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Flickering Neon

  • Thread starter Paul Hovnanian P.E.
  • Start date
P

Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
I suppose everyone has seen neon signs that flicker. They are sort a
hallmark of a second rate, run down establishment.

There is one business near me that has an "Open" sign that, for as long
as I can remember, has had an intermittent flicker. Just a run-down
dive, I figured. Yesterday, I happened to be in a situation where I
could observe the sign for an extended period of time. The "intermittent
flicker"
is in fact quite repetitive with a period of about 10 seconds and a duty
cycle of flickering and full on that does not vary.

It appears to me that this isn't a cheap sign on the verge of failure,
but rather an intentional effect. Has anyone had a customer that
specified a neon sign with a tacky looking flicker effect?
 
V

Victor Roberts

Jan 1, 1970
0
I suppose everyone has seen neon signs that flicker. They are sort a
hallmark of a second rate, run down establishment.

There is one business near me that has an "Open" sign that, for as long
as I can remember, has had an intermittent flicker. Just a run-down
dive, I figured. Yesterday, I happened to be in a situation where I
could observe the sign for an extended period of time. The "intermittent
flicker"
is in fact quite repetitive with a period of about 10 seconds and a duty
cycle of flickering and full on that does not vary.

It appears to me that this isn't a cheap sign on the verge of failure,
but rather an intentional effect. Has anyone had a customer that
specified a neon sign with a tacky looking flicker effect?

No, but I have seen LED signs designed to look like neon
signs that can be set to flash on and off.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
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P

Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ioannis said:
[snip]
Has anyone had a customer that
specified a neon sign with a tacky looking flicker effect?

Eventually all customers of neon signs will be in possession of flickering
signs, because as time passes, the neon tube pressure increases, therefore the
transformer voltage will not be able to sustain a constant discharge. At the
boundary between sustainability and unsustainability lies the flickering.

It's the same problem that Geissler tubes have.

But I'd expect that flickering to be random, not follow a repeating
pattern.

Victor suggested an LED sign made to look like a neon one complete with
the flicker. Its up on top of a building, so getting a closer look at it
is going to take some doing.
 
P

Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thomas said:
Where's your commitment???

If they catch me climbing around on a sign like this, they might just
commit me.

I did manage to get a closer look at it from street level. It appears to
consist of two neon tubes, one just in front of the other (both spell
out the same thing). They switch between one, which gives continuous
light and the other which flickers when lit.
 
C

Clive Mitchell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Paul Hovnanian P.E. said:
I did manage to get a closer look at it from street level. It appears
to consist of two neon tubes, one just in front of the other (both
spell out the same thing). They switch between one, which gives
continuous light and the other which flickers when lit.

Does it flicker on and off or does the light jitter inside the tube?
 
P

Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Clive said:
Does it flicker on and off or does the light jitter inside the tube?

Its difficult to tell. I can't get close enough to it. Its on a sign on
the roof of a building, about 20 feet above ground level. The closest
look I got of it was when I had to stop for a traffic light in front of
the business.

I'm thinking that they are going for the intentional tacky look since
the business happens to be a strip club.
 
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