Ah congrats on the slimlines!
![Cheesy :D](http://galleryoflights.org/mb/Smileys/classic/cheesy.gif)
Hmm. I had a GE Bonusline ballast that did that (F40/RS). The ballast would hum and the lamps would flash when power is removed. The lamps were good and everything, so I determined the ballast must have been bad, so I snipped off the leads. I kept the ballast though and I still have it, since the label is in perfect shape. I will put it on display someday. I honestly would love a slimline and an HO shoplight but I don't have the space right now. I wouldn't know where to store them lol. That's why I haven't taken the 8ft tandem preheater from my great-aunt's house, though it is on my "list" of lights to replace/acquire.
I will be removing the rest of my great-aunt's T17 fixture probably over the summer or within the next two years or so. I told Joe that it's his if he ever comes down to Rhode Island. I wouldn't want to ship a T17 fixture. I'm blessed with two T17 fixtures that I'll essentially "inherit" but I just can't keep both going since I don't have enough lamps.
![Sad :(](http://galleryoflights.org/mb/Smileys/classic/sad.gif)
I told Joe that he would have to find his own lamps though since I need the lamps from the fixture to keep my late-grandpa's going, but I will throw in starters and a lamp cord. My great-aunt's T17 is missing the endcaps and missing some of the latch hardware but is otherwise in decent shape. I've never tinkered with my late-grandpa's T17 so I don't know what condition it's in, but it looks to be in better shape than my great-aunt's. He only has it running one lamp too, so the ballast runs cooler too (though he only ran one lamp in it because two lamps is around 200W of power lol)
I've only seen a SL ballast once, on a shelf at a surplus store. It had short leads (like less than a foot long). I think the ballast looked around 10" long or so? Bigger than a RS for sure. T17 ballasts are HUGE. They're not incredibly long (well, some might be) but they're tall, like double the height of a SL ballast and maybe a little longer too. I've never seen an HO ballast in person before though. I've never opened up my grandpa's HO fixtures.
Ah yes! I wanted a street light for the longest time and now I have a bunch! Then I wanted a street light with a NEMA tag and I finally have two that have OEM NEMA tags (OVC and M-400A2) though I think I removed the M-400A2's NEMA tag in favor of a new 320W PSMH tag, since the ballast had been replaced while the light was in service. Also, I've added NEMA tags to some of my lights. My RMA NEMA head, my M-250A, my OV-15 TuDor FCO (though originally it had one but it fell off), and I added a NEMA tag to my M-400 split door. Then I had wanted specific lights and now I have them! I had always wanted a M-250A, since they're my all-time favorite cobraheads. I had actually never specifically wanted an OV-10IB, but now that I have one, I want to grab a bucket truck and take all the rest of them still in service lol. They're built like TANKS! (or deuce-and-a-halfs
![Grin ;D](http://galleryoflights.org/mb/Smileys/classic/grin.gif)
)
As for fluorescents, I haven't specifically wanted anything except for the wrap lights in my elementary school and in my middle school. Those wraps are very cool. The ones in my elementary school are Lithonia Classmate wraps I think. So if they're still made when I get my own place, I might order a brand-new one from Lithonia. I'd order it with a programmed start T8 ballast and then stick in a T12RS ballast if I can fit one.