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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 2:07 am 
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And my thanks too to David, who hand-delivered mine. With something as rare, I joked that we should have bowed to each other as it changed hands!

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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:29 am 
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No worries Mazeteam. It was fantastic to meet the designer of UKASTLE, and to also see your extensive street lighting collection for the first time.

Thursday was quite a road trip for me. Starting and finishing in Colchester, Essex, the first leg of the journey was to A. C. Ford's in Dudley (near Birmingham) to pick up some brackets for myself and Mazeteam, and after popping in to see Brian and have a coffee and chat (I'll soon know my way to his factory without a map!), I went onto Stelmer's in Leeds to deliver him his SLI tube and some bits and pieces from Phosco152. In payment for his SLI, Stelmer had carefully packed me a box of spare bulbs which will easily see my lantern collection through the proposed mercury ban, and also in the box was a spare 55w SOX lamp for my Eleco GR501 and a couple of white Cosmo retrofit lamps for my Revo Horizon. Furthermore, Brian at A. C. Ford had a big box of street lighting goodies, which Stelmer bought and kindly shared out between us.

Having stopped at A. C. Ford's for a little longer than expected, Stelmer and I went straight to Mazeteam's in York as we were running a bit late, and this was to deliver him his SLI tube too, and also his A. C. Ford brackets. In payment for these I bought three of his mercury lanterns (one post-top, one side entry and one top entry, which is rather neat in hindsight!) and all the bulbs and control gear to operate them.

Stelmer also realised that nick217 was on my way back home from his to Colchester, and he had a lantern and three bulbs for him too, so I was able to deliver these to him on the way home. In all, the road trip (Colchester > Dudley > Leeds > York > Leeds > Coventry > Colchester) was around 600 miles long, or one tank of diesel for my Audi!

Returning to topic, I should advise Mazeteam and Stelmer to, if possible, photograph or film their SLI tubes firing the first few times. Both their tubes were fired once for a few seconds by Phosco152 and myself to confirm their lilac start-up colours. But in addition to their lilac start-up colour, these tubes are still brand new unused stock (although a quarter of a century old!), and their fresh electrodes put on a flashing blue light show the first few times the tubes are struck. Here are a few stills extracted from a video I made the second or third time I lit my SLI tube. Not the best quality I'm afraid, so I plan to photograph the tube properly the next time I fire it up...

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This screen grab (of the tube in the GEC Z9517) shows the SLI tube's lilac start-up colours.

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This screen grab shows the fresh electrodes in the brand new tube flashing a spectacular blue colour on the first few firings. Not quite as spectacular as Mazeteam's bizarre 90w SOX lamp, but still quite a sight to see!


Last edited by David on Mon Oct 09, 2017 2:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:39 am 
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Nice write up.


I powered up my tube yesterday and missed the startup completely. Noticed the electrodes went orange quite quickly :(

I was taken back by the arc tube flickering away like it had loads of tiny individual tubes inside. Looked quite interesting.


When I get chance, I will do a proper video of the tube starting up. This weekend i'm off to Wootton Bassett for that big motorbike  honour ride...


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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:02 am 
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It is a 'blink and you'll miss it' phenomenon I'm afraid. I figured that if I hold my camera shutter down, it would take three pictures a second during the start-up, but I may end up with all pictures being taken in between the blue flashes. At least with the video it takes 30 'pictures' a second, which was quick enough not to miss a thing and get the above screen grab.

I'll have to try and film the 'jumping' lights you describe too. It is fabulous to watch this happen - far more exciting than a standard SOX tube!

Have a safe journey down to Wootton Bassett. I hope the weather's fine for you and you have a fitting welcome from the townspeople, which I'm sure you will.


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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:59 pm 
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Nice photo's i like the start up sequence. Pity i didn't have any spare cash or otherwise i would have had an SLI lamp too.

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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:28 am 
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600 miles is one tank fo fuel... you should have documented the trip in a Jeremy Clarkson style! :lol:

I'll tell you something though, It's amazing just how fast the collection is growing at the moment. At the other house I had to freeze the collection as I had no more room (my GEC Flying Saucer had to stay outside), and here there is still a bit more room if I make more intelligent storage even though it looks quite full! I'm going to make up a lockable door that has hydraulic dampners fitted and a ladder so as to get safer access to the storage deck and to keep things locked away from prying eyes...!

As boring as it sounds, I'm keeping my SLI tube neatly in the box until I either have a geartray built up for it or a lantern to put it into properly, AND that there are two or more cameras for the startup (1 for video capture of the warmup, 1 for still images, and if there's a third then to take extra video of any interesting bits). Until then though I will think about building something to keep it sefely locked inside away from harm. And I think that whatever I build it should be long enough to hold a geared Alpha 6, just in case.........

(also, I want more 90w SOX lamps from the same batch as that rather random one I've got!)

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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:47 pm 
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Well not only did yesterday result in restoration work, it also had some "play" time for SLI lamps.

60W SLI warming up:

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I also powered up the 200W SLI lamps and after a bit of a "senior moment" realising that a starter switch is required as the ballast is a single coil type and not a Leak Transformer used for 140W SLI, we achieved this:

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Near to full power (excuse my string of terminal blocks...)

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I used an electronic fluorescent starter switch which heated the electrodes causing them to glow yellow and then as it starts the tube "ping" the violet discharge starts.

There was none of the dramatic light show and flickering of the 140W SLI - I’m not sure if this was because the electrodes were pre-warmed compared with the "cold strike" resonant start of the Leak gear for 140W SLI, or the design of the GEC arc tube which is a different cross section.

I will sometime try the 140W SLI on a simple ignitor ballast and fluorescent starter and see if that gives the same "softer" start.

Run up time was much reduced compared to 140W SLI (or even 135/180W SOX). I got an operating current of around 1.2A using an ac clamp meter which is slightly under the ideal of 1.5A. I believe Chris M got around 2A a few weeks back when he tried his on the same type of ballast.


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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:00 pm 
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Aah, fantastic to see that 60w SLI come to life. Fantastic pictures Phosco!

I must admit I was sorely tempted by that very last 60w SLI lamp that LampCo were selling (after yourself and Chris M. bought two of the three that suddenly came back into stock). It hung on in there unsold for weeks - far longer than I expected - but it has now been sold.

The 140w SLI tubes are all sold out too, which was no surprise (there was quite a clamour for them!), and that leaves just the 200w SLI tubes left.


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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:19 pm 
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I'm due some money soon and I bought 2 of them ballasts a few weeks ago...I would be interested in a couple of 200w SLI tubes myself.


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 Post subject: Re: SLI lamps
PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:37 pm 
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If i had the gear and depending on the price i would also like an SLI lamp too.

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