Patrick Chaplin - Darts Historian

Circumlumitator

THE CIRCUMLUMINATOR DARTBOARD ILLUMINATION BREAKTHROUGH

The Circumluminator: Uniform, shadow-free, glare-free light

One of the reasons it took darts – or any indoor pub game – so long to develop during the early days was simple lack of proper illumination inside the pub.

In the early 20th century, especially in rural locations, inns rarely possessed electric light and had to make do with candle power or an oil lamp.

At the Red Cow, Canvey Island, Essex in 1937, when the light was not very good, a player would stick a lump of clay on the wall and use it as a candle socket.

The landlord of the Stanley Arms, Chelsea recalled that, at a rural pub he visited just after the Great War,

“In the evenings when we wished to play we were obliged to do so with only the aid of a single oil lamp that often used to throw out more smoke than light. Not only did we have to contend with playing in a dim yellowish light, but had to keep constantly rubbing our eyes after the oil fumes had spread throughout the room.”

Ah, the joys of playing darts!

With the arrival of electricity in most areas of England and Wales by the late 1930s, inventors continued to ponder the problems of dartboard illumination.

Jim Lock from Rhondda came up with a ‘new type of dartboard’ in 1938 which he announced could be played on ‘in a darkened room.’ In addition to the dartboard itself, his creation consisted of a Dunlop tyre’ and ‘three electric bulbs of 300 candle power’ which were sitting around the circumference of the dartboard and shielded from incoming darts by a metal surround.

As far as I am aware, Jim’s idea was never manufactured commercially.

Over 65 years on and the principle of Lock’s idea – that of illumination around the dartboard rather than light being cast down on it from a distance – has been incorporated into a revolutionary new advance in dartboard lighting invented and patented by Nuvolux Incorporated of Austin, Texas, USA, called :

The Circumluminator.

Scott Harrison, Director of Marketing at Nuvolux, told Darts World,

“Test marketing in an Austin eating and drinking establishment that includes a darts venue has shown that the novel and attractive Circumluminator enhances the atmosphere and commands the attention of all patrons, especially darts players.”

Scott added,

“The Circumluminator is an easily installed light fixture which surrounds the dart board with symmetrical, shadow-free and glare-free light.”

That must be good news for all darts players in the US who suffer from the effects of unsatisfactory lighting or glare. In addition, The Circumluminator affords a wide backlit ring for game room decoration or advertising corporate and brand names and logos.

Nuvolux Inc. is a new corporation formed to develop and market new ways to see familiar things and The Circumluminator is its first offering. Although the company is new, Nuvolux management has significant experience in development and delivery of new products for a global market and the company is eager to present samples for evaluation displaying sports advertisers’ corporate identity and brand logos. Nuvolux will also supply The Circumluminator to darts equipment retailers for sales to individuals.

Scott is hoping that the UK market will be interested in his product too and any companies interested in following up this opportunity further should contact him at Nuvolux Incorporated, PO Box 684428, Austin, Texas 78768-4428, USA (tel:+1 512 476 3005; eMail: scottharrison@Nuvolux.com or visit www.nuvolux.com)

What Erik McVay of the South East Washington Darts Association says about The Circumluminator

Can you say 'cool factor'? I have to admit that I never really gave much thought to what was 'cool' in the dart product world, but now I should add that to my reviews! The Circumluminator is one cool light. In fact, it probably tops the 'cool list' of things to have. As for lighting, it's amazing! No shadows – none , zip, nadda – and no bright spots either. The board is well lit and everything is easy to see. Furthermore, it didn't take any getting used to.

It's not inexpensive mind you, but if you are looking for a very good light that's easy to install, looks good and provides excellent dartboard lighting, this is the one to have. In fact, it eliminates the need to install professional lighting, track lighting or any other kind of lighting that we dart players always seem to be working on. This light solves the light problem and did I mention it's cool?

Score:

Erik McVay

November 16th 2005

THE NEW, IMPROVED CIRCUMLUMINATOR

Earlier this year I met Scott Harrison, President of Nuvolux in London. This was the first time I had met the inventor of the Circumluminator and it was a real pleasure. At the end of our meeting Scott was kind enough to present me with my own ‘Doctor Darts’ Circumluminator.

As visitors to this site will know from my previous review, I was impressed with this unique darts lighting equipment when it was first introduced. Now it has been updated and improved in the following ways:

The lamp housing is four times thicker than its predecessor and uniform in thickness throughout. It looks better and provides longer lasting protection from darts penetrating the housing and breaking the lamp. In addition, the dartboard mount and springs molded into the back of The Circumluminator perform their tasks better and last longer.

The high voltage transformer which powers the neon lamp has been replaced by a low voltage electronic model. The new model is more adaptable to the varying national electrical supply requirements around the world.

The neon lamp uses an improved glass tubing which produces a brighter, warmer light. My photographic light meter tells me that the new lamp is four times brighter than the original.

The graphics showing in the face of The Circumluminator now use a high quality glossy medium which gives brighter colors and a smoother finish.

Scott told me, “When I view my earliest productions alongside those I make today, I am struck by the crudeness of the original of which I was so proud at the time.” It’s great to see that Scott has refined his invention and has now released the new version for darts fans to enjoy.

For more information about the new Circumluminator go to www.nuvolux.com

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