Re: Obsolete fluorescent light fittings
The stripe is required for semi-resonant 'quickstart' gear, as the peak voltage is lower than with switch-start fittings. My workshop is fitted with quickstart battens and when relamping I had to stripe the new tubes with conductive paint, in order to get them to start in winter. I recently had the good fortune to get hold of a couple of boxes of NOS bayonet-ended tubes, some of which are striped, although I don't plan on using those up.
I have yet to find a good selection of external gear enclosures of the type that Andrew describes, only a few rusty units have surfaced so far. Fluorescent fittings are one of those things that should be seen and not heard so don't attract a lot of attention to themselves and rarely get salvaged. I would give my right arm for an original functioning Cooper-Hewitt fitting with uncoated tilting mercury tube, if only because of its evolutionary association with the mercury-arc rectifier.
Attached pic is of my favourite bit of fluoro gear, an Atlas thyratron houselight dimmer that I salvaged from a theatre albeit without the dedicated fittings to run from it. These have separate heater transformers run at full voltage whenever the tubes are lit. The dimmer handles five circuits each of 5A, under pushbutton control. I have some spare thyratrons too, one day I will either get some of the original fittings or modify some ordinary ones so I can get it running.
Lucien
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