Bardic spares supplier?

Does anyone know of a source for Bardic spares? The only one I knew of was J A Taylor (JAT), but he seems to have ceased trading several years ago. Neither Footplate Equipment nor HOPS do them.

Fortunately, over the years I've picked up three in very good condition on E-bay. With the bulbs changed to halogen, they really are bright - and LEDs are even better. Both can be obtained from this company:
http://www.bikeco.co.uk/index.php?mod=productDetail&itemid=454

But, before ordering, please read the note on converting Bardics to LEDs at the foot of this web page:
http://www.reflectalite.com/LEDpage.html

I have no connection with either company, except as a very satisfied customer!

MTA - by the by; if you are considering buying a Bardic, please make sure to see what the innards are like, especially if buying them on-line or in an auction. Unfortunately, when they were taken out of service, many had the dry batteries left inside, which ended up leaking acid - and you can see the results when people post pictures on places like E-bay. Some look quite reasonable on the outside, but inside - oh, dear! Not just the casing, but also the metalwork of the switch mechanism is corroded to blazes!
Let the buyer beware . . .

 

Hi Jack - I can see batteries for sale on EBay, but I fitted a 3 cell C cell battery holder from Maplins with a bit of foam to hold it still and connected with chocolate block to the existing plug for the normal battery.

 

Yes, but the spares I was thinking about are particularly reflectors and lenses, which can suffer from corrosion and scratches.

There was a very spiff moulded plastic 'D' size battery holder fitted to the explosion-proof version of the Bardic. One of these came up for sale on E-bay a week or so back, and I bought it. I didn't realise what it was till I looked up the acronym 'BASEEFA' on the net; it has a small plate riveted onto the base, with reference to the relevant BASEEFA standard.

(BASEEFA = British Approval Service for Electrical Equipment in Flammable Atmospheres, an internationally recognised certification agency for this sort of equipment)

It has a chromed steel clamp ring around the rubber lens holder, fitted with a tamper-proof screw, and the catches on the side which release the base plate clamps are not spring-loaded, but locked in place with more tamper-proof screws - so you can't just flip the thing open and risk causing a spark in a coal mine or oil refinery. It was painted pale blue, and matched the colour of the BASEEFA plate on the base.

I'd never seen one like this before, but - would you believe - the week after I bought mine, another BASEEFA Bardic came up for sale on E-bay!

The previous owner had never opened it, as it was still working fine; but what astonished me was that the maker's label inside gave the build date as 17th August, 1989 - and the Exide Hi-Power HP2 batteries inside had a 'use before' date of July, 1997!

Looking at the tamper-proof screws, it looked as though it had never been opened before - and, from the condition, I'd say it had probably never even been issued in service - so I can only assume they were the batteries fitted as new when the lamp was built!

They don't build stuff like that anymore, y'know . . .

With best regards,

Jack

 

There are companies who re-silver mirrors, car headlights and the like: and isn't the front just clear Perspex, which a good glazier will cut you?

 

The front of a Bardic is a shallow lens, flat on the inside.

 

Ah, I wasn't aware of that - thank you. I'm minded to think of those kits you can get to restore the plastic covers on modern car headlights at this point. Which, incidentally, I must do to my car before long.

 

Ah, I'd forgotten that - thank you for the reminder! Yes, a friend had the reflector off his old Brit bike re-done like that, and the results were impressive.

I haven't tried one of them, but I'll get one and give it a go - especially as my car headlights need doing, too; they look a bit like someone cleaned them with a Brillo pad in places. Never had that problem with the old glass ones . . .

With best regards,

Jack

 

Here's hoping - I know someone who needed a front-silvered mirror making for a specific task and he had it done via a company in East London (I think). It was remarkably reasonably priced. I'll wager a Bardic with an LED bulb, a freshly-silvered mirror and a polished lens would be pretty impressive.

 

Actually, I can say from personal experience that a Bardic with an LED bulb, a less than perfect reflector and slightly scratched lens is still nowt to sneer at!

Though I did have to give the green aspect a couple of thin coats of glass paint, as suggested by the LED suppliers; otherwise it looked more like white with a tinge of green than green! Now, where did I put me Raybans . . .

 

Where did you get the LED bulb from?

 

See the OP.

 

A word of advice for those converting Bardics to LEDs. LEDs are polarity sensitive, but filaments aren't. It seems that Bardics are wired fairly randomly - which the positive and negative terminal seems to have depended on the whim of the original assembler - because it didn't matter with a filament. Get it wrong with an LED, and you'll probably damage the LED you've just bought. So, check the polarity of the connections with a meter first!

 

I disagree, Seraphim; LEDs are diodes - in other words, electronic one-way valves. If you connect a battery to them the wrong way round, they simply block the flow of electric current and won't light at all, but they won't be damaged unless you apply a voltage high enough to break down the internal junction - and you won't do that to those LEDs with 4.5 volts.

You suggest that users "check the polarity with a meter first" - but what does that mean? Applying a voltage to the LED, both ways round, to see which way the current flows! I don't know about your meter, but mine uses a 9 volt battery for that test, so if that doesn't harm the LED, nor will a Bardic battery (or 3 'D' cells).

Best regards,

Jack

MTA - it just occurred to me that the LED makers might have allowed for the possibility of reverse polarity connection, and fitted their LEDs with an internal bridge rectifier. This would automatically send the current the right way into the LED, regardless of which way round the battery terminals were connected. I got out my LED-fitted Bardic to check; sure enough, it lights whichever way you connect the positive and negative leads.

Jack

 

Many thanks for the heads up, Jack. I have just updated my maglite and mini - maglite and am waiting for a battery casing for my Bardic, before I install the LED bulb in that. The results are truly impressive.

If I have to darken the green aspect, where does one find glass paint?

Rehards,

jtx

PS The LED bulbs came in two days flat. Impressive service.

 

If I have to darken the green aspect, where does one find glass paint?

You could try an artist's supply shop.

 

Thanks mate.

 

This stuff's pretty good:—

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acrylic-Mi...853960&sr=8-1&keywords=tamiya+green+paint+x25

It also comes in Red, Orange & Blue flavours.
Local model shop?

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE: before buying glass paint, check that it's compatible with plastic! Some glass paints are solvent based, using solvents which won't harm glass, but which will attack the plastic - and you may not be able to find a spare Bardic screen at any price. Also, you need a paint which dries translucent (i.e., it lets light through); some are opaque.

The one I used (so I know this one is safe!) is a translucent water-based paint; I bought it from a firm called Curtis Ward, and the price was £1.53; their order code is DOA 764111. From the look of what's left in my pot, I think 20ml would be enough for five or six Bardics. Details are:

Artiste Aquaglass Glass Paint, ANISEED GREEN, 20ml

https://www.curtisward.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=1415&strReferer=search&PPGR=0

Mind, Curtis Ward do have a minimum shipping charge of £2.95 (it was worth it for me, because I was ordering other items, too, but if the paint is all you want that's a bit steep). If you look online, though, there are other suppliers - and if you have an artists' supplies shop near you, as Oddsocks suggested, you might be able to get it there.

Re. applying it; I tested the Bardic after one coat, put on as thin as I could get it, but it needed a second thin coat. Also, you need as soft a brush as possible, which you can also get from shops selling stuff for artists; the fine-bristled type they call a mop brush would be ideal.

HTH, and best regards,

Jack

MTA - re. the brush; it's just struck me that the type I've seen women use for putting on - or spreading around (whatever, I'm no expert on that) - some of their make-up looks ideal for the job; fine, soft bristles. You could probably get one a lot cheaper than a pukka artists brush, too.

 

PLEASE don't use that on a Bardic screen - acrylic paint is not translucent, so it will block the light from going through!

By the way; I found on mine that the red and yellow aspects work fine with an LED bulb; don't know why, but it seems it's only the green aspect which gets bleached out (the LED suppliers said that you might need glass paint on the green aspect, but didn't mention problems with the others).

Best regards,

Jack

 

I have used this stuff - albeit in Orange on GWR coach bits - & can vouch that it is truly translucent.

Found a Youtube video that shows the effect:—



There's another way, too... Mix paint & varnish (or Gold Size) in a ratio of 10-30% paint to 70-90% varnish to create a glaze coat. I've used this with good effect to create a 'dip' for 40W light bulbs for WW2 Blackout Lighting (& it's standard practice for applying Gold Size over a pale base coat to ensure full coverage).

Pete S.
C&W Dept.,
GWS Didcot.