I have the e codes, nice lights but no, they're not a pittance, at least not for me. They cost $5 or 600 used.

And I understand the Afghanis paid us to be able to send you back, something about crotchety old f*** I believe.

Nice seeing you albeit briefly at SyncroFest.

Mike from Cotati

On Apr 24, 2013, at 8:19 AM, Al Knoll wrote:

> Like pouring coffee into a drunk.  The headlight optics stock on the
> rectangulars is horrid.  Add more lumens (watts is a measure of the power
> the capsules aka bulbs draw) and voila a wide awake drunk.  Still awful but
> now really awful.
> 
> Pattern:  the shape of the illuminated area
> Cutoff:  the vertical component of the pattern
> 
> For an ideal system the pattern covers just what you want to see, not the
> oncoming drivers windscreen, with excellent road side illumination for the
> occasional suicidal deer or other critter.
> 
> The sharp cutoff european LHD standard is almost perfect for the
> application.  Either in bentstraits fashionable rectangular lenses or the
> 7" sharp cutoff round lenses.  These implementations if properly aimed
> don't dazzle the bobbies and are an easy upgrade.
> 
> The almost perfect comment is in regard to the inability to have both the
> ideally
> aimed high beam and the ideally aimed sharp cutoff low beam.  Has to do
> with the optics of the lenses, not a changeable feature.  The relationship
> between the COB center of beam between high and low is a compromise on
> installations where the mounting center of the lens is too high
> (vanagon).   For normal driving one would like the cutoff slightly
> depressed from the vertical so as to take maximum advantage of that near
> perfect pattern, in town and on the road.  Unfortunately that raises the
> high beam pattern to illuminate the trees and not the road.   Great for
> jacklighting owls not so great for ordinary driving.
> 
> The ideal system has compensation built into the reflector itself.  The
> independently aimable low and high beams allow virtually perfect pattern
> aiming.  Not so fast there bunkie!  Stop the drooling and listen up.  The
> rectangular E-codes of bentbtst8 lore are a pittance compared with the
> ultimate.  A used pair of Marchal Ampilux 7" can often be found at a
> bargain basement price of say 300 to 500 dollars.  These can be
> independently aimed and no they don't use H4s but rather two capsules per
> reflector to permit the independent aiming.   As close to St. Francis as
> you can get for ordinary money.
> 
> Aim them suckers frequently, that cutoff pattern is what you crave, ideally
> aimed, and properly powered.
> 
> Brazil makes an h4-h1 lens thingy that fits early busses, might be
> adaptable for vanagons.
> 'Nother solution is designing a four lens system that uses the larger
> rectangular h4 lenses in all four spots.  An artesian I seen oncet had em.
> 
> Let there be light...
> 
> Pensionerd (rumours of my capture in afghanistan were overated)