light movers

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herbpirate

Active Member
hey everyone i was wondering if anyone knows anything about light movers. I was just reading about them and was wondering. If i am running 2 600W HPS over a 4'X8' flood table could i use only one and put it over the flood table. Would it be close to the same? Cuz it would be less lumens. How slow do they run?
 
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herbpirate

Active Member
for example you put one 600 on a light mover going down the 8'? I am just wondering im not going to try, it just seems like not enough lumens. i was just wondering why other people would do it.
 
OregonMeds

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
Light movers are devices that move the lights horizontally to cover more area MrNiceGuy.

I haven't used one so I can't say, I was looking to see answers too. What you're not factoring in though is that with a light mover you can run the light closer than normal and gain lumens so it's technically more than half the light of one light alone.
 
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MisterNiceGuy

Well-Known Member
Oh well i build light raisers, so when the plant gets to a certain height it raises it till the plant is out of the laser beam.
 
BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
I've heard probs with light movers. I think they mainly stem from the other crap getting in the way. Like cords and ducting. After 200+ cycles, things getting kinked and the like. Balancing it over the travel can be a challenging affair too. (duct and cords can pull/push adjusting weight distribution)

Just food for thought.

.
 
BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
MisterNiceGuy said:
Oh well i build light raisers, so when the plant gets to a certain height it raises it till the plant is out of the laser beam.
Click to expand...

Interesting. How do you scan the canopy to find the highest part of the tallest plant over a 2D area? What sensor are you using?

Not a trivial task.
 
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MisterNiceGuy

Well-Known Member
It actually isn't that difficult to accomplish, a diode to receive and the laser beam and when the diode - laser gets severed by a part of the foliage it activates a stepper motor that raises the hood, along with the equipment the laser and diode are on to reconnect the beam with the diode causing it to stop the stepper motor.
I made two of them so far and are in working order still, it is part of my "Leave and Let Grow" growboxes.
 
BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
MisterNiceGuy said:
It actually isn't that difficult to accomplish, a diode to receive and the laser beam and when the diode - laser gets severed by a part of the foliage it activates a stepper motor that raises the hood, along with the equipment the laser and diode are on to reconnect the beam with the diode causing it to stop the stepper motor.
I made two of them so far and are in working order still, it is part of my "Leave and Let Grow" growboxes.
Click to expand...

Well that's 1D (straight line) Plants don't conform to that.
You need to scan the canopy rather then just a standard photo interrupter.
(automation is what I do for a living.)
 
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MisterNiceGuy

Well-Known Member
BigBudBalls said:
Well that's 1D (straight line) Plants don't conform to that.
You need to scan the canopy rather then just a standard photo interrupter.
(automation is what I do for a living.)
Click to expand...
Well it seems to be working where I have applied it. If you needed to cover more space you can add more diodes, so that if two out of 5 laser beams break contact it raises. This can also be applied with mirrors, having placed mirrors in a set pattern bouncing back to the diode it would cover a large area by itself. I think you get the idea.
(life is what i do for a living.)
 
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