Well, I've managed to get the various components of a spotlight 'system'
together now. The most difficult thing to find was a 30W light, most shops
seeming to stock only 100W lights (might damage animals' and birds' eyes).
When I was in north Queensland I conferred at Kingfisher Park and was
directed to North Queensland Auto Electric in Mareeba, where I bought a
Hella 100W light (made in Australia), but the people in the shop swapped the
standard light bulb unit for a 30W one, so I didn't have to buy both. The
light comes with a plug to fit in a car's lighter socket (useful for
car-park spotting I imagine), and I also bought an adapter to plug this in
and to connect to the battery with 'spade lugs'. Battery pack (12V and 6.5
amp) and trickle charger were easily obtained in Canberra.
I did a road test on the set-up last night with great success. An hour's
stroll along a road in the Brindabellas yielded 6 Greater Gliders and 2
Sugar Gilders. Battery wasn't too heay and the light showed no sign of
weakening at the end of the hour. My only reservation is that althought the
light has a good beam with no hole in the centre the general aura of light
is too wide and I'll need to tape some card on the light to shield the
holder, and others, from being dazzled.
And as a bonus on the way back to Canberra we saw a Tawny Frogmouth and,
near Uriarra Crossing, a Barn Owl.
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Dr John Leonard
PO Box 243, Woden,
ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA
"We are not concerned with hopes and fears,
only with the truth as far as our reason permits
us to discover it." Charles Darwin
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