While not the best
fixture (arguably inferior to the
360Q), the
1KL can be a useful lighting tool. Since replacement parts are no more,
hoard your parts!
Some suggestions on getting more light to the
stage:
First thing's first. How clean are those lenses? This will make a difference. Maybe not dramatic, but you need all you can get!
What is the condition/cleanliness of the
reflector?
Have you played around with the
bench focus any? That little knob on the back controls the lamp center adjustment, and the knobs on the side adjust how much the lamp protrudes through the
reflector. With the
fixture on, GENTLY loosen the knobs and slowly pull the entire rear housing forward and backward. You will find a "sweet spot", but be careful not to pull the entire housing off the
fixture. Find that sweet spot and lock her down. I would do this and then center the lamp. Loosen the center knob and move it side to side, kind of like a joystick. You will see the hot spot moving around. Try to get it in the center of the beam. You may then want to readjust the peak/
flat (side knobs) so the field is now bright, yet as even as possible (you may have to make some compromises).
Black and tan fresnels:
Age. That's almost it.
The tan fresnels were optimized for
incandescent lamps, so the
reflector will be different. In the tan fixtures I have seen, there is a large reflective plate, with a small
reflector dish in the center, right at the
filament. These will still work with up to a 750w quartz lamp, given the
reflector isn't baked.
The lenses were also different (wider concentric rings on the old fixtures) but this probably has nothing to do with the lamp used, and more about
lens refinement over time, in general. I have found output to be about the same. The newer black fresnels have a finer stippled back and tighter rings, plus a larger aluminum
spherical reflector.
Other than that, they are very similar. The older units did seem better constructed though.
By the way, the black fresnels are
Altman 65Q, while the brown units are the older
Altman 65's (pre-quartz) most likely. Don't take this as gospel though,
Altman was still painting their fixtures brown well in to the quartz era.
I have parts and fixtures to salvage from (off
line). Agreed on the cleaning of the lenses,
reflector and
bench focus, my main concern would be with the shutters. Caution on the
bench focus, first get a in some way hard
edge to the beam of light, than adjust it. If you cannot get that hard
edge, lamp
filament centering isn't yet the problem, look towards the seat height of the lamp and
base in relation towards its focus up or down in relation to the
reflector.
A reading of a
Altman 360Q manual on bench focusing that lighting
fixture would be of use for bench focusing this
fixture type for a
broad sense of how to get the
bench focus. Also cleaning tips would be similar. I agree that your output problems are probably much due to
bench focus on the other
hand.
Look at the lamp's pins and
socket to the
fixture. Anything blackened or arched? Resistance to
current flow could also
play a factor in seeming what you saw and or should be inspected or replaced anyway in both cases. Add to that, taking apart the
fixture and beyond the shutters probably in need of work or replacement, many more parts probably need a
bit of work and re-painting.
Good project should be easy enough to work on but a
bit of a complex
fixture - remember where you got your parts from or take it in stages.
On the
Fresnel dates, I think Les above has mostly seen modern upgraded
Fresnel reflector assemblies as that inner disc seemingly in description is what is currently sold for
reflector. Don't know persay on lenses,
Altman lenses to minds eye seem the same over the years for that brand but I could be wrong and am often at times. For me in dating the
Fresnel or other
fixture, often in the brown seriese about seeing the holes in the casting for how it was wired for telling the age of it. That and seeing the
socket by brand in color or depth of
reflector. Deeper reflectors in the past. As above, often it don't matter much if only a few degrees - the fixtures will be the same mostly.
Below is dating if of help from my own collection in what I have gathered for age over the last year or few. I have been in direct contact with
Altman over the past year... still waiting on a better than "I think" dating from them from any one of a number of sources out of them on a number of fixtures. At some
point over the years for the "Brown series, the casting was changed from un-grounded two hole grommeted holes, to grounded but still grommeted, to single hole
cord grip type hole. That's unknown info as to when they upgraded one to another, by 1979 it could be expected the brown series got changed out of three hole
asbestos to single hole
SPT type cable in a
jacket with single
cord grip though.
Altman #65, 6"
Fresnel c.1958-1962
Altman Texture Black (similar to Century)
Altman #65, 6"
Fresnel c.1962-1974 and
thru 1993 (debatable 1991 for black) -
Altman Hammertone Brown
Altman #65Q 6"
Fresnel c.1993 -
Altman Semi-Gloss Black
Altman #1KAF-MPF 6"
Fresnel c.1991 -
Altman Texture Black
Many dates were in part gained
thru my #100, 3"
Fresnel collection for start
point. I know for instance I have some 1962
Altman Brown Inkies that came out of the 1962 World's Fair. It's without doubt accurate in noting where they came from by the seller, and by than it was a
bi-pin BA-15D (dual contact bayonet)
base to them which these used by way of another source in
book listing such a lamp by 1962. Both came with that type of dual contact
socket. One of them got a #99 framing
lens added to it as proper, the other stayed origional.
Altman Brown could have been introduced as a color before than but not by many years if standardized color. Other books from around 1958-60 that don't note such a lamp. I also have the above
Altman texture black 6"
Fresnel and a similar BA-15s (Single Contact Bayonet) based inkie saying that somewhere between the known date of 1962 and
Altman's founding in 1953, they were of a texture black in color. Beyond that, recently got in another Inkie that's older than any others. Clearly an
Altman Inkie but older than the other in details. There has been generations of
Altman Fresnels in use (see other post and photo TBA on the Inkie.)
Not totally firm on when
Altman went brown - known to be 1962, but could have been a few years earlier - two or four at most. How it was wired though would be a dating thing of use. This as with the brand and color of
socket and how much deeper the
reflector is.
For any gear - look at the
socket and lamp to observe condition for it. Many older ones can be saved, but many no matter the condition need some attention. Just because it seems to work now, don't mean any gear is in good condition. Suspect of all gear black or brown.
Side note, my oldest Inkie was using a silvered steel
reflector seemingly... Alzark process for aluminum and indeed by the 50's more normal painted
edge or not 6"
Fresnel reflectors were normally aluminum. The aluminum
reflector has been out since 1929 but not everyone bought into it for all fixtures yet. This Inkie is silvered instead of aluminum, the first I think
Altman Inke
reflector was silver plated steel or even aluminum - not Alzark aluminum in the way it cleaned up.
On your 6" Fresnels, a starting
point on dating them is in how many holes are in the rear for wiring, and the brand of
socket used as a little less easy to tell but has some definition in age. Of the three types of
Altman Brown I note by way of how it was wired, within a period, it could be refined by date.
