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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
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20th Jan 2019, 6:30 pm | #61 |
Hexode
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Oswestry, Shropshire, UK.
Posts: 408
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Re: What's this?
Peter,
A snap from a little after dusk today. Yes, SWA, buried in 100 yards of trenching. Regards, Richard |
20th Jan 2019, 6:48 pm | #62 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: What's this?
Very nice, Richard. Thanks so much for that
Take another one in daylight tomorrow, please, so I can see the actual lanterns. Do they have photocells on top?
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Best Regards, Peter. |
20th Jan 2019, 7:07 pm | #63 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: What's this?
We had a sodium vapour lamp in the physics labs when I was at school, for experiments in optics -- spectroscopy and the like, or when a monochromatic source was required. The same ballast gear could also power a cadmium vapour lamp, which emits several different narrow lines that can be seen clearly. I remember the latter having a brilliant "electric blue" colour. Probably far too dangerous to be obtainable today .....
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If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments. |
20th Jan 2019, 7:20 pm | #64 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: What's this?
Ooh! You're talking far too technical for me to understand, Julie!
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Best Regards, Peter. |
21st Jan 2019, 9:32 am | #65 |
Hexode
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Oswestry, Shropshire, UK.
Posts: 408
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Re: What's this?
Here you go Peter. No photocells, instead they are (or will be by the end of today) switched. Philips heads mounted atop thick-walled rigid plastic pipes, slotted over stanchions concreted into the ground. Wiska junction boxes, earth clamps within to ensure continuity of earthing of the armour.
Regards, Richard |
21st Jan 2019, 11:39 am | #66 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: What's this?
Very nice job, Richard! They look really stylish.
Thanks for sending the photo.
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Best Regards, Peter. |
3rd Feb 2019, 10:39 pm | #67 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Somerset, UK.
Posts: 2,130
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Re: What's this?
Quote:
100 watt lamps were available with larger bulbs than the household 100 watt lamps. This reduced the surface temperature and increased the chances of the lamp surviving rain in lights with bulbs exposed. The used bulbs were meant to be thrown away, they were not expensive in bulk and had little remaining life. Some were no doubt taken home as perks or re-used unofficially. Whether decades ago or more recently, the labour cost of replacing a lamp generally far exceeds the cost of the lamp. 1960s cost of lamp about a shilling, cost of labour (2 men+vehicle+employment costs) probably at least one pound an hour. Cost of replacing lamps in street lights one by one as they fail, at least a pound each and could be two pounds depending on distance. Cost of bulk replacement, whether failed or not, would be about three shillings, presuming 10 lamps an hour replaced at a labour cost of two shillings each and a lamp cost of another shilling. Todays costs are much higher but still broadly similar in proportion. |
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3rd Feb 2019, 10:59 pm | #68 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Somerset, UK.
Posts: 2,130
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Re: What's this?
Quote:
A million watts for time switches sounds a lot but is only 1 megawatt, large power stations of that era had several generators each of hundreds of megawatts capacity. The early photocells used as much power as a time switch, but only in daylight, they consumed almost nothing at night. The lamp was switched by the contacts of a thermal relay the heater of which was wired in series with a photocell. In daylight the cell had a low resistance and most of the mains voltage would be across the heater of the thermal relay which would absorb a watt or so and keep the contacts open. In darkness, the cell had a high resistance, passed virtually no current, and the relay cooled down, and thus closed the contacts and lit the lamp. The modern all electronic photocells consume only a minute wattage. Most streetlights are individually controlled, but in some areas group or central control is used, thereby saving costs, complications and losses at each street light, but adding to infrastructure costs. |
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3rd Feb 2019, 11:24 pm | #69 |
Heptode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Eastham, Wirral, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 788
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Re: What's this?
HI Peter you need to phone (street scene) in your area as its a safety problem.
here is some info for you if it has not been fixed. Also on this page click on the lighting info on the right hand side you may be surprised. http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/Pages/Street-lighting.aspx. Good luck gezza1123 |
4th Feb 2019, 1:07 am | #70 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,554
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Re: What's this?
Quote:
I found one and can show what they are made of and how well made they were. |
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4th Feb 2019, 1:09 am | #71 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,554
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Re: What's this?
The remainder of my tear down photos.
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4th Feb 2019, 6:44 am | #72 |
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Exeter, Devon and Poole, Dorset UK.
Posts: 6,879
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Re: What's this?
That brings back memories Ref
The old type with the resistor and bi metalac strip are long gone the new ones use a Diddy photo resistor some transistors and a relay. Calibration for light level was done by a mist of silver paint over the glass front of the cadmium sulphide photo resistor scraped off until the correct light level achieved (55lux) in our case. The main failure mode was the flexible wire coming of the thick film resistor attached to the bi metallic strip, probably due to vibration. The earlier types used a wire wound resistor in a metal cradle on the bimetallic strip. Cheers Mike T
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Invisible airwaves crackle with life or at least they used to Mike T BVWS member. www.cossor.co.uk |
4th Feb 2019, 1:34 pm | #73 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,554
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Re: What's this?
The resistor in my one looks like it is printed on some kind of white insulating stuff.
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4th Feb 2019, 1:44 pm | #74 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 5,349
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Re: What's this?
When I joined Plessey Ilford in 1969, the public footpath that crosses the Ilford car shed railway depot was lit by GLS lamps. One which was noticeably dimmer than the rest, was a carbon filament lamp. It was still burning happily when the lamps were changed to sodium a couple of years later.
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19th Feb 2019, 8:03 pm | #75 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 9,643
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Re: What's this?
Message from Lancs Lad (Peter) about the fuse found in his garden.
I've no idea how to re-open a closed thread, but just wanted to let everyone know that they finally turned up to fix my street light this morning! Only 63 days after it was 'tampered with'. And 53 days after I reported it. I can hardly believe it's taken so long to be repaired. Hope you can add this post to the thread so that everyone can rest easy! |