Philips XGS 103

As with the two MI 26s seen on the previous page, this XGS 103 was situated on a footpath but was replaced with a Phosco P852 13 Watt LED lantern on Thursday, 26th April 2018; the lantern entering my Collection immediately after removal.

These first couple of pictures, taken in June 2006, show the lantern when it was still (relatively) new. The lantern is attached to a Stainton 5 m mid-hinged column.

The same column, seen just under twelve years later, in May 2018, after the lantern had been replaced.

Along with the official Phosco label, a larger label is also present - this allows the lantern's exact credentials to be viewed from ground level. The various parts of the code translate as: C = CU Phosco, 13 = Wattage, P5 = Designed to meet a P5 lighting class, and D = dimmed output after 21:30 (75%) and again after midnight (50%). A Royce Thompson Oasis 2000 photocell set at 20 Lux (though, in reality, this seems to be set considerably higher) photocell is employed.

As with the later-made FGS 103 already in the Collection, this lantern was designed to be installed post-top. An older Oasis 2000 photocell is seen here; this dates from February 2002 and is rated at 70 Lux. It is the lantern's original photocell.

The main body of the lantern is of GRP construction, whilst the rear section is aluminium.

The NEMA photocell socket was manufactured in November 2000.

Whilst the rear of the lantern is solid, on European versions of the lantern, there is a hole permitting side-entry installation on 60 mm diameter brackets at this point.

The underside of the column attachment part is surrounded by a removable plastic cover.

With the cover removed, the two bolts that clamp the lantern to the column are seen...as are rather a lot of spider eggs!

The interior of the lantern remains relatively clean, however. The lamp here dates from January 2017.

With the lamp removed, numerous fixing holes (allowing the lantern to run different types of lamp control gear) are visible, as is the alternative position for the lamp support, in cases when 18 Watt lamps are used. Just visible beneath the lampholder is an inline fuse carrier that is equipped with a three amp fuse. This is intended to protect the sensitive electronic lamp ballast in the event of a surge. Oddly, the fuse carrier was covered with a length of red insulation tape, although I cannot see what purpose this serves, as the carrier is undamaged and doesn't seem especially loose.

This close-up of the identification label reveals that the lantern was assembled at Philips' UK factory in Hamilton, Scotland (HL01) in October 2001 (K1).

This lantern is one of the few to have retained its original, factory-fitted electronic ballast - the evidence of this is that it was made in The Netherlands (later versions were produced in Poland), and has had part of its casing cut away manually, in order to prevent one of the gear tray fixing holes from being fouled. Replacement ballasts do not feature the cut away section, requiring engineers to cut this part out themselves, or (more often), to sacrifice the affected gear tray fixing screw.

The lantern was stripped of all of its components, and the GRP section of the canopy separated from the aluminium rear section, in preparation for a much-needed cleaning.

As mentioned previously, copious numbers of spider eggs existed towards the rear of the rear casting, but not for long!

Following cleaning with a pressure washer, the aluminium rear section looked much better very quickly.

The pressure washer made light work of the spider eggs and other dirt that had gathered in the inside of the casting over the years.

Along with being pressure-washed too, the canopy was given several coats of cream spray paint, in order to seal in the exposed fibres.

Once dry, the canopy and casting were reunited and reassembly of the lantern commenced, with the casting being bolted to a 76 mm diameter stand; the stand being numbered as a way of matching the column that used to support the XGS 103.

A length of flexible cable was threaded through the stand and into the lantern.

The NEMA socket, and its Oasis 2000 photocell, were the next to be re-fitted.

The gear tray and internal wiring followed.

The 35 Watt Philips SOX-PSG lamp that came with the lantern was re-inserted.

At this point, I switched the lantern on, and the lamp awoke from its slumber.

The bowl was re-attached just as the lamp reached full brightness, following cleaning in warm soapy water.

Lamp warm-up video:

Testing with my energy monitoring device revealed the following results:

Test Voltage (V)	Current being drawn at full power (A)	Measured wattage (W)	Apparent Power (VA)	Frequency (Hz)	Power Factor	True Power (W)	Difference to rated wattage	Percentage Difference
243.8	0.17	39	41	49.9	0.96	39.79	4.79	13.68%

Philips MI / F/XGS Lanterns in the Collection
		FGS 103 (June 2003)		FGS 104 (Oct 2002)
MI 8	MI 26 (June 1992)	MI 26 × 2 (June 1998)	MI 26 × 4 (Feb 1998 / Sept 1999)	MI 50 (Feb 1988)	MI 55 (Aug 1989)	MI 80 (Oct 1985)
		XGS 103 (Oct 2001)	XGS 103 (Dec 2002)	XGS 103 (Dec 2003)	XGS 104 (Oct 2002)