Camera Tally Domes/ On Air Lights - seeking expressions of interest for manufacture
 

Could all collectors out there interested in obtaining replacement tally "on air" lamp covers for vintage cameras like marconi and RCA please get in touch at [email protected]

After many years of researching i appear to have found a method and company who is prepared to do this, it is not cheap to do unless you are doing them in batches, so i am proposing expressions of interest for what you need and how many. With a view to doing a bulk run, bringing the effective price per item down to something affordable for us all.

The domes are exceedingly rare for many cameras, as i have found out when trying to obtain any in good condition to make new masters to manufacture from. These are a integral part of the look of many cameras but one of the first things get melt or be broken by the hot light bulb inside. This may be your/our only chance to get new ones made, and potentially stock up!

I'm also looking at sourcing replacement replica LED bulbs to go in the domes, (no heat no more melted or cracking plastic on air lights!)

James, www.oldtvgear.com

Their are Printers that can make all these parts now !!

Where....and who will do it for less than a few thousand? - are you interested in getting some made?

In the 1980s we bought new Tally light lenses from RCA Broadcast for our TK45s and 47s until on a remote one weekend we refueled at a truck stop.

One of the camera men dragged us into a section of the store and there for 7 dollars each were the exact red tally light lenses we had been paying RCA 76 dollars for! Seems RCA was using standard D.O.T red lenses and making bunches of money on them.

We checked and the ones from RCA had the exact same D.O.T. number stamped on them. All this was in the early 1980s, so I do not know if they are still the same or if styles and D.O.T standards change over time or not.

I hope you might find what you need for much less money than having them made might be.

Regards,

What is a D.O.T Lens please ?

I'd be interested in one for a Marconi Mark IV. I'm pretty sure it was the same lens used on many British cars as a turn signal indicator on the side of the car. There may be a stash of them somewhere in an auto parts store in England.

send a photo, so far the only one i know of that used a car lense was the early PYE cameras, (lucas L594 lense from memory).

I've searched everywhere for years for the marconi domes and RCA ones, the tk45 used the 428040 lense covers, there is no DOT number on any of my lenses

The only solution is to have it made, which is expensive unless you are doing it in bulk and will find a place who will do small runs like this.

The U.S.Department of Transportation sets standards for tail lights, lenses, reflectors and other warning lights for semi-tractor-trailers.

So, back to my original post is anyone interested in the TK60 domes, it seems your looking at extremely large amounts to be done properly unless its being done in a reasonably large run (ie the more you make, the more it spreads the cost, with a lesser value per dome) (ie 1x dome $600, 20x domes = $30 per dome and so on)

Its either now or never, and all the original will eventually crack to nothing as most already have and then its even more money to make another from scratch...

ok thanks for the lack of interest everyone, (except for telecruisers interest in one marconi dome)

if you know where/how these can be made and have a better suggestion, please let me know but after about 3 year researching this, the option i presented is the only one available

If I had a TK-60. I'm sure I'd want a new dome for it. You might check with Paul Beck at the Museum of Broadcast Technology www.wmbt.org. They have several TK-60's and Paul knows virtually all the camera collectors. He's a nice guy too!

Paul has been kind enough to loan me a dome to reference from/clone, and he has also put in an order, so far he is the only one, again though there needs to be more before the price is approaching anything realistic as it is spread across the collectors.

Just a wild thought, but could this be done by 3D printing? Might be cheaper for one-off production than tooling of some sort.

It seems possible but your looking at $100 alone in work for someone to draw up the 3D printer file, and i am not sure if you can build structures this thin. Again most places wont deal with a run thats small.

I've tried to get a response from some of the liquid plastic suppliers as to casting/ moulding something at home, so far responses are mixed. Some say it would cost more and likely not cast correctly doing it that way, since the originals are vaccuum moulded acrylic. Others say it can be done cheaply at home, but neglect to give me any idea of price or materials needed, again it seems its such a "unusual" and small job it doesnt grab their interest.

following this thread, i saw 6 red glass Lucas tail light domes on ebay, and bought them without checking any measurements, for £5.

by wonderful chance, it fits the rubber tally light holder on the top of my EMI 203 like they were made for each other. maybe they were? It is marked "LUCAS 531 MADE IN ENGLAND"

So thanks cbenham for the inspiration!