LM_NET: Library Media Networking
- Subject: HIT: Overhead/Projection Lamp Blues (Solutions!?)
- From: Jeffrey Hastings <hastings@hps.k12.mi.us>
- Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 12:36:02 -0400
<HTML>
Dear Friends:
<P>Many thanks to the thirty or so colleagues who sent thoughtful responses
to my posting regarding what I've perceived to be an unnecessarily annoying
problem: Faulty overhead projectors and projection lamps.
<P>Nearly all respondents agreed that they seem to be popping more lamps
than ever--plus there was some consensus on which lamp codes fry most frequently.
Solutions? I'll get to that... first--allow me to [drastically] paraphrase
from some of the e-mail I received.
<P>-----------------------------------------------------
<P>"It was so good to hear from someone else who is frustrated with the
quality and performance of both overheads and lamps!" PROBLEM LAMPS: DYS,
EVD --
<P>"Have been meaning to respond to [you] about the ephemeral nature of
the ENX bulb. I myself have seriously proposed to raise a posse and
hunt down the dogs who make them. I believe this would result in
serious savings to the county..."
<P>"Mostly ENX bulbs go out...we have not discovered a reliable machine
and more and more of our budget is going into bulbs.."
<P>"Our building was recently renovated and we all got new overheads. They
are ELMO HP L355. The bulbs are ENX-5. Sound familiar? We were blowing
them left and right-- it was ridiculous..."
<P>" We have had about 20 ENX-5 lamps crack and have only got the company
to replace 6."
<P>"I have been a librarian for 22 years and the current crop of overheads
are worthless. I do not care for the design of any of the current overhead
projectors. My DYS-5's are gone!! I bought more than enough to last
the year based on the previous year's usage patterns and I ran out last
week. (circa March 7) In the past five years I have had a rep from
the power company measure the current flow. I have tried stringing
extension cords to [prevent] power surges, tried patching through hot carts,
etc...3M overheads are the worst right now though I can't say anything
else is much better. Plus it seems like 3M wins our county purchasing
bid every year."
<P>"We have the same problem you do. Lamps don't last. So far this year
we have used 37 ENX, 17 DYS, 18 EHA. We have about twelve 3M's [overheads]
and many other brands which do not blow [lamps] that fast. Give 'em hell."
<P>"I see overhead projectors as the bane of my existence. Whenever
a teacher asks me her chances of getting an overhead that will work I tell
her to tell the principal. I am tired of being blamed for the bad projectors
when all I do is store them, provide bulbs for them and clean them."
PROBLEM LAMPS: ENX, DYS
<P>"Last Monday an overhead (less than 6 months old) blew two ENX lamps
in a row; then I sent it for repair. (that's our process) I'll probably
get it back with a 'no problem discovered here' message." PROBLEM OVERHEADS
AND LAMPS: 3M overheads and ENX lamps.
<P>I received a long and painful account of overhead problems from Kathie
Huffman, an audio-visual technician. Her trail of tears sounded quite
familiar. She bought 7 Elmo HPL3550s. They immediately started blowing
lamps. Elmo reps said "don't bump or move the machines when the lamps are
hot." She instructed the staff on their proper use. No improvement. Elmo
reps then say, "probably a bad batch of bulbs." 2 dozen lamps are sent
to GE for testing. They're returned from the company with a message
that 'all tested O.K..' Elmo reps say that the bridge diodes must
be bad in the machines. "Sometimes that happens in shipping," they add.
A technician replaces the suspect bridge diodes. Lamps continue to
blow. Elmo reps suggest changing to ENX-5 lamps. No improvement.
"At that point, Elmo didn't really want to talk to us much!" Kathy added.
"With seven of the ELMO HPL3550s we go through an average of $84.00 per
month in FXL or ENX bulbs alone." (<I>Personal note: Kathie's testimony
about the bridge rectifier repairs struck a timely chord with me.
I have just received two 3M 313s back from the shop. The machines
use bridge rectifiers to knock down 120 volt wall current to accommodate
low-voltage lamps like many newer overheads do. Price tag on the
repairs $120.00. I'm looking at those buggers right now. Do
I really think they'll work this time? Nah. It seems to me that the
diodes in the rectifiers are being used as a scapegoat for a set of more
elusive problems with the overheads and their lamps. I have
never seen such a repair actually fully alleviate the problem. And
who cares if it doesn't? Everyone wins-- overhead manufacturers,
lamp manufacturers and my repair service!</I>
<BR><I>Honestly, I only sent the overheads out to the shop because I just
wanted them to go away.)</I><I></I>
<P>"We too are having a problem with ENX lamps blowing quite frequently.
We use the ELMO 3550. In some cases putting them onto a power surge
strip has cut down on the bulbs blown because of the number of surges in
our building."
<P>AN OPTIMISTIC NOTE WAS SOUNDED BY R. JEAN GUSTAFSEN: "This school year
we went through 40+ bulbs by March-- maybe even sooner." Frustrated,
she began to investigate the power on her campus and found that authorities
considered it quite "noisy" due to the large numbers of refrigeration compressors
in use in the nearby warehouses. Her solution was to buy a single surge
protector for each overhead, and by doing so she claims to have gone from
"using a bulb a week to lasting two months on a bulb. (per machine)"
She was good enough to forward this information about the surge protector
she chose: BUSSMAN TV SENTRY. It costs about six dollars and
it uses a fuse which costs about one dollar.
<P>Liz McMahon, normally one of librarianship's most sunny and effervescent
characters, was clearly miffed on this topic, writing icily: " I share
your frustration about overheads that use ENX Lamps... I am fairly sure
that ENX lamps blow 3-4 times as often as anything else. I once called
an a-v repair shop and was told that ENX lamps are rated for only approx.
70 hrs. of life... For those who use the overhead daily we have to
change them almost monthly!"
<P>"We are encountering greater numbers of bulbs, blowing on shorter life-span
terms, some immediately. I had one teacher go through three just
last week. "
<P>"I've been popping DYS like crazy this year-- I've gone through twice
as many already as I usually use in the entire year. You're right
about ENX too!"
<P>"It's a nightmare and my bulbs eat my budget faster than anything else.."
<P>"Yes, yes, YES! So I am not the only one complaining about the new overheads,
the bad lamps, and the increased costs in my little budget. Our old
models are so much better than these new 3M overheads. "
<P>"Amen and amen. I am ready to scream. $750.00 this year
on lamps and they're still burning out."
<P>"We are noticing a tremendous amount of DYS/DYB by Sylvania [blowing].
"
<P>"I am shocked at what I have to spend on overhead bulbs. Last week I
went through 5 bulbs, so went and purchased 7 more. (of course, they all
go at once.)"
<P>"It is interesting to know that we are not the only place with projection
lamp blues. I have had serious problems with EYB bulbs, particularly
in BUHL 90E series. {Overheads}"
<P>_________________________________________________
<P>SUMMARY and SUGGESTIONS:
<P>Ladies and gentlemen, we are discussing a very simple set of devices.
A lamp and a box containing a couple of lenses, a socket, a power chord,
a thermal switch...We should not have to devote excessive time and effort
to the maintenance of such simple staple tools. I, for one, have
spent way too much time with this matter demanding my attention. The phone
time, legwork and diagnostics on these things is a killer. We are talking
only because the problem persists and nothing is being done.
<P>Here is a typical theme that ran through most of the responses.
"It's been a real bitch, and I remember we all discussed it at a regional
meeting, but --in the end I thought it was just me."
<P>I think we all need to 1. Return troublesome machines to manufacturers.
2. Return defective lamps to manufacturers. We need to make a little more
noise.
<P>Manufacturers of overheads should be encouraged to either provide surge
protection as a built-in on all of their models or engineer their machines
with enough current headroom to accomodate the odd spike or surge.
The problems are too common to be passed off as problems on the consumers
end. If noisy power is the reality in this high of a proportion of their
end-user market, then THEY need to adjust their product to US, not try
and saddle us with the responsibility of the wild goose chase of diagnostics.
<P>More effectively, perhaps, we need to forward feedback about our problems
to regional purchasers and insist that bids not be awarded to manufacturers
and distributors who don't back their products-- no questions asked.
I am going to forward this correspondence to our regional purchaser, district
administrators, and to manufacturers and distributors of lamps and overhead
projectors.
<P>On a more practical note: I now don't buy 3M overheads, for instance,
or ENX lamp machines of any kind because they just haven't worked for me.
I will continue to experiment until I find a machine/lamp combo that works.
If everyone does this, it has to constitute some pressure on manufacturers.
<P>I am going to outfit my projectors with single SURGE PROTECTORS as a
few people suggested. It is the closest thing to a solution offered and
I thank R. Jean Gustafsen and others who reported varying degrees of guarded
success using them. I plan to go with Demco's product # P148-0133,
model number SP100 surge protector. They go for 5.99 each.
I hope they help, but maintain that, even if they do, I shouldn't HAVE
to improve any just to get it to operate properly in a common situation.
<P>Thanks to all of you-- those quoted and those not-- for answering my
cries!
<P>Jeffrey Hastings
<BR>Library Media Specialist
<BR>Highlander Way Middle School
<BR>Howell, Michigan
<P><A HREF="HTTP://hps.k12.mi.us/~hwms">HTTP://hps.k12.mi.us/~hwms</A>
<BR>hastings@hps.k12.mi.us
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<P>--
<BR>ÿØÿà
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