# old Lekos



## ship (Mar 18, 2007)

In finally sneaking in the lamp base replacement cost to my final 4.1/2x6.1/2 fixture to the Fresnel re-wiring project for the local community theater, it was time to bench focus the completed fixture. Tried the paper in the gel frame slot concept, given the beam spread was too wide for my single car garage - didn’t work so hot. Chip in the lens also didn’t help so much but it was out of budget for this project.

Anyway, beyond the why question of why on a Radial Leko, didn’t the piece of paper in the gel slot to this Radial Century Leko question work out so well comes another question.

This fixture now has four distinct colors to it - one of which I introduced - flat black high temperature paint. It would seem in looking at this fixture, that the lens train barrel is a form of grey, the lens train mounting hinge/shutter part of the pineapple is olive drab, the lamp housing pineapple is by me flat black due to the as opposed to aluminum, this steel part not retaining it’s paint so well, and the lamp cap is a more green olive drab. Why is this that there is at least three colors now four in a single fixture that’s for all intensive purposes and theory using all original parts. Lamp cap for instance is a totally different key system in locking to the frame than that of any Altman fixture, yet the lens train barrel is grey and even no reason to swap out shutter assembly is a different color.


Beyond this, we have a question of what Leko was first. Strand, Century, (Altman does not qualify,) Chicago, Major etc. What company did the first Leko? After this, who did the first dual lens - lens train type Leko?


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## gafftapegreenia (Mar 19, 2007)

Alright, I don'y now exactly why it's different colors, but I know my older Altman 360Q's are hamemrtone brown, I've seen some 360Q's in olive drab, and others in all black. My guess is that besides being made for a long time, high temperature paint technology has evolved? Or does the paint signify different models?

As for the first leko, the Strand Achive claims Strand was the first to make an "ellipsoidal type" spot light, and then says that Century made the first leko. On the other hand, Kliegl also claims to have made the first ERS. I've never actually found a for-sure answer, most say it was either Century or Kliegl. My vote is Kliegl.


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