackets.
4. Will anything be needed at the end of cable to further focus the light?

Ahaha, after writing this I realized my main question is very simple and doesn’t need such a long winded introduction (unless of course you want to jump in on my madness). Basically, for those with Illuminators, what is the rough diameter of your cables and what do the ends look like (macro shots welcome

)

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:24 am

Hi John,

I have a Schott KL1500 with a 600mm long dual-branch gooseneck. The diameter of the fibre optic cable (foc) at the lamp end (the common end) is 5mm and the diameter of each of the two active ends is 4.5mm.

Just to be clear: Light from a 150W halogen reflector lamp is directed through a retractable filter holder and is focused by a simple condenser lens into a short length of 5mm foc. The light is split into two (I don't know how) and routed via the 600mm goosenecks (containing the 4.5mm foc's) each terminating in a focusable head. The heads contain a simple lens(?) and focus using a draw tube and locking butterfly screw.

Light intensity is controlled via a simple rotating switch.

One small drawback of this design is that the light intensity cannot be independently varied for each head, so distance/positioning has to be used to achieve the desired effect.

Bruce

gpmatthews · Post by **gpmatthews** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:10 am

John,

You may find my setup and different versions of interest.

See http://www.gpmatthews.nildram.co.uk/mic ... setup.html

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:42 pm

Hi John,

Bruce Williams wrote:Light from a 150W halogen reflector lamp is directed through a retractable filter holder and is focused by a simple condenser lens into a short length of 5mm foc. The light is split into two (I don't know how) ...

On my split fiber, it seems clear that the loose fibers from each branch were simply bundled together to make the single big bunch-o-fibers that the lamp shines into. This is easily determined by running the system in reverse -- shine light into one of the split heads, and see where it comes out in the single end. On my system, it's roughly speaking two half-circles, with an irregular dividing line between them.

...to make the each branch of the fiber and routed via the 600mm goosenecks (containing the 4.5mm foc's) each terminating in a focusable head. The heads contain a simple lens(?) and focus using a draw tube and locking butterfly screw.

Light intensity is controlled via a simple rotating switch.

One small drawback of this design is that the light intensity cannot be independently varied for each head, so distance/positioning has to be used to achieve the desired effect.

The other drawback is that adjusting the intensity with the rotating switch also changes the color balance, often by a lot. Color balance of the LEDs will shift very little or perhaps not at all, depending on how you drive them.

John, my impression is that halogen fiber illuminators are fairly efficient at coupling the light into the fiber. Mine at least uses a special bulb with a very sharply curved reflector that concentrates most of its output into a small circle somewhat larger than the fiber bundle. There are significant losses due to misalignments, reflections and maybe limitations on the fiber's acceptance angle, but you'll face the same problems with the LEDs.

About a year ago, I sank quite a bit of time and money into playing with Luxeon LEDs (previous generation, not the K2's). After a while I decided to just buy a commercial halogen illuminator.

I don't want to discourage you from what sounds like an amusing and educational project, but I would caution that it's likely to take longer, cost more, and not work as well as you might hope at the start. Just depends on what you want to tinker with.

--Rik

phero66 · Post by **phero66** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:29 pm

Thank you for the additional info on your setups.

Rik,

I'm thinking the same thing as I start to run up the cost of additional hardware. Hmm I will have to sit on this one for awhile, unless I come across some fiber gooseneck arms w/o a home.