Fixing a broken Anglepoise

[Clive Page]

As an alternative to the frequent complaints here, here's a note of recent excellent service:

I've had an Anglepoise lamp on my desk for many years. A week ago when I grabbed it a bit roughly, a couple of nylon struts fractured and the lamp collapsed in a heap of springs. A web search for spare parts brought me to anglepoise.com (based in Portsmouth) which showed images of a huge number of their lamps. The best match to mine was said to have been last sold in the late 1960s. It might have been a present from my parents around that time.

I contacted the helpdesk of anglepoise.com and they asked me to email them an image of the broken part. They didn't have an exact replacement, maybe the company has since learned that nylon only lasts a few decades. But they posted me a similar part made of metal that they thought might fit. I found that a combination of the old nylon spacers and the new metal linkage bar works fine. They wouldn't take any payment but I've made a donation to a charity they nominated.

So - excellent service of the kind not often encountered.

Mind you the retail prices of their new lamps are astonishingly high so perhaps they can afford to be generous. But if their free after-sales service lasts for over 50 years that does make a difference. Can anyone beat that?

[Pamela]

I had a couple of Anglepoise lamps but the only thing they needed was to have the little nuts tightened from time to time.

The only product I can think of with similar long after-sales is a Quad amp from Acoustical Manufacturing.

Fifty years ago I bought one of their amps second-hand just as it was being discontinued, yet today there's an active market for them and I could sell it at a profit even after inflation. No doubt to do with few model changes and building with standard parts. After they got taken over, they could still supply parts at bargain prices.

Admittedly the design is aged by today's standards. My amp now rests in the loft as I prefer wifi speakers for their convenience.

[jkn]

Slightly related: I would like to get hold of one of the old-fashioned push-on / push-off main switches (yes, for an Anglepoise), as shown in this kit of spares:

But I cannot find the right term to search for, and the style seems to be no longer readily available. Can anyone suggest a source please?

(I'm actually just after the threaded 'cap', but I don't mind splashing out for a whole new switch, as long as I don't have to pay Anglepoise prices!)

Cheers, Jon N

[Owain Lastname]

Available from almost every electrical shop eg

exact dimensions may vary

Owain

[Theo]

Not quite, but Miele still had parts for a ~35 year old dishwasher, last time I talked to them. Definitely not free, though.

The anglepoise lights aren't as astronishingly high as:

saw that advertised on TV recently and wondered how something that looks like it cost £20 from China could be £350, or a hundred quid more for some

18650s shoved in the base)

Theo

[John Rumm]

Well it does say "Free Lifetime Guarente" at the top of the web site, so why not ask em for one?

[Bob Eager]

Hear hear. I bought a knackered Quad 33/303 from my brother in law for a song. One of the PCBs was burnt and damaged.

They charged a very reasonable amount for repair, first sending me a set of original shipping cartons FOC (the small configuration boards should be taken out for shipping, and the shipping material included slots for them).

I got a very detailed, itemised invoice for fixing and refurbishing both the 33 and the 303, although it was a while ago now. The one thing they did FOC was to replace the little 'Quad lamp' where the writing had worn off.

[RJH]

I had a Quad 34 preamplifier and FM4 tuner repaired - IIRC it was a fixed cost of £100 each about 3 years ago. They did insist on returning using their own boxes, which added about £30. No complaints though, superb service.

[jkn]

Thank you Owain - 'press switch' seems to be the term I was missing.

J^n

[Owain Lastname]

It's advertised in Radio Times.

Things in Radio Times are aimed at well-off older people who don't have the Internet.

Owain

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

They have always been helpful I really many years ago a similar experience. A lot of new ones seem to have some kind of shrouds around the springs, it is supposed to stop the twanging noise a bit, Certainly their microphone holders are good. Brian

[fred]

What ? They still print the Radio Times ?

[Richard]

Yeah. They tried supplying blank sheets of paper, but there were no takers.

[Peter Johnson]

I have a couple of their lamps, one floor and one table, that I've had for 20+ years. When the integral psu packed up in the floor lamp a few years ago they offered a 'return to base' 'upgrade to LED' repair for £75, including carriage both ways. I had already been using cheap LEDs in it for a year or two. I accepted the offer but declined to buy a second LED bulb for £20 instead of the normal £30. The lamp was returned with an external psu and an LED that only lasted about a year. Searching LED suppliers I found one similar to theirs, with a good heatsink and higher light output, for about £10 that has been ok ever since. Never had any issues with the desk lamp, which runs with the same type of LED that I put in the floor lamp. They reckon, incidentally, that the lamps are made to order.

[Theo]

Interesting. Are they just generic DC bulbs (12V?) then? So this is just a DC PSU and a normal lampholder, rather than some whizzy specialness?

Perhaps by screwing together parts from off the shelf. I wonder how much you have to do to earn a 'made in UK' sticker?

Theo (who has a rather nice Chinese floor lamp with adjustable colour temperature COB LEDs, which was £37 from Amazon and probably much less from China)

[Owain Lastname]

which has the advantage of exempting them from the Distance Selling Regulations and the customer's right to return.

Advantage to them, that is.

Owain

[Michael Chare]

A few years ago Britool sent me a spare part for a torque wrench I bought in 1970 or maybe early 1971. (I then found the little part which had dropped out!)

[Theo]

I'm not sure it does. Picking from a fixed set of options doesn't count as customisation under the Consumer Rights Act, because they can sell the item to another person who orders the same set of options (ie it's just a case of inventory management). Making one to your specific requirements (like cutting it to length or engraving your name on it) would do, since they couldn't sell it to another customer (except at a fire sale price).

Theo

[Steve Walker]

Not free, but ISTR that Morgan Cars can supply spares for any of their cars and they've been going since about 1910.

[Tim Lamb]

Hmm.. Not quite. I had to make a chassis for a 1956 series 2 4/4 in

1972 as a replacement was no longer available. The original engine was a Ford 100E (anglia?) which I upgraded to a Corsair GT! Funny how insurance companies didn't ask questions:-) Morgans were always *bitza's* with only the chassis, bodywork, front suspension and Ash frame coming out of Malvern. Last time I checked, it was still running round Ipswich.