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Homemade mercury argon cold cathode lamp This was put together by me, bombarded with a microwave transformer, filled with welding argon and dosed with an amalgam pellet scavenged from a cfl. It started off contaminated but the getters in the electrodes cleaned it up.

Homemade mercury argon cold cathode lamp

This was put together by me, bombarded with a microwave transformer, filled with welding argon and dosed with an amalgam pellet scavenged from a cfl. It started off contaminated but the getters in the electrodes cleaned it up.

DSC_0792.JPG DSC_0839.JPG IMG_20161215_205510.jpg IMG_20161217_203844.jpg IMG_20161221_163930.jpg
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Filename:IMG_20161215_205510.jpg
Album name:eclipsislamps / Cold cathode and other special lamps
Filesize:1647 KiB
Date added:15 Dec, 2016
Dimensions:1536 x 2048 pixels
Displayed:22 times
URL:http://80.229.24.59:9232/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=5040
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Comment 1 to 7 of 7
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FrontSideBus   [15 Dec, 2016 at 10:06 PM]
Interesting!
Lightbulbfun   [16 Dec, 2016 at 03:05 AM]
this is just really awesome! I wonder if you could revive a hot cathode lamp this way. I did remember reading about how you would have to reactivate the emitter on the cathodes im sure James would be able to input some more info on the matter Smile (Btw did you have to blow torch the pellet? i cant think a Cold cathode lamp getting hot enough during normal runnings to melt one or did the bombardment sort it?)
eclipsislamps   [16 Dec, 2016 at 09:43 AM]
What i did, is when i tipped off the stem, is roll the amalgam pellet quickly into it while it was still red hot. Tube turned blue almost instantly but also became sightly contaminated, which i suspect came from the amalgam perhaps absorbing air while it was on the table, but the electrodes cleaned it up, albiet making a mess on the glass.
FrontSideBus   [16 Dec, 2016 at 10:59 AM]
What are you using to pull vacuum? Old fridge compressors are good for that sort of thing.
eclipsislamps   [16 Dec, 2016 at 12:07 PM]
A proper rotary vane vacuum pump my dad found 15 years ago or something.
FrontSideBus   [17 Dec, 2016 at 01:51 AM]
Very nice. I had an old compressor from a split aircon system that I was keeping for potential vacumm use but I got sick of looking at it in the shed so I cut it open, shorted the run & start windings together and then applied power with the rotor removed Smile
Danny   [17 Dec, 2016 at 08:27 AM]
Love this.

Comment 1 to 7 of 7
Page: 1

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