Philips 'Mini Iridium' BGS 451

New and unused, this Mini Iridium is the first LED lantern to enter the collection. By 2010, many of the major lantern manufacturers were offering LED as an alternative to conventional discharge lamp sources; citing reduced maintenance and energy costs as the main advantages of this solid-state technology. Philips Lighting was no exception to this, and their flagship Iridium lantern was adapted to accommodate a cluster of 24 LEDs (in the case of this lantern) in place of the lamp and reflector.

This lantern does not feature any sort of bowl - the LEDs are flush with the chassis of the lantern.

An aluminium canopy is fitted, as opposed to the more usual GRP canopy seen on the larger SGS 252/3/4 Iridiums. The use of aluminium adds a secondary heat sink to the temperature-sensitive LED cluster. A Zodion SS14 minicell is factory-fitted to this lantern; curiously, the cell is rated at the "standard" 70 Lux setting - this is far too high a setting for a lamp type that requires no warm-up.

The LEDs are arranged in a six-by-four grid that is formed within a moulded polycarbonate panel. The usual side-entry/spigot-entry 'trapdoor' seen throughout the Iridium range continues with this design, although, in something of a backwards step, only a single grub screw secures the lantern to the bracket or column spigot. The securing toggle at the front of the lantern is of the "thumbnail cracking" variety; I know this from personal experience!

Unlike other versions of the Iridium, the canopy on this lantern remains fixed, whilst the front section of the chassis hinges downwards in order to allow access to the wiring. A cast heat sink is positioned directly above the LED cluster; again to allow the heat created in the components to be dissipated away from the circuitry.

A single electronic driver operates the LEDs. This is capable of dimming the light output when external control equipment is connected to terminals 4 and 5, in the top right-hand corner.

The mains connection into the lantern is visible on the right-hand side in the above picture. On the opposite side of the connector is a compression gland that allows a tight seal to be formed around the cable; thus maintaining the IP66 rating of the lantern. Rotating the connector a few degrees anticlockwise releases the assembly, allowing access to the compression gland.

The label states that this lantern was made in November 2009 (L9). It entered the collection in June 2010.

The lantern was fitted to a Pudsey Diamond Universal 1001 wall bracket on the same date that the lantern entered the collection - Tuesday, 15th June 2010. It was then powered up. The LEDs emitted a uniform warm-white light, with the polycarbonate moulding providing the correct optical control for each LED on the cluster.

The colour temperature changes slightly when the LEDs are viewed from below. Notice how a ghost image of the LEDs has reappeared directly below the 'real' cluster.

Test Voltage (V)	Current being drawn at full power (A)	Measured wattage (W)	Apparent Power (VA)	Frequency (Hz)	Power Factor	True Power (W)
241.3	0.1	20	24	49.9	0.81	19.55

The first Mini Iridium to be installed in a publicly-accessible area in Derbyshire is pictured below. This is on a footpath between Tor Rise and Whitewood Way in Starkholmes (an area between Cromford and Matlock), and, coincidentally, was installed in the same week that my own Mini Iridium entered the collection, when the footpath was closed for resurfacing and the steps on the footpath were replaced.

GEC Z9539 | ELECO HW-727