Ok, I can understand that watts (roughly) amps * voltage * some other factor, so I can appreciate that the same wattage is obtainable via different values on the RHS of the equation.

But what I'm still unclear about is this starter business. "Designed to be used with a starter." Do they not all come with a capacitor anyways? Or is that different? What is the starter? Does it come together with the ballast or is there a different part # for it and it has to be ordered separately?

well, take my ansi M80 ballast for instanc.. I have to chose between 3 different part #'s 1 was a bare ballast, one was a ballast pluss capacitor, and the other was all three.. basicly what a starter does is takes a couple amps (say 2 amps on the venture son agro) but uses 2 amps at a very high voltage which starts the bulb faster and aparently with less stress. a normal M57 ballast uses open line voltage and full amperage to start the bulbs so they tanke longer to strike.

as for a more technical explanation you would have to ask Darren or Victor, which I am sure one of them will post shortly anyways :wink:

Steve

So is a starter a starter or are they different depending on the lamp wattage, or is a starter for a M57 different from a starter for a M137?