Author Topic: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made?  (Read 3101 times)
108CAM
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What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « on: October 19, 2022, 04:11:36 AM » Author: 108CAM
Making my own fixtures is undoubtedly one of my favourite parts of this hobby and I've made quite a few fixtures, mostly fluorescent.
I'm always throwing ideas around and would love to see some of the cool fixtures that you have made.
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #1 on: October 19, 2022, 09:29:52 AM » Author: Burrito
I want to recreate the Ge M250A and M400A as well as some plain square or round shoebox parking lot lights and my own LED street light
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WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #2 on: October 21, 2022, 11:29:36 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
I have made a homemade 2 lamp F72T12 HO preheat fluorescent tube fixture, a 2 lamp F58T8/F65T12 preheat fluorescent tube fixture, and an unfinished 6 lamp F58T8/F65T12 preheat fluorescent tube fixture. On top of that, I also made an external starter 18w PL-L preheat CFL adapter; an external starter 18w preheat CFL adapter designed for FUL18 lamps, Japanese FPL18 lamps, Japanese FDL18 lamps, and Japanese FML18 lamps. I also made a third external starter preheat CFL adapter designed for FUL14 lamps, FUL15 lamps, Japanese FUL13 lamps, Japanese FPL13 lamps, Japanese FDL13 lamps, Japanese FML13 lamps, Japanese Panasonic FTL13 bullet shaped non-integrated lamps, and Japanese Panasonic FGL13 globe shaped non-integrated lamps. I also made a 4 lamp F10T8 preheat fluorescent tube adapter as well that uses a single 470v OCV HX auto transformer ballast to run all 4 tubes in series.

Here are the links to my homemade adapters and fixtures that I have posted if you want to see them:

18w PL-L adapter:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6272&pos=11&pid=217477

18w FUL/FPL/FDL/FML adapter:

-with FUL18 lamp:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6272&pos=14&pid=217176

-with FDL18 lamp:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6272&pos=13&pid=217177

-with FPL18 lamp:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6271&pos=6&pid=217458

4 lamp F10T8 adapter:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6272&pos=30&pid=213519

2 lamp F72T12 HO fixture:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6272&pos=94&pid=207909

2 lamp F58T8/F65T12 fixture:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6271&pos=42&pid=201814
« Last Edit: October 21, 2022, 11:43:32 PM by WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA » Logged

Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #3 on: October 22, 2022, 08:32:24 AM » Author: Michael
I‘ve made and designed many fixtures in the last two decades. Some of them I finished and some are still under construction.

1) FlatPaneel suspended indirect/ direct fixture for 4x PLL 36W. Project started in 1998, not finished yet.

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=76&pid=15057

2) FerroPLAZA, a small post top street light made of glass in the 1930s. Stand made in 2006. Finished in 2012.
https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=39&pid=64775

3) Pendant fixture for T5 circline 55W lamp. Made of an old used film spool. Unfinished 2012

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=26&pid=76409

4) Various Laundry plunger lamps 2017 - 2019. One example here:

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=10&pid=142606


5) Kitchen fixture made in 2018.

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=12&pid=141866

6) ISA CCFL letter lamp 2019.

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=7&pid=171718

7) Pedestrian crossing fixtures ZEBRALUX SON-T 250W altered to SOX 35W and SOX 55W for theater stage lighting 2020/2021

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=533&pos=3&pid=200277

8) Currently I’m altering an old post top street light lantern which I’m going to use in my recreational room at home. It will run a PLL 18W. Project started in 2021. First run tests are successful.

9) Flower stand lamp made of used wooden cable spools. Foreseen lamp PLL or PLS.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2022, 08:38:47 AM by Michael » Logged
WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #4 on: October 22, 2022, 01:28:46 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Will your 18w PL-L lantern be magnetic preheat or electronically ballasted?
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #5 on: October 22, 2022, 02:57:58 PM » Author: AngryHorse
I made 2, one for a 90 watt (geared) SOX, and a catenary type one for a 200 watt linear sodium lamp!
Both out of UPVC house guttering!  :lol:
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #6 on: October 22, 2022, 03:09:27 PM » Author: Michael
Will your 18w PL-L lantern be magnetic preheat or electronically ballasted?

I’m using magnetic ballasts here.
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #7 on: October 22, 2022, 03:11:32 PM » Author: Michael
I made 2, one for a 90 watt (geared) SOX, and a catenary type one for a 200 watt linear sodium lamp!
Both out of UPVC house guttering!  :lol:

Looks nice! And lightweight!  8)
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #8 on: October 22, 2022, 03:14:37 PM » Author: AngryHorse
Also, not so much homemade, but modified, back in my SOX outside lighting days, I turned an 8 watt emergency bulkhead into an 18 watt SOX lantern!
Fellow member Andy is still running this fixture now on the side of his garage!  8)
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 56,654 hrs @ 14/9/24

Welcome to OBLIVION

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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #9 on: October 22, 2022, 03:18:43 PM » Author: AngryHorse
Looks nice! And lightweight!  8)
I really did consider using this on the back of the house!, I figured if I had good enough reinforcement bars to bolt it to, it would be like those early European open SOX lanterns!  ;D, and the guttering was designed to be out in all weather anyway!
Your 55 mod looks factory spec  8)
« Last Edit: October 22, 2022, 03:22:57 PM by AngryHorse » Logged

Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 56,654 hrs @ 14/9/24

Welcome to OBLIVION

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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #10 on: October 22, 2022, 06:33:54 PM » Author: joseph_125
I made a couple. I made a table lamp designed to use 100w open rated CMH lamps. Looks pretty good at night and only uses 100w for the amount of light it puts out. I used a potted ballast from a recessed light as the base, and some black iron pipe for the lamp socket. A benefit of the potted ballast, it's pretty much dead silent when in operation even though it has a magnetic ballast.




The second light I made was a light up street sign inspired from the incandescent ones we had in the 1960s. I modified the design slightly and also changed it to operate F17T8 with a magnetic ballast.

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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #11 on: October 23, 2022, 03:13:24 AM » Author: AngryHorse
Cool that you had illuminated street signs in the 60s!, the nearest thing to this I’ve seen here is only just starting to be used on industrial parks where the road numbers, (for example ROAD 2), are back lit with tiny red LED diodes.
I’m wondering if it was because US road signs were usually mounted quite high up on a pole, whereas UK one have normally been at about 3 feet in hight where car headlights could light them at night?
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 56,654 hrs @ 14/9/24

Welcome to OBLIVION

WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #12 on: October 23, 2022, 03:14:56 AM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
In North America, it was common to have some street signs mounted high on poles and have them backlit at night.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #13 on: October 23, 2022, 03:46:55 AM » Author: joseph_125
@AngryHorse - Yeah, they were used in quite a few places from major streets in downtown areas to quiet residential neighbourhoods. Here's an example of some still in service. As you can see, they were mounted pretty low, around 10-12ft at most. The internal lighting was usually 40w incandescent lamps, two for the smaller signs, four for the longer ones. I suppose incandescent was used instead of fluorescent for better performance during the winter. They were made by a local company known as "Steel Art Signs" back in the mid-late 60s. Anyway they mostly died out in favour of reflective signs illuminated from headlights. Rising energy and maintenance costs saw most of them removed by the 2000s. The remaining ones have been relamped with LED lamps instead.

Side note: Some places used larger (4-6ft long) overhead street name signs mounted to the signal masts. Those typically used a series of fluorescent lamps. However my area never used them as by the time they were mounting street name signs on signal masts, they were already only using reflective signs.
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Re: What Homemade Fixtures Have You Made? « Reply #14 on: October 23, 2022, 04:40:18 AM » Author: Michael
Looks good your street sign. Back lit destination boards or “fingerposts” were common on mainroads till the 1990s. They consisted mostly one TLM 40W or 65W tube. According some records in our city there were some which used “Sylvania 85W” tube which might be Slimlines?
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