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Lamp Breakage in Joker-Bug 400
When the lamp in my Joker-Bug 400 cracked open on a flight, I discovered that the frosted glass beaker was just loose enough that it came in contact with lamp, causing the breakage. After consulting with K5600 I added an extra O-ring on the beaker to tighten things up. That seemed to work but once again the lamp has broken in transit. This can get expensive. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you remove the lamp before every flight? K5600 indicated that it shouldn’t be necessary to do so.
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5 Replies
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The preferred way to pack the Joker for shipment is with the lamp globe up in the case. Are you doing this? I find that around town however it’s safer to put the lamp facing down, but I always switch it around when I fly. The breakage I suffer in air transport is usually the glass beaker, not the globe, so I always carry spares in the space provided in the Joker case.
Bon voyage!
JS
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For added portability, I took the 2 fixtures from the K5600 kit and packed each light into a separate pelican case. Perhaps I should rethink that system. Thanks John.
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Are you packingthem in a double case? I.E. two 400’s in one case!
What I do i put my heads face down. Before doing so a I put foam from like a Pelican tear away into the socket to secure the beaker. Then pak around the head woth cables, chimeras; whatever to tighten things up.
Then when I get to my hotel, I check that the bulbs are seated properly. You don’t wanty to be firing JOKERS with the bulbs not seated as it causes corrosion in the sockets. And pits the lamp contacts.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been sitting on a flight over the luggage door and felt the plane shake as my cases are thrown on-board.
Knock on wood but I haven’t had any breakage with my JOKERS. Now my monitors and stands are another story.
Rob
http://www.mcwilliamsproductions.com
Good luck -
I find that the double case is cumbersome, especially when I only need to use one light out of it. Packing each head into its own pelican case works well but I see now that it may increase the likelyhood of breakage since the case is often on its side, especially in transit. The lamp rattles around and cracks when it hits the protective beaker. In order to check if the bulbs are seated properly, you still have to remove the beaker so maybe just taking them out before the flight is the way to go. Clearly, the original double case with the heads either facing up, as John suggests, or down (not sideways) provides the most protection. Thanks, Rob.
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LOL
I wasn’t saying use a double case? I was asking what type of JOKER case you are using. Single or double.
Happy Travels.
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