Century framing lamp cord replacement

[Scott Norwood]

I've run into a number of Century projectors where the rubber insulation on the framing lamp power cord has started to deteriorate. Is there a straightforward way to replace the whole cord? How does the plastic grommet thing that secures the cord when it enters the projector head work?

[Sean McKinnon]

It's usually a Hubbell "Midget" twist lock HBL7464V is the cable end I believe. You probable want to replace it with the grounded version.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

IIRC Century just used standard "zip" style lamp cord for the framing lamp. And also IIRC the connector has two screws on a flange you can remove to get to the connections. The socket end is tricky, I think it was molded in, so you'll need to replace the whole socket and cord as a unit. Which will be difficult to find and costly. (That Hubbell connector is stupid expensive.)

My suggestion? Replace the whole mess with a 12v DC LED lamp assembly and 12v DC Power supply. Safer, and will last virtually forever. And no more shock hazard. The framing lamp is just for backlighting the hole, so nothing fancy optically is needed.

One of my chains back in my service days did just that (using incandescent 12v lamps) to save on relamping and enhance safety (they had experienced a few 120v "blowups" when the cord wore out and shorted to the projector.)