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PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 8:40 pm 
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Alex wrote:
I'm a fan of any that resemble SOX lanterns when you squint your eyes; SpeedStars and P860s have helped visually SOX-ify trunk roads, even if this only applies to 'daytime aesthetic appearance'!

Yes, the SpeedStar is arguably one of the better-looking LED lanterns out there:

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Philips SpeedStar lanterns on the A5 in Tamworth. Photograph taken in February 2011.

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A close up view. Photograph also from February 2011.

More photos in the Midlands (Central England) thread, from back in the day when main road LED was practically unheard of and we didn't know what these lanterns were!

The SpeedStar could achieve iconic status if it gets installed in the enormous quantities of the Philips MA range back in its heyday (latterly SRS201), which the SpeedStar appears to share some characteristics with (especially the large gear shoe at the back). But the LED street lighting market is so saturated with different manufacturers, lanterns and retrofit options that it's difficult to imagine an LED lantern dominating the market sufficiently enough to achieve iconic status for the foreseeable future.

I think the Stela has achieved iconic status in a way. We'll all certainly remember it in years to come because of its revolutionary (in street lighting) design, and if my memory serves me correctly, it was also the first LED lantern to be installed in large quantities in the UK.


Last edited by David on Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:25 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:37 am 
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glen adair wrote:
NIGHTWATCH 50 wrote:

You may not agree with me on this, but one of the new lanterns popping up around here is CRTs SLX, which I really like the style of, but what do everyone think of it? SLX.



Is it a local authority that has installed these - if so which one?

The more I look at the picture, the more I think that the most successful lighting salesman in the country would struggle to achieve any significant market penetration!

Yes local authority, former Vale Royal Borough council, (now called Weaver Vale), have started to remove 35W SOX for these, I`m guessing they must be cheap! :roll:


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:48 pm 
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glen adair wrote:
Is it a local authority that has installed these ...


This range of LED lantern certainly presents a very functional outline, although it would probably look quite good in most places.

My only question is how dependable will the closely finned heatsinks be, once they are clogged up with cobwebs, dirt and other detritus? They don't look to be the easiest things to keep clean.

Its clean lines must surely be a major selling point - a good example of "form following function". It would therefore be a shame if it ends up as scabby as an Alpha 8!

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:21 pm 
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I don't know what to think about that SLX. To me its a bit over styled rather than function over form.

LED offers designers so much more flexibility in terms of design and shape, yet most companies are making more or the less the same dull designs as each other.

Maybe that's a demand issue, and that most LAs and PFIs are more bothered about cost rather than flair or identity. It's a shame.

I still think the biggest problem is the cutoff nature of seemingly all new designs designs. It means tall columns and poor distribution.

The best distribution I've seen is streets lit by WRTL 2600/Deltas. Uniform and consistent.

I also find LEDs very glary due to the huge brightness from a small area.

Anyone seen a LED lantern with a diffusing bowl?

Also, out of interest anyone had a go at designing their own?


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:12 am 
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The main problem with LED lighting, especially with picking a favourite or indeed mentioning types that other people might actually be aware of, is permeation of types... basically we're getting the situation where every Tom, Dick and Harry with a big shed and some pillar drills think they can build a streetlight - and the results are a vast array of random company names (most with 'inspirational' sounding names...

I'll make one up on the spot, "Evolution Lighting Ltd - transforming the urban environment") making what are to be quite honest fairly generic lanterns. And the only reason people could, for example, identify the type when passing by on a train would be because their own area has the same types installed and they wanted to find out what the lanterns were. For example, on my way down to Birmingham on Friday my train passed by Swinton in south Yorkshire which is in the Rotherham borough, the main road which passes under the rail line by the train station is lit by the large version of the TerraLED, but the only reason I knew they were TerraLED's is because of the smaller type being installed locally

It is likely only certain lanterns by the big companies will see any form of roll out nationally, and even then only if the price is right as local councils are on even lower budgets. Any new lighting being bought is to a price (even just £5 difference per lantern can change a council's choice).

The other thing is that these smaller companies likely don't have access to the same control gear that the bigger brands use, so may be of poorer quality even if the lanterns look good. As an example, I like the designer of the 'Clipper' lantern by Advanced LED Lighting because they remind me of old-time fluorescents
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http://www.advanced-leds.com/products/clipper/
However the LED drivers are awful in them and they seem to burn out in just a few months of use (though the ones in Blackpool seem to have been OK) - and the design itself is not watertight.
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Some lanterns don't see many installed even in a local area... I like the Thorn Isaro design, and at night they light the road fairly evenly - but likely due to cost there is only one street in York lit by them.
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Then a design one person likes may be hated by another or may vary according to size. The Holophane V-MAX looks decent in a 3-tier design for main roads due to being better proportioned, but the single tier side road version looks more like WALL-E than a street light.
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Or a design might get changed and made worse. The Holophane Factor Small is an acceptable design, as from the side it looks like a bowl-less Beta 79. But it seems the lantern has been redesigned, and made worse by making the optical area smaller:
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So because there's so much variation it's hard to pick out ones that could achieve 'Iconic' status. Simply because of what it stands for, I'd put the Stela Wide forward, even if it does look like a roof slate on a stick - simply because the Stela was the design that propelled LED lighting forward to what we see now, and the curved face of it means that light distribution from it still excels over some more modern offerings. I'd also put the Speedstar forward as it has a pleasing daytime appearance and excellent light distribution at night coupled with Philips control gear for reliability.

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