# Berkey Colortran parts



## ship (Aug 23, 2008)

Thought I once read somewhere a source or something for parts for the fixtures. Got a customer looking for a lens train for a #213-065 fixture which matches up with that above era of fixture.

I know of Hub in the Chicago area that stocks old fixture parts - still on my list of places to visit (yep I'm a nerd), but still think I remember specific to the above pre/pre brand of Colortran now totally Leviton some source for Berkey parts for the fixtures. That company that used to do Lekos - safe to say it of that era... Or I suppose I shouldn't capatilize it in specifying the ERS instead,. Still I think I remember a company - some company still offering the parts for the fixtures or having them in stock.

That Berkey company now only does water filters best I can gather on the web - strange.


Anyone remember this link I remember besides Hub offering parts to the brand of fixtures?


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## LightStud (Aug 23, 2008)

I can't find a site for Hub/VaraLight/Dimatronics. I doubt Lite-Trol Service would bother with such a thing. Maybe LightParts.com - The Parts and Repair Source for Entertainment Lighting, but I doubt that also. Let this be a lesson to all, *Don't Get Colortran(ed)!*

Hard to believe Berkey Photo, a film processing company would go under in this digital age, huh? Polaroid, Kodak, and Fuji have changed their business models, but are very far behind the technology.

There used to be a company that made terrific buggy whips, the best in the industry. Now they make accelerator pedals for Toyota. Can't find service, parts, or repair for any of my buggy whips!


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## quarterfront (Aug 23, 2008)

A couple years back I got 80 front lenses from Colortran. They're now under NSI, of course, or at least that was the case when I got those lenses. IIRC, I went through Production Advantage and they went to C'tran.

Interested in following this thread and what you find out, I have 78 C'trans that are my workhorses. Gotta' keep 'em going as long as I can....


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## SHARYNF (Aug 23, 2008)

Is the lens train in the colortran 5/50 the same as in the older 213-065?
PA sells the 5/50 parts
Sharyn


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## ship (Aug 26, 2008)

Hmm, that would be interesting to find out. Took my Photometrics Handbook to work so I'll have to compare there. Possible.

NSI... Heck Berkley went Lee Color Filters long before NSI and NSI/Colortran went Leviton. Who own's Leviton these days mostly these days by the way? Forget but they don't even have such a safe name either right now if I remember correctly.

Got a response back from Leviton today... nope, long gone.

Vara-Light/Dimatronics/Hub Electric (Old parts Dist., Owned by Altman) 6207 Commercial Rd. Crystal Lake, Il. 60014. (815)455-4400

Company long thru my history of hearing about and even in later hearing our shop manager once worked for as a drafts person like twenty years ago. It exists and I remember tales of them buying up truck loads of old fixtures and parts years back but never got to yet.... (Vacation next week...)

No website etc... just a phone number and address and semi-confirmed link in them now owned by Altman Stage Lighting though most working there even don't know that I expect.

My mission for next week....!

STill thanks for the idea, I'll check into that one further a bit.


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## Lightingguy32 (Aug 29, 2008)

Last time I checked my Photometrics hand book (2nd ed.) the Berkey Colortran/Lee-Colortran/ and Colortran 5/50 lekos had the same photometrics. The University I work for right now has about 500 Colortran 5/50 units some are from when it was Lee-Colortran, some are Berkey-Colortran and most are just colortran. So I think the parts are the same between fixtures.


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## ship (Sep 1, 2008)

Didn't seem same enough and Leviton wrote off helping so I sent them to Hub, E-Bay and or its time to make this one into spare parts and retire it from active service role. At some point if you need an entire lens train to a fixture as requested, and that fixture is long gone there is nothing that can be really done to help you find it after a bit of trying. Components to it sure... entire lens train, you lost your lens train to a long discontinued light fixture... urr, nope at some point I gave it a shot, Hub is your ownly hope if E-Bay doesn't have an entire fixture which it didn't when looking at them also.


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## derekleffew (Sep 2, 2008)

That reminds me: The Zoom Ellipse used two 1/4" steel rods, held in place by a tiny Phillips screw in the gate end. If that screw rattles loose, and you don't have a colorframe in the unit, a 16"x1/4" rod missiles toward the stage!


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## ship (Sep 2, 2008)

Reminds me of some Pre-SL line of Strand where if that lens train dropped uncontrolled into battery / spot focus position by way of gravity the lenses and spring would go a falling also.


Still this is different in situation. How does one loose a lens train anyway? At some point you do your best than write off the effort as more than one wants to be concerned about. Certainly I could potentially retrofit say a S-4 lens train with the fixture - looked at the catalog page for the fixture, very similar. In the end... best left alone after sending off elsewhere for help.


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## church (Feb 13, 2009)

I just saw this thread and I own a number of the 5/50s and the 213 series of Colortran fixtures in both fixed degree and zoom versions. Quite honestly the major differences in these fixtures are the appearance of the lamp housing, the method of adjusting the lamp holder to achieve bench focus, the colour frame holders and the locking mechanisim on the yoke.

The reflectors, field stop rings and the lenses are interchangeable. Actually on the fixed degree you can even just swop the lens tubes. However the important point is that you can still buy from NSI and others sources the lenses and the field stop rings (I normally just make the field stop rings) The NSI website has the service manual and spares listing for the 5/50 which provides the lens focal lengths. You can just buy any lenses that have the correct diameter and focal length. I always measure the focal length before buying though as different manufacturers have different variations in their lenses. However they will work if your 6*9 lens is actually 6*8.5 lens you will notice the lens tube is in a different position.

The lenses are a 4.5*9 and a 6*9 cover the 20 degree , 30 degree and 40 degree fixtures. the zoom uses a 6*12 and a 4.5*9 lens. You should also know that the Colortran mini ellipse also use the 4.5*9 lens again the mini ellipse and spares are still available form NSI.


By the way I had to alter the lamp position on my 5/50s to get them to work as well as the 213 fixtures. The shutters and shutter assemblies are also interchangeable.


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## mrb (Feb 13, 2009)

ship said:


> NSI... Heck Berkley went Lee Color Filters long before NSI and NSI/Colortran went Leviton. Who own's Leviton these days mostly these days by the way? Forget but they don't even have such a safe name either right now if I remember correctly.




There was Berkey Colortran, then Colortran without the Berkey, then Lee filters and Colortran merged somehow and became Lee Colortran. 

Then ETC started clobbering colortran and noone wanted to use colortran dimmers because they had an airflow sensor right near the intake which would cause all of your lights to start flashing on and off in the middle of a show if some fuzz built up on it. Colortran almost went out of business and NSI purchased them to get the line of fixtures because NSI wanted to have lights, so it became NSI Colortran.

Last, Leviton who was attempting some oddball acquisitions to try to get in the entertainment game, purchased NSI/Colortran.

Leviton is doing ok, they have been around for over 100 years, are still family owned from what I understand.


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## derekleffew (Feb 13, 2009)

mrb said:


> There was Berkey Colortran, then Colortran without the Berkey, then Lee filters and Colortran merged somehow and became Lee Colortran. ...


Backing up to the beginning, see this thread. ColorTran Industries founded 1955, purchased by Berkey Photo in the late 1960s.

mrb said:


> ... Leviton is doing ok, they have been around for over 100 years, are still family owned from what I understand.


See this post for, son of founder Isidor, Harold Leviton's obituary.


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## mrb (Feb 13, 2009)

derekleffew said:


> Backing up to the beginning, see this thread. ColorTran Industries founded 1955, purchased by Berkey Photo in the late 1960s.
> See this post for, son of founder Isidor, Harold Leviton's obituary.



thanks for the link to the origins of colortran.

Harold Leviton's legacy is noted in the front of my leviton book. The company is now run by Don Hendler.

The only concern I have about leviton, is the quality of some of their chinese products (and the fact that they even have chinese products). Their stage pin connectors are chinese, and I dont like the fact that they are selling chinese designed and manufactured dimmer packs as NSI. One of our operations is cable manufacturing, and we use Leviton straight blade and some of their twistlocks -quality there is still good.


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## LUMN8 (May 7, 2009)

Leviton/NSI(COLORTRAN)parts
Susan Scott
(503) 404-5500


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## ship (May 7, 2009)

mrb said:


> thanks for the link to the origins of colortran.
> 
> Harold Leviton's legacy is noted in the front of my leviton book. The company is now run by Don Hendler.
> 
> The only concern I have about leviton, is the quality of some of their chinese products (and the fact that they even have chinese products). Their stage pin connectors are chinese, and I dont like the fact that they are selling chinese designed and manufactured dimmer packs as NSI. One of our operations is cable manufacturing, and we use Leviton straight blade and some of their twistlocks -quality there is still good.



 A Leviton sales person came to see me last week and had some form of brief case with their new plug to demonstrate the new product.

Sorry guy in him having problems re-assembling what I took apart in tearing apart that product on demo much similar in shape but shortented from what is it Rosco or Peachtree or something like that in brand. He wasn't aware of other products in simlar shape and was deer in the headlights about ferrules and cord grip concepts. Gave him a Bates plug for his time, he scrambled for the ferrules also.

At some point, a Leviton rep. while also selling receptacles that plug in by way of twist lock behind the outlet and no exposed parts in doing the wiring while live, should not also be representing stage lighting fixgtures. Totally differen things to master. While one of or Licenced electrician guys was really really interested in their receptacles, the rep. went home with tail between his legs in offering such a stage pin plug. Even on the demo sample, it's strain relief was not sufficint to grip the cable attached to it and the rep. was challenged to re-assemble what I took apart. This beyond lack of ferrules.

I hope he got a good report on this visit and Leviton will totally upgrade this stage pin plug. 

Ah' had such great hopes for them after they bought out NSI, here they have stage dimmers, fixtures and electrical stuff, could exceed ETC if they ply themselves. Unfortunately, it's so far squandarded the resources available for advancement. While the normal say NSI product line has not been messed with, they didn't make any gains either. The LEO... the rep in vistng me didn't even bring one.


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## derekleffew (May 8, 2009)

Link to Leviton's Product Bulletin for 20 Amp Stage Pin Connectors.pdf.

Too curvy, in my opinion, and remind me of these:


Group5 20 Amp Male Inline DSS: all colors & terminations | Marinco


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