Guess what light this is...

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

Yep, now used every day in my office/lighting junk room. 
1997 50w HPS Cooper OVC I think?

I use these as nightlights instead of your standard 4w C7s:

[Mike]

Nope, the OVC is from 1990, but you were close. My M-400A2 is the one from 1997.

Hmm you use Christmas light mini-lights, don't you?

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

close, but more specifically LED ones.
This fixture in my house has a UL tag with the line voltage and amps HANDWRITTEN!

[Mike]

Well minis come in incandescent or LED.

Dunno.

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

It's a 80s Lithonia 2XF96T12 striplight.  Right at the beginning of cheap lame fixtures, but still decent, and my first/only eight footer! (I'd always wanted one since getting interested in fluorescents, so I jumped on that offer).
These are always pretty buzzy no matter what you do it seems (Even stuffing a sock in there like a LG buddy was thinking of doing)

[Mike]

Haha MH highbays! Yeah sometimes I wonder about him lol...

These T8 lamps are popular in preheat undercabinet lights.

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

Nah he's just as "creative" as I am...I've done some stupid/dangerous things too like that and have been pretty "lucky"...never had a fire or anything.  \
F15T8/CWs.
This fixture at my house has an Advance Kool-Koil ballast that sometimes trips it's thermal cutout, even with 40 watt lamps:

[Mike]

LOL So have I. I'm sure we all have, but I honestly don't think it should be condoned on the site. It just makes us all look like we have no respect for electricity. To be honest, I don't care what people do in their own homes, as long as they realize the risks associated with any bad wiring, but I don't think people should be showcasing electrical hack jobs in the gallery. I think we should at least encourage proper wiring and electrical safety... You're sort of the exception to the rule since you're off-grid lol. Sure, it's still just as dangerous as on grid, but I don't know, it just doesn't seem as dangerous lol.

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

Oh it could still burn my house down just as easily but yeah it "seems" less dangerous.  I've seem worse things though...half a house fed off a 2 prong plug for example!
These can be confusing to wire up since they don't have decicated "line" side leads...rather they go through the cutout lampholders:

[Mike]

slimlines! Yeah I heard they're weird to wire up.

This type of ballast is the "big brother" to bi-pin RS ballasts.

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

Not so much hard as a little confusing to a RS-orinented person.  The ballasts have no "hot" and "neutral", it goes through one of the lampholders. 
F96T12/VHO?

[Mike]

I was thinking HO but I guess VHO is kinda the same thing.

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

Ah true.
These are always a little on the noisy size, but it's a soft hum.

[Mike]

therm-o-matics?

these ballasts tend to have bad caps, especially those from the 80s (though most capacitors from the 80s were poor quality, as the "dry" PCB-less capacitors were a fairly new technology at that time)

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

Close! I was thinking slimlines, but a Universal Therm-O-Matic slimline could be that way! (I do have the younger cousin of those though, Universal Watt-Reducer slimline ballasts)
Advance! I personally joke Advance ballasts in general have an "Advanced" failure rate compared to other brands.