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Incandescent:
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XL
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xl0019  

 

 
history and origins
 
Manufacturer / Brand Name
GE Mazda Detector

Country of Origin
USA

Factory Location
Unknown

Date of Manufacture
ca.1930s
 
electrical attributes
 
Voltage

Wattage / Candle Power

Amperage

 

physical attributes
 
Envelope
Swirled
Atmosphere
Gas Filled


Finish / Color
Orange painted
Filament
Tungsten

 
Base
Edison; Miniature
 
 
comments
  Beginning in the early 1930s General Electric and Westinghouse marketed a new type of Christmas lamp known as the Detector. The new Mazda Detectors contained a shot of neon gas that would ionize when the tungsten filament failed. A small unpainted “window” was left near the bottom of the glass envelope. When the lamp’s filament failed the window provided a means for seeing the neon glow. The glow indicated the lamp had failed, thus locating the dud lamp was simplified. Remember, in more traditional series burning light strings, when one lamp fails the entire string goes dark. The Mazda Detector was a clever attempt to solve the problem of finding the burned-out lamp on the string.