A1/259 Long Life Bulbs - Any Good?

[markyb 0]

Im about to buy some spare 250w A1/259, and when looking online I found the 500 hours long life version.

 

They cost about double the standard cost (£10 instead of £5), but obviously if they last 500 hours it would be a good deal!

 

My question is, do they really last that long or am I better off buying the standard life version, and replacing them when neccesary?

 

Cheers, Mark.

[spinner 0]

Have a look at www.djlamps.com - you could save some money.

[fester 0]

When a bulb pops in any of my halogen lights i've been replacing them with the 500 hour bulbs.

 

2 of the lights have had the same bulbs in for a good 3 years now and far exceeded the normal life i'd usually expect, so in my experience yes they are worth the price.

 

And as Spinner recommends, djlamps are fantastic on price.

[markyb 0]

Thanks Spinner, I'll take a look!

 

Thanks Fester, I had a bulb go last night and Im out of spares so I will try a long life one and see how it goes!

 

Cheers, Mark

[McCardle 1]

If you have lamp extenders in your effects (ie Datamoon) then you may find that the brightness of the light output from the effect deteriorates slightly when using long life bulbs. This is because the filament is slightly thicker than a standard 250w lamp and the lamp a few lumens less by design. Combine this with effects which slightly under run the voltage to the lamp in order to extend the life, then you may find that there is a noticable drop in light output.

 

Basically, these long life lamps are better used in effects without any form of lamp extender within the effect. Most modern effects do under run standard cheap 24v 250w bulbs anyway, which offers 300 hours on average from a standard el cheapo A1/259 lamp which can be bought in bulk (10+) for about £2.00 each.

 

If you do go for the Extended life A1/259 then personally I find that the Philips Broadway brand are the best, although a little difficult to obtain locally.

 

Other than that, i've had a chinese cheap A1/259 in my Datamoon (with lamp extender on) for well over 2 years now. Granted work is a little thin on the ground this year, but I reckon its already passed the 300 hour mark, not bad for a cheap 50 hour imported white box unbranded lamp which cost about £1.80 in a sale and i've still got 9 of them left.

 

Although trade only, if your order is sufficient enough and you wave cash at their trade counter, then Electrovision will usually do business with you!, provided your order is over £50 in total. Occasionally they have standard A1/259 for £1.50 each in 10's and yes they are probably far Eastern in origin and certainly unbranded, but i've had 2 years worth out of one of them!.

 

 

[DJColinJames 0]

 

Although trade only, if your order is sufficient enough and you wave cash at their trade counter, then Electrovision will usually do business with you!, provided your order is over £50 in total.

 

 

Oh don't get me started. Why not publish directions and a map as well.

 

Tell you what I can start a shuttle bus service for everyone. At least I will still have a job when my shop goes bust.

 

I'll probably make more money doing that than I do now trying to compete with my own suppliers.

 

Calm blue oceans, calm blue oceans..........Right, I am OK now.

 

Like I said, don't get me started.

 

However, in true democratic style, please allow me to put forward another viewpoint.

 

The blame here lies at Electrovision's door. I can't blame anyone for trying to get the best deal but as long as there are distributors selling at trade prices to the public, small independent retailers will continue to go to the wall, especially those within spitting distance. I am 12 miles away from Electrovision. Before I started Warrington Sound & Light 5 years ago I managed another shop for over 20 years which was one of their very first customers. I am on first name terms with many of their directors so this really is a bitter pill for me to swallow.

 

A fair number of my customers know the worst kept secret about Electrovision and use them regularly, probably more often than I do now. And guess what. These are the same guys that queue up at my door on a Saturday morning with their amps and lights for me to fix and then whinge at my repair charges. Well guys, if I could make any money selling lamps and stuff I could lower my charges and we'd all be happy.

 

On a serious note, there may be an issue when buying from Electrovision under the Sale of Goods Act. If goods are sold under their terms and conditions which you agree to when signing the invoice you may forfeit some of your legal rights as a consumer. As a trade customer I am not automatically entitled to refunds, replacements or repairs and they simply don't take faulty lamps back. You may have to argue your case.

 

You don't get owt for nowt, as they say. Please support your local dealers, people.

 

Col.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Warrington Sound & Light Ltd

[markyb 0]

Thanks McCardle,

 

So am I best to run the Datamoons at normal brightness (without using the extended lamp life switch), if I am using long life bulbs?

 

Cheers, Mark

[MintyDave 0]

I have always used osram lamps as that what my local store stocks however time for change. I put 2 new lamps in my datamoons on NYE and they have not been used again until last night (cooled down, stored in warm dry room etc)

 

within 2 hours both lamps went. fortunately i had the opportunity to swap at buffet time wthout anybody realising.

 

I did however figure out that the lamp life extender switch is either wired or placed upside down so what i thought was extender mode is actually full brightness.

 

my scanners have had the same lamps in for a lot longer and they have done more gigs

 

still waiting for decent led gogbo flower!!!!!

Edited February 20, 2011 by MintyDave

[fester 0]

I recently took a punt on some soundlab 300-500 hour 250W 24V ELC lamps from djlamps and i've been pleasantly surprised.

Been using them in 2 scanners that I run at virtually every gig. Can't say there's any noticeable difference in brightness and although I doubt they've done 100 hours yet they have certainly done more than the usual 40 hours up to press.

Whether or not they do manage 300 hours or even 500 remains to be seen but at only £2.55 each they are definitely worth considering.

http://www.djlamps.com/index.php?productID=678

 

edit: added a link

Edited February 20, 2011 by fester

[gadget 0]

The soundlab bulbs are very hit and miss.

 

I compared soundlab std, Osram Std, Philips Std, Philips Long Life and XenPow in a pair of datamoons...

 

Brightest to dimmest:-

XenPow

Osram Std

Philips Std

Philips LL

Soundlab

 

 

I'm currently using XenPow A1/259 bulbs in my datamoons, and they're pretty bright. I also replaced both switches on the datamoons as they had both melted internally(!).

 

All bulbs were brought from a well known nottingham retailer/etailer :)

 

Cheers,

 

David

[MintyDave 0]

thats some monies worth of lamps there David,

 

question is what lasts longer? [joke]does the 'life hours' included sat at home in a flight case[/joke]

[gadget 0]

thats some monies worth of lamps there David,

 

question is what lasts longer? [joke]does the 'life hours' included sat at home in a flight case[/joke]

 

lol, agreed - I blew two osram lamps in a Soundlab Colourscan on successive gigs.. They lasted less than a 10th of their expected lifespan

 

 

I went mad and bought 2 of each of the bulbs (except osram, still had one left!) at the same time I bought my abs gator mixer flight case.... which is one of the better purchases I've made (and my back agrees!)...

[MintyDave 0]

lol, agreed - I blew two osram lamps in a Soundlab Colourscan on successive gigs.. They lasted less than a 10th of their expected lifespan

I went mad and bought 2 of each of the bulbs (except osram, still had one left!) at the same time I bought my abs gator mixer flight case.... which is one of the better purchases I've made (and my back agrees!)...

 

yes, the plywood cases are sturdy etc but weigh enough without a mixer etc. I want a hc4500 and figure would need an 11u x 4u case as i wont go anywhere with out cd backup. the bu cd drawer is the obvious choice but i cant afford both at once and having the x500, 4500 and my old cd controller = 9u. also if the 4500 goes down i dont have cd or midi control - anyway thats another story which has been driving me up the wall recently as i cant figure it all out :wall:

 

will try phillips lamps next to see if that helps, not bothered about brightness, longevity.

 

 

[gadget 0]

I *think* you can get a DN-X500, HD2500 and HC4500 all together on the top panel (at least I calculated it as 4U for the mixer, 3U each HD & HC unit).. - This would be my ideal (well ideal would be the DN-X900 mixer)

 

With BU-4500 or DN-D4500 drawer in the front + 2 u spare for other stuff... (like x-over / digital eq unit etc).

 

Cheers,

 

David

[MintyDave 0]

its the weight of the cases with all that in that bothers me.

 

i currently have a kamkase 252 with twin cd drawer, x500 and cd controller and that weighs enough.

 

now this is the bit that has had me stewing for ages

 

i like to use the lid off the kamkase to hide my laptop and having a 4' table leaves just enough room for a mouse. But I desperately want midi control as im getting a bit more adventurous. dropping a rmx/total control/whatever next to my current box is an easy solution with the laptop on a stand - but i loose that protection from the lid

 

or i get an 8ux2u case and drop in my x500, a hc4500 and put a bu drawer in the bottom. thats fine but like said if i loose the hc4500 im dead. also i do karaoke and my current cd kit supports cdg which the bu does not

 

the last option is 11u+4u where 2u on the front is actually a blank for the mixer depth. heavy!!!

 

im desperately trying to avoid having my laptop up in the air where it is most vulnerable and some rooms i do barely have enough space for a 4' table let alone anything bigger.

 

i was going to go down the cdj route but decided that was a bit ott.

 

also im not sure the hc4500 is the best for my big hands and chubby pinkies

[Dukesy 0]

I find that the majority of blown bulbs seem to happen during the winter, when lights are taken from a cold van into a steaming hot venue. Condensation or basic thermal shock to the glass and filament plays a big part in reducing the life of lamps, as does moving them around too soon after a gig before they've cooled down.

 

Using the effect in the correct position is also advised as some lamps, especially projection types are senstive to which way the filament is positioned. So many Dj's i've seen at work seem to use their effects upside down, or positioned on speakers where the vibration also lessens the lamp life, and then wonder why they get through bulbs so quick.

 

How many of you service your effects on a regular basis, and keep the fan clear of dust. Lack of air circulation or debris like dust falling or being blown onto the hot lamp can be enough to blow it. Keep the fan clear of all dust build up and clean 'em out every 10 gigs or so. Some effects i've seen have fans which look like the inside of an hoover bag.

 

However if you are careful to do all of this and maintain and service your equipment on a regular basis and the lamp still blows then change the brand of lamp, until then its highly likely to be human error

 

I use cheap, unbranded white box lamps and don't seem to get through them any faster than 'branded' ones costing 3 or 4 times the price