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I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $25 USD + S&H - Printable Version

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I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $25 USD + S&H - weblacky - 12-31-2020

Hi All,
With the successful test of the Octane Lightbar parts, I’m pleased to announce the grand opening of my SGI rebuild services.  I’m starting small, so for now, it’s just Octane lightbars.

This posting is about sending in your existing, burnt-out, OEM lightbar with Incandescent bulbs to me and I'll install NEW incandescent bulbs (1 pair) in your Octane or Octane2 Lightbar.  If you have a lightbar that burnt out, this will be like buying a new lightbar from SGI (which is what SGI thought they’d be doing, based on the Octane manual).  The rebuild service (including a pair of bulbs) is $25 USD + S&H.

   


Please note, I am NOT talking about changing the lighting elements to LEDs.  I will not perform that modification, nor will I assist in doing so.  This is about using OEM-like bulbs to give you the same light affect the system originally had.

BACKGROUND:
You read right, I’ve tracked down the proper bulb and it has passed all tests so far.  So this is your best option for getting new bulbs installed in your lightbar and allowing your Octane system to appear just as it was, new out of the box, all those years ago.

BULB DESCRIPTION:
These bi-pin 5vDC @ ~110mA candelabra bulbs are rated for ~40,000  hours of operation and are pre-aged, guaranteed by the vendor to be within 15% of their rated brightness.  These are one of the brightest variants made, there are dimmer bulb variants, there are also a couple brighter variants (but those only have a couple thousand hours of lifespan).  These are near the top of all variants in candle power and the most likely to match the original SGI bulb lifespan.

The bulb size used by SGI was used in aerospace applications to backlight console meters and control buttons. These bulbs are NO LONGER MANUFACTURED, I believe they haven’t been made since around 2000.  The original bulb maker was Sylvania, but those bulbs are long gone…the bulbs I’m offering are new old stock overseas clones, already imported and sitting in a USA distributor warehouse for 15+ years..  They are guaranteed, by my bulb supplier, to meet the original Sylvania spec and are sold as such.

THE DEAL:
You can arrange to send me your entire Lightbar assembly (plastic and all if you want, I can clean the plastic while I’m in there…it gets dirty).  But if you want to send me just the PCB, that’s OK too.

If you have the old original bulbs in it, it will go much faster and have a better result.  If you’ve already lost your lifters (bumpers) from doing a previous LED mod, I can undo the existing LED mod and place new bulbs in it, but I don’t have replacement lifters.  So, you’ll have to live without them (not a huge deal). 

It takes anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour to do the full work.  Disassembly (without breaking) of the plastic housing, removal of old bulbs, installing new bulbs, cleaning, first test with bare PCB, reassembly of plastic housing, final test of fully assembled lightbar module, and packaging/shipping.  I takes more time, if the lifters are gone, I have to manually space the bulbs away from the PCB.

I know each case is different, but please keep in mind this should be a once per system.  I don’t expect the same lightbar to ever need new bulbs again, unless you plan on leaving the system on for several years straight.  If you use it occasionally (few hours per year), it should last several decades!

   

   


PAYMENT:
WARRANTY:
In terms of warranty, I’ll be happy to give you a basic DOA and 90 day warranty to shake things out.  If you have a bulb go out, contact me and I’ll arrange to get it handled.  Please note these are real bulbs…so don’t try to touch the glass surface, it causes the same issues as touching a larger household bulb, hotspots. I’m not going to go draconian and place glue on the assembly or anything, but if people appear to be abusing the warranty, I’ll have to make revisions to my statement.  At this point, I don’t expect failures.  Also repairs mailed to me are always on your dime, you pay to ship items to me in all situations.  However, I’ll do in-warranty repairs for free and ship them for free, if the failure was genuine.

SHIPPING:
For Domestic USA clients, I’m willing to give a break on shipping, just pay $5 for shipping, but I will still use USPS Priority small box mailing to prevent loss and crushed parts!

For international clients, I know the shipping is unfair and it’s really not economical.  So I’ll give a price break on volume or we can discuss what can be done.  I’m not a business so I don’t have access to great shipping rates.  But please contact me and I’ll see if we can work something out,

JUST THE BULBS:
For those that ask about just buying bulbs and doing the work yourself, I’m not going to say no – but I will say this:  The price will be HIGH for the bulbs and while I will test them before they leave, there is ZERO warranty of any kind.  I have personally ruined two bulbs by trying to desolder them back off a PCB I had messed up.  One separated at its leg and the other’s white plastic base melted.

Any solder dwell time longer than 3 seconds and the bulbs will become damaged.  You need to get them installed right, the first time!

I’m not trying to block access to anyone, just being realistic.  If you let me do the work, even if I ruin a bulb…I have more to replace it right there (not your problem).  Your lightbar WILL be bench-tested on a DC PSU to prove both bulbs light up before it ships out.  If you order bare bulbs and ruin one of the bulbs then you have to order more.

Right now, the price will be $10 a bulb, my supply is no more than 40 bulbs.  Once they are gone, they are gone!  No more are being made.  You might find them from someone else…but I doubt it.  While someone could use another variant of this bulb, it will either be less bright or brighter, but only last less than 1 year of continuous use.  This bulb model is the best compromise.

If you want extra bulbs with a lightbar rebuild order, I’ll sell you a few pairs if you want (same zero warranty applies to those loose bulbs though).

THE SKINNY:
Even though these bulbs don’t have any greater lifespan than the original bulbs, 40,000 hours is nearly 3 years.  Most collectors aren’t going to run their systems that long, so realistically you should expect these to be the last bulbs you’ll need.  If you are using an Octane for real work and have it on for this long, I’d suggest buying another lightbar from somewhere and getting it rebuilt as well if you care about having bulbs over LEDs.  As I mentioned, I don’t have a continuous supply.  Once they are gone, my supplier claims they are gone for good.

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $45 USD + S&H - Raion - 12-31-2020

What about LED versions?

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $45 USD + S&H - weblacky - 12-31-2020

I'm not sure I understand, I will UNDO LED mods if you send one in. I will not perform LED mods.

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $45 USD + S&H - Raion - 12-31-2020

Yeah, I was asking if you had any interest in doing LED mods, for other users' benefit.

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $45 USD + S&H - weblacky - 01-07-2021

I have gotten in the final shipment of bulbs, they only had 61 left, so basically there are ~70 bulbs for sale as of right now. This is the last of the new old stock, as confirmed by my supplier.

Also I will likely leave this deal here on IRIXNet exclusively for a few months, however if there is no traction I will move to eBay and other sites and pricing may change (due to increased costs). When I do that I'll modify or take down the service posting here (depending on marketplace guidelines).

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $45 USD + S&H - Raion - 01-08-2021

You can close out the service here by messaging one of the staff members and we can take care of it for you.

I wish you the best of luck and I hope you get some orders. At least in my personal case there is a small appeal with having the light bar match the color of the case. So when my original light bulb bar in my Octane2 runs dry, I was planning to do that

One thing to consider since it's such a simple circuit would be you could design a replacement board and release the files online or make your own reproduction boards, with both LED and incandescent options. No pressure though, just me bikeshedding.

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $45 USD + S&H - KayBee - 04-03-2021

I have a lightbar with new incandescent bulbs now, casting their warm analog glow, it's nice. Like a tube amp. I can imagine what SGI would charge for this, thankfully weblacky is reasonable.

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $25 USD + S&H - weblacky - 08-25-2021

Yo all,
I just lowered the repair price, considerably, trying to take the times into account. I also have several rebuilt units available on the marketplace as well here: https://forums.irixnet.org/thread-3059.html

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $25 USD + S&H - jwhat - 01-13-2022

Hi Weblacky,

my modern LED lightbar has now been replaced with the nice soft glow of your "bulb bar".

Cheers from Oz,

jwhat/John

RE: I'll rebuild your Octane Lightbar with OEM-like Incandescent bulbs for $25 USD + S&H - KGLlewellyn - 03-15-2024

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Weblacky for the really fast turnaround of my lightbar bulb replacement, I live in the same state so shipping was fast, but he was able to get them turned around super fast and I had my lightbars back in the same week! Both my Octane and Octane2 look a lot happier now with their warm glows once more! Thanks again!