> On Oct 29, 2024, at 5:50 PM, gregebert <[email protected]> wrote: > > Beware of the phosphor-coated bulbs. I have green ones in my NIMO clock used > as colons, and they definitely wear-out over time. You might get a few > thousand hours from them, but they gradually get dimmer and the phosphor > changes from white to shades of grey. They are great if you have spares; I > like the colors. But they wont last as long as regular neon bulbs.
Sputtering deposits the dark stuff on the inside of the phosphor coating which prevents light from reaching it. Have you ever seen fluorescent Christmas lights? They have the same problem. Scroll down to the bottom section of this page: http://oldchristmastreelights.com/war_years_2.htm <http://oldchristmastreelights.com/war_years_2.htm> I have this set: They came from the attic of a local store that sat idle for years. The box is beat but the lights inside are mint, never used. I have a number of loose bulbs that vary from bright to almost nothing. Blue goes first. There's a Soviet set that has neon lamps on the tips of candles. Then there's my favorite kind of tube—bubble lights. Terry Bowman, KA4HJH "The Mac Doctor" https://www.astarcloseup.com "I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near Tannhäuser Gate. "All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain."— Roy Batty, Blade Runner -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/9331644F-3163-4A6B-BB72-2A14BBD45220%40gmail.com.
