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[quote="ship"]GLC lamps (these were made for the new Strand fixtures)
That’s what Strand Claims
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hehehehe... one of many claims<g>. Thank you VERY much for the info on the lamps, I will give the GLA's a try for sure. I will also look into some of the others you mentioned and try and see which ones work best in my fixtures and last longer. I have printed out your entire reply to review. I'm sure I will have a few more questions.
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Let’s talk lamp bases. That should be your real worry. The original lamp base Altman #58-0017 as well as #58-0018 the high temp one with a heat sink are discontinued. They don’t work well with high wattage lamps much less the dichroic lamps anyway. That does not mean you need to change lamp bases, like with the reflector and gate reflector assemblies, they are prone to wear out quicker but use them until they do. Than buy the Altman #97-1580 lamp base. It’s much improved. Otherwise, Ushio sells the C3A lamp base. Many people swear by this lamp base, and for all intensive purposes, it is the same, just not recognized by Altman or any known testing company for say a UL certification.
but the HX and FLK's are brighter, and use less power in a dimmer, and these 360's need the help cause the output of some of them is horrible no matter how much you bench or clean.
Check the lenses, are they green or blue?
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In regards to the lenses, some are green, but overall they are an awful yellow amber color. Placed upon a white paper, they are very amber compared to most lenses. We have gone thru and replaced several lenses, but it has not helped matters much.
As for the bases, they have all been replaced with new cap ends and bases 3 years ago (before I arrived). However they are still a problem. We have had a severe arcing & corrosion problem with the bases in the past--and some of the bases do not hold lamps well. I have solved, temporarily, a lot of the arcing problems with cramolin paste (now Calilube copper), but "the dip" is a mere bandaid on a problem that needs replacing. The old flat ended caps have been replaced with the new "speed cap" as it is known in this area, the altman cap with the plastic ring and the "source-4 style" lamp adjustment rings in the center. As I said in a later part of this post--I believe those to be a part of the problem with the light output of some fixtures, and to explain: as I have done regular maintenance on some of the dimmer fixtures with caps, I find everything in the fixture to be in good condition, but the lamp and reflector do not appear to line up as well (with the lamp in proper place) as the original flat altman caps did, and it comes down to the seating pins in the cap line up but do not seat the lamp far enough down. When I have changed the cap back to the orginal style (we have a few around for backup) I find the light to perform much better. Which leads me to believe there is a problem with some of the caps or, moreso, just how the lamp sits in the newer caps (further back) as opposed to the old ones. Did I explain that well enough? I haven't worked on altman fixtures in quite a few years--been spoiled with S4's most of the years...but I notice drastically that these Altmans in this theater seem to have much more problems and output problems, then I recall ever having with Altmans in the past--they are die-hard fixtures and still a good choice for lighting. I'm not a fan of the two center rings for "benching" a fixture as I was born on adjusting with 3 screws, but benching some of these units just seems to thru the lamp furthur out of reflector to where its totally ineffective. This theater is going to change fixtures in another year or two to S4's, but I would like to get the most and best out of these fixtures I do have to work with. From using Altmans in the past and upkeeping them, these fixtures are quite a difference in the ones I used to work with in performance (the output on a lot is anywhere from 60-80% what it "should" be and I'm perplexed as to why I cannot get them to do what I know they can do). Again--I tend to think it has to do with the lamps and these speed caps. I wish I had the original caps and bases to start from there to troubleshoot, but over the years before I arrived here there were many folks before who "knew better" (heh) and they fixed what wasn't broken...thus breaking it<g>. I have taken it upon myself (like I do wherever I go) to do the best and get the best performance with what I have to work with, but at the same time I have gone and found 6x12 lenses in 6x9's and vica versa, from previous folks before me. <sigh> Your suggestions on the Altmans is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, I appreciate your input and expertise very much.
cheers,
--W
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