It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 7:51 pm

All times are UTC






Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 79 posts ] 


Author Message
PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:35 am 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:54 pm
Posts: 2977
Images: 210
The Alpha, Beta and Gamma range must be in the retro stage by now considering the age of these designs.

The Celest is probably the first time that Thorn has used the MA series as a template to create it as it is very similar. I know Barnsley MBC use them so the lantern must be good.

_________________
From streetlighting to radio, dance through the night whilst the streetlights are glowing outside.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:41 am 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
Gramma6 wrote:
mazeteam wrote:
Indeed... When I got a couple of Gamma 6's, the engineer actually said "those are quite expensive when new" - which suprised me when you consider, as you say, they are prone to damage from vandals - and the optics aren't exactly modern now; a WRTL 2000 can provide better light distribution along a road. The china hat Gamma 6 I got was full of dead insects, and considering the work I had to do to get the canopy to fit and form a seal against particle ingress I think it had never been IP65 rated (despite the label) from the day it was built. Other lanterns like the Vectra have a cable gland in the spigot which can be tightened to for a seal and prevent the good old column spiders from making a home inside the lanterns -  but the gamma 6 only has a fine piece of gauze... and this looks fine when the lantern is displayed, but as soon as you push a cable into the lantern this pushes the gauze out of the way and then the spiders can get in!


Yeah the Gamma 6 is very poor by modern standards. I was amazed they were still in production until 2003! In the 70s and 80s they were insanely popular. As a kid I even had a 'Mr. Chimney-Pot' toy house which had a model version of one in the garden!  :lol:  :oops:


I've seen old drawings in kids books and cartoons which show what looks awfully like a china hat Gamma 6 on the street. The design is Iconic, and I think it's just that alone which is why it still gets produced, and installed.

Quote:
There are still loads of them in Blackpool and all the roads they're on are all quite poorly-lit at night. The Gamma 6 is one of those old-school group B lanterns that lights the area around the column very brightly but then leaves a massive dark patch until you get to the next lantern. The WRTL 2000, as you say, is far superior and I've never yet seen one damaged by vandals despite some being in quite rough areas of town. Is the Gamma Basique really any improvement? I've never been under any at night. They look just like a Gamma 6 with a scarf wrapped around it's neck to me!  :lol:

To be honest the Basique isn't really an improvement in optical terms, as the lamp is still vertical and unshielded. The bowl is still the same thickness and composition... if anything the canopy on a Basique is harder to put back on than it is on a 6.

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:36 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:49 pm
Posts: 814
Images: 108
In terms of the Basique, an estate in Aber was built around 2 years ago and surprisingly used XGS103s. Therefore, as they are very new, there are no retrofits anywhere. Though oddly, the post-top lantern of choice is the Thorn Gamma Basique with a gear in head hat on. And when lit, you really can't tell the difference between the Gamma 6 and the Gamma Basique. Clearly Philips wasn't marketing anything that the council deemed appropriate at the time!

_________________
"I used to rule the world... Now I sweep the streets I used to own."
Remembering GEC.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 7:09 pm 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
Up this way when CFL was only just getting started, the 2nd road to be lit with Opalo's had two new columns installed down the road itself, and the turning area at the end got a Basique installed - oddly running SON. It looked out of place having a new SON lantern amongst new CFL ones, but the Basique would have been chosen as there were paths and houses all around, and so there were paths that were to be lit. The Basique lasted just over 18 months before it was replaced with a Jet - obviously there had been complaints about light intrusion.

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:26 am 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:54 pm
Posts: 2977
Images: 210
Phosco152 wrote:
1st generation SON lanterns are derivatives of those originally designed for mercury such as the Z8430, Alpha 3 and GEC Turtles/Z8896 and variants. They were never originally designed as SON lanterns and used elliptical lamps.


The Alpha 3s in Brighouse used to run mercury up and until 1996/97 after which they were converted to SON using elliptical but during replaming they have had the standard SON lamp. A GEC 'Golfball' at Thorne North ran mercury up and until summer '08 which was then replced with a elliptical SON lamp. The lantern and column itself has gone and has been replaced with a ZX3.

_________________
From streetlighting to radio, dance through the night whilst the streetlights are glowing outside.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:32 pm 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
At the moment I am going to stick with my own system of defining lantern generations, because otherwise you get these strange oddities whereby some lanterns seem to be later generations than their age would imply. For example, I'd put the Mk2 Alpha 8 as 2nd generation, but the Mk3 as 3rd generation. If the Z8600/MRL6 has adjustable lamp settings then it would be 3rd generation, if not then 2nd under my system.

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:54 pm 
Offline
Site Administration
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:38 pm
Posts: 3402
Images: 27
Location: Salisbury
The GEC Turtles had adjustable lamp positions as does an Esla.....


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:03 pm 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
But they were adapted for SON lamps.

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:32 pm 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:17 pm
Posts: 411
The MRL6 has two lamp positions, all the ones round here have the lamp holder set at the back position for larger 250W SON lamps, and the lamp holder set at the front position for 150W SON lamps.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:06 am 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:20 am
Posts: 1047
Location: Cleveleys nr Blackpool
I always think of SON lanterns in an age/design bracket. To use GEC/WRTL and Thorn as an example:
1st generation: GEC Turtle/Alpha 3
2nd generation: MRL6/Alpha 8
3rd generation: Vectra/Alpha 2000
4th generation: Arc/Oracle

But that's just me  ;)


Top
 Profile  
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by  


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 79 posts ] 

All times are UTC



You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 27 guests



Search for:

cron