Kliegl DynaBeam Fixture

ship

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Premium Member
Got an old Kliegl DynaBeam from my high school some years ago. Been in storage where I work most of those years. Before that, lobby sculpture at my old theater with a dream of popping it up on the roof and plugging it in as a search light. Something about a) lifting it up there, b) plugging it in, c) getting a permit to do so stood in the way - wiring of the fixture was not an issue yet.

Finally one of the owners where I work was walking about the storage building and for some reason my spot was un-burried from amongst the stuff. Asked if he would be willing to put this fixture in the front lobby as sculputre - it is a lighting company afterall. Seems he had already seen it and was wondering who owned this fixture... Yes to the lobby sculpture. This thing is cool.

Not busy in my department at the moment so I wheeled it across the parking lot and into my work area for a clean up.

Eight hours later, head to toe cleaned, a few minor repairs and oiled. Only major changes was to the wiring. New fixture cord for grounding & de-asbestosing and replacing with 250c Teflon coated fiberglass instead. One other improvement to it, darned reflector had like 1.1/2" of clearance between it and the frame, had to remove the nuts holding it on by hand in this small space. Once the reflector was removed - nice convient panel in the frame that comes out easily to do so, the first thing I did was to install some rivet nuts in these locations to mount the reflector without needing to get a wrench in that tight space again.

In cleaning an older fixture that has a textured flat black paint finish to it, one will find that an innitial general pourpose cleaner no matter how many you do won't remove the dirt. IN some way the old paint is dry and retains moisture thus dirt. Need to moisten the paint as it were for it to release the dirt. I use Tri-Flo Lubricant for this. Rated at a good temperature as a type of oil so it's not going to start smoking that much - will some, and performs under heat well. So first I use a general pourpose cleaner such as Formula 409', than go to the oil, than another cleaning with the 409' to get the dirt off my surface. As seen in the photos' like new inspite of being really dirty initially.

Lenses were taken home and put in the dish washer with a fresh coating of jet dry. The step lens didn't have a problem with the cleaning inspite of it's painted inside edges.

Lamp didn't have a brand name on it but it did list the date of 4/1/68 written inside the lamp at the base. Curious place to write it - hard place to write it yet there it was seemingly. They don't make this lamp any longer, this one meters out. Note in the photos the wire screen collector gird below the filament. Also if possible how the axis of the lamp filament lays perpendicular to how any radial Leko lamp sits in filament orientation. Normally the square filament sits roughly perpendicular to the line of axis in the fixture. This one sits parallel to it with the littlest amount of the filament directly visible to the lens/gate. Instead, most of it is only reflected.

Lamp base was interesting - lamp was blackening as if used a bit but still in great condition, in fact better than great condition given no arching or pitting on the lamp base assembly or it's pins. Lamp base was something similar to what's used in Mole Richardson 10Kw Fresnels, only this Kliegl design was using some asbestos heat sinks no longer in use in a differing design. The compressed asbestos heat sinks I'm not so worried about the fibers of, more that the very flakey wire and it's sleeving had to be replaced. On the lamp base, it was kind of amazing how little even heat damage this thing had other than on a metal strap. This given the 63' signature but a clearly used 1968 lamp in the fixture. Lamp base was in perfect condition - not new but only slight oxidation, no burning. Other than oiling the rust away, no work needed to be done to lamp base, and only a general cleaning to the lamp itself.

Fixture didn't have a date, just a serial number. On the other hand some high school early user of it did take pencil and sign his name and '63 on the rear portion of it. Seemingly the gel was Roscoline that was left in it, only seemingly thicker. Still in good condition however, not brittle and worked without melting in the later testing of the fixture.

Boxed the fixture back up, replaced a few missing screws, straightened out the wide flood flipper lens assembly & oiled everything... done.

Wasn't going to test the fixture, but given I was working on my follow spot during company time for like eight hours over a two day period, most people in the shop had become curious about it. With peer pressure I relented in lighting the sucker up finally. This worried about if a rare to find and very discontinued almost 40 year old used lamp would become worth almost zero dollars instanstly or if it was going to be spectacular. This much less in the squarrel fan if it would work or given cracking insulation over very cooked wiring I simply sleeved with silicone coated fiberglass, if it would work, short or something similar. Wiring to the fan is how old? Much less the motor on the fan not having anything done to it or worked at very least in the last 30 years??? Yep big risk.

So I made an adaptor for plugging it in and did so. On it switched, good switch very smooth and more even than that of a 5Kw Strand Bambino switch but similar in type, lamp came on & didn't explode. Quickly turned it off. Didn't hear the cooling fan & I don't want an overheat. Looked at the fan as it powered down and there it was spinning away. Amazing, this fan that's 40+ years old & has never been serviced or been working for at least the last 30 years was now working silently as good as new. I mean silently in being quieter than any other follow spot fan I have ever heard.

So turned it back on and tested all of it's features - even shined it into the design room for that part of the audience.

Shown is the results of what at about 50' this beam did. General concencious amongst a bunch of people including all those who prep our follow spots was this beam was about as bright as a Lycian 1272 with a 1.2Kw arc lamp instead of a incandescent and not even halogen 3Kw lamp - a used one at that. Same base color temperature and definately the luminous output. Granted no other follow spots were turned on but it was definately bright and intense. Everyone in the croud was impressed with this antique. Excellent fixture, if I could get a halogen equivolent, this fixture could still be used on stage without a problem. INstead it's now lobby sculpture where I work.

Lobby sculpture with the most amazing flip out wide angle lens I have ever seen & an amazing iris plate that saves the iris from burning while closed.

Below are the specs to the lamp and fixture.

Follow Spot: Kliegl Bros.#1179 w. Boomerang; Mog B.P., Mol: 11.3/8", L.C.L: 7.1/2", C-13D. Incd. 3,000W.
12" Lens; Lamp: 3M/T32/2, G.E. #22860; L5-30 Plug. 8,100 Lum. (5+2 Gel Frames)
3.5̊ Beam, 11.5̊ Field Angle. M.F.= 0.06 (100' Range: Spot - 6'Dia./90fc., Flood - 20'Dia./50fc.)

Lamp:
3M/T32/2 G.E. #22860 (disc.) 2/CL, Incd. (HRG) Low Noise 3 Kw T-32 c-13D LCL 7.1/2" Mog. Pf Base Up ±30̊, Collector Grid 3,150̊K 81,000 Lum 100 hrs lamp life
 

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Wow, I'm totally resurrecting a really old thread with no replies, but we have one of these up in our balcony that just sits there, do they still MAKE lamps that could potentially be useful in these? I'd love to get ours going, as we only have one working spotlight.

Would it be an extremly dangerous idea to try to get it going again?
 
wow, its amazing how good of shape it was still in.

Congrats on getting it to work.
 
...do they still MAKE lamps that could potentially be useful in these?...
ship stated in the post that the mogul prefocus [which, from the pictures, is actually mogul bipost] 3000W T32 incandescent lamp is no longer manufactured. It MAY be possible to retrofit a lamp such as the T/H 2000W CYX, very often used in 2K Fresnels.

...Would it be an extremely dangerous idea to try to get it going again?
At a minimum, the asbestos wiring should be removed and replaced by a professional, and the rest of the wiring inspected for age deterioration.

The optics however, cannot compare to a "modern" followspot such as the Altman Comet (not my favorite fixture, but probably acceptable for your needs, and purchasing a used one would be a better use of your limited funds).
 
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Yep, I did replace all wiring other than to the fan which while kind of sketchy was still for the most part ok sufficiently that it worked and I was impressed that the fan itself worked after this many years.

On lamps, the CYX or maby DPY could be done as a concept but as said, I do such fixtures as part of my living and the wiring can be dangerous as a health risk. Don't attempt to rewire such a thing on your own in this case beyond Leko rewiring mentioned in the past because it's a bit more involved and larger in size.

Still, it was a great project and every time I go to the front office I see my fixture standing out above anything else there. Cool project. Just gotta see the various arms and gears working in functioning and it's something that just works but is so simple in concept that you can learn lots from it.

Next up for me in carrot on a stick is some Reich & Vogul scene machines with all accessories that I got out of NIU by way of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This in addition to my Century #1560's that were just found in a storage trailer packed years ago and returned to me. Two 2KW in theory 8x9 fixtures that are more like 8x16 but great cannons of lights which I re-wired a few years ago and now in getting back sit atop my moving light lamp overstock cabinet as a sort of gateway to my department. Once I get the museum rolling, they should balance the MoleLipsos of similar size and beam plus lamp well in look except these are radial and the Mole Lekos are radial.

Quite the museum I'm building.
 
Bringing back a blast from the past!

So, we are mounting Sunset Boulevard next and the set designer just dug one of these fixtures out of some storage facility. In any event, I have been charged with making it work, and I am planning to get to it when I get in to work on Friday. I have no idea what kind of condition it is in, but Ship (or anyone) if you have any suggestions, let me know. i will try to post some photos as I work on it.
 
Well if it's what the Scenic and Lighting designers want, I guess you have no choice but to make it work. However, I would be happier and I think truer to the script to use a 16" beam projector, 12"-20" fresnel, or even a SkyPan. Doesn't make sense to me that a movie studio in the 1930s would have a followspot mounted above the sound stage on a scaffold for Hog Eye to use for "Miss Desmond, Let's get a look at you!"

Don't make the beam too sharp, flat, or even. If the fixture has its reflector, I'd probably refit a 1K CYV or 2K CYX as a source. Or BVT or BVW if you prefer the mogul prefocus socket over the mogul bipost.

ship stated in the post that the mogul prefocus [which, from the pictures, is actually mogul bipost] 3000W T32 incandescent lamp is no longer manufactured. It MAY be possible to retrofit a lamp such as the T/H 2000W CYX, very often used in 2K Fresnels. ...
The CYX with an LCL of 5" looks to be a direct T/H replacement for the 2000W T30 EER lamp. I can't find specs on ship's 3000W T32 lamp. The next similar lamp is the 5K DPY, with an LCL of 6.5".

If in fact the fixture requires a 7.5" LCL lamp, you'll need to build a spacer to raise the socket 2.5". A couple of lengths of 1" x 1/8" strap iron and some 90° bends and you're done. Or, with a metal lathe and some copper/brass round stock, you could just make two post extensions to raise the lamp and leave the socket where it is.

Looking forward to watching this one unfold. I retrofitted a BVT into a military searchlight (beam projector), two actually, for a show in college, used on sidelight towers thirty years before Wicked made side-stage followspots "Popular" again. Yes, I ran the 2500W Dimmer, Autotransformer with my feet while running the "followspot" with my hands. I think the fixture was actually a ship's signaling lamp as it had a shutter on the front, not unlike Wybron's Eclipse Douser. We signaled with that, but used the dimmer for fades. And I had to wear army fatigues, as I was in view of the audience the entire show.
 
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I retrofitted a BVT into a military searchlight (beam projector), two actually, for a show in college, used on sidelight towers thrirty years before Wicked made side-stage followspots "Popular" again.

That's just bad...Need to work on your delivery.
 
I retrofitted a BVT into a military searchlight (beam projector), two actually, for a show in college, used on sidelight towers thrirty years before Wicked made side-stage followspots "Popular" again.

That's just bad...Need to work on your delivery.

I did a production of Threepenny Opera in college where we had side and rear followspots. The side spots were on 20' towers on SL and SR. Since the followspots were named as the platforms were named, the SL tower was "A-spot" and the SR was "G-Spot...." (with B-F platforms in between).
 
I did a production of Threepenny Opera" ... and the SR was "G-Spot...."

<insert more groaning here>

Next production of "Cabaret" I do, I think I 'll try the same naming convention...
 
Derek is mostly correct in his concepts. Took literally like an eight hour day for one of my guys to properly bench focus the DynaBeam for re-lamping to a CYX lamp. For a while he got the concept of why I like working on old gear in figuring out why I collect it.

While the working fixture with it's origional 3Kw lamp I worked on was amazing in seeming as intense as any multi-vapor spotlight once bench focused, I wasn't going to rent it with a non-replacable lamp to a show with a discontinued lamp. This lamp say on Don's Bulbs is probably worth as much as the follow spot with origional gel and in fully working condition.

Mention that I personally own a upgraded and fully working now 2Kw Kliegl DynaBeam with boomerang as ready for rental use? Entire musum of lights that fully work and are not just there for display.

Anyway my concept in having them and used again. Diffiult to do such a thing thus my role in the world in doing so. Teach you how to do so, but in the end perhaps my fixtures are better to just rent for a show.
 
Well, here is how it went. The set designer had dropped off the fixture at the loading dock, just fixture and stand. The boomerang must still be down at the warehouse (at least he thinks it is).
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So, I opened the unit up and stripped out the reflector and most of the guts so that we could give it a thorough cleaning. There was plenty of grime inside there. Also discovered that we had one of the original lamps for it. I was surprised that it survived because it was not in the lamp base, just rolling around in the fixture. The fact that it was fine after being trucked up from the warehouse and carted around the shop was pretty impressive.
Not the best photo from before cleaning:
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Lamp:
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So, with most everything stripped out we cleaned out the inside of the fixture. Luckily, someone had stripped out all the wiring at some point before me. So, we replaced wiring with new high temp and the fixture cord with a new 12/3 SOOW. Discovered that the fan seems to be toast, so I will have to see if I can find a new one that will fit and is not terribly expensive. It seems that I should melt down the fixture now that I have it working.

With the lens and reflector clean and the focus collar sprayed with graphite it was time to retrofit the lamp base. My solution to this was just longer screws. Short trip to the hardware store for a set of longer bench focus screws and I was able to drop the lamp base the 2" difference in the LCL. We wired it up and dropped in a CYX lamp and then put everything back together.
CYX Lamp in fixture:
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You might notice the bailing wire in the top of the reflector, it seems that we are missing some support piece and the reflector kept pivoting up on the side mounting screws. So, I wired it in to hold it in alignment.

And here it is, spitting some light out the front. Gives a pretty nice beam once I got it adjusted.
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Check the Grainger catalog for the blower. Dayton should make something close, if not identical. I replaced a blower in a 1957 vintage broadcast transmitter and the Dayton was an identical replacement.
 
Nice to see another back in service. With time and hobby fixture after the show perhaps anything needed to be done will get done in bringing it back to full. Cool fixture - remember fondly the week it took me to get mine back to mint. Mine spent years as lobby sculpture along with two Century 1560 crossed cannons and an Audrie II. This after recieved from a storage close for thirty years.

I do know of one more of these fixtures in existance. It's under the balcany of the Athanaeum Theater in Chicago. Doesn't have the boomerang but is a DynaBeam. These fixtures are just plain fun, hope you found as much with it as I. Mine is current lobby sculputre in the front office but been out on a show as working prop also.
 

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