Le Roto-Phare en duralumin — L’Officiel, 16 January 1938, the 603 Dural Dynamo and Headlamp

A note in L’Officiel de l’Automobile, du Cycle et de la Motocyclette, 16 January 1938, page 3, “L’Éclairage électrique des cycles / Le « Roto-Phare » en duralumin”: the light 603 Dural dynamo and duralumin headlamp of the Ets Roto-Phare and their record at the 1937 Critérium de l’Auto, Grand Prix Duralumin, with two figures. The headings and figure labels are transcribed as printed; the text is summarized in Ebykr’s words.

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L’ÉCLAIRAGE ÉLECTRIQUE DES CYCLES

Le « Roto-Phare » en duralumin.

DYNAMO
EXTRA LÉGÈRE
EN DURAL
Poids 275 gr.
6 volts, 03 A

Fig. 1. — La dynamo 603 Dural.

[Ebykr summary; the article’s text is not reproduced. The note opens by observing that for some years French cycle building has moved steadily toward lightness, and that the last Salon du Cycle demonstrated the trend, not only on sporting machines but also on cyclotourisme and utility models. To keep a bicycle as light as possible, it argues, every accessory has to be designed and made to the same standard of lightness. With that in mind the Établissements « Roto-Phare », described as a long-established house specializing in cycle lighting, set out to solve the problem of light lighting equipment. The firm now builds a dynamo weighing only 275 grammes, of high output at 6 volts and 0,3 ampère and no less robust for its lightness: the 603 Dural, running on two quiet, ground, high-precision ball bearings. As proof in use the note recalls that these units went through the hard cyclotourisme trial of 1937, the Critérium de l’Auto, Grand Prix Duralumin, run in August at Aix-les-Bains, where they equipped almost all the machines. Every bicycle and tandem lit by the « Roto-Phare Dural » was classed among the winners without any penalty, and the « Roto-Phare » thereby earned, as lighting equipment, the title of holder of the Critérium de l’Auto Grand Prix Duralumin (continued in the right-hand column).]

[Fig. 1 is a line drawing of the 603 Dural bottle dynamo seen from the side: a tall tapering body under a knurled cap, a terminal screw at the base, and a side bracket with a mounting lug and hole. The figure carries a five-line label at its upper right giving the dynamo’s description, weight and rating. The body bears an oval “603” mark and the bracket housing is lettered “ROTO-PHARE”. No signature or monogram is visible on the drawing.]

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Fig. 2. — Roto-Phare.

[Ebykr summary; the article’s text is not reproduced. Concluding the note from the left-hand column, the text adds that the complete Roto-Phare set includes, besides the very light dynamo, a headlamp in duralumin weighing 70 grammes. It closes by saying that the Vélocistes (cycle dealers) would do well to recommend this lighting set to every cyclist who cares about lightness, now the great majority, since it is also effective, dependable and improves the look of any modern bicycle.]

[Fig. 2 is a line drawing of the Roto-Phare headlamp in side view: a bullet-shaped shell with dark bands along its top and bottom edges, a strap running over the front rim, a small wing-nut fitting under the tail and a clip bracket below the front. The shell is lettered “ROTO PHARE”. No signature or monogram is visible on the drawing.]

[Below this column the page continues with a separate article, “Caoutchouc régénéré. — Caoutchouc synthétique.”, not part of this record.]