Rowe AMI Diplomat Bulb Question

Spritely

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Hi Guys/Gals,

I'm new here having just picked up a 1965 ROWE AMI JAN/Diplomat in decent shape.
I'm in the process of bringing it back to life and have been doing fine so far on the simple stuff without a manual. Gonna need one soon though. :)

Anyway my question relates to one of the fluorescent bulbs/tubes specifically the one that illuminates the playlist. There wasn't a bulb in the unit so I took a leap of faith and bought a F25T12 CW-33 25watt bulb. Put it in and it didn't light. Checked the starter (FS-25) by swapping it to another light that was working and it fired right up. Checked the power in by unplugging the line to the lamp and running the female line to another lamp via extension cord and again it fired the other bulb right up. Checked the voltage across a working lamp and it bounced high 60s-low 70s. Checked across the suspect lamp and it read the same.

Should I be using a lower wattage bulb?
Could it be that simple that I'm using too high a wattage bulb?
All the other tubes in it are rated at 19 watts and are shorter in length.
Anyone know the model/watts of the bulb originally fitted?
Other ideas?

Off to ebay to buy a manual...

Thanks,
James
 
The manual specifies what bulbs, starters, and fuses are used in that model.

I think your machine uses these:

F25T12CW-33 (25 watt)

F18T8CW-26 (18 watt)

F15T8CW (18 inch, 15 watt, commonly used in video arcade game marquee lights)
 
Only possible things left that could be bad, if I understand you correctly, are the ballast and the contacts in the tombstone fittings the bulb clips into. Look at those contacts and see if any are bent out of place. Ballast should only be a few bucks at most any hardware store.
 
Well finally had some time to get back on this one.
I bought a new tube and starter, powered it up and it flickered on for an instant (yay!) and went out (boo!).
Blew the tube, black circle at the end of it.
So it's gotta be the ballast blowing the bulb.
I'm gonna get an electronic ballast (no more starter) and in-line fuse it at 1.5 amps.

Any advice on ballast brands? Ones to stay away from? Triad?

Service manual is on the way thanks to feebay. :)

Thanks for your help/tips guys,
James
 
if the bulb blew immediately, then your ballast is shorted.

Try to get an original ("magnetic") ballast.

You'll find those electronic ballasts don't last plus sometimes they introduce hum/noise into the sound!
 
if the bulb blew immediately, then your ballast is shorted.

Try to get an original ("magnetic") ballast.

You'll find those electronic ballasts don't last plus sometimes they introduce hum/noise into the sound!

Wow, I thought I had read somewhere that these electronic ballasts were supposed to actually make the bulbs last longer... I guess that a moot point if the ballast itself doesn't last as long as the old magnetic ballasts.. :(

I was actually thinking about starting to buy a few electronic ballasts, is the noise issue really that bad?
 
diplomat bulb

I just bought my Diplomat today for 100 bucks. I'm wondering how to get that buried flourescent bulb out to replace it. Its tucked away behind the selector mech on the front door.

Thanks for your help!!!

Tom Vogel
 
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