I learned some stuff tonight myself, thus is why I come around this website in addition to paying back those who taught me, - never know where a Kernel of knowledge will come from. In my case, a few kernels of knowledge on this and the how to remove
lamp dip question - though I would just toss them out. (See far below about further comments about my gratitude in thinking about another lamp type tonight.)
I remember probably a few years ago and before the
Controlbooth upgrade a discussion about clip lights back when and a
NEC compliance concept on low
voltage lamps discussed. Wonder if it still exists. None the less the TMB concept or some low
voltage lighting I think as memory of the discussion goes would be compliant with code. This could be various
LED systems or low
voltage lighting on a
power supply such as the
power supplies for
wire rope based low
voltage steel
wire rope carrier wire systems. High amperage transformers on them - sufficient to supply other purposes and more economical than other high amperage transformers.
So you finished the Fuch’s
book? I’m still one and a half chapters plus some appendixes short of finishing it and have a huge backlog after that to read. Much less other types of books on the currently reading or TBA stack of other types not so non-fiction.
Ceramic coated is the exterior frosted lamps most commonly available
thru sources like Halco, decent lamps - they don’t chip easily and are better than dipped lamps in my opinion especially in this way. Bulbrite 40w lamps not lasting too long is an interesting observation as I believe that is what I’m currently buying, I’ll have to inquire with the
Leko Dpt. Manager if she has noted more than average amounts of missing or bad lamps from her
clip light boxes of late - same brand I’m using of late. I don’t remember buying more of them than normal but than again I buy in bulk thus don’t really note such things beyond it being a busy touring season and buying more of everything much unless brought to my attention. Could be, Halco was the brand I bought before that and they seemed to last fine, otherwise there is lots of other brands of inside
frost I think
thru the premium brands and or other little companies that make colored lamps.
Off the shelf trans blue lamps I would avoid if I could help it. I
stock a certain amount of each wattage for
stringer light applications but after that never use them and it’s been years since any have been requested. Always amazed at how many of these trans blue lamps, black light lamps and in general A-Lamps get bought by the shows on the jobsite and come back in their boxes brand new. What did they loose their
clip light lamp box and
send out a runner or something? Constantly getting lamps even still in their shopping bag from shows - so many lamps that I have started an end of year Christmas “Crazy Brian’s everything must go” give away to employees. Yep, everything useless or that I don’t want to have to inventory such as the endless boxes of A-Lamps and
gaff tape of off brands I acquire get given away.
Still just as a frosted
RSC lamp in a
cyc light would be preferable to a
clear lamp, a frosted
clip light lamp would be preferable to a transparent colored lamp - this especially if you put one behind the
cyc in a rear of
stage cross over where that
filament/center of light and brightness would shine
thru no matter where you pointed the lamp.
Just go to McMaster Carr and search into
bulb cover or near their lamp section. For the
LED colored lamps, price was decent in theory but not quite enough for me to
switch yet given the wattage I use these
LED lamps didn’t seem to have enough output to match. On the other
hand for
stringer lamps, especially
stringer lamps that don’t have to be removed between shows, that is what I am holding out for at the moment. Next time a show wants a bunch of construction
stringer lamps strung overhead that’s the recommendation they will get - this given I have literally hundreds of other A-Lamps, even
safety coated lamps in
stock for this purpose. For clip lights, given the wattages I use, not bright enough, for
stage on the other
hand it is possible they would be bright enough. I’ll try to get some part numbers after work tomorrow.
Back to what I’m working on as opposed to
clip light lamps at the moment.
This much less after spending much of the night inspecting moving light lamps (gee only like 1,500 more to inspect before I am caught up) it is relaxing to learn and discuss easier things. This lamp exploded possibly due to an inner
pinch seal crack - this due possibly to the monofoil blackening and blueing near the
globe. Than of course it could have been the
lamp globe that exploded given the lamp came back only as shattered glass with only parts of the pinch and lamp bases left... Yep, like five minutes per lamp in computer
tracking each one, figuring out if it is suitable to try again, trash or
return, than assigning the replacement lamp to the
fixture. This while all taking extended notes on the condition of the lamps - lamp hours, full inspection
etc. some of which goes back to the vendors or
fixture suppliers by way of study over problems I’m seeing so they can work on such things noted with the next upgrade.... yep, calculate 40 lamps per night on average, like 1,500 more to inspect (I got behind plus a few tours re-lamped all their fixtures recently at over a hundred lamps per tour), should take me like 39.75 more nights to get
thru them in staying a few hours late four nights a week. Or gee, why don’t you like our newest favorite brand of lamp we specify for our fixtures... Let me provide you with three primary reasons and back it up with a comparison of a few hundred lamps of the two primary brands I have tracked in their demise as to why I dislike and don’t accept this brand you specify... Such stuff causes a big cog in the
system with the manufacturer when I reject the lamps they ship with the fixtures.
Etc etc.
etc. Yep,
incandescent lamps... much easier to deal with. Gee was the elephantitus (ditrification) of the
lamp globe caused by a defect or dirt... Someone says the lamp counter says 1,200 up to 3,200 hours for lamp life, is that a fact or did someone forget to reset the lamp counter? Gotta study each lamp for little pinch cracks, pinch bleeds, pinch bubbles, electrode abnormalities, on axis twists, off axis tilts or bends and a multitude of other things. This all not including computer
tracking of the lamps that takes for granted each person that installs the replacement lamp has filled out all questions about the lamp accurately and honestly, and this matches up to what the last person said about the lamp or
fixture. If not it is often a
bug hunt - especially when the computer looses a lamp or lamps in general assigned to fixtures when new I don’t get the list for what went into them, or what on paper is in them is really in them, or people in the field don’t do swaps between fixtures or lamps in general don’t just become lost. But I digress...
incandescent lamps... sweat, was good to study more into them tonight, thanks.