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Osram MA/V Medium Pressure Mercury |
The Osram lamp production was mechanised to a far greater degree than its competitors at Philips and Mazda and also overseas firms. MA arc tubes are traditionally sealed by glazing beaded molybdenum rods into each end of the tube, an operation which is carried out largely by skilled glassblowers. In the Osram process, the electrode wires were glazed and then pinch-sealed into each end of the open tube forming a very neat seal which required unskilled operators. The exhaust tubulation was affixed to the side of the arc tube body. This pinch-sealing technique not only lowered production costs, but it also allowed Osram to make use of cheaper drawn aluminosilicate tubing. To facilitate the hand-sealing operation, competitors generally employed expensive blown glass arc tubes, supplied dome sealed at one end and with a sharp constriction near the open end.
The glass used in this lamp is type H26X from the GEC's Lemington glassworks. This is a mid-range aluminosilicate which later became known as type A43 after GEC and BTH glass production was merged. Its intermediate softening temperature accounts for the luminous flux of this lamp being marginally lower than for Mazda lamps of the same era, whose arc tubes benefitted from the harder C46 (A431) glass. The outer bulb is made from X4 (S97) glass, also hand-blown at Lemington.
| Manufacturer: | The General Electric Company of England PLC. | |
| Lamp Power: | 400 Watts | |
| Lamp Current: | 3.25 Amps | |
| Lamp Voltage: | 120-150 Volts | For 200/250V Mains |
| Cap Type: | E40s/45 | Ni plated brass + vitrite |
| Bulb Finish: | Clear | Soda-lime soft glass |
| Bulb Type: | T-51 | T-16 in eighths/inch |
| Overall Length: | 330 ± 8mm | 13 inches |
| Light Centre Length: | 190 ± 8mm | 7½ inches |
| Arc Length: | 160mm | 6¼ inches |
| Electrodes: | C-6 Open Coil | Thoria pellet emitter |
| Atmosphere: | Inner: Hg | Ar (1 atm) | Outer: Nitrogen |
| Luminous Flux: | 15,600 lm | (@ 100 hours) |
| Luminous Efficacy: | 39.0 lm/W | (@ 100 hours) |
| Colour Temperature & CRI: | CCT: 5400K | CRI: Ra 6 |
| Chromaticity Co-ordinates: | CCx: 0.337 | CCy: 0.421 |
| Burning Position: | Vertical | |
| Rated Lifetime: | Not Published | |
| Warm-up & Re-strike Time: | 7 minutes | 7 minutes |
| Factory: | Shaw, Oldham | England |
| Date of Manufacture: | September 1963 | Date Code: UJ |
| Original & Present Value: | £2 19s 0d (1959) | £45.93 (2005) |
