Philips eoclick fluorescent starter

[Sylvia Else]

The datasheet for this product claims that they have eliminated
radioactivity and lead from it.

Radioactivity?

The generic Taiwan made one that I'm replacing appears to have an
essentially identical construction, consisting of a discharge tube in
parallel with a capacitor. The components are crimped to the connectors,
which is no doubt the cheapest approach, so there's no solder.

So where would the lead be?

Sylvia.

 

[Oppie]

The datasheet for this product claims that they have eliminated
radioactivity and lead from it.

Radioactivity?

The generic Taiwan made one that I'm replacing appears to have an
essentially identical construction, consisting of a discharge tube in
parallel with a capacitor. The components are crimped to the connectors,
which is no doubt the cheapest approach, so there's no solder.

So where would the lead be?

Sylvia.

I don't recall the exact formula but believe that it was a small quantity of
radon gas was added to the Neon/Argon mixture in the discharge tube. Has the
effect of lowering the strike voltage. Glow discharge makes sufficient heat
to close a bimetal switch. Glow is shorted out and extinguishes while lamp's
filaments are warming. When bimetal element cools and opens, fluorescent
lamp strikes on the inductive kick from ballast and capacitor.

Once the fluorescent is running, the voltage across is is too low to strike
the gas in the starter tube again. That is until the fluorescent reaches end
of life when its voltage rises to the point where the starter keeps cycling.

Lead (solder) - Possibly internally attaching leads to capacitor foils.

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/m.../home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp4.htm

 

[Oppie]

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/lighting/news/press/2005/green_starter.wpd

http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp4.htm

"http://www.elcfed.org/documents/Ionizing Substances in Lighting Products_2003_Rev_2009_final.pdf"

 

[John S]

Like this:

ftp://jjlarkin.lmi.net/Kry_Danger.jpg

I think some NE-2 type neon lamps had a little radioactive stuff in
them, too.

John

IIRC, that was to enable them to ionize at a reasonable voltage while in
the dark.

John

 

[Sylvia Else]

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/lighting/news/press/2005/green_starter.wpd


http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp4.htm

"http://www.elcfed.org/documents/Ionizing Substances in Lighting Products_2003_Rev_2009_final.pdf"

OK, perhaps I was being overly cynical.

Sylvia.

 

[Don Klipstein]

Generally a trace of a mildly radioactive substance in the discharge
tube to get it started.


The soldered components before they went to the crimp system to
eliminate the lead in the solder.

I have seen old fluorescent lamp starters with crimping and no solder.

This reminds me of one potato chip company starting to say "no
cholesterol". Potato chips fried in vegetable oils normally don't have
any cholesterol.

Also, some fluorescent lamp starters don't have anything radioactive.
However, some non-radioactive FS-2 ones and a few others made for use with
lamps that use a ballast that does not boost voltage from 120V are
sometimes unreliable at working in the dark. This gives rise to a
few fluorescent fixtures that need light to start.
(Not a problem with ballasts that don't need starters, such as
electronic ballasts and over 99% of old-tech ballasts for lamps 3 feet
long or longer.)

 

[Don Klipstein]

I don't recall the exact formula but believe that it was a small quantity of
radon gas was added to the Neon/Argon mixture in the discharge tube.

<SNIP from here>

Radon is not used here. Its longest-lived isotope has a half-life of
only a little less than 4 days, turning into Polonium-218 - which then
goes through at least 4 different pathways all being combinations of 3
alpha decays and 4 beta decays to become lead-206. One pathway has one
step with halflife a little over a century and another step of a few days,
at least 1 other has its longest step with halflife of a few days, and
at least 2 others have their longest-halflife steps having halflife of
no more than minutes.

It appears to me that radioactivity being several times higher while
being manufactured than while serving a customer exposes the factory
workers to several times more radioactivity than necessary.

What is used: Usually Krypton-85 or Cesium-137, after that the nickel
isotope mentioned in John Larkin's link.

 

[Neon John]

I don't recall the exact formula but believe that it was a small quantity of
radon gas was added to the Neon/Argon mixture in the discharge tube.

Radon has a half-life of just a few seconds so that can't be the fill
gas. (In accordance with newsgroup protocols, I'm now supposed to call
you names but being the misfit that I am, I don't do that.)

A long time ago a touch of Thorium oxide was added, the purpose being
for the radioactivity to establish a uniform ionization environment
and thus stabilize the strike voltage. As the Cold War progressed and
the nation had Kr-85 running out its ears, that isotope was
substituted for the Thorium. Easier to inject a little gas than to
mix the thorium oxide in with the electrode material.

The same protocol goes for neon lamps. The only minor problem is that
Kr-85 has a 10.7 year half life and so if the equipment at hand is
very old, the starter or neon lamp may not be reliable.

The amount of radioactivity is so low that I can't measure it with my
pancake probe survey meter. I can see it on my gamma spectrometer but
only with very long counts.

Regarding the lead, it's been ages since I've seen a soldered starter.
Most are now crimped and/or staked to make the connections.

The lead most likely refers to the glass used in the glow tube switch.
If the leads penetrating the glass look like shiny fresh copper then
the leads are dumet wire and the glass is almost surely leaded glass.
Dumet/lead glass is one of the most secure and enduring gas tight
seals there are.

John
http://www.neon-john.com

 

[Sylvia Else]

In<[email protected]>, RST Engineering wrote:

This reminds me of one potato chip company starting to say "no
cholesterol". Potato chips fried in vegetable oils normally don't have
any cholesterol.

Anyway, cholesterol is an essential chemical that is made by the body.

Most punters would have little understanding of the significance of
marketing claims. Product safety issues aside, it wouldn't surprise me
if one could promote a shampoo as containing "natural ricin, extracted
from the castor oil plant."

Sylvia.

 

[Jasen Betts]

The datasheet for this product claims that they have eliminated
radioactivity and lead from it.

Radioactivity?

deuterium mixed with the neon

The generic Taiwan made one that I'm replacing appears to have an
essentially identical construction, consisting of a discharge tube in
parallel with a capacitor. The components are crimped to the connectors,
which is no doubt the cheapest approach, so there's no solder.

So where would the lead be?

tinned leads on the capacitor.

 

[Jasen Betts]

Also, some fluorescent lamp starters don't have anything radioactive.
However, some non-radioactive FS-2 ones and a few others made for use with
lamps that use a ballast that does not boost voltage from 120V are
sometimes unreliable at working in the dark. This gives rise to a
few fluorescent fixtures that need light to start.

AIUI the starter siarts out closed until the bimetallic
contacts get hot enough to spring open. then the lamp comes on
and the light from that should be enough for a non-radioactive
glow lamp the glow is to maintain the bimetallic contacts open.

OTOH evertything's 240V over here.

 

[Jasen Betts]

The datasheet for this product claims that they have eliminated
radioactivity and lead from it.

Radioactivity?

radioactive hydrogen mixed with the neon

The generic Taiwan made one that I'm replacing appears to have an
essentially identical construction, consisting of a discharge tube in
parallel with a capacitor. The components are crimped to the connectors,
which is no doubt the cheapest approach, so there's no solder.

So where would the lead be?

tinned leads on the capacitor.

 

[Nico Coesel]

The datasheet for this product claims that they have eliminated
radioactivity and lead from it.

Radioactivity?

The generic Taiwan made one that I'm replacing appears to have an
essentially identical construction, consisting of a discharge tube in

Why don't you buy an electronic ballast to prolong the life of the
lamps? They come in many sizes and shapes so you can replace almost
every existing ballast.

 

[amdx]

Tritium glow thingies are cool. This one keeps us from smashing our
heads on the stupid bedpost:

ftp://jjlarkin.lmi.net/Tritium.jpg

John

John,
What do I need to tell my computer to view your jpg images?
I always get this message when I try to see them,

The image “file:///C:/Users/semone/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/

Content.IE5/34ER8OEY/Tritium%5B1%5D.jpg” cannot be displayed because it
contains errors.
Thanks, Mikek

 

[Baron]

Jasen Betts Inscribed thus:

AIUI the starter siarts out closed until the bimetallic

I belive that should be ^"open"^

 

[John S]

John,
What do I need to tell my computer to view your jpg images?
I always get this message when I try to see them,
Content.IE5/34ER8OEY/Tritium%5B1%5D.jpg” cannot be displayed because it
contains errors.
Thanks, Mikek

Right-click on the URL. Select "copy link location". In the address bar
of your browser, paste the URL and then "Go".

 

[Don Klipstein]

AIUI the starter siarts out closed until the bimetallic
contacts get hot enough to spring open. then the lamp comes on
and the light from that should be enough for a non-radioactive
glow lamp the glow is to maintain the bimetallic contacts open.

OTOH evertything's 240V over here.

In my experience, a glow switch starter is normally open. The glow
heats a bimetal strip, causing the starter to close. Once the starter
closes, it is no longer producing heat, so it opens.
The inductive kick from the ballast then pushes through a few hundred
milliamps. If that goes through the starter, preferably the starter then
glows with "abnormal glow", which is a positive resistance phenomenon,
with voltage drop preferably high enough to break through the lamp once
the lamp's filaments are hot and thermionically emitting electrons.

 

[Don Klipstein]

radioactive hydrogen mixed with the neon



tinned leads on the capacitor.

In my experience, a majority of starters lack capacitors.

 

[Sylvia Else]

I hardly ever hear an ad with honest claims :-(

That would be in large part because when you look closely, few ads make
testable claims. There are always weasel words like "may", or the claims
are just meaningless anyway.

Sylvia.

 

[Sylvia Else]

Natch! But I also hear claims that are blatantly fraudulent :-(

...Jim Thompson

Certainly there are plenty of claims that have one meaning but are
clearly intended to be interpreted as meaning something else.

An example I remember noticing from way back was a hair treatement that
was "adsorbed" by the hair. That isn't a typo, and how many people would
have ever come across the word? How many people would read it, or hear
it, as "absorbed"?

Sylvia.