Abacus AM202

Lantern acquired in March 2005.

This lantern came from a footpath near to some flats and was replaced with a Gamma 6. The only apparent reason behind the replacement was because the majority of the other lanterns on the footpath were also Gamma 6s and so the AM202s stood out. Now though, there is a greater degree of uniformity (in appearance - not lighting levels!) along the footpath, with all the lanterns looking the same. Other than the few around the flats, I do not know of any other AM200s on public roads in Derbyshire.

The lantern is similar in appearance to the 2015 in as much as the canopy is held in place by a centre screw; however, it can only accommodate a column shaft diameter up to 60 mm and so a post-top adaptor has to be used, in order that the lantern can be secured to a 76 mm diameter shaft. Although the lantern is gear in head, it uses a two-part cell - something more frequently seen with gear-in-base fittings.

For saying that this lantern was about twelve years old when removed (the gear and cell controller are dated to 1993, and the lantern was removed in 2005), it is in an excellent condition - the only real dirt being what can be seen on the bowl here. The refractors do not change half way along the bowl as they appear to do in this photograph - this is just the reflector above the lamp.

The canopy is very shiny and does not appear to have ever been painted the 'black powder' coat that was mentioned in the Abacus catalogue.

The gear tray is also very shiny and so the lantern must radiate out a fair bit of heat! The tray does not lift up to allow the lamp to be changed (as on the 2015); instead, the bowl has to be lifted as far as it will go and then there should be enough space for the lamp to be removed and a new one fitted in place.

The lantern was cleaned up on Thursday, 9th June 2005. The bowl required the most cleaning due to the moss that had grown on the side of it, but it still came up well when I had finished.

The canopy was wiped with polish which made it even shinier than before!

I then powered the lantern up, and was surprised to see that the bowl diffused the light in such a way that made it look as if three lamps were fitted inside - obviously, increasing the brightness.

Lantern warm-up video:

Two AM202s were spotted in a private car park for some flats.

The columns taper down to 60 mm to allow the lanterns to be fitted without the need for an adaptor.

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