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Holly Snyder · 06-10-2004, 10:23 AM

Last week I set up a light fixture basically identical to Garth's. I bought 2 electronic ballasted strip lights (one from Home Depot for $29 and one from Lowe's at $25). The reason for two different ones is that I had bought one, found that there was a still a slight hum, so I tried a different manufacturer. As it turns out, they both have the same Sylvania ballast. I tried unscrewing the ballast and putting a little piece of rubber gasket between the ballast and metal housing, but it didn't seem to make a difference. In any case, the hum is very low, and I certainly can't hear it when playing music.

Anyway, I mounted them on a white melamined 1' x 4' board. Rather than wiring up in the ceiling, I hid the 2 cords in the plastic sheath you can see in the photo extended down from the lights. They plug in to an outlet strip mounted low on the wall beneath the ceiling to floor windows. I also clamped the power cords in a metal "clamp combination connector" mounted in a hole drilled out in the bottom of metal light housing, so when the cords are pulled they don't rub against the sharp metal housing and cut the cord.

At the top of the fixture is a white curtain rod. I bought a clear 2' x 4' acrylic sheet, the kind that goes under any home fluorescent lights. I plan on velcroing the top of the sheet, as well as the curtain rod, so I can hang the sheet in front of the lights. Although I haven't tried it yet, I can use this to diffuse the light if I have a model and it happens that the light is glaring in their eyes. As with Marvin, I also have a setup for installing curtains to completely block the light on the model and light the model separately.

I bought four T8, 32 watt, 4 foot lumichrome lamps, two are 5000K (96 CRI) and two are 6500K (98 CRI). Kent, the Home Depot and Lowe's electronic ballasted fixtures can handle a max of 32 watts. Garth I wish I'd heard about the Just Normlicht lights earlier. However the lumichromes were a little cheaper, they were $66.80 from http://www.truesun.com including shipping.

I'm pretty happy with the set up so far.

Holly

06-10-2004, 10:23 AM	#24
Holly Snyder Juried Member Joined: Jan 2003 Location: Safety Harbor, FL Posts: 231	Last week I set up a light fixture basically identical to Garth's. I bought 2 electronic ballasted strip lights (one from Home Depot for $29 and one from Lowe's at $25). The reason for two different ones is that I had bought one, found that there was a still a slight hum, so I tried a different manufacturer. As it turns out, they both have the same Sylvania ballast. I tried unscrewing the ballast and putting a little piece of rubber gasket between the ballast and metal housing, but it didn't seem to make a difference. In any case, the hum is very low, and I certainly can't hear it when playing music. Anyway, I mounted them on a white melamined 1' x 4' board. Rather than wiring up in the ceiling, I hid the 2 cords in the plastic sheath you can see in the photo extended down from the lights. They plug in to an outlet strip mounted low on the wall beneath the ceiling to floor windows. I also clamped the power cords in a metal "clamp combination connector" mounted in a hole drilled out in the bottom of metal light housing, so when the cords are pulled they don't rub against the sharp metal housing and cut the cord. At the top of the fixture is a white curtain rod. I bought a clear 2' x 4' acrylic sheet, the kind that goes under any home fluorescent lights. I plan on velcroing the top of the sheet, as well as the curtain rod, so I can hang the sheet in front of the lights. Although I haven't tried it yet, I can use this to diffuse the light if I have a model and it happens that the light is glaring in their eyes. As with Marvin, I also have a setup for installing curtains to completely block the light on the model and light the model separately. I bought four T8, 32 watt, 4 foot lumichrome lamps, two are 5000K (96 CRI) and two are 6500K (98 CRI). Kent, the Home Depot and Lowe's electronic ballasted fixtures can handle a max of 32 watts. Garth I wish I'd heard about the Just Normlicht lights earlier. However the lumichromes were a little cheaper, they were $66.80 from http://www.truesun.com including shipping. I'm pretty happy with the set up so far. Holly Attached Images __________________ Holly Snyder-Samson www.artsci.us