Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!ubc-cs!uw-beaver!sumax!amc-gw!thebes!happym!irv From: irv@happym.wa.com (Irving Wolfe) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: Halogen Lamps, too (was Re: florescent bulbs replacing incandescent) Message-ID: <1389@happym.wa.com> Date: 27 Nov 90 05:22:38 GMT References: <1990Nov16.091211@mathcs.emory.edu> <1990Nov17.211808.21546@ameristar> <27836@mimsy.umd.edu> <57@deeptht.UUCP> Reply-To: Irving_Wolfe@happym.wa.com Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island Lines: 33 I use two of the Damark 500W halogen floor lamps in my bedroom, one on each side of the bed. They are pretty bright, which is extremely important in a very large room with high ceilings made of medium-stained cedar planks. They are barely enough for my high-brightness taste, but that's not their fault. One nice thing about halogen lamps compared to regular incandescents is, when you turn them down on a dimmer, they don't "sing" at you. 60 Hz filament vibration is a real problem with high wattage incandescents on a dimmer. A word about Damark: They stink! After a few unrelated purchases, I'm convinced that everything they sell is defective in some way, but works. The roller skates had sock-liners that were smaller than the shoe size; the CDs were misrepresented and not especially well recorded; the planters didn't exist and a refund was promised; the cordless phone had extremely limited range; and then there's these lamps. They have a rotating dimmer switch. One of them, when you turn it on, comes on medium-bright and goes up from there. The other, after the click, is still off. If you turn it up quite a bit, it comes on, medium-bright. Then you can turn it down some if you'd like a softer light. One of them has a slightly bent (metal) top so there's a bright band that escapes around its edge onto the far wall. If I hadn't been so busy at work, I'd have returned the skates and the CDs; the lamps were enough of a bargain and pleasant enough visually that I actually decided to keep them despite the faults. Though I'm glad I bought them because I have an economical bent, their quality is far below that of anything else I put in the house. If you buy these particular lamps, fine. But don't become a regular customer of Damark or you'll be sorry! -- Irving_Wolfe@happym.wa.com (irv) Happy Man Corp. 206/463-9399 ext.101 4410 SW Point Robinson Road, Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399 fax ext.116 SOLID VALUE, the investment letter for Benj. Graham's intelligent investors Information free (sample $20 check or credit card): email patty@happym.wa.com