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Old 19th Jul 2018, 4:01 pm   #1
Jolly 7
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Default A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

This was on top of an old speaker housing. I have cleaned it up. Manufacturer unknown. Could be made of bakelite ?
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Old 19th Jul 2018, 4:26 pm   #2
Graham G3ZVT
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

MES batten holder.
Looks like the type that Woolworth's sold up until the mid 1960s.
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Old 19th Jul 2018, 5:08 pm   #3
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

If anyone needs them, they're still produced and widely available, both in white and brown from many UK suppliers. They're called 'MES E10 Batten Holders'.

As they're used extensively in low voltage dolls' house lighting, they're often sold in multiples (ie, packs of ten) such as these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MES-BULB-...UAAOSwaEhZLIQq

I still have one or two Woolworth ones from my childhood days in the 1950s, and the little domed toggle switches that went with them.

Happy days!
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Old 19th Jul 2018, 5:41 pm   #4
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Thanks Graham and David

On a slightly different note, does anyone remember the miniature round torches with pictures on them that used to illuminate when switched on ? I vaguely recall them from the late sixties/ early seventies. Not sure what batteries they used though. Maybe the equivalent of modern day button cells ? I seem to remember the distinctive click of the switch.
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Old 19th Jul 2018, 5:54 pm   #5
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Well, they have low voltage in common
Modern day baby lanterns project pictures, as do some alarm clocks.

Those MES lampholders were also used for fuse bulbs in early radios.
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Old 19th Jul 2018, 7:43 pm   #6
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

I remember these, I had one with a very basic electrical kit I got at Christmas as a kid, basically a bulb, battery and switch!
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Old 19th Jul 2018, 11:16 pm   #7
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Brings back happy memories
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 1:27 am   #8
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

I can remember when I was at school we nabbed a white one of those bulb holders to try out a small neon bulb we had found and identified as being a "mains" bulb.
It didn't have a built in resistor as we found out...
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 9:03 am   #9
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Quote:
Originally Posted by MurphyNut View Post
I remember these, I had one with a very basic electrical kit I got at Christmas as a kid, basically a bulb, battery and switch!
Yes indeed, they were very common in the 60's in all manner of kits and experimenters clobber.
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 4:39 pm   #10
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Another use of those bulb holders was to provide a much reduced and economical lighting level.
Used in hallways and bathrooms and nurseries, typically fitted with a 6 volt bulb and powered from a small bell ringing transformer. Especially attractive if the transformer was already existing to work the front door bell.

6 volt bulbs were cheaper, smaller, longer lasting, and more efficient than very small mains bulbs. A 6 volt bulb of a couple of watts give a similar light to a 240 volt 5 or 6 watt lamp.

Premises without mains electricity sometimes had a very simple lighting circuit that used one of these in each room, controlled by a miniature wall switch. Power from either a 6 volt vehicle battery, or four "flag" cells, or a screw terminal lantern battery.
The main lighting was probably oil lamps, but even very limited electric lighting at the flick of a switch was a great convenience.
A bulb of one or two watts is ample in even a large room for safe movement.

It was said that simple battery lighting like this soon paid for itself by reduced breakages of oil lamp chimneys. (they don't wear out like bulbs, but each time they are handled increases the risk of breakage.)
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 6:01 pm   #11
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Here is the same holder with a modern 1.5v LED bulb in action. The base itself is not great because there is only a metal contact to one side, unlike modern MES bulb holders, which have a proper complete metal socket. I had to use a bit of superglue to stop the bulb from popping out. It is so bright with just 1.5 v that I had to significantly reduce the exposure of my camera to take this picture. Wonder what the sixties folk would have thought of these highly efficient LED bulbs.
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 7:27 pm   #12
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Jolly, where did you get the 1.5v LED bulb from? I could use a few of those. What voltage do they work down to? Ta.
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 7:55 pm   #13
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

I bought it in Japan. This was the lowest voltage-rated bulb I could find there. It's rated from 1 to 5 V.
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 8:03 pm   #14
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

It must have some built in electronics to step up the 1.5V. Most white LEDs need at least 3V to get going.
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Old 20th Jul 2018, 8:14 pm   #15
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

I was thinking maybe a miniature Joule-thief type circuit ?
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Old 21st Jul 2018, 5:10 pm   #16
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

A white LED does indeed need about 3 volts to operate.
White LED bulbs that operate from a single 1.5 volt cell are readily available, they incorporate a step up converter.
The lower limit of input voltage varies a bit, but most types give full light down to 2 volts and a reducing but still impressive light down to less than 1 volt.
The upper limit for input voltage is often about 9 volts. These bulbs can replace a filament type in most common torches and lanterns.

Higher voltage bulbs that accept up to about 30 volts exist, but these have a minimum input voltage of 5 or 6 volts. Used for lights built into cordless power tools, lights on mobility scooters, and on electric cycles.
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Old 21st Jul 2018, 6:03 pm   #17
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

The last time i purchased there was quite a wide choice from BIKECO/Reflectalite Ltd.

There were even wide angle/narrow angle beam options in both smooth side and MES formats.
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Old 21st Jul 2018, 11:27 pm   #18
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jolly 7 View Post
I was thinking maybe a miniature Joule-thief type circuit ?
Yes, that's just another name for a voltage step up circuit that's used to squeeze the last drop of energy from a battery whose voltage has dropped below an operating threshold but which still contains a useful amount of energy. It's just what is needed for this application too, where the single cell has insufficient voltage to start with.
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Old 23rd Jul 2018, 11:38 am   #19
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

I bought some no brand modern ones recently for my 3yo daughter (we made a set of jam-jar nightlights for her bunk bed powered by a 6V battery). The modern cheapo ones actually work better than the one "vintage" "made in England" one I found in my tin of bolts. The modern ones have a nice sprung pip contact whereas the older one used a brass bolt head as the pip contact, this regularly needs the bulb tightening...an example of reversed polarity "they don't make them like they used to"

D
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Old 23rd Jul 2018, 1:09 pm   #20
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Default Re: A vintage screw-base low voltage bulb holder

I have heard, that the modern E10 batten holders are used with multi voltage LED bulbs to provide domestic lighting in places without a reliable mains supply.
An interesting resurrection of a 60 year old idea.

A 6 volt high capacity lantern battery will power a one watt LED bulb for over 100 hours, and give a better light than a hurricane lamp.

A small and very affordable solar panel and an old vehicle battery will light several of these lights every night.
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