How do you know those Alpha 6s in the top picture are being replaced tomorrow? Have you had a tip off from your contact?Yes, he replaced the 50w bulb in the SGS203 outside my home today, and when I spotted him I went down and had a chat!
I hope Alpha 6s that can be saved, are saved.I think they'll need luck on their sides as they are really old and definitely showing their age. I expect the weak join between the shoe and the GRP won't take too kindly to being hammered off the bracket if the grub screws have siezed, especially considering how fragile they are in strong winds. I'll find out how it went later in the week.
Are you sure the SGS 203 is discontinued?This may be a piece of anticipation and guesswork from me, as the '203's bigger brother the '204 (another popular Colchester lantern) is no longer being made.
I guess there's no reason why Philips can't continue to sell three SON main road lanterns (the '203, the TrafficVision and the Iridium ... there might even be another I don't know about!). After all the Thorn Alpha One, Alpha Four and Alpha Nine probably overlapped for quite a while. Of the three I would still expect the '203 to be discontinued first, and quite soon considering the popularity of the Iridium, with the TrafficVision following next and the Iridium ruling as king of the road.
If the '203 isn't being discontinued sometime soon, it will certainly be good news for my contact - he likes the easy-swap gear trays on the '203, and detests the new control gear in the Iridium.