Altman has announced EOL on their PAR 38, 56, & 64

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After over fifty years of service, Altman Lighting is announcing the End of Product life (EOL) for the PAR 38, 56, & 64 families of Incandescent Par Lights. Following the recent PAR lamp mass discontinuation by several lamp manufacturers, we are announcing the End of Sales and Product life for all PAR 38, 56, and 64 families. In conjunction with this End of Life Announcement we are also discontinuing lamp part numbers:

This EOS, EOL announcement covers Altman Part Numbers and Part number derivatives of:
  • PAR38 300 WATT STEEL PAR
  • PAR 56 300-500 WATT STEEL PAR W. SAFETY SCREEN
  • PAR64 300-1000 WATT STEEL PAR W. SAFETY SCREEN
  • PAR64-AL 300-1000 WATT NATURAL ALUMINUM PAR W. SAFETY SCREEN
  • PAR64-CE 300-1000 WATT CE MARKED STEEL PAR W. SAFETY SCREEN
  • PAR64-AL-BK 300-1000 WATT BLACK ALUMINUM PAR W. SAFETY SCREEN
In conjunction with this End of Life Announcement, we are also discontinuing quite a few Lamp Part Numbers.

EOL announcement has been attached.
 

Attachments

  • EOL ALTMAN PAR 38.56.64.pdf
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"The King is Dead!"
 
"The King is Dead!"
The Cine-Queen is dead.

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The Cine-Queen is dead.

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@ship Possibly you'll know; when Altman announced EOL on their PAR 38's, PAR56's and PAR64's, did they also EOL PAR46's or possibly PAR46's were EOL'd by them already. Can you add anything further to this thread?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Other than that a bueaty of a Colortran fixture I don't have, and have never seen before... in that version Na, nothing. PAR 64 lamps are made in Mexico at this point by one maker I suspect. Many suppliers are able to supply now from them - yet to see if a viable and quality lamp. This will take time to test and see. How the next Terriff to Mexico works out,.... don't know also in effecting beyond harder to get products nation to nation, perhaps paying more in terriff. It's effect on current free trade also?? As for other lamp sizes, good question I do not know about yet.

For the most part.. if you have not started to plan to go LED.. and given China terriff's/trade wars, with added other countries in buying gear terriff's... plan on spending more to go LED, or buy ASAP. Even LED tape which I normally buy has started adding Terriff's to the price and longer lead times. Probably means the science behind such lighting and lighting in general is going to take a pause for a few years. This is what I suspect... R&D wise, I don't suspect much new in waiting out politics for the next year+.
 
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I think PAR46 was incandescent, not halogen, so it probably died already.
 
PAR 46 was quietly dropped a few years ago.

Show of hands, who’s ever even used one? Not me.
 
I think PAR46 was incandescent, not halogen, so it probably died already.
It is incandescent but was not persay dead yet form the official IMPACT standars, more likely perhaps possibly from GE selling off Dow Corning (who made the lenses for many makers), and GE the sold off brand probably no longer making them. Wiko/Eiko I think given a different supplier, if they also made them might still. That said, I have not bought any for a few years and those were probably from stocks. Given the less usage of this lamp - I only think I have seen spares for such a lamp going out once this year so far... current inventories of suppliers of the lamp should be sustainable for this and the PAR 56 for a few years.
 
Back in my store front theater days, I had I think 4x PAR 46 Halo track light wash fixtures which I converted to C-Clamp. Used them like all the time. 9'1" ceiling... small fixture and were just as useful as Inkie's. PAR 46 can is still in the inventory at work - as said, was used at least once this year. Still active inventory, not used much but not sold off or scrapped.

Use of a fixture... I know of local high schools with strip lights less functional than they were 70 years ago when installed. See the brackets on the walls were other lights once were, see Poylurethaned over stage hatches where booms once were. All that's left is what is left of the strip lights, or in one case some 1950's PC fixtures still over the gym - doubted if working. That's in many schools, JHS... I had a full rigged thater space with period say pre-1982 lighting for it. Some of my local theater's have at worst I have seen, just the strip lights... or as one of my assistants showed me last week, they have 6" Fresnels, and Colortran MiniEllipses in use. Depends on where, and in his case... The Fresnels are fine once serviced - Always. Resurface or replace lamp socket and will always in my opinion have a viable use. Such Fresnels being on as it were the Second Electic... You have Fresnels plenty not used that can be. You have a second electric...?

The Colortran MiniEllipse, green lenses, less than optimal lamp, but other than that... changable lens focus if you move the fixtures about in design. Probably not the most efficient fixture for a JHS/Grade school combination where you have a static design mostly. On the other hand, while despising the fixture, back to my store front theater... couldn't afford better back in say 92' and were constantly using between theaters and positions/focal lengths. Other than the green lenses and crappy lamps... will have been an ideal fixture for us.

The PAR 46 fixtures were very useful in the main stage of the theater... still main ceiling of 9'-1" but with an over the stage bump up to 14' Didn't have enough lights or throw to blend and cover all areas... PAR 46 MFL fixtures were very useful to add to a coverage of between what otherwise could be lit.

Spent many years running up my after college credit card for making work a store front theater. Made some magic with what I had or could get, Good education in low budget ligthing. At least we didn't resort to clip lights, other stages did at times. PAR 46 lighting fixture, if part of the inventory of lights I had available in my pallet of brushes to use so as to paint light on a scene... I would certainly respect what that fixture/lamp does and use it to the best I can in making art.... Oh' what... I did in part make art with them.

Museum wise... think the Halo PAR 46, PAR 56 track lights I have not gotten back yet. Know if still existing where both still exist if they still do, and the Colortran MiniEllipse - know where those are at if they also still exist. None in collection. PAR 56 wash mentioned in the past I parked it center in the audience so as to make one actor's attempts to hide from his light go away. Was like a 14' wide room.... when he tried to hide.. could still find him with it's usage. 9'-1" ceiling x 14' wide stage.... park a 300w PAR 56 wide in the audience... where are you going given you are speaking lines to others upstage of you?

Paint brushes, this especially when in a really small room and not money or what you would wish for gear to light with. When "My Kindom for Another Leko" is not going to pan out..., respect and learn what you have available.

Back in that day at the old store front theater.... was trying to figure out who was hot glueing the PAR 38 lamps into our stubby PAR's. Turns out we had a lot of PinSpot cans which someone had converted to PAR 38 by way of plastic lamp sockets. Was not hot melt glue, glueing the lamps to the cans, it was literally the lamp bases themselves melting down and in lamps pointed mostly down, the plastic of the lamp socket/base melting down with gravity and glueing lamp to fixture. That's how bad it was back in the day... that plus the lamp sockets were only attached by one screw to mounting base.... so at some point that screw became loose and un-screw all you wanted... was not coming out until the wire stopped twisting in getting the lamp out at best. This a light of my elders to the theater. Say a half stip less or more, they were "Pro's" in the early 90's for store front theater... above the clip light folks.
 
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Alright, somebody tell me. Should I go let my former high school that there are no more lamps available for their outdated Altman R40 strips or is there another lamp they should be looking at purchasing? Dimming system is a colortran iSeries.
 
PAR 46...perhaps it’s an age thing. :twisted:
 
R-40 strips have always to my lack of knowledge been less preferred (at least mechanically & lamp wise) nothing against the artistic blending I have not viewed as selling factor. The R-40 lamp has basically been discontinued since 1986 IMPACT. So such strip lights... been living on the borrowed time PAR 64 lamps currently live on... since I got out of high school. Yes, while you can do LED R-40 types or LED PAR 38 types "Dimmable", very probable that while you should have enough load on the dimmer... they will not function or last to their lamp life in properly operating.


Colortran has been out of business I think at least 15 years now in no longer producing gear or parts to them.

Sorry that you have to report back so as to now start saving up money, hopefully the school has been been saving to address the lighting and probably the drapes. And your knowledge or points presented that they might qualify for state funding and energy company help with such an upgrade.

But yea, R-40 strips especially if they don't have reflectors are worth scrap metal at this point. Sorry. If they have reflectors, you can get some use out of them if you spend some time and money & probably do a total fixture service call. Save a section or cut apart like a 3' piece and make a section from parts to hang up somewhere if no other gear to museum in your roots after upgrade.
 
The DMX X-Ray were perhaps great, and perhaps could have been upgraded easily for concept... but overall when one low voltage PAR 56 ACL lamp failed in desigin... all lamps had to be replaced. Easy to fix problem.

1) National X-Ray Reflector Company 12" Floodlight / X-Ray Projector c.1911-1916; 1Kw G-40, E-39 Mog. Screw base. Rosette bottom Mount yoke, similar in shape to a 8" Fresnel but longer, missing any means of front lens assembly for such a concept, and with two horizontal gel frame clips mounted to the frame - pre-1930's. Similar to a beam projector but no means of mounting the spill shield. Replaced missing famous rear stationary glass reflector with 8" aluminum. focusable lamp to reflector. From Atheneum Theater. +Four more in ceiling of Chicago Theater.


The Chicago Theater ones are 1928 larger versions , I have seen them. National X-Ray Reflector Company made a completely different fixture than the DHA Light Curtain was attempting to reproduce for main effect. Different, perhaps similar though. If one reseraches "X-Ray light" the magic described in their theater use would also be described as amazing... and cannot believe they went ayway. But the effect of the earlier version did.

Such DHA Light Curtain lights which made magic are a paint brush on a scene. In fair to other sources... I have lots of left over lamps for the PAR 56. Here is what specifically to look for:

PAR 56,VNSP GE #20575 PAR 56, Incd. VNSP 7x10° (HRG) 240w/12v Scr.Term Mol 4.1/2"/2,800°K/140,000C/2,000h DHA Light Curtain

240PAR56/MFL G.E. #20576 PAR 56, Incd. MFL 28x15° (HRG)B.Base 240w/12v Scr.Term MOL 4.1/2"/2,800°K/46,000C/2,000h DHA Light Curtain

A famous tool in design dating from over a hundred years ago, but not used much now, believe most of our DHA Light Curtains went to scrap.
A shame but only so much storage. Might still be in storage, but doubt for long. I know I have not re-wired one - ever, which given 20 years makes it a really good fixture and unusual, or something out of style in use. I would be the person to re-wire it.
 
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My theatre uses R40 wall sconces similar to the ones below for part of the house lighting system. I believe they were designed for up to 300w lamps, but I've been running 65w lamps (which are still readily available) for a few years now. I feel like we need to start seriously thinking about how to properly retrofit these fixtures.

wallmountl_1.jpg
 
My theatre uses R40 wall sconces similar to the ones below for part of the house lighting system. I believe they were designed for up to 300w lamps, but I've been running 65w lamps (which are still readily available) for a few years now. I feel like we need to start seriously thinking about how to properly retrofit these fixtures.

View attachment 18162

Our lobby, black box and banquet room still use 300w BR40s. We haven't found any 120v lamps in a while. A lot of what we've gotten in the last couple years have been "rough service" 130v lamps. Most of them are crap, very dim and terrible lamp life. We have had decent luck with some from Phillips. We know we'll have to do something at some point, but are waiting as long as possible, hoping something reasonable will come along. Dimmable options for that kind of output are pretty slim, and quite expensive when you need to do ~120 of them.
 
Our lobby, black box and banquet room still use 300w BR40s. We haven't found any 120v lamps in a while. A lot of what we've gotten in the last couple years have been "rough service" 130v lamps. Most of them are crap, very dim and terrible lamp life. We have had decent luck with some from Phillips. We know we'll have to do something at some point, but are waiting as long as possible, hoping something reasonable will come along. Dimmable options for that kind of output are pretty slim, and quite expensive when you need to do ~120 of them.

You might have to go to a PAR38 style replacement. We just purchased a bunch of Sylvania LED 250w equivalents. They were not cheap, but are very punchy with a nice color temp. As with all line voltage LED’s the low end dimming is an issues, but we are mostly using these as work lights.

https://www.bulbtronics.com/Search-...420&pid=OS74796++++++++&Source=SearchResults#
 

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