Over the past few months, various Eltam products have been developed and upgraded. We are pleased to present these unique innovations in the lighting field. All of the developments presented here are the result of Eltam R&D and manufactured at Eltam production site.

The lamp ignition by the EHID ballasts is performed by the Pulse Ignition method, which has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is the gentle character of the ignition, which harms neither the lamp nor the ignition cables.
The disadvantage is that it limits the distance between the lamp and the ballast (2.5 meters with the regular cables, up to 12 meters with low capacitance cables). The Ignition Amplifier helps to overcome this drawback – and enables ignition from a great distance (up to 25 meters). The Ignition Amplifier, which is installed in the luminaire, receives a signal from the ballast to ignite the lamp. The ballast is installed in the lamppost or in a remote gear box. The amplifier works in series to with the ballast and therefore all the ballast safety features and characteristics, applicable to the ignition of the lamp, continue to function as usual.

In light of the success of the beta sites, in which tens of EHID PLC™ 70W and 150W ballasts were installed, Eltam initiated a very successful project in the city of Holon involving hundreds of PLC ballasts. The site has been operative for about two months and enables the municipal Control Room to control and monitor the street lighting. This is done through the network lines without the need to install special communication lines. The PLC ballasts will soon be exported to the European market.

Recent upgrades to the EHID ballast hardware enables program updating and upgrading after the ballasts have left the production line. The new software can be uploaded to both the DALI and the PLC ballasts even after they have been installed on a site, by connecting the PLC HUB or the DALI controller to a PC that transmits the updated files.

Improved casing will be presented in April 2009. The casing will give a new look to the EHID ballast series. In addition, the casing will improve two essential features:

• Heat dissipation - the new casing will enhance the ballast heat dissipation. As a result, it will be possible to install the ballasts in lighting fixtures with less than optimal heat dissipation.
• The ballast IP Code (International Protection Code) – The improved casing will ensure a high Level of IP rating (>IP54) and thereby facilitate ballast installation outdoors and on lampposts. Protection is measured in accordance with DIN IEC 598

The EHID MidNight™ is an autonomous ballast, which dimmed itself according to preprogrammed scenario. The ballast has reconfiguration capabilities and can be adjusted to various dimming scenarios after installation. The encoding is performed through the power lines, by manipulating the contactors that activate the lighting system. Until now, users had to encode manually.
The MidNight-Configuration Device enables automatic reconfiguration according to the desired scenario. The Configuration Device consists of a PC program and a portable component that hooks up to the contactor.