PAR64 VNSP, is this correct?

[Shawn Nelson]

Okay, newb question here. I bought 3 Par64 cans along with yoke adaptors and am assembling them tonight. I never helped out in theater so I'm guessing how to put these together, though it seems fairly straightforward (remove rear, remove retaining ring, put in bulb, put retaining ring back in again to pinch bulb in). One concern I had is that the bulb is almost touching the protective grid (presumably for broken glass).

Anyhow, my main question, I plugged in an FFN VNSP bulb and the pattern is oblong, is that normal? I thought a VNSP would be spotty, and it is, but oblong, here's a picture depicting what I am seeing.

[David Mullen ASC]

Yes, the PAR 64 "firestarter" globe output has an oblong shape that you can make vertical or horizontal.

[Bret Weeks]

You got the assembly right - good little fixtures to have around-

Par64's come in a few different flavors-

Very Narrow (Which you have), Narrow, Medium and Wide-

Wattages also vary (the Ansi code changes) - 500W, 1000W and I've always known "Firestarters" as 1200W VNSP - Aircraft landing lights - these are extremely difficult to find these days as that technology changed a few years back.....

Mediums are the Globe d'jour...

They all use the same socket - check prices though - some retailers charge $50+ each-

good luck-

bw

[Shawn Nelson]

David, about that moniker "firestarter", can I use the given gel frame without torching the gel or do I need to put the gel in a standalone frame an extra foot away from the light?

Bret, why are the mediums the globe to have? In everything I read from David, it seems he uses mostly just Very Narrow and occasionally Narrow but never Medium or Wide. I bought three cans and bulbed two of them VN and one of them Narrow, didn't buy any mediums.

[Shawn Nelson]

Oh, and I got mine off ebay from a reliable repeat seller, I paid $21 a piece (including S&H) for name brand GE bulbs.

[David Mullen ASC]

I use other lights when I want a medium spread anyway, like a fresnel or open-faced, etc. To me, the PAR 64's are mainly useful for getting a really hot, searing spot on something for very little wattage.

There are times when medium PAR's are useful as a cheap light, like when you have to hang a hundred of them in a ceiling grid.

You need to put the gel at a distance from the firestarters, if you gel them at all. If you just need some warmer color, try dimming them instead.

If you have a PARCAN design, you can put gel at the end of the can in the gel holder, though I've done that with spot globes, I haven't done that with narrow spots. I suspect it will melt or fade pretty quickly.

[sander kamp]

I have worked a lot with these lights for concerts and it is very common to have a gel in the gel holder at the end of the tube. And yes, they melt a bit or turn opaque after some time, depending on the color.

[Cail Young]

All standard* PAR lamps exhibit an ellipsoidal (as opposed to circular) 'hot spot' in the projected field - if you slowly rotate even the MFL and wider PAR lamps you'll notice it.

*The new LED based "PAR" units project with a circular hot spot.

[Cail Young]

Originally Posted by Shawn Nelson

(remove rear, remove retaining ring, put in bulb, put retaining ring back in again to pinch bulb in). One concern I had is that the bulb is almost touching the protective grid (presumably for broken glass).

Make sure that the bulb is free-spinning whilst held in with the ring - the ring should sit over all three notches in the back of the bulb. This will let you "spin the bottle/turn the ceramic/insert local phrase here" and rotate that elliptical hot spot.

[Shawn Nelson]

thanks guys! I then took both outside (last night, which was extremely foggy) and pointed them at the sky, that VNSP stays focused for a long time! Dang, you could use those to fake showlights if you weren't that far away!