This looks to be 80's at oldest but I don't remember if there was a different etch on Osram ones (acquired from GTE) during the 90's. I think the 80's GTE ones have the double support for the arc-tube and the later Osram ones reverted back to single wire support. Prior to the 80's, they were clear-top, then briefly clear-band, then fully coated until BT production on these stopped (went to China, ED style).

All the GTE ones I've seen have the large "175" on them, making this one an OSRAM lamp (post- 1994). Not sure if the OSRAM MVs were any worse/better quality wise than the last GTE ones made?

I think I have some Osram ones like this at work. The arc-tubes look pretty much the same, just the supports look more like the clear-banders but I'd have to check and compare more details. I think Sylvania went the longest with the same arc tube design from the 60's up until US production stopped. GE modified theirs around '80 and of course Westinghouse eventually was changed after Philips acquired them.

I've since figured probably '90s myself. Nonetheless, I'm sure it's better made than many modern lamps.

Ironically Sylvania's lamps were the worst between GE and Westinghouse in the 1960s from what I was told? (not bad quality, but not as good as the GEs or especially lifeguards of the era?) I was told their 100W lamps were especially prone to dimming out very fast. I know the GE 100W MV lamps around here from the 80s and 90s dimmed very badly to the point you'd barely notice the lamp is lit at night and if it was a dayburner you'd never know.

I knew of a 100W MV ITT 13 with a super dimmed out lamp one street over from my grandparents' street before they replaced all the lights with 70W HPS in 2014-ish. Despite being super dimmed (to the point where you would quickly assume the light coming from the glass was just stray house lights; they live in a sorta-urban area) I always could tell when the light came on for the night since you could hear the ballast buzzing from the next telephone pole lol. They had relamped the fixture and it was very bright but the ballast was still a buzzer lol. Here she is!


And here's another ITT13 across town that still exists (and still dayburns). The other ITT 13 on that road still remains as well.

I'd like to find a Sylvania 'Banner' lamp myself.

IIRC the Banner lamps are the hardest to find out of the Lifeguard, Bonusline, and Banner lamps. I haven't been lucky enough to find a bonusline yet but I do have a few lifeguards, most are well used.

The Lifeguards seem the most common, I think they were also just really mass produced. Mine is very lightly used, just enough to not be NOS, (I'll ask how many hours it has; I'm in frequent touch with the fellow member of LG who gave it to me). I know of some BT28 Lifeguard lamps (Philips probably though) in a couple yard blaster installations at commercial places that are still fairly bright after 30 years of nightly service, unless of course they were installed NOS. Somewhat greened but pretty bright.

The lifeguards are the most common, because they were made a lot longer than the others. Lifeguards were made from the 60s through the 80s. GE ended their Bonusline lamps in the 1960s and Sylvania's Banner lamps were made for an ever shorter span than GE's Bonuslines.

That also confirms my suspicions.

It makes me wonder why Westinghouse never ditched the lifeguard lamp. The others did it because they knew the lamps were lasting too long and they could probably save a few cents per lamp by eliminating the antiblackening chemical. But Westinghouse still used it in their lamps! Yet they went out of business. I guess nice guys do finish last unfortunately.

More like they got bought out by Philips, who had a quantity, not quality business model perhaps? IDK...I've often wondered the same thing.

If they'd reintroduce the extended-life mercury lamp right before a ban, it could sure help keep old fixtures in service longer. But in today's attitude of planned obsolescence, I just don't see it.

Yeah the Lifeguards were made up to the Philips takeover compared to GE which dropped the Bonus Line name around the end of the 60s. I have a few Lifeguards and have been lucky enough to get some Bonuslines too. I don't have any Banner lamps though, I have a clear 175w Sylvania from 1967 and by then they already dropped the Banner name.

Yep I have an NOS Sylvania 400W /C cleartop from 1967 that's not a banner. Some Philips MVs remained lifeguards until at least 1990 if I'm not mistaken. I'd like to get some /C or /W lifeguards or bonuslines.

The ED28 early 90s Philips ones still are with a Lifeguard arc tube.

I've since been given a couple other older Sylvanias, one from '92 that's fully coated and has the big '175' and another, I think 1978, clearbander. How are the '70s ones compared to GE or Westinghouse?

The 175W Sylvania lamps seem fine to me. The 1990 one that came with my OV-10IB is still quite bright, though I'm not sure if it was in nightly use or not. It was a NGrid-owned light but removed from a property, not a street, so I wonder if the light was disconnected at some point before the arm was reconnected but the light was replaced with a 50W HPS.

I have that '98 and it's still quite well made, but it was an eBay find originally then given to me so it either sat NOS until a few years ago or was only used briefly then taken out of use in a group relamp or HPS conversion wherever it was, at least that's my guess. I'm actually gonna give him the '98 back, it was a mistake originally