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Availability of HID Bulbs for Dive Rite lights
Dive Rite no longer sells lights based on HID lamp technology, and they are no longer able to supply replacement lamps for HID lights. In a situation similar to when Halogen technology was supplanted by HID technology, the HID technology is in rapid decline as it is being supplanted by LED technology. There have been two companies that make HID lamps suitable for dive light applications. One was Welch Allyn, a German company with a US division supplied Dive Rite and the other was Brightstar, an Asian company that supplies Light Monkey. In May 2010,
Welch Allyn sold their HID lamp business to Ushio, an Asian company with a US division.
Because of the transition from Welch Allyn to Ushio, Dive Rite has been unable to purchase the HID lamps at wholesale and so no longer offers replacement lamps.
Dive Gear Express has done some further research, in hopes you are able to find a retail source. The Dive Rite LT6513 was their part number for the 10W/15W HID lamp used in their final generation of HID lights, the wattage depending on the ballast used in the light head. The cross part number for the Dive Rite LT6513 to the Welch Allyn Solarc NGX series part number, found on the base of the lamp, was M10N003. This lamp used a separate parabolic reflector supplied by Dive Rite. The very early Dive Rite HID "MR11" style lights used a Welch Allyn Solarc lamp with an integrated parabolic reflector, either an M10P001 (6 degree reflector with a tighter beam) or an M10P002 (13 degree reflector with a wider beam). See the
Ushio Solarc Technology Lamp Identification Guide for more information. You can visit the
Ushio website for more information, or contact their customer service department at 800-838-7446.
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