PM from
@derekleffew to
@ship :
Don’t tell me these things...tell the thread.
Thanks,
DL
Was busy at work and took some time to reply to Derek in consulting my pre-2000
Altman parts manuals and cross referencing it with my 2004 parts manuals, lamp
socket notes,
Purchase Order System for stuff I bought ,Bulbtronics website (not very organized but have most lamp sockets currently on the market presented somewhat), Buhl, Osram and other lamp
socket catalogues - which even if now elderly might find another supplier in if still made. Than checking my inventory on this part. But had to get back to work in not posting from work anyway as a rule.... bla bla bla.
But wait that’s not all.... more shopping for Daughter & Wife’s B-Day party tomorrow, and more fabrication up until the glue up was weighted and clamped done.. Until glue is done drying on our under bed storage drawer
unit. Busy! But glad Derek contacted me on this and always, this specifically is something I know about.
After checking both work and home, I have one un-broken S-12 lamp
socket left. It’s contacts are in about as good of shape as your’s. Even a Dremmel Tool with a silicone abrasive fiber
bit won’t
restore such a lamp
socket. Will get into options below.
FEY lamp is probably a really good upgrade to the
followspot. I have some Kliegl #1340
Leko’s over my home work table with the same style of
RSC (R-7s) type lamps in a much smaller 3.5Q5
lens fixture, and indeed a
Colortran version of this - both in the museum and home perfectly
bench focus about as good as at least a
Altman 360Q. I don’t know why the perpendicular to beam long filaments work out, but they do. Lots of examples in the mid-1960's of these early
RSC lamps in
halogen or "Quartz" upgrade from
halogen kits. I have lots of Fresnels which have them
halogen upgrades and other gear. This might not have been a home built upgrade, it might have been a commercial upgrade thing. Or something someone at the theater adapted for another
fixture which seemingly was on the
level of those I learned from in skill
level. If you get a
flat field without a hard ring you cannot at least slightly soften, if you can
Iris... what ever you are using seemingly is a
followspot. There are certain further optical things from beam one would want, but I doubt important. It's a
followspot.
Brass tacks. I’m experienced with this S-12 lamp
socket. It is the same lamp
socket used on the
Altman Quartz
Scoop #161. (Never noticed the Osram S-12 designation before.) The long
porcelain fins on the lamp
socket used to break a lot in lamp changes. I knew of them as the
Altman #58-0025 lamp
socket. Interesting that even if Osram rated the lamp
socket for 2Kw,
Altman only did them as a 1Kw lamp with warranty replacements either for broken fins or burn’t out contacts, complaints by customers, or the lamp
socket was discontinued by Osram in forwarding up the complaint. Exact history is not known.
Altman upgraded to the more standard (less fragile) 58-0080 (S-2)
lampholder as part of the upgraded 71-1056 assembly. Or I have a note in the 2004 parts cataloge to use #97-0230 as a replacement. This is the complete upgrade kit for the
scoop.
Basically they stuck the S-2 sockets at the end of a longer steel
yoke in this case
platform assembly. Given the
scoop fixture upgrade was made for a different lamp,
Altman above and discontinued parts are only historic or use to those with such scoops in noting. This lamp
socket is no longer available and this is how
Altman at least solved the problem for their 16" Quartz
scoop in using the same lamp
base but a different/longer lamp.
Richard would have to make his own
yoke assy out of 1/8x3/4" steel to mount a FEY lamp on it given a 2.3/8 " LL instead of 4.11/16" LL lamp designed for the
Altman upgrade. Somewhat easy to
bend if one is experienced in metal fabrication. I have my good and bad days in bending such plates for instance but it is fairly simple to do.
The S2 is rated for 1.5Kw. Assuming forced cooling with the
fixture, might work out ok with a 2K lamp in it..
The other thing, I measured a S-2 and a S-12 distance between that pinned contact and were the screw to mount it was. It’s within say a 1/16" out in being shorter that distance. So assuming you safely chip out the cement from the
porcelain lamp assembly in getting at the removal screws of the lamp
socket’s contacts... You should be able to replace the contacts of a S-12 with a S-2 safely. Might even add one of the new S-2 (now extra) leaf springs to this replacement in adding to tension of a badly designed lamp
socket concept. By the way... I have done this concept in the past safely for touring but given 1Kw scoops.
There is a
porcelain cement you will have to carefully chip out of the hole from it’s
nut so as to remove the spring leaf/contact assembly. This cement is not cheap, but is fun to work with if you have budget and work fast to do properly in replacing. Kind of like plaster but quicker in drying but in drying
porcelain... much harder to remove extra material from - something I do. I do not know if proper to just leave the holes open - think it fine, or better to just at least wrap such an open hole with high temp. fiberglass electrical tape. And or can you safely do this repair and still apply within your theater, local code or insurance labially clauses.
Yes, I think it possible to somewhat easily replace the lamp sockets from a S-12 with those from a S-2. Beleve back like 2003 or 2004 I was actively doing this. This is a very viable
followspot I think given its lamp type in being upgraded. Lamp sockets suck but the lamp is decent enough to be worthwhile. Good and interesting idea for upgrading an obsolete
fixture. As to what
reflector is used... Given the fairly short filiament of the FEY lamp... I doubt you will notice that the
filament is 90 degrees from design. Brilliant concept back in the day.
I think you're correct. It has been at least a decade, but the last time I ran this experiment, I stuck a
360Q pineapple housing behind the optical train from an old Little
followspot. Same basic design with the 4.5" "conza" stepped
lens. In order to get good results, that stepped
lens needed to be removed. I remember it getting pretty decent at that
point, but I never went any further with the experiment.
The only time I have seen this setup was with a
mogul prefocus lamp/
socket combo. This is just a bizarre beast.
