Neon Bulb (NE-30) Data Wanted

[Alan Franzman]

I recently obtained a few NE-30 neon glow lamps and would like to know more about them.  A Google search revealed this page with the info quoted below, but it seems to conflict with what the seller told me.

                                   Starting
                                    Volts              Watts
                                    or        Series   or
    Lamp                            Circuit   Resistor Design
    Number     Bulb        Base     Volts     Ohms     Amps
=============================================================
    NE-30      S-11        MIDS     110-125   7.5K     1

I'm not sure if this means that a 7.5K ohm resistor is incorporated into the bulb, or needs to be provided externally for 110-125 VAC operation.  Can anyone provide me with a scan of an original data page with full specs on these bulbs?

If you wish to reply by email, please see my signature for my email address, and substitute actual punctuation where obvious.

TIA

------------------
 
Alan "A.J." Franzman

Email: a.j.franzman at verizon dot net

------------------

[Chris W. Millinship]

From what I can gather from that page, your NE-30 lamps have inbuilt series resistances. The reason I say this is because the NE-34 is listed there, and I have one of those- it is a 120 volt lamp with an inbuilt reistance, and quoted on that page for the NE-34 is

Number  Bulb   Base   Volts    Ohms     Amps
--------------------------------------------
NE-34   S-14   MIDS   110-125  3.5K      2

just like the NE-30.

Whereas, for example, a NE-2AS is listed as

Number  Bulb   Base    Volts    Ohms   Amps
--------------------------------------------
NE-2AS  T-2    UNBASED 55-90    ---    0.3 mA

which I`m fairly sure is the plain wire-ended ones that get incorporated into all sorts of equipment as power-on indicators.

So (but please don`t blame me if it goes up in smoke   ) I`d say that you can safely screw the NE30 into a 120 volt socket.

------------------
visit my world of electrical things that glow!

[James]

Hi Alan,

Specifications for NE-30 are as follows:
1 Watt
110-125 Volts
0.012 Amps
E26s base (medium screw)
S-11 bulb
PW-5 electrodes
60V striking
85V on DC circuits
10,000 hour life

Base contains internal 4k8 resistor.  Use another external resistor of 10k ohms if running on 220-300V circuits.

Best regards,

James.

[Scott]

It needs 110-120 volts. Mine seems happy at that voltage.

[Tim]

A.J.,

It's my understanding that all [American] neon lamps that are fitted with screw bases have an internal in-line resistance built into the lamp.  Lamps with bayonet bases will require an external resistance.

------------------
-Tim
BulbCollector.com
DewCollector.com

[Alan Franzman]

Thanks to all who replied, but so far the info seems a tad off.

Of the 7 NE-30s I have, 6 of them draw about 7.0 mA straight off the line (115 VAC) - quite a bit less than what James said they should - but none of them get their electrodes completely covered by the glow.  The 7th seems to have some kind of a problem because it runs at about 24mA.  It's noticeably brighter than the others but its electrodes don't get completely covered by glow either.  All the bulbs' electrodes have a dark flaky coating on them, and some dark particles are loose in the bulbs.

I'm going to let one of the bulbs burn overnight tonight and see if that helps any; I've read somewhere in here that the incomplete glow of the electrodes comes from years of non-use and often cures itself if the bulb is left on a while.

------------------
 
Alan "A.J." Franzman

Email: a.j.franzman at verizon dot net

------------------

[Alan Franzman]

Since my last post (about 4 days ago) I've had one of the bulbs burning almost continuously, about half the time at line voltage and the other half on 240 through a resistor so it draws 12-14mA.  When I started, this particular bulb drew about 7mA on the 115VAC line and only about 60% of the outer electrode glowed.  Now it glows about 90%, and on line voltage draws about 8mA.

How long does it normally take for a disused neon bulb's electrodes to recover to glow completely?  Is there a difference between different makers' bulbs?  Mine came in a box labeled "Spectro" though the bulbs themselves are only identified as to type.

------------------
 
Alan "A.J." Franzman

Email: a.j.franzman at verizon dot net

------------------

[This message has been edited by Alan Franzman (edited September 30, 2001).]

[Bob Masters]

Alan,

I'm not a Glo Bulb collector, but this is getting interesting.
I didn't know that you could "revitalize"
an old glo bulb !

-Bob-

[Alan Franzman]

AFAIK this only applies to bulbs which are otherwise good but have been unused for many years.  Apparently, impurities in the gas fill gradually stick to the surface of the electrodes and reduce or prevent ionization.  Operating the bulb eventually drives these impurites off, back into the gas and to some degree, into the inside surface of the glass envelope or other surfaces inside the bulb.

If a neon bulb that HAS been in fairly frequent use starts losing its glow coverage, or begins to flicker, this is a different type of failure which could probably only be repaired by opening and regassing the bulb (if it would even be worthwhile to do so).

------------------
 
Alan "A.J." Franzman

Email: a.j.franzman at verizon dot net

------------------

[The LED Museum]

quote:Originally posted by tim:
Lamps with bayonet bases will require an external resistance.

Yup - I've got some NE-48's with the bayonet bases, and they require a 30K series resistor or else you'll let all the magic smoke out and they'll pop & die. :-/

The bases are even labelled "EXT. R. 30000{ohm sign}"