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FRESNEL sources

Started by Teletran, May 18, 2006, 12:23 pm

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mobius

Quote from: warmcanofcoke on Nov 17, 2012, 01:12 am
just saw this at Home Depot in the states
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=203276200&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053#.UKbc6YV_RyU
7.25 in  Wide ... the glass is slightly smaller than that
$69.97 /EA-Each


nice one, funny I looked at that and thought, that looks like about a $30 fixture, oops. still, pretty nice, paint it blue it's good to go. dunno if I want to spend that much tho, I'll be looking around. I could end up spending more tho! this is good because it's already outdoor rated so if you have an exterior call box, it'd be a good start.
It's always a matter of time...

madgaz

Hi All,

After receiving my lamp lens in the post (in pieces  :( ) I'm on the hunt again for a relatively cheap lamp/light.
I've stumbled across this on ebay which sounds sort-of promising. Just trying to find out what the width/diameter of the actual lens is from the seller (wasn't sure if it included the mouting arm or not).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170884398361&fromMakeTrack=true


Gaz

DoctorWho8

The fresnel seems to be on the small side.  Taking the pic and sizing it to the height of the specs, the fresnel comes out about 5.75"w X 3.5"h.
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

galacticprobe

May 24, 2013, 04:29 am #138 Last Edit: May 24, 2013, 04:30 am by galacticprobe
Quote from: madgaz on May 23, 2013, 08:10 pm
After receiving my lamp lens in the post (in pieces  :( ) I'm on the hunt again for a relatively cheap lamp/light.


Wasn't the lens packaged well enough for shipping? If not and that's what caused it to be damaged in the post, then you might want to contact the place you bought it from and have them send you a replacement. I had a similar thing happen once, and after sending the vendor photos (via e-mail) of what I received in the post and how the thing was packaged, they did send me a replacement, and didn't charge any shipping fees. It's at least worth a try. (Just be polite, and you may be surprised.)

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

madgaz

May 28, 2013, 02:55 pm #139 Last Edit: May 28, 2013, 02:56 pm by madgaz
Quote from: galacticprobe on May 24, 2013, 04:29 am
Quote from: madgaz on May 23, 2013, 08:10 pm
After receiving my lamp lens in the post (in pieces  :( ) I'm on the hunt again for a relatively cheap lamp/light.


Wasn't the lens packaged well enough for shipping? If not and that's what caused it to be damaged in the post, then you might want to contact the place you bought it from and have them send you a replacement.


Hi Dino,

I emailed them the other day and they've said that if I return it, they'll refund the money. It wasn't overly expensive, but I'm a bit miffed that I paid about £10 for the P&P and it was packed so poorly! (Just bubble wrap wround the outside - personally I would have packed something into the middle to get some strength behind it and maybe put one box in another with even more packaging).

Just waiting for a return address now. In the meantime I've contacted Trinity marine and I think I'll get one from them (Second time lucky?  ;D )

Gaz

galacticprobe

May 29, 2013, 04:30 am #140 Last Edit: May 29, 2013, 04:33 am by galacticprobe
Quote from: madgaz on May 28, 2013, 02:55 pm
I emailed them the other day and they've said that if I return it, they'll refund the money. It wasn't overly expensive, but I'm a bit miffed that I paid about £10 for the P&P and it was packed so poorly! (Just bubble wrap wround the outside...

I'd be miffed, too. At least you'll be getting your purchase price back. I'm really surprised they're not offering a replacement lens, shocked at their lack of adequate packaging for something so fragile, and even more shocked that the company is making you pay for postage, initial and return, when it was their incompetence in packaging that caused the breakage. (You may want to consider posting the name of that company so anyone else looking for a lens - especially a newbie - doesn't fall into that same situation.)

Quote from: madgaz on May 28, 2013, 02:55 pm
Just waiting for a return address now. In the meantime I've contacted Trinity marine and I think I'll get one from them (Second time lucky?  ;D )

Good luck with the second try, Gaz! I think others on here have gotten lenses from them without incident.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Volpone

Did I just find the grail?

Maybe not.  But for less than 20 bucks, this looks pretty darned good.  There's a 90% chance I'll be ordering it:  http://www.vermontlanterns.com/category/extras/oil-lamp-chimney?page=1 (the top one.)
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

NotaMountainGoat

Feb 16, 2014, 05:54 pm #142 Last Edit: Feb 16, 2014, 06:26 pm by NotaMountainGoat
Whoa! And only 20 bucks? Almost seems too good to be true!

Hmm, looks like the link moved on us. Here's a more direct one:
http://www.vermontlanterns.com/content/anchor-lamp-chimney-19

There's also an alternate frosted one, but it's hard to tell from the picture what it really looks like:
http://www.vermontlanterns.com/content/anchor-lamp-chimney-19-frosted



Volpone

Well it doesn't look like it is a true Fresnel lens, just more or less Fresnel shaped.  Still, for $20, I'm going to give it a shot. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

galacticprobe

Feb 17, 2014, 07:18 am #144 Last Edit: Feb 17, 2014, 07:19 am by galacticprobe
This one looks like it has the right "curves" and dims for an early Hartnell Brachacki lamp! It would definitely do for a Smith lamp lens, but it has "Original Brachacki" written all over it (and in Gallifreyan!).

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

NotaMountainGoat

Feb 26, 2014, 02:05 am #145 Last Edit: Feb 26, 2014, 02:33 am by NotaMountainGoat
Hey Volpone, hope you hadn't actually ordered yours yet. I just got mine in the mail today, and it actually measures out at a whopping 7 1/4 inches wide. The 6 inches they refer to only applies to the diameter of the inner lip.

And incidentally it's only clear glass, and not an actual "lens" (at least as far as I can tell).

I'm hoping I can return mine. I see another one with a 5 inch diameter lip (which presumably means 6 1/4 overall), but it's also only 5 1/4 inches tall. That might make it a bit too squat, but it would probably still be closer to the basic proportions than my current one...

galacticprobe

Feb 26, 2014, 06:05 am #146 Last Edit: Feb 26, 2014, 06:10 am by galacticprobe
Those lens dims sound like they would be great for a Met Box (or a Cushing TARDIS) build. Still, might be close enough for an original Brachacki. It is a bit wide for a Smith TARDIS lamp going by the diameter of the lamp cap (8 inches), which looking at the reference photos is quite a bit wider than the lens is.

As for it being "ribbed" glass and not an actual Fresnel lens, well, it's about the same way with those "jelly/jam jar" lamp glasses (from porch lights). It looks the part, and for the price can't be beat. An actual Fresnel lens of that size would cost a whole lot more. Besides, sitting atop a 10-foot-tall TARDIS? If anyone looks at the lens that closely and tells you it's not an actual Fresnel, you take a step back, point at them with outstretched arm (like Donald Sutherland at the end of the remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") and shout at them for all to hear, "RIVET COUNTER!" (Repeat the chant as necessary until the intruder is driven off.)

We all make do with what we can. Fresnel lenses are very expensive to make because of the prisms involved. A "ribbed glass" clone for what amounts to pocket change? You really can't go wrong with that.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Volpone

Quote from: NotaMountainGoat on Feb 26, 2014, 02:05 am
Hey Volpone, hope you hadn't actually ordered yours yet. I just got mine in the mail today, and it actually measures out at a whopping 7 1/4 inches wide. The 6 inches they refer to only applies to the diameter of the inner lip.

And incidentally it's only clear glass, and not an actual "lens" (at least as far as I can tell).

I'm hoping I can return mine. I see another one with a 5 inch diameter lip (which presumably means 6 1/4 overall), but it's also only 5 1/4 inches tall. That might make it a bit too squat, but it would probably still be closer to the basic proportions than my current one...

I'm awfully sorry you became my guinea pig. No, I've been busy so I haven't ordered yet.  good to know about the dimensions.  I could tell it wasn't a proper lens.  I haven't decided my workaround on that yet.  Maybe nothing.  Alternately I may put some kind of lens inside it.  I've seen great effect by putting a cell phone under a bottle of Gatorade, so who knows.  I hope you're able to return it and I wish I'd ordered it first, since I suggested it. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

NotaMountainGoat

Oh don't worry about it. I checked their policy and it's not a big deal to return it.

As for the lens thing, I'm honestly not too concerned about that aspect for my build. Especially since you can't see the lamp in any detail anyway, once it's way up there on the roof! Lol

davidnagel

Quote from: Teletran on May 18, 2006, 12:23 pm
Look what I found outside Perth zoo,

10051086bv.th.jpg

it looks a little big for a police box, what do you guys think?


I found a company that'll just sell some of the lenses, a fair price if you ask me.
http://www.thornlighting.com/en/products/outdoor-lighting/urban-amenity-lighting/Chartor

£21.77 plus 1.5% for usage of debit or credit card, free postage.

I do wonder if its a bit big though?
Regards
David