J Pearce Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 Hi all.Has anyone got any recommendations for 12V birdie transformers that actually work and don't blow up? Despite buying several different batches from different suppliers that are all described as dimmable I keep getting transformers that self destruct after several hours of use - never on first use. If you know of any known good transformers I'd welcome your recommendations!
henny Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 Would you not be better converting to 230v gu10 lamps ??
alistermorton Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 Noooooo. More fragile than a fragile thing on St Fragile's day. MR16s are much more robust than GU10s.
J Pearce Posted May 30, 2017 Author Posted May 30, 2017 Also GU10s are much dimmer, and generally have a horrible image of the filament in the beam, and don't have the broader selection of lamp angles. I run GU10s on birdies elsewhere, but not appropriate in this scenario.
alistermorton Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 I'll have a look at our birdie transformers when I'm in the theatre this evening to look for branding - the ones we've got have lasted for years. They may still be available. One of the things I'm looking at doing longer term is an LED replacement, but getting the dimming working with commonly available LED MR16 replacements is so far proving problematic.
jonathanhill Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 Mode Lighting transformers are fairly bombproof. They used to do a great little unit that took power and data and outputted a dimmed 12V supply.
alistermorton Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 I shall check out Mode too. Looks like their LED stuff might be worth pursuing.
sandall Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 We have had loads of Modes for many years, & I've never heard of one dying. On the other hand I have several little rectangular ones from (I think) CPC, that get very little use, & none of them have died either.
andy_s Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 I always used to get my dimmable 12V trannies from RS. Proper heavy ones, not the little electronic hobbies that can't be more than 45cm from the lamp. Don't know if they are still available, and probably not the cheapest option as you supply your own cable on both sides plus plugs and sockets, but failure rate was very low.
martinw Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 Last time I needed some, I bought these, they still work fine 4 years later. Martin
alistermorton Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 The ones we have, which have lasted years, look like the ones Martin linked to at Stage Electrics.
sandall Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 The ones we have, which have lasted years, look like the ones Martin linked to at Stage Electrics.I wouldn't be surprised if these, Mode & the old RS ones with attached wires are all actually the same product.
Guest Posted May 30, 2017 Posted May 30, 2017 1496154987[/url]' post='551052']Last time I needed some, I bought these, they still work fine 4 years later. Martin Yep they're the ones I use too, and seem to be very robust. The only thing I've come across with them is they don't seem to have the tightest chord grips, and the flex has slipped out of the plastic transformer chord grip in the past.Edward
alistermorton Posted May 31, 2017 Posted May 31, 2017 I'll have a look at our birdie transformers when I'm in the theatre this evening to look for branding Pah - as far as I could see there was no branding as such.
J Pearce Posted June 1, 2017 Author Posted June 1, 2017 Thanks for the valuable information all, this lot gives me a good base to go from in restocking my whole box of 12V transformers.
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