All I can say is mine, which was manufactured 06-26-2015 at 15:08 EDT has a metal bird guard as well. I like it better than the plastic one that was on my 2007 150w M250R2 since the metal one won't become brittle over time. Not that it would anyway since I am never putting mine up outside either. (250w)
I think the single tap 250w ballast is most likely smaller. This is the largest 250w ballast I've ever seen. I think the 250w PSMH is almost identical (quad tap)
Yeah a single tap would be a little smaller, but not a huge difference unless it was a 240V single tap for the 250W HPS, as it would only require one coil instead of two. Like with MV, 200-400W HPS can use the 240V line voltage directly, so the ballast only limits current rather than stepping the voltage up/down. PSMH can use a choke at 277V.
The model number is M2RRS0A2GMS3. Do you use multi-volt ballasts in the fixture for the 250 and 400W? I'm unsure if NGrid does. I'm pretty sure all the HPS NGrid lights are 120V but I know GE used to have some sort of "fast ship" thing where they stocked certain types of lights. I know the 250W HPS 120-277V units were part of that as were the 100 and 150W HPS 120V units. That was it as far as the M-250R2 was concerned. I guess the idea behind it was that GE kept a lot of those in-stock at their warehouse (probably because those were the most commonly-ordered units) so that there wouldn't be a long lead time at the factory while they made the lights. Like fast food instead of cooked-to-order lol. This one had a lead time though and the newer catalogs don't have that fast ship (dunno what it was actually called, but that name is a good way to describe it lol) thing anymore so I'm thinking they no longer do that. Makes sense, as they're putting all their emphasis on LEDs.
Seems like the lighting market is broadening out a lot manufacturer-wise. GE, Cooper, and AEL basically ruled the street lighting market with Hubbell and Philips Lumec. Now there's so many manufacturers like LeoTek, Cree, etc. I wonder if the dinosaurs will remain at the top of the totem pole or if some of these newer companies will become more popular. I heard rumors that GE eventually plans to exit the non-LED lighting business altogether and will discontinue their non-LED fixtures and non-LED lamps (so no more HIDs, fluorescents, or residential grade lamps). I haven't seen anything concrete to support that though.
I noticed that RIDOT is acting "funny" with their HPS lights lately. RIDOT has been religiously GE since the 90s, with the exception of their breif Cooper streak in the early-mid 2000s. They've used drop lens M-250R2s and M-400 FCOs for 250W HPS and M-400s (drop lens and FCO) for 400W HPS. The FCOs were always used for new installations and the drop lens fixtures were used only as spot replacements. I noticed now that RIDOT is mixing FCO and drop lens. I'm still seeing 250W HPS drop lens M-250R2s, but I'm also seeing Philips Helios HBS lights spot-installed for failed 250W drop lens lights. I've also seen M-400 FCOs installed to replace drop lens 400W HPS. I could understand if they were reusing removed-but-working HPS lights, and actually, I'd encourage it, but they're still installing NEW lights and still mismatching. If they're going to continue spot replacing HPS, why not continue to do it "right" and not mix FCO and drop lens?
And what irks me is that they are spot replacing all the HPS lights months or even weeks before installing LEDs. Route 37 near me just had the 250W HPS M-250R2s at the I-95 interchange fixed up (they were out in sections, so I assume some fuses blew) which included replacing missing poles with new poles and M-250R2s and replacing bad fixtures with new M-250R2s. This was about a month ago. Now they just LeoTek'ed the stretch of road (and by the way the wiring issues came back so these lights don't work lol). Obviously replacing the fuses without doing anything else is going to be useless, as the problem is still there and the fuses will blow again. What's weird is that the lights work for awhile and then go out. Usually a few weeks later. Same issue with the NGrid freeway lights that were originally installed by NEES. The EUA freeway poles never have wiring issues, only neglected cycling lamps. Same for city metal pole lights. But the freeway lighting is problematic.
Not sure if water intrusion might be the issue? Each pole has a manhole next to it that says ELECTRICAL, which I assume is where the fuse(s) are. I honestly don't have a clue how the circuitry is laid out. What I do know is that the NGrid lights are all 120V, oddly enough. You'd think the losses would be bad but all the lights have 120V PCs. Originally in the MV days they were 240V with 120V PCs just like the wood pole lights but in the 90s they just bypassed one of the hot legs and wired the lights for 120V. The EUA lights were always 120 even in the MV days. Not sure what voltage the RIDOT lights are, but back in the 60s Joe Maurath told me the RIDOT lights all had red 208-277V PCs, so you know it's gotta be one of those voltages. RIDOT uses blue PCs now, though the LEDs all have those foolish wireless-controlled PCs that are full of issues.
Normally fuses are in the handhole in the pole. The manhole near the pole is just the splice point for each pole. Mass DOT has the same thing with their lighting systems.
Also, I didn't notice that was a multi tap ballast lol, I kinda quick glanced it. But, the multi tap ballast does look very similar to the straight 120v ones. The AEL 327's we use for the 1K fixtures are all multi tap wired for the 120v tap.
@Tony
You guys still use 1000 watt cobraheads ? Cool! Are they HPS or MH? Have they changed the 327 at all? The picture in the AEL catalog is only a stock photo, like how they have a picture of a 113 on the 115 catalog page I have been wanting to order a 327 for a long time because the design goes back to the early days like the ITT model 13.
We use both HPS and MH fixtures. The fixture from what I can tell looks just like the online photo. They are very heavy though, and not very easy to replace.
The 327 is very expensive. I got a price on one a few years ago from an electrical supply house, and it was like $800 When you guys receive them, are they in a cardboard box like smaller cobraheads or in something else like a wooden crate?
What do the fuses look like? Wouldn't it be safer to have the fuses in the manhole, so if the pole gets mowed down the wires sticking out aren't live? (and so the live wires don't short and kill the other lights?) Overhead fixtures must be easier to maintain since they're not each individually fused.
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Seems like the lighting market is broadening out a lot manufacturer-wise. GE, Cooper, and AEL basically ruled the street lighting market with Hubbell and Philips Lumec. Now there's so many manufacturers like LeoTek, Cree, etc. I wonder if the dinosaurs will remain at the top of the totem pole or if some of these newer companies will become more popular. I heard rumors that GE eventually plans to exit the non-LED lighting business altogether and will discontinue their non-LED fixtures and non-LED lamps (so no more HIDs, fluorescents, or residential grade lamps). I haven't seen anything concrete to support that though.
I noticed that RIDOT is acting "funny" with their HPS lights lately. RIDOT has been religiously GE since the 90s, with the exception of their breif Cooper streak in the early-mid 2000s. They've used drop lens M-250R2s and M-400 FCOs for 250W HPS and M-400s (drop lens and FCO) for 400W HPS. The FCOs were always used for new installations and the drop lens fixtures were used only as spot replacements. I noticed now that RIDOT is mixing FCO and drop lens. I'm still seeing 250W HPS drop lens M-250R2s, but I'm also seeing Philips Helios HBS lights spot-installed for failed 250W drop lens lights. I've also seen M-400 FCOs installed to replace drop lens 400W HPS. I could understand if they were reusing removed-but-working HPS lights, and actually, I'd encourage it, but they're still installing NEW lights and still mismatching. If they're going to continue spot replacing HPS, why not continue to do it "right" and not mix FCO and drop lens?
And what irks me is that they are spot replacing all the HPS lights months or even weeks before installing LEDs. Route 37 near me just had the 250W HPS M-250R2s at the I-95 interchange fixed up (they were out in sections, so I assume some fuses blew) which included replacing missing poles with new poles and M-250R2s and replacing bad fixtures with new M-250R2s. This was about a month ago. Now they just LeoTek'ed the stretch of road (and by the way the wiring issues came back so these lights don't work lol). Obviously replacing the fuses without doing anything else is going to be useless, as the problem is still there and the fuses will blow again. What's weird is that the lights work for awhile and then go out. Usually a few weeks later. Same issue with the NGrid freeway lights that were originally installed by NEES. The EUA freeway poles never have wiring issues, only neglected cycling lamps. Same for city metal pole lights. But the freeway lighting is problematic.
Not sure if water intrusion might be the issue? Each pole has a manhole next to it that says ELECTRICAL, which I assume is where the fuse(s) are. I honestly don't have a clue how the circuitry is laid out. What I do know is that the NGrid lights are all 120V, oddly enough. You'd think the losses would be bad but all the lights have 120V PCs. Originally in the MV days they were 240V with 120V PCs just like the wood pole lights but in the 90s they just bypassed one of the hot legs and wired the lights for 120V. The EUA lights were always 120 even in the MV days. Not sure what voltage the RIDOT lights are, but back in the 60s Joe Maurath told me the RIDOT lights all had red 208-277V PCs, so you know it's gotta be one of those voltages. RIDOT uses blue PCs now, though the LEDs all have those foolish wireless-controlled PCs that are full of issues.
Also, I didn't notice that was a multi tap ballast lol, I kinda quick glanced it. But, the multi tap ballast does look very similar to the straight 120v ones. The AEL 327's we use for the 1K fixtures are all multi tap wired for the 120v tap.
You guys still use 1000 watt cobraheads