UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Are there any Ex GPO engineers here? Dorman Lamps

G6Tanuki · 20th Feb 2019, 9:34 pm

In my mis-spent youth (OK, a 1970s university student) it was common for these lamps to be liberated from roadworks (under cover of darkness, often with alcohol as a mediator), disassembled [access to the batteries was by way of a through-bolt which needed a pin-spanner to remove it before the bottom casing could be lowered] and for one of the pair of 6V batteries to be removed.

The thing was then - still feebly-flashing - nocturnally restored to its original position on the barriers/cones round the hole-in-the-road, and the purloined battery would go on to power a transistor-radio.

The ones I remember had a flash-circuit using two TO92-type plastic-cased transistors.

20th Feb 2019, 9:34 pm	#6
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 14,007	Re: Are there any Ex GPO engineers here? Dorman Lamps In my mis-spent youth (OK, a 1970s university student) it was common for these lamps to be liberated from roadworks (under cover of darkness, often with alcohol as a mediator), disassembled [access to the batteries was by way of a through-bolt which needed a pin-spanner to remove it before the bottom casing could be lowered] and for one of the pair of 6V batteries to be removed. The thing was then - still feebly-flashing - nocturnally restored to its original position on the barriers/cones round the hole-in-the-road, and the purloined battery would go on to power a transistor-radio. The ones I remember had a flash-circuit using two TO92-type plastic-cased transistors.