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SRS Ballasts
Many thanks to Aaron for sending these over. 

One ballast is shown here running a HO lamp. It starts sorta like a rapid start but the tube needs to be grounded to start. I believe regular HO RS ballasts has a really high OCV (450-500v) so it just instant starts if the reflector isn't grounded. Oddly the lamp also flickers for about half a second after starting during which the step up buzzed loudly but ran normally afterwards. 

SRS (Semi Resonant Start) ballasts were commonly used in Britain if a starterless ballast was desired. Rapid start was not used because of the costs of adding cathode heating transformer to a choke ballast (120v 4' ballasts needed a built in step-up anyway so it was trivial to add the cathode heating circuit). [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Semi-resonant_start]See here[/url] for more info. 
Keywords: Gear

SRS Ballasts

Many thanks to Aaron for sending these over.

One ballast is shown here running a HO lamp. It starts sorta like a rapid start but the tube needs to be grounded to start. I believe regular HO RS ballasts has a really high OCV (450-500v) so it just instant starts if the reflector isn't grounded. Oddly the lamp also flickers for about half a second after starting during which the step up buzzed loudly but ran normally afterwards.

SRS (Semi Resonant Start) ballasts were commonly used in Britain if a starterless ballast was desired. Rapid start was not used because of the costs of adding cathode heating transformer to a choke ballast (120v 4' ballasts needed a built in step-up anyway so it was trivial to add the cathode heating circuit). See here for more info.

COL_IMG_0073.JPG COL_IMG_9267.JPG COL_IMG_8037.JPG COL_IMG_2136.JPG GOL_IMG_1876.JPG
File information
Filename:COL_IMG_8037.JPG
Album name:joe_347V / Lighting Components
Keywords:Gear
Company and Date Manufactured:Ardco Inc.
Model Number:800
Wattage:60/75w
Lamp Type:F48/60T12/HO
Filesize:59 KiB
Date added:May 24, 2013
Dimensions:1152 x 768 pixels
Displayed:156 times
Color Space:sRGB
DateTime Original:2013:05:24 12:20:31
Exposure Bias:0 EV
Exposure Mode:0
Exposure Program:Program
Exposure Time:1/160 sec
FNumber:f/7.1
Flash:No Flash
Focal length:18 mm
ISO:100
Make:Canon
Model:Canon EOS REBEL T3
URL:http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=15787
Favorites:Add to Favorites

Comment 1 to 7 of 7
Page: 1

A_lights   [May 24, 2013 at 07:32 PM]
awesome! glad they arrived so fast Very Happy

(i have 9 more up for free left)
BULB FREAK   [May 24, 2013 at 07:40 PM]
nice!! about the comment on RS we did acshely have a form of RS only difrence i beleve is the heating tranformer was after the choke rather then befor it was QS (quick start) (GEC invented QS/RS in 1948) but SRS was more populare is it was more relibal in starting the lamps esp in cold temps.
joe_347V   [May 24, 2013 at 11:01 PM]
Thanks, I didn't know that Britain used RS before too. SRS gear is super rare over here.
BULB FREAK   [May 25, 2013 at 12:23 AM]
NP Smile I know SRS is super rare in the 120V relem i was Shocked wen i saw alights post. ill get a pic of a QS heating tranformer (most were an all in one ballast but some fittings had a sepret ballast and heating tranformer ) (BTW if ur worndering SRS stands for simi Resonant Start )
streetlight98   [May 25, 2013 at 12:26 AM]
cool ballasts!
joe_347V   [May 25, 2013 at 03:45 AM]
Thanks!

As I was stripping one ballast down for repainting, it turns out that these are rebranded by Ardco. The original manufacturer is a company called. It turns out they're actually a 240v 50hz European SRS ballast for 5' 65w T12 lamps.

A_lights   [May 25, 2013 at 11:27 AM]
wow very cool! would have never guessed that!

Comment 1 to 7 of 7
Page: 1