My Collection: Philips MI50-GO (3)

The Philips MI50 was the precursor to the MI26. The general shape of the lantern is similar to the Thorn Beta 5, but it has a more-squarish appearance. It's canopy is made from diecast aluminium, with a polycarbonate bowl. The bowl would also be used on the Philips MI26. The lantern can come in remote or integral-geared versions. The MI50-OO is the remote-geared version with the MI50-GO being the gear-in-head version. This lantern was gifted to another collector on the 5th of June 2024.

The lantern is in good condition externally.

Despite this, trying to remove it from it's bracket proved futile. The ageing photocell is visible on top.

Unclipping the bowl makes a 26W SOX-E lamp apparent. The hand-written date code is 2020.

With the lamp removed, damage to the paint on the gear tray is revealed. The charred identification sticker is also located here. Positioned right below the lamp, it has absorbed far too much energy, and fails at it's job to identify the lantern and lamp type. Luckily, I know an MI50 when I see one!

The gear tray isn't too bad, nothing was done to modify it while it was in my hands. It was simply wired up and powered on!

A Philips BSX 355 L 16 ballast, Philips SX72 ignitor and PED 6.5 micro-farad capacitor compose the gear.

The capacitor is dated 1983, making it two years older than the lantern itself.

The lantern was fired up on the 15th of May 2024.