Vintage Lighting Great Old Leko Lights
- Thread startermollyerin
- Start date
MPowers
Well-Known Member
Ummmm, the picture is a Kliegl Instrument, not a LeKo. Unless, as I pointed out in another thread a while back, like a lot of us old timers, you are using the term LeKo to refer to any ERS, like Kleenix or Coke to mean face tissue and carbonated cola drink. Lekolite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Are you looking for any brand vintage units or just specifficly LeKo's?
And Just curious, what is the reasone your are looking??
Are you looking for any brand vintage units or just specifficly LeKo's?
And Just curious, what is the reasone your are looking??
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Usually the "Old Timers" still call them lekos.
If you're looking for old instruments, eBay is your friend. Do a search for "Ellipsoidal" or "Antique Stage Light" on eBay and you should find what you're looking for.
Just a word of caution: If you come across old instruments that have white wires coming out of them, chances are that's asbestos insulation. You really need to take the proper steps in handling and disposing of those wires.
Welcome to CB!
If you're looking for old instruments, eBay is your friend. Do a search for "Ellipsoidal" or "Antique Stage Light" on eBay and you should find what you're looking for.
Just a word of caution: If you come across old instruments that have white wires coming out of them, chances are that's asbestos insulation. You really need to take the proper steps in handling and disposing of those wires.
Welcome to CB!
Fascinating I think 3.5Q lighting fixture. I don't have it, let's start the discussion as to what it is shown as per value in seeing such a thing - a unique fixture. Obviously, a better photo of that sticker on the yoke would tell much in me thinking later Colortran or Kliegl, but most likely Kliegl in later years. Hole patters for venting don't match up with what I have, but the gel frame clips say 70's thru 80's for this style assuming a 3.5" lens.
Agree with the E-Bay, Craigs list an other sources in finding gear of the age. Yea... if 3.5" Leko.. I have a few of them, so does Altman in still selling them new. Specifically this fixture, it is a curiosity to me in not having one with unique hole cuts for venting or that side plate on the yoke that seems familiar but I don't remember other than by Kliegl perhaps. Got lots of the Kliegl 3.5Q but not this one. Colortran was square topped in the 3.5Q size in one example now. The Kliegl #1340 for brand - could be later 70's... New to me in I thought I had all the 3.5Q versions cornered as favorite fixture and I'm yet to have.
Agree with the E-Bay, Craigs list an other sources in finding gear of the age. Yea... if 3.5" Leko.. I have a few of them, so does Altman in still selling them new. Specifically this fixture, it is a curiosity to me in not having one with unique hole cuts for venting or that side plate on the yoke that seems familiar but I don't remember other than by Kliegl perhaps. Got lots of the Kliegl 3.5Q but not this one. Colortran was square topped in the 3.5Q size in one example now. The Kliegl #1340 for brand - could be later 70's... New to me in I thought I had all the 3.5Q versions cornered as favorite fixture and I'm yet to have.
jstandfast
Active Member
MPowers
Well-Known Member
It Kliegl late 60's. When I returned from Nam in April '69, my under grad school had already installed 80 of these in the thrust stage. A two piece reflector, double ended lamp. Piece O C#*#, IMHO. The reflector and back end of the unit hinged open for relamping and the back half of the reflector had a large notch cut out of each side for the lamp so it was only about the size of a 50 cent piece in the center, thin aluminum, almost impossible to re-lamp without bending the reflector. Not one of Kliegl's better designs. The lamp filiment was very fragile and brittle and broke easily if the unit was bumped or josstled.
Brain fart on my part in not recognizing the fixture.
Own three #1340 series, I didn't note in above post that I own three of them or recognize them for what they are. One #1340 of the 1964 gel clip style as with a #1341 the same, And later a #1340 similar to this I attribute to 1971 for age, with the gel frame bracket. Also own the I think fore runner to this - the 3.5Q Colortran version.
As above fixture says... max wattage of 400w, kind of crap for lighting a stage in competing with other fixtures. But if you go back to the Kliegl website, going halogen for a Leko, in this the first verson of any Kliegl Leko, one might expect that it was exciting as per when the S-4 fixture came out. Everything else was filament incandescent lamps in 1964, this was as if LED, new technology. Dual ended halogen lamps were long before single ended HPL or even EHD lamps, but with some balance perhaps later in only a few years on replacement halogen lamps for incandescent radial Leko fixture lamps.
This was state of the art in like 1964- halogen lamp for a lighting fixture. Kliegl was the ETC of the 60's in inventing new stuff during the 90's.
Obsolete now for usage as a Altman 3.5Q5 can take a GHA lamp these days that will compete with a S-4 Junior in similar lamp. Too bad the HPR lamp got discontined as it would out punch it.
Main point of reply - Such Kliegl and even Colortran RSC 2.38" LL lamp length fixtures do even if long linear filament, bench focus well. Such long filament RSC/R-7s fixtures back in the 60's as the first Halogen Lekos are history and did bench focus well. Can lamp them down to 100 Watts with lots in the range, which is much lower than any other stage Leko. Good bench focus, very low wattage that can be useful for any number of gear on a 600w dimmer application. Has applications and very good quality for stuff once brought up to modern standards..
Good fixture, would not write it off as completely obsolete or useless in areas where 375w is still too powerful.
Own three #1340 series, I didn't note in above post that I own three of them or recognize them for what they are. One #1340 of the 1964 gel clip style as with a #1341 the same, And later a #1340 similar to this I attribute to 1971 for age, with the gel frame bracket. Also own the I think fore runner to this - the 3.5Q Colortran version.
As above fixture says... max wattage of 400w, kind of crap for lighting a stage in competing with other fixtures. But if you go back to the Kliegl website, going halogen for a Leko, in this the first verson of any Kliegl Leko, one might expect that it was exciting as per when the S-4 fixture came out. Everything else was filament incandescent lamps in 1964, this was as if LED, new technology. Dual ended halogen lamps were long before single ended HPL or even EHD lamps, but with some balance perhaps later in only a few years on replacement halogen lamps for incandescent radial Leko fixture lamps.
This was state of the art in like 1964- halogen lamp for a lighting fixture. Kliegl was the ETC of the 60's in inventing new stuff during the 90's.
Obsolete now for usage as a Altman 3.5Q5 can take a GHA lamp these days that will compete with a S-4 Junior in similar lamp. Too bad the HPR lamp got discontined as it would out punch it.
Main point of reply - Such Kliegl and even Colortran RSC 2.38" LL lamp length fixtures do even if long linear filament, bench focus well. Such long filament RSC/R-7s fixtures back in the 60's as the first Halogen Lekos are history and did bench focus well. Can lamp them down to 100 Watts with lots in the range, which is much lower than any other stage Leko. Good bench focus, very low wattage that can be useful for any number of gear on a 600w dimmer application. Has applications and very good quality for stuff once brought up to modern standards..
Good fixture, would not write it off as completely obsolete or useless in areas where 375w is still too powerful.
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StNic54
Active Member
I'd say to email any number of universities as well - so many places should still have these sitting around collecting dust. I feel like I may have actually thrown out (under orders) many Kliegl fixtures from the 60s-80s as an undergrad when we had a shipment of Source4's arrive. Also consider older playhouses and auditoriums - there's gotta be some catwalks with these just hanging out.
