Need help finding new lamps for old instruments

[Grimtheatre]

Hey all, maybe you can help me out with this:
I'm working at an older summer stock and the bulk of their inventory is old LEE Colortrans and some altman 360 radials. In the colortrans for some reason they're using HX-601's and for the radials they have HPL 500's.

The current lighting designer and myself have discovered neither of these lamps work efficiently in the instruments. The new version of the HPL lamp is shorter so it doesnt go all the way into the reflector of the radial. We think we're having a similar problem with the colortrans because their light output is horrific. Short of buying new instruments, any suggestion of what kind of lamp to buy that will remedy this efficiency problem? We're looking for something in the 500W range for the radials and a 575W replacement for the HX's?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Les]

The Altman Radial should have a medium prefocus socket for use with an EGG or EGE lamp. Has it been modified to accept a 2-pin lamp? And what is an HPL 500? Do you mean HPL 575?

If it is in fact modified for 2-pin lamps, the lamp base may need to be jacked up more. That will take trial and error to get the filament in the proper position. Also note that HPL lamps are designed to have a retainer clip to hold the lamp in place. A TP22 socket like the ones in 360Q's are usually the ones used for modifying a radial to use a 2-pin lamp.
If it has a prefocus socket, buy the EGG or EGE's. Then try bench focusing. These fixtures were never really known for their efficiency.

Colortrans: Try bench focusing first, if you haven't already; cleaning lenses; checking reflectors. They should be bright and shiney. Not milky white. Also try GLA/GLC Type lamps. The HX-601's are outdated and not as efficient as the compact filament designs.

 

[Grimtheatre]

Thanks for the input Lester! The big question now becomes can i afford the new lamps (hooray tiny summer stock budgets!)

Edit: so when i typed this i was apparently on drugs. the radials take a 500W BTL. they're also all still prefocus. apologies for the error

 

[derekleffew]

The 500W BTL is the WRONG lamp for the Altman 360. It's LCL (Light Center Length) is shorter, which is why your output is so poor. The BTL is the correct lamp for most 6"Fresnels. As Lester said, you need the EGG 750W or EGE 500W for the radials. The original lamp for these was the 750T12/9, which later became designated the DNT, but that lamp is almost impossible to find, costs more than the EGG, and is dimmer and has a shorter life.

 

[Les]

You will notice that the EGE/EGG lamps look a lot like the BTL but are considerably longer. I don't think you're the first to find a Fresnel lamp in a radial ellipsoidal. Just be aware that continuing to use them like this could overheat the socket cap and cause big problems due to the obstructed ventilation.

 

[icewolf08]

As for your HX-601's, I would suggest looking into the HX-754 (GLD) and HX-755 (GLE) or the GLA/GLC. They use a newer more efficient filament design, so you get more output from your reflector at lower wattages. They are often more expensive, but worth it. They come in both a long life and high output version.

 

[ship]

575w HX-601 is 12,800 Lum for 1,500 hours @ 115v verses for a 500w EHD 10,000 for 2,000 hours at 120v. The HX-601 lamp is a decent third generation lamp in getting more output in trading off a few lamp hours one won’t notice. On the other hand the GLA (HX-603) would be more efficient yet (below), but overall I can see that HX-601 lamp in use until eventually discontinued. GLA 13,000 to 13,500 Lumens for 1,500 hours @ 115v (thus a higher color temporature also in common with the HX-601) and in the same price range for the GLA.

Overall that’s an ok lamp choice in maximizing the lamp life, wattage with output balance.

On the Radial Altman Lekos having HPL 500's ... that’s just wrong in so many ways. Do you perhaps mean “EGE” as the lamp type? Nope... not yet a 575w/115v version of lamp out for a radial Leko yet... Hmm, shorter than other lamps for a radial Leko, do you perhaps have some BTL lamps mixed in with your EGE lamps? Big difference between a LCL of 2.3/16" and LCL of 3.1/2". I think that’s probably the problem. Same lamp base, different lamps.+

On the Colortrans, could be the nature of the beast, could be bench focus, maintenance call time, could be some HX-600 and other lamps thrown into the mix, could be any number of things in not matching up. Green lenses also.

EGE and GLA would be my lamp choices - that and cleaning and inspecting lamp sockets.