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X-ray Geissler Crookes Radio Box art
Dr. Hugh Hicks Fort Myers, FL. S.Slabyhoudek
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>> Perhaps your glass-blowing friend can help bring it back to life, but>> that will have to be a two-step approach: the glass blower to>> successfully extend the fill tube and then a neon sign worker to draw>> the vacuum and let some gas in slowly (varying the pressure) while>> applying the right kind of electricity to just two of the wires (NOT>> bombarding as with a neon sign, but rather DC or AC ranging from about>> 60 to 100 volts with a limited current until the electrodes glow); at>> which point the bulb can be sealed off. The current needs to be applied>> to adjacent electrodes -- ones that are almost physically touching. The>> electrodes must not actually touch; if they do they should be bent apart>> a tiny bit by judicious whacking of the bulb into the palm.>>>> This lamp could be one of a kind (if so, more likely a prototype than>> one intended as a one-off), but it's most likely that just not many were>> made. Even ones we have seen a couple of -- Hoover, Sheaffer, Gabel -->> are very scarce and hard to find. To that extent you might even call>> every variety of these Amglo bulbs a "custom" job.>>>> Tim and I will both agree that this is a neon lamp, not any kind of>> ordinary light bulb. It is a glow lamp and will have had a neon fill>> (perhaps with a little argon but not necessarily). If you look at the>> many neon lamps at bulbcollector.com, you will see some that are very>> orange. That's pure neon. Ones with a lighter orange, perhaps with a>> little pinkish or violet tinge, including all the ones with green leaves>> or other green bits inside, contain neon and argon (or just argon if the>> colors are purple and green with no orange).>>>> The only way to make such a bulb flash (blink is a better term) is to>> break and make the current to an electrode. Whatever kind of flasher>> you have gotten, that's not the ticket and might do harm. There are>> three wires because there are three elements inside, one of which is>> probably close to both the other ones. (The four-pin base is a>> conventional radio tube base of the period; not all pins need to be>> used.) Applying AC to an adjacent pair will cause those two to light.>> The original blinker was probably a bimetallic strip that heated and>> broke the AC connection (AC was obviously used because there is a>> transformer, but see discussion below).>>>> Your pictures don't fully show all the wires attached to the transformer>> and the line cord. Can you send one that shows all the wires and what>> they are connected to?>>>> Are there only three connections on the transformer? The presence of a>> transformer and a resistor implies a couple of things to me. Tim, help>> me out here. It looks like the AC goes to an outer and a middle>> connection on the transformer (one side to one end of the primary coil>> and the other to a tap possibly on the same coil). If there are only>> these three connections (and no wires coming out the other side of the>> transformer), does that make this a choke instead? A choke is for>> limiting AC while letting DC through -- I don't think this could>> function as a primitive rectifier without altering the voltage that>> reaches the lamp, could it? Wouldn't the purpose of a choke be more to>> reduce the voltage without losing power?>>>> I would like to know the value of the power resistor. That might help>> with the power calculation and help determine if full line voltage>> reaches the lamp. For instance, calculating for 3 versus 4 versus 5>> watts of power (guessing at these values based on the Aerolux etc. bulbs>> Tim and I are familiar with), assuming a line voltage of 110 (more>> common than 120 when this lamp was made), gives the following values:>>>> 3 watts / 4033 ohms / 27 milliamp current limit>> 4 watts / 3025 ohms / 36 mA ">> 5 watts / 2420 ohms / 45 mA ">>>> So I'm curious whether the resistor is anywhere near those values, which>> would mean that it is functioning as the current-limiting ballast and>> the transformer or choke has no role in that. Can you measure it?>>>> Chris