Ukastle forums
http://ukastle.co.uk/discussion/

Modern lantern design discussion
http://ukastle.co.uk/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=247		 Page 7 of 8
Author:  Ali ZX2 [ Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
I liked the old and new limpets, and they can be found at Euston Bus Garage. Although in relation to modern lantern design there are 3 things which come to mind.

> in the 1960s, the bowl defined the look of the lantern, and although I appreciate the glare issue, I do miss lanterns with "deep bowls", these days you are lucky if it has curved glass, whilst nearly all new sleek and cool LED lanterns come in flat glass only, its a shame really.

> Certain lanterns these days have a habit of letting the shoe (the part that the lantern which attaches the column/bracket) of the lantern be out of proportion with the rest of the lantern, (e.g. Urbis Evolo 2), which is a shame really because if it had a more streamlined rear proportion (Sapphire, Airtrace, Piano, Luma), it would look great as a side entry lantern (and in the Evolo's case, succeed the ZX and Sapphire range aesthetically)

> Also, I like how certain modern lanterns have external lantern shoes like the newer SOX designs (MAs/SRS201s, Alpha 4s, Iris), although on certain new lanterns the size of this external attachment is bulky, and makes the lantern look odd on normal brackets as retrofits/casual replacements (Teceo, Milewide etc).
Author:  mazeteam [ Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
Ali ZX2 wrote:
> Certain lanterns these days have a habit of letting the shoe (the part that the lantern which attaches the column/bracket) of the lantern be out of proportion with the rest of the lantern, (e.g. Urbis Evolo 2), which is a shame really because if it had a more streamlined rear proportion (Sapphire, Airtrace, Piano, Luma), it would look great as a side entry lantern (and in the Evolo's case, succeed the ZX and Sapphire range aesthetically)


This is because most modern lanterns have a dual spigot 'trapdoor' setup, which is rather large so as to conform to European bracket diameters, which are almost as wide as a column diameter - and so this adds bulk, which for UK installations is often unnecessary.

Quote:
> Also, I like how certain modern lanterns have external lantern shoes like the newer SOX designs (MAs/SRS201s, Alpha 4s, Iris), although on certain new lanterns the size of this external attachment is bulky, and makes the lantern look odd on normal brackets as retrofits/casual replacements (Teceo, Milewide etc).

The Holophane QSS also has an external mounting shoe. You can make up your own mind on that one!
Author:  Phosco152 [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 8:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
The widespread fog this morning across the south of the UK, combined with a business trip across 4 counties before dawn, allowed me to compare the optical performance of lanterns used in the south coast and Surrey PFIs. The comparison was for 10m columns in both cases.

In Hampshire, the south coast PFI uses FCO SON Iridiums for main roads. Along the road (L-R of the lantern) the Iridium produces a very sharp cut off of the beam at approx 60 degrees from the horizontal. This is partly why more columns are often used, the light doesn't spread very far along the road. Across the road, the cut off is less sharp, around 45 degrees. This allows a column on one side of the road to adequately light a wide single carriageway. The cut off of the beam is very sharp.

In Surrey, SON Arcs are used with a very shallow glass bowl. It was very surprising the effect this has on the beam. Both along and across the road, the cut off is only around 25 degrees below the horizontal - and there really isn't a defined beam pattern. Whilst this spreads the light further and hence means less columns, the effect is for far more glare.

The real surprise was bowled SGS203s, and old ones with dirty bowls at that. Given the age of the design, the beam formed was actually more defined than for the Arcs. Along the road cut off was probably 45 degrees from the horizontal and across the road around 30 degrees from the horizontal. The beam was clearly defined with good cut off at the edges - but not as good as the Iridium.

So there you have it, a bowl doesn't always mean a less distinct beam pattern and some older almost "budget" lanterns, seem to perform better than more modern designs.
Author:  JakeB [ Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
I've noticed this myself as Sheffield have a lot of Arcs - I believe it's due to the faceted reflectors being optimised for lamps with a smaller arc tube, such as CDO/CPO.

From what I've seen, SON lamps perform best in either smooth anodised aluminium (such as the Thorn Civic) or horizontally-rippled reflectors (such as the SGS203 and some versions of the Iridium).

At the top of my road there is a side-by-side comparison of an Arc and Civic, both at 10m running 150w lamps. The Civic, out-performs the Arc in terms of brightness by a long shot. I can't comment on the beam shapes as there isn't a very good vantage point.

This could explain why the Iridium2 lantern has a reflector similar to Thorn's, it seems to be a more universal reflector that performs well with both SON and white-light lamps.
Author:  Phosco152 [ Sun Jan 18, 2015 3:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
The visit to the CU Phosco factory allowed some close up pictures to be obtained of their LED lanterns.

First the P852 as being used for side road retrofits in Bournemouth. This example has a Mayflower radio node as used by the South Coast PFI. Note: Bournemouth is in Dorset and a unitary authority, neither the Dorset or south coast PFIs are responsible for lighting in this town.

Image

The optics used a plastic lens over each LED - like the Stela. Note the cooling slot around the optic.

Image

Next the P850 as used by TfL for their retrofits.

Image

Unlike many LED lanterns, the design uses a mirror reflector and a cross over distribution to control the beam, so no lenses. The cooling slots and the location of the LEDs at the edge of the optic can be seen in this image.

Image

Finally the similar but smaller P851.

Image
Author:  Paianni [ Sat Feb 14, 2015 7:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
Following on from the LED icon lantern discussion, what do Ukastle members consider an  iconic SON lantern? Urbis ZX2/3?
Author:  meppso [ Tue Feb 17, 2015 1:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
Paspie wrote:
Following on from the LED icon lantern discussion, what do Ukastle members consider an  iconic SON lantern? Urbis ZX2/3?


Hi Paspie,

For me, growing up in the 80s, Carlisle didn't have that many different types of SON lanterns. But the two that stick in my mind are the Alpha 3 internal gear and Alpha 3 external gear. Also on the approach to the town centre from the south there were two Thorn Gamma 3s which I liked.

I also remember in about 1990 there was a new housing estate built up the road from me which had SON Gamma 6 lanterns.

Regards,

Andrew.
Author:  trencheel303 [ Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
There's so many it's not really easy to say, for me it would be the Gamma 6 and the Alpha 8, but I'm sure that's just because of my own experiences. Now if we were to talk about iconic SOX lanterns, I think we'd all come to the same conclusion...
Author:  civiciridium [ Tue Sep 08, 2015 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
Where I live they have a lot of Thorn Civics, not sure if 1 or 2. How can you tell the difference other than size because they all look the same size? There is also a lot of Philips Iridium's SGS253s and a few Beta 5s and couple other SOX street lights and Holophane V-MAXs.
Author:  mazeteam [ Mon Oct 05, 2015 12:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Modern lantern design discussion
Generally you can tell apart '1' or '2' type lanterns by their application. the smaller '1' type will normally be used on minor roads whereas the larger '2' type will be on major roads. The cutoff seems to be at the 150w mark, the smaller '1' type will normally handle lamps up to and including 150w SON/CDO whilst the '2' type goes from and including 150w upwards..... in some locations, councils will just use the one version as they can squeeze in the power output required for both minor and main roads - this has been true in York which had until 2015 been using Holophane QSM and QSS lanterns; technically for main roads using 250w or 400w you'd expect the QSL lantern to be used, however due to the optical systems in these lanterns there was no requirement to exceed 150w and so the larger version was not required.... and so the exact same lantern type being used on side streets (with a 70w lamp) was being used on main roads (with a 100w or 150w lamp fitted).
Page 7 of 8 All times are UTC
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/