Vintage Lighting Fixture Identification: Borderstrip

KacyC

Member
Hello there. I'm a lurker, first time posting...

I'm working on a renovation for a facility with some older equipment, largely from now-defunct manufacturers. I thought I might share these images to see if anyone could identify the fixtures. These were likely installed in 1974.

border1.JPG

border2.JPG

It is a 7-lamp, 4-circuit strip. There are five fixtures in total, on dimmers rated 4500-5500W. Breakers for these circuits are labeled "Blue, green, red, white". Presumably had roundels at some point.
Anyone have a guess? Why 7 lamps?
My guess is that the fixture is 5' long, but other guesses for the fixture size are welcome.


And, for more fun, an ellipsoidal:
ers1.JPG
 
I wonder if those strip lights could have been manufactured by HUB Electric. I have three small Hub strips and they're also in odd sizes (one 3' and two 4.5'), and they are designed a lot like this. Obviously, there are very few differences between strip lights across manufacturers so I know that's not saying much. The units I have do have a sensible number of lamps though -- 6 in the 3' and 9 in the 4.5' which makes good sense for 3-circuit operation. 4 channels in to 7 lamps is ...well, very odd.

I keep meaning to turn my old Hub strips in to portable foot lights. They're sturdy and small enough to haul around in a small-to-medium-sized car.
 
The ERS is definitely Major Equipment Company. Search CB for "EXAL" or "EX AL" (will return this thread/post: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...20-id-old-fixtures-major-leco.html#post191819 ). If you're disposing of them, ETC may want the ellipsoidal for the fixture collection they were putting together before USITT. If Lafalot doesn't see or respond to this post, perhaps PM her. I believe ship (our preeminent ancient fixture collector) already has one. It's worth more as a museum piece than as a stage luminaire, that's for sure.

The borderlight sections are likely Major as well, as are the "channel strip" raceway s (a copy of the Electro Controls version? : http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...-controls-channel-mount-connector-strips.html ).

KacyC, we'd love to see pictures of the dimmer rack and/or original control console, if still existing.
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Photos of the strip light not useful and not something I collect - just work on at times. On odd number agree with above but also remember saturation levels and or output from a roundell. Might say want another lamp in lighting a scene out of the red or blue.

Leko is interesting... Looking at a second one in my collection currently hanging in the garage. Same fixure for the most part except my yoke has a 1.5" rounded off corner and especially important is that the radial pat of it is much different than anything I have seen before even seems longer. Lamp cap/socket assembly is missing from the photo in telling more. Know Grand Stage Lighting designed and made the fixture type from say the early 60's thru the say mid thru late 60's, Major and Hub after that owned the design in buying it out. Curious about my fixtures now in if it is a Hub etc. or Grand Stage fixture. Know I don't have this version of a Leko but would need to see the complete unit to say more. Could be any of the three brands and possibly the origional Grand Stage Lighting version which given your thought to be Texas location, probably not something from a local distribution Chicago company. Still, very curious Leko - almost as if an Altman #366 lamp cap were in some way made to fit on the say Hub fixture.

Very interesting, something I have not seen before but fairly well known for style of fixture and never seen it with the radial snout before in style even on E-Bay.

P.S., the one at home was converted to ANSI type ENH 250w/120v MR-16 lamp, with incredible output. This given I had to fabricate the lamp base and remove the reflector because the homeowner grade track light fixture housing the lamp melted down as with the radial Leko reflector around it. Was an experiment and works but not recommended for anyone to try again.
 
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Thanks for the replies.

For the ellipsoidal, Major makes a lot of sense, and is what we suspected it may be. I'm interested that Ship says it doesn't quite match what he's seen before.

The dimming system is by Major.
dimmer.jpg

Here other views of the ellipsoidals. Unfortunately, most of my pictures are from the top looking down.
ers3.JPG
ers2.JPG

I work across the country, but this particular product was delivered to Texas.
 
That has to be one of the 'newest' Major installs that I've seen!

As for that aluminum EC channel strip, I've only ever had the unfortunate pleasure of working with it and those **** nuts in one high school, but I've seen it part of many other spaces that (wisely) chose to make it just the distribution part of a regular electrics batten.

To go even further off topic, have we ever unraveled the relationship between Electro Controls and Lighting and Electrics? I have caps from L&E's 6" ellipsoidal line that have both "EC" and "le" on the back of them, and looking in the old EC catalogues, there are indeed similar fixtures.
 
Again could be just that I have as I think the pre-Major Lekos from LECO given the knobs on mine are stamped LECO and it turned out to be a brand before Major owning the Leco design. This as opposed to some Fresnels both from LECO and Grand Stage Lighting - the origionator of the fluted Leko/Fresnel design.

Perhaps Major simplified the lamp cap some in changing it, but it still seems like an Altman #366 cap attached to it in the first photo more than the later lesser in quality photos I cannot tell much from. Why anyone would replace this part, would also be without rational in a part not normally replaced as a part of the fixture. If all fixtures have the same snout as it were; while not the same I think as mine or others I have seen on the net as the same, I would assume factory. And given the above info "newest install" seen, perhaps this is the last generation of something different on their Leko.

Attached is some photos to compare and contrast on - granted they are pre-me working on, but should show what I'm thinking on different lamp cap.

Further looking at the fixture... what size are the lenses? Could this be an 8" version I don't think anyone has seen before? Would explain why I was thinking #366 for radial snout in a proportional way. If the case it goes against the tale of the Grand Stage Fluted 6" Leko/Fresnel my past TD related to me years ago - concept he related was about a tour of the factory/basement where the materials body wise Fresnel (that I have some of specifically from Grand), and for the Leko were using the same parts.

If an 8" version, perhaps if your knobs say LECO on them that they did it, or that in Major buying them out did it and also bought extra parts. Major isn't much known for innovation on pattn designs they buy out.

Fascinating for me as a subject, thanks.
 

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... To go even further off topic, have we ever unraveled the relationship between Electro Controls and Lighting and Electrics? I have caps from L&E's 6" ellipsoidal line that have both "EC" and "le" on the back of them, and looking in the old EC catalogues, there are indeed similar fixtures.
Are you sure the lamp cap says "le" and not "lc"? Electro Controls was known as Lighting Controls in Canada. Post pictures. As far as I know, Lighting & Electronics never had a relationship with any other manufacturer. If someone really wants a definitive answer, I'm sure he/she could call John (or Jimmy?) Fedigan. I suspect the parts just happened to be "accidentally" interchangeable, like many of L&E's parts are with Altman.

... Could this be an 8" version I don't think anyone has seen before? ...
I've seen a 10" or 12" version of the Major "EX AL" ERS. The Aladdin Theatre for Performing Arts, a 7000-seat venue, opened in 1976, had about thirty of them on the balcony rail prior to renovation in 1999. Huge, honkin', heavy mofo s, luckily they never moved. Step lens and 2kW lamp, IIRC. I tried to get one during the renovation, but they'd already been dumpstered.
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The cap I have
photocap.JPG
Snippet from the EC Archive
d01 (34).jpg
L&E AQ61xx Ellipsoidal
LE-leko.jpg
 
I bring up this past link http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/16892-identify-lighting-instrument-leco.html just to be sure as I did in my origional research about LECO, that L&E has nothing to do with LECO.

Thanks Derek for the info on that there was larger sizes of this fluted design. Kind of cross concept for what Clyde told me about this being fluited and sized for a 6" Fresnel or 6" Leko in body was per the design, but interesting to know that there became larger versions and possibly my Altman 366 lamp cap observation might have been something used on a larger fixture. KacyC, any measuring of the lens size to help here in verifying that your fixtures are the much lesser known to exist versions (even if thoroughly obsolete?)
 

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