Flea Market Score

KurtF

KurtF

Well-known member
Gotta love the flea market. Sometimes you find a serious bargin. $20.00 for this box of small Fresnel units. Three inch lenses, maybe 5 or 6 inches long. Bulb is 150 watts.
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Probably came from a theater somewhere. Just need to add a 5/8ths inch receiver. Only the one bulb, and one of the sockets is badly corroded. I might fool around with putting an LED Cob into these at some point.
 
Good score. Always a good idea to closely inspect the power cables for any worn insulation or bad repairs. Lots of vintage camera stuff around the Tokyo area over here but I never see any for a good price. Even old Canon L series lenses are nearly at original price.

MW
 
Most likely baxonet nount sockets. Easy enough to replace a bad one. You should also be able to find doors for those, though you may want to drill and tap to add a safety clip if you do.
 
Thanks for the tips all. I believe these will become useful pieces of kit at some point.
 
Those seem to be Altman 100's - if so, barn doors, snoots, and gel frames are still manufactured. Times Square still makes a similar light, but the accessory size is different.

I just converted one of those to 150 HMI (well, CDM?? Not sure but the globe is dead-nuts-daylight for sixty bucks, with the little Amazon 150 ballast). Equivalent to 500-650ish watts of clean daylight (or a 1500 watt tungsten with full CTB). In a tiny light, super handy. I used the Times Square, which is rated to 150 or 200? The altmans are rated for 100.

If the wire looks like it's wrapped in cloth, it's likely asbestos which should be dumped (and wear gloves and a mask, do it outdoors, wash up well after). Get some high-temp silicone wire or fiberglass sleeved wire. The silicone is rated to something like 500°f. Normal electrical wire isn't good for these, the insulation will bake and crumble off near the globe. Make sure you ground them properly, too.

Handy little lights though not much oomph, good for picking out stuff on a set (I think they make killer reading lamps with their retro vibe). Or do the HID conversion for a really killer little portable light.
 
I remember your posts about the Aquarium Ballast! That might be the way to go. They would be super compact and punchy. Thanks for the tips.
 
If anyone ever finds a UK source for those TVMP adaptors, let me know.

The shipping is more than the price of the item.
 
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