So after reading this entire thread: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=820794 here in this forum, I decided to try my hand at building one myself. And as that thread is about 4 pages long already and buried, I thought I'd do a new one. Thanks for the inspiration Dave!
It was fun and didn't really take me that long. I did a couple of things differently from what Dave F. (tetrode) did with his build. Partly out of necessity and partly because I like to save money where I can.
One of the first things I noticed was that the Pelican box he used and the one I got are different in that they are all clear now with different colored rubber liners. The only part of it left is the seal between the lid and box. I had to cut that off from the rest of the rubber insert.
Another thing that is different is the inverter itself. It's the same part number as what Dave used in his write up, but mine is longer. It still fits inside the Pelican 1050 box, but it's a tight fit.
There isn't the end room that Dave had the luxury of playing with.
Also, I chose to reuse the plug and switch from the Aims inverter. All I had to do was heat the soilder, pull the wires and then reconnect them after passing the plug and switch through the hole cut in the outside of the box.
Another part of the inverter that is different is the end plate. Where as Dave had a plastic end plate mine was made from aluminum and after I cut out enough room so as to easily slide the rest of the inverter into the box and around the switch and plug, the inverter fit nice and snug into the Pelican box. It's held down with a wide strip of heavy duty velcro.
I also chose to use the heavy, 12 gauge wire that came with the inverter to connect the battery. I believe that is a very important part of any of these constructions. And I think it plays a big part in recycle times.
But the biggest thing I changed was the battery. In this case I used a SLA 2Ah battery that fit very nicely into this new box. The cost of this battery was only $39.99 from a local Batteries Plus. At that price I can have a second or third standing by in my light box. But this could also just be a temp. battery until I get a 5 Ah NiMH C-cell battery pack.
So how did it work? Very well! I didn't do a long term mulitple pop test, but for a battery that had a less than full charge on it from the store, I got more that 50 full power pops before I got tired and the flashes started to annoy everyone at my house including the Parakeet who started screaching! I'm no where done firing tests with this set-up. I'll do some testing after I can get a full recharge on this battery.
But for now, it works well for as little as I spent. Here it is firing off a 100ws strobe.
180 watt Pure Sine Wave inverter from eBay - $48
Pelican 1050 bought locally - $20
Sealed Lead Acid 2 Ah battery from Batteries Plus - $39.99
Charger for battery from Batteries Plus - $21.99
