Love inventing lighting fixtures for a living. Even if Wifie wins her millions some day in Lotto, I would still have to work but perhaps work a bit less. “Always working - our career and major funding dear..”
This week its on two special projects while my guys work on fixing or making cable for shows going out the door for immediate needs. Need to replace fired guy but all departments are understaffed at the moment. Its touring season again I guess...
One project the fluorescent lamps inside 2.1/2" x72" white acrylic tubing given KinoFlo 55K color temperature 72" fluorescent T-12 lamps has me making from scratch what parts I need since Encapsulite stopped both making T-12 fixtures and selling all parts in general. Come on now... Just need seven more cords, certainly cords in white could be bought. They don’t like selling parts -real battles in the past this in part I think in figuring out that I’m making my own fixtures by way of them for parts. Sorry. Totally from scratch on this project and the only hangup so far is in finding 1/4" O.D. white 18/4 SJT wire to feed the lamps from the remote ballasts - one wouldn’t think it difficult but it is, and finding my own panel mount G-13 bases that should work but I’m waiting on getting them in perhaps otherwise punting for figuring out how to manufacturer the fixtures. The original lamp base type I made the prototype from was discontinued.
18x fixtures to make by the end of the month and acrylic tubing even with the proper drill bits is not easy to work with as added bonus or challenge. 2.5" O.D. Acrylic tubing to be specific with an 1/8" wall. Bought some 2.1/4" nylon tubing for the end caps and base mounting and one would think it would fit... nope. White Nylon easier to work with especially if I didn’t have to hole saw out each cut as per the prototypes - LED and fluorescent. Not going to be easy. Two and a half days so far alone on wiring up ballasts not budgeted for in that not as easy as thought. Encapsulite not available for parts any longer also means having to end user market in getting what they were buying and adapting their third style of outlet back to the second and closing up the holes where needed for the first style of plug for their power supplies. This beyond replacing all wire nuts they use with push wire nuts that won’t unscrew and making two circuit ballasts into single circuit by way of jumpers. A lot of work given my last four fixtures got painted black and I needed them white which cost time in sand blasting and re-painting two coats of white. 18x of them to build by the end of the month and waiting on parts to figure out how to make some very key parts for it. Easy to accomplish in time assuming my guys get freed up at some point to help me but I’m not expecting it thus mostly at this point in being down one guy a me thing. Oh’ and by the way, the General Manager likes this concept, both for the flourescent and the LED swirling concept and is bidding on me making 100x of these fixtures in one or the other. Please God no more LED belt lights - real pain in the rear over even making my own stick light. Past few months experience with LED belt lights.
Onto the next project while waiting for parts. Someone slamming down a foot ball on top of a podium. Got a few months for this one before football season again. Needs a lot of individual chasing lights and a uplight on a movable platform with podium atop it. Around 80 PAR 30 lamps and a 1.2Kw PAR 64 up light lamp for the podium. Really would like a HMI PAR 64 but its discontinued and I don’t want to deal with the electronics package that would come with it. 1.2Kw PAR 64 GFA lamp, perfect given the beam angle. Discontinued.... come on work with me in almost a week of trying to find some supplier for Dura Lamp 100w PAR 30 spot lamps in them being the best lamp of that size on the market. Finally found a supplier tonight... delisted. Come on now, still on the website... I need this lamp. While I can go with the ChromaLux 75w color correcting for 4,2K color temperature in fooling the eye for pop, I was more hoping for more output. Work with me... At this point if discontinued I’m either going to re-design for relay switches on the chasing lamps instead of dimmers and doing a Jarig PAR 30 lamp from Osram/Salvinia at 230v in HighBrite lamps in feeding it 208v with amber shift and some sort of 208v DMX switching panel or the 120v ChromaLux. Choice of real power verses fool the eye color temperature.
This all given a choice on my part for doing a WFL Thorn 1.2Kw uplight lamps HX-156 years old that I have but the wrong beam angle I wanted GFA but told discontinued verses just stock 1Kw FFR lamps for the uplight given the beam angle. Can’t win on this project.
This meanwhile I’m working with the designer on say making the front logal front or rear lit if not even UV in helping it pop. Limited by the lamps available at this point in making this thing pop. Can’t win today perhaps tomorrow I’ll get some parts and better options I like for the other. Waiting on parts of course also for the current project. Wouldn’t pass such problems up for a minute, that’s my design life as it were if only designing custom lighting fixtures for a living.
This week its on two special projects while my guys work on fixing or making cable for shows going out the door for immediate needs. Need to replace fired guy but all departments are understaffed at the moment. Its touring season again I guess...
One project the fluorescent lamps inside 2.1/2" x72" white acrylic tubing given KinoFlo 55K color temperature 72" fluorescent T-12 lamps has me making from scratch what parts I need since Encapsulite stopped both making T-12 fixtures and selling all parts in general. Come on now... Just need seven more cords, certainly cords in white could be bought. They don’t like selling parts -real battles in the past this in part I think in figuring out that I’m making my own fixtures by way of them for parts. Sorry. Totally from scratch on this project and the only hangup so far is in finding 1/4" O.D. white 18/4 SJT wire to feed the lamps from the remote ballasts - one wouldn’t think it difficult but it is, and finding my own panel mount G-13 bases that should work but I’m waiting on getting them in perhaps otherwise punting for figuring out how to manufacturer the fixtures. The original lamp base type I made the prototype from was discontinued.
18x fixtures to make by the end of the month and acrylic tubing even with the proper drill bits is not easy to work with as added bonus or challenge. 2.5" O.D. Acrylic tubing to be specific with an 1/8" wall. Bought some 2.1/4" nylon tubing for the end caps and base mounting and one would think it would fit... nope. White Nylon easier to work with especially if I didn’t have to hole saw out each cut as per the prototypes - LED and fluorescent. Not going to be easy. Two and a half days so far alone on wiring up ballasts not budgeted for in that not as easy as thought. Encapsulite not available for parts any longer also means having to end user market in getting what they were buying and adapting their third style of outlet back to the second and closing up the holes where needed for the first style of plug for their power supplies. This beyond replacing all wire nuts they use with push wire nuts that won’t unscrew and making two circuit ballasts into single circuit by way of jumpers. A lot of work given my last four fixtures got painted black and I needed them white which cost time in sand blasting and re-painting two coats of white. 18x of them to build by the end of the month and waiting on parts to figure out how to make some very key parts for it. Easy to accomplish in time assuming my guys get freed up at some point to help me but I’m not expecting it thus mostly at this point in being down one guy a me thing. Oh’ and by the way, the General Manager likes this concept, both for the flourescent and the LED swirling concept and is bidding on me making 100x of these fixtures in one or the other. Please God no more LED belt lights - real pain in the rear over even making my own stick light. Past few months experience with LED belt lights.
Onto the next project while waiting for parts. Someone slamming down a foot ball on top of a podium. Got a few months for this one before football season again. Needs a lot of individual chasing lights and a uplight on a movable platform with podium atop it. Around 80 PAR 30 lamps and a 1.2Kw PAR 64 up light lamp for the podium. Really would like a HMI PAR 64 but its discontinued and I don’t want to deal with the electronics package that would come with it. 1.2Kw PAR 64 GFA lamp, perfect given the beam angle. Discontinued.... come on work with me in almost a week of trying to find some supplier for Dura Lamp 100w PAR 30 spot lamps in them being the best lamp of that size on the market. Finally found a supplier tonight... delisted. Come on now, still on the website... I need this lamp. While I can go with the ChromaLux 75w color correcting for 4,2K color temperature in fooling the eye for pop, I was more hoping for more output. Work with me... At this point if discontinued I’m either going to re-design for relay switches on the chasing lamps instead of dimmers and doing a Jarig PAR 30 lamp from Osram/Salvinia at 230v in HighBrite lamps in feeding it 208v with amber shift and some sort of 208v DMX switching panel or the 120v ChromaLux. Choice of real power verses fool the eye color temperature.
This all given a choice on my part for doing a WFL Thorn 1.2Kw uplight lamps HX-156 years old that I have but the wrong beam angle I wanted GFA but told discontinued verses just stock 1Kw FFR lamps for the uplight given the beam angle. Can’t win on this project.
This meanwhile I’m working with the designer on say making the front logal front or rear lit if not even UV in helping it pop. Limited by the lamps available at this point in making this thing pop. Can’t win today perhaps tomorrow I’ll get some parts and better options I like for the other. Waiting on parts of course also for the current project. Wouldn’t pass such problems up for a minute, that’s my design life as it were if only designing custom lighting fixtures for a living.
