FEELER: custom outdoor portable battery operated flagpole/lighting 5k lumens!

Hey guys I made a random post about my new homemade lighting setup and thought I'd see if there's any interest from TW. My roommate came up with the idea at the beginning of winter when it started getting dark early so that he could play outdoor volleyball after the sun goes down. The only setups similar we could find on the market were $2-$5k!! So went the DIY route.

We have some volleyball friends that wanted us to build them a set and now seeing if there's enough interest to pull a MesoJDM and maybe build and sell some useful custom stuff for TW
Meso is a freaking magician so my stuff won't be nearly as clever but just as functional

I would probably need (10) lights "pre-ordered" so make it worth the time to order all the parts, put them together, and ship them all out. So this is kinda of a feeler for a "group buy" sort of situation. If there's a ton of interest I'll be happy to make it a regular Sunday night project and build a few per week.

Here's the basic info:
-6ft retracted -> 25ft extended flag pole
-5,000 total lumen output per pole (two lights @ 2,500 each)
-Battery included in custom ammo box with charger
-total system weight 45lbs (pole, lights, battery box, evertyhing!)
-7-8hr max recommended run time (can go to 10hrs but will fully drain the battery and shorten battery life cycles.. replacement batteries are only $80 though so not a big deal)

There's two "modes" we use them for.

1. What we call "volleyball" mode where we mount the lights at the very top and point them DOWN to illuminate the court much like stadium lighting. We also use this for camping to illuminate the entire campsite.
NOTE: if using for outdoor sports you really need FOUR poles so eliminate shadows. Volleyball, basketball, tennis etc... we'll make a discounted FOUR pole package with four battery boxes and a single 4 plug charger.
For campsites 1 pole will do fine and two poles is more than enough.

2. What we call "flag light" mode. Where we put our flags up and mount the lights underneath pointed UP to illuminate the flags. This is used as a beacon of sorts when camping in the desert.

These do NOT come with bases, you have to either bury the pole in 1-2ft of sand like we do, or find something solid to prop them up against (tree, vehicle, fence, rock, other pole etc..)
If this becomes a regular thing we'll research into getting a tripod so that these poles can be free standing. But for now, NO BASE INCLUDED.

Not set in stone and we obviously won't be getting rich off this but to make it worth the time and effort we're thinking around $450 plus shipping and includes: 1 pole, 1 battery and box with fuse, 1 charger, 2 lights, wiring harness and mounting hardware. Shipping SHOULD be around $50 but if we get enough interest I'll get exact quotes.

If you want to buy FOUR of them for outdoor sports we'll make a package deal for $1,500 includes FOUR of everything, but a single 4-port charger that makes it easy to charge all four batteries at once. 20,000 total lumens with that pkg lights up a volleyball court like a pro!

Def a niche product but for those of you that could use it its a fantastic deal considering the retail options currently on the market.

Let me know if there's any interest!

"volleyball/campsite" mode:





"flaglight" mode (still throws ambient light around the campsite but not blinding):





Raw lights:

 

Neat! ​

 

That means a lot coming from the infamous Chad

 

Just a regular Owner & Enthusiast! ​

 

This guy!

So humble too....

 

Seriously, I like these! Mind if I share in my local thread?

I'm sure the guys could use them out in the sticks.

 

Please do! I'm thinking about putting it up on Ih8mud too.

But figured I'd start here to gauge interest.

 

3600mAh* deep cycle.

36 amp hours

 

Have you considered building a variant of this with a solar panel and controller to recharge the battery during the day?

 

Great idea! We kinda floated it. But for us we don't really have a need for that yet, when we go to the desert we just bring two poles and two extra batteries... lasts us all weekend. And we weren't ever planning on selling this it was originally just a personal use project. But we get so many comments on them whenever we set them up we figured hey maybe people will actually want these. Especially for volleyball or really any outdoor sport, san diego has a ton of public volleyball courts but NONE have night lighting. When we start playing on the weekend they'll be 6-8 courts setup full of players... sun goes down and everyone starts packing up... but we get to keep playing

If people on TW actually want these the one thing I can throw on quick would be a timer... so you can setup the lights and they'll turn themselves off after a set time. Next mod would be a tripod so they can go standalone. If we get that far the very next thing would be solar!

 

Great idea nice for camping