I have wired up several DIY HID ballast kits. The ballast kit for a 70W HID is around $30. It's pretty simple to wire these things up if you are comfortable doing basic household wiring. But there are high voltages involved so do it very carefully.The voltage to drive the bulb is probably 300v and the ignitor puts out a 4000V spike to start the arc in the lamp.Up to about 250W you can save money with a DIY ballast kit. After that it doesnt make sense. For not much more money you can buy the whole setup ready made in a nice case.I like to take old electronics apart and scavenge parts to use in projects. In the USA electronic components are very cheap and it's probably a waste of my time, but I can't help myself.I just scored 4 400W MH ballast kits for $7 ea. Going to wire one up today to see if they work. I might sell 3 of them on ebay.