gregog Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hi All,Does anybody have any idea how I am able to change my birdies to simply have a 15amp plug and not have to have a transformer? I have no clue how to do it or how it is done - but I know it is possible. A small hire company in North London have done it and hire them out. It would save me not only a lot of money but make my life a lot simpler - so if anyone has any inclination of how to do it - Please could you enlighten me?? Many thanks in advance,Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcog Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 You need to fit a GU10 lamp to them. It's a 240 volt lamp so you don't need a transformer to make it work. Whether you need to do any more work to the fixture to make it suitable for the 240V is another question... It could mean buying new fixtures, it could just mean swaping the lamp and lamp base round or anywhere inbetween... Sorry I can't be of more help James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hi All,Does anybody have any idea how I am able to change my birdies to simply have a 15amp plug and not have to have a transformer? I have no clue how to do it or how it is done - but I know it is possible. A small hire company in North London have done it and hire them out. It would save me not only a lot of money but make my life a lot simpler - so if anyone has any inclination of how to do it - Please could you enlighten me?? Many thanks in advance,Steve The simple answer is "Yes it can be done", but the correct answer (which you probably don't want to hear) is, "If you have to ask this question, you should not be doing this." Changing the lamp base in any lantern is a job that should only be done by a suitably experienced person and you clearly do not have that expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The simple answer is "Yes it can be done", but the correct answer (which you probably don't want to hear) is, "If you have to ask this question, you should not be doing this." Changing the lamp base in any lantern is a job that should only be done by a suitably experienced person and you clearly do not have that expertise.In addition it will be a fiddly job and very tedious if you have a number to do. Why bother when new 240V birdies can be had for <£10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 They use a GU10 base 240V lamp http://www.sparksdirect.co.uk/images/ES3550F.jpg Trafo birdie uses a Low Voltage 12V GX5.3 bi pin lamp http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/contentimages/catalogimages/watermarked/51mm-dichroic-975.jpg GU10 lamps have very short life , are not as efficient as LV lamps ,warmer colour temperature and poor beam control, but they don`t need a trafo. Conversion is more pain than its worth, lampholder, earth tag, mounting bracket, strain relief and time, complete item 7.18 assembled http://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_par_16_gu10_black.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 £6.10 (ex VAT) in the UK, £5.50 for 12. However I agree about the poor beam control of the GU10s - they mostly have a pretty nasty stepped beam. I've been considering trying out some of the ES base PAR20s or PAR30s instead of GU10 birdies, as hopefully they will have better beam control, they can take a more usable 75-100w lamp, and the lamps are available in varying beam angles. If anyone has experience of these smaller PAR20/30s I'd be interested in how they compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 ..I've been considering trying out some of the ES base PAR20s or PAR30s instead of GU10 birdies, as hopefully they will have better beam control, they can take a more usable 75-100w lamp, and the lamps are available in varying beam angles. If anyone has experience of these smaller PAR20/30s I'd be interested in how they compare. I've had eight of the Thomann PAR20s, with 50W/10° ES27 lamps, for several years and they are very handy. Extremely robust and the lamps are rated at 2000h. They get hurled in and out of the car for every show and I haven't lost a lamp yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sguy42 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 ..I've been considering trying out some of the ES base PAR20s or PAR30s instead of GU10 birdies, as hopefully they will have better beam control, they can take a more usable 75-100w lamp, and the lamps are available in varying beam angles. If anyone has experience of these smaller PAR20/30s I'd be interested in how they compare. I've had eight of the Thomann PAR20s, with 50W/10° ES27 lamps, for several years and they are very handy. Extremely robust and the lamps are rated at 2000h. They get hurled in and out of the car for every show and I haven't lost a lamp yet. As a comparison we have ~60 GU10 birdies, they're used about once a year and the bulbs are so delicate I reckon we lose about 10% every time they come out. Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 For anybody in London, I'll find out the name of the make of lamp, but theres an electrical shop on Edgware Rd (heading north just past the hilton metropole) that does really good GU10 lamps!!! Ive had my birdies kicked , bashed , knocked but they still keep on glowing!!! I bought the fixtures (which were fine) from CPC and used IEC plugs, sockets and multi boxes for the mains distro and its been all good so far. The GU10 lamps I also got from CPC were useless and lasted 5 minutes. 3 out of 8 birdies popped almost as soon as I had turned them on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 If anyone has experience of these smaller PAR20/30s I'd be interested in how they compare. I would avoid P30's as a birdie replacement. They are a much larger fixture, but mainly because they have a very poor uneven beam pattern, from both the spot or flood lamp opions. Having said that, they work great for uplighting walls! They are just poor when you need an even illumination. The P20 has a similar beam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Thanks for the input. We have some GU10 birdies at present, mainly for things like practicals and backlighting windows etc - however the light output is so uneven (as you suggest the P30s are also) I was just wondering if the PAR30s were any better. It would seem they may be more robust but the light output isn't exactly perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Beesley Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 The GU10 lamps I also got from CPC were useless and lasted 5 minutes. 3 out of 8 birdies popped almost as soon as I had turned them on. Which lamps did you buy? Drop me a PM with your account details and I will look into this... Cheers Chris B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyJ Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 ;) Hi, as has been previously stated, yes its possible but why bother when you can get a very respectable fixture ( sorry lantern) from showtec complete with barndoors and a stand for a very resonable price.I use these a lot for working lights when follow spotting or board oping, and for other applications on stage where I need a small lantern.As for the beam quality I've had no problems.Keep it illuminated Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyAston Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 In my experience 240V GU10 just dont have to poke compared to 12V or 24V versions. have you considered a 4 way transformer and use XLR connectors to connect and extend the power source. I would recommend making your own two core cable to 3 or 4Pin XLR, but if you we stuck standard 3Pin would do the job. Birdies are a very easy hidden unit and an IEC (which I wouldnt recomment any thing else for 240V temorary connections) are a bit clumbersome. plus extenting 12V cable across set or in or around public areas is far safer and easier to get signed off. hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewE Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 But remember not to put your birdies too far away from your transformer as the drop in output over anything more than a metre or so of cable is very noticeable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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