My Collection: Thorn Civic 1 (3)
| Manufacturer | Thorn |
| Catalogue Number (model) | Civic 1 50W HST 240V CL1 ESH PN RES |
| Wattage | 50W |
| Lamp-Type | SON-T |
| Gear | Original |
| Ballast | TRIDONIC ATCO OMBS 50 PA503W |
| Ignitor | TRIDONIC ATCO Anti-Cycling Ignitor ZRM 2300 C201 |
| Capacitor | ICAR Ecofill SB 25100 SH "D" (10μF) |
| Photocell | Zodion SS6 |
| IP Rating (when new) | IP66 |
| Date Of Manufacture | ~~/01/2010 |
| Date On Photocell Socket | ~~/01/2010 |
| Date On Photocell | ~~/12/2013 |
| Date Acquired | 20/05/2024 |
| Restoration Status | Cleaned |
| Collection Number | #39 |
The Thorn Civic 1 was a wildly popular lantern throughout the UK. It could be used with lamps up to 150W, meaning it was used in a wide-range of applications. This 50W SON-T lantern entered the collection on the 20th May 2024. It's aluminium construction made it a very heavy and sturdy lantern, and this was present in the newer version; two versions of the Civic 1 exist, the older design and newer design. Both can easily be distinguished from one-another, owing to the different shape and paint used. It's distinctive shape makes it an icon amongst the lighting community, and one of the most-well-known lanterns overall.
The below-images showcase the differences between the old version (bottom) and the newer version (top). The arial view makes the gear-cover clip apparent, something that is not present on the older version. The difference in paint can also be seen.
From below, the newer Civic shows off it's more "bubbly" appearance.
The Zodion SS6 photocell was starting to show it's age due to UV exposure.
This must have been a replacement cell, evident by the cell's date code of December 2013. The NEMA socket is dated to January 2010.
To access the gear-compartment, the back clip can be undone. The clip also acts as a hinge to keep the cover from coming off. This clip-hinge mechanism proved to be the newer Civic's Achilles heel, often coming undone, leaving the cover to slide open and let in water. The hinge on this particular one is quite loose. The only thing keeping it from falling open when it was in-service was a cobweb-and-dirt conglomerate under the clip.
The gear is in astonishing condition, almost no rust or dirt had penetrated the seal, so no work was done on the inside!
The lantern's ballast is a Tridonic OMBS 50 PA503W.
A 10 micro-farad capacitor is installed just above the ignitor.
I was happy to see one of these in here too! An anti-cycling ignitor by Tridonic. I believe at the end of the lamp's life, rather than continue trying to start the lamp up (which risks damaging other components) it will not do so at all, only firing the lamp up once it has been replaced.
With a clean up and visual inspection of the lantern complete, it was time to see if she'd fire up!
