you need to have the resistor in series with them no matter what voltage you supply them with, because they will act as a zener at 90V, if you don't have a ballast resistor then they will enter the breakdown area and break down ofc. I've seen this size neons in cheaper kettles for a power indicator
They have so many neat tricks up there sleeves … the negative resistance in them makes them sexy … you can build logic circuits out of them … you can even use them as acoustic transducers
I also grabbed a few of these just to add to my collection, not sure if you are aware but they are closing the junk store in another 2 weeks, not feeling good about the last surplus store to close
One of the early projects we built in electronics lab in high school was a strobe light and we used a neon NE-2 for a trigger. I believe it was 67 volts and other than using them for power indicators, we never used them again. Yes, they are cute!
I picked up a bundle of NE-2 bulbs at a junk store, and all 23 of them are white inside the glass. They have wires attached and looks like a resistor inside the heat shrink, and appears that they have never been used, but I wonder if someone hooked these up to high voltage and blowed all of them, or if for some reason they were made like this.
They have a negative resistance region so a dropping resistance is mandatory to avoid damage. Once the voltage is large enough to ionize the neon, the electrons and ions become very mobile and resistance plummets. Without a series resistance to limit current, the electrodes get hot, deform, and evaporate onto the inside of the glass capsule. I have wondered whether they would make a usable amplifier analogous to the tunnel diode.
Yes! Surge arrestors they are called, usually they have a different gas mixture than typical neon bulbs but theyre very cool, the modern surge arrestors are axial ceramic things.
Barthelme still makes these. They are 0,25W, for 115V you need a 120K resistor, for 230V a 390K resistor. Such a Neon bulb is not only usefull as a light indicator, but can also work as a clamping/overvoltage protection, below the striking voltage a Neon bulb acts like a open circuit, so 0% leakage.
That was interesting ~ thanks. Old rotary-dial phone instruments in the U.K. used to have a neon buried away deep inside; I think it might have been for lightning protection or other over-voltage protection on long overhead lines. Their glow never reached human eyes - it definitely wasn’t an indicator, and sometimes they were completely encased in shrink. I never knew about only one pole lighting on DC. Do you know what the electrodes are made of? They always seem to have the same characteristic shape.
I've ordered these from eBay or Ali last year. They're really cute and fit in a 3mm LED holder. Really nice. $0.05 is a steal. I would have bought all they had in stock 😎
Try putting a neon bulb on a curve tracer (a diode test fixture works). The characteristic curve is pretty interesting. Also an effective way to extract more life from a tired Nixie tubes.
Learned more once again... Always Mmm- Vs / desired curent= I limit resistor 67 VDC / 100 kohm = so max current NMT 670 uA..... But I don't know what the blub voltage drop is...under normal glow.. Please measure and tell us... I did look for some norminal current...but listed was just small blub glow current ranges of 0.1 to 10 mA...And a little when glowing...that's all over map... But plausible for many blub sizes... When plasma strikes and glows blubs has almost no resistance...but there must be a little V drop... Ok...1 volt? voltage drop across lamp 66 Vdc across 100 K = 670 uA Ah ha...wow...looking at google..Google... Lots of curves... A strike voltage... Maybe when the plasma emits I never knew about that driving with DC only half electode glows...but I suppose plasma creation with DC voltage..like in early PVD sputtering ... Pull vaccum...add neon...turn up DC volage plasma strikes...put near a target...ions will collide...material then is coated with your target material Down a hole you go...lol I do enjoy using the Heathkit Nixie frequently counter...that is old school -still works...My workng Racal Dana 1992 was sent to ABQ....for a periodic tool cal...but an App was found on smart phone... Someone pawned my beloved 1992... I had 2 counters...one is broken...the working one was pawned in ABQ buy........?? I bet she or she was offered $10 and took it.. I haven't thrown the broken one out -it has signs of life fot IMASI Guy has inspired me...during his quick 1992 instrument repair....the working one had the 1 GHz option...broken one if working 512 MHz...bummer I really don't mind being stuck in the 1980's...but learing with new things not possible to obtain... The little Heathkit with big digits...good enough for a quick and dirty...to insure I pressed 10.kHz in instead of 100 kHz on the function generator....and theres the little reminder of when Pop and Joe built it...he conned his ham friend to buy it...and Joe was much older so pop got it anyway....1972...? It might measure 50 MHz max...IDK
you need to have the resistor in series with them no matter what voltage you supply them with, because they will act as a zener at 90V, if you don't have a ballast resistor then they will enter the breakdown area and break down ofc.
I've seen this size neons in cheaper kettles for a power indicator
They have so many neat tricks up there sleeves … the negative resistance in them makes them sexy … you can build logic circuits out of them … you can even use them as acoustic transducers
I also grabbed a few of these just to add to my collection, not sure if you are aware but they are closing the junk store in another 2 weeks, not feeling good about the last surplus store to close
😱
One of the early projects we built in electronics lab in high school was a strobe light and we used a neon NE-2 for a trigger. I believe it was 67 volts and other than using them for power indicators, we never used them again. Yes, they are cute!
ruclips.net/video/7z15YZHw8cA/видео.html
now, I can't get neon dot matrix display out of my head, great..
Some people have made onrs with larger bulbs like INS-1
Can be used like a zener to limit transients, in relaxation oscillators, as RF detectors
I picked up a bundle of NE-2 bulbs at a junk store, and all 23 of them are white inside the glass. They have wires attached and looks like a resistor inside the heat shrink, and appears that they have never been used, but I wonder if someone hooked these up to high voltage and blowed all of them, or if for some reason they were made like this.
I have some with phosphor coating inside (white). they glow green
Those lamps you have seen are probably green, blue or white bulbs.
They have a negative resistance region so a dropping resistance is mandatory to avoid damage. Once the voltage is large enough to ionize the neon, the electrons and ions become very mobile and resistance plummets. Without a series resistance to limit current, the electrodes get hot, deform, and evaporate onto the inside of the glass capsule. I have wondered whether they would make a usable amplifier analogous to the tunnel diode.
These are everywhere in the appliances, not exactly same size, sometimes not even quite right shape, but they're all smaller than NE-2.
I believe the smaller size may be the one used for the backlight in my Kenwood TS-830s meter.
I believe this I saw these in radio displays as well a few years back when I was repairing them.
Back in the day, old 10Base2 network cards had something like that as a basic surge protection.
Yes! Surge arrestors they are called, usually they have a different gas mixture than typical neon bulbs but theyre very cool, the modern surge arrestors are axial ceramic things.
Presumably they could have been used in mains voltage rocker switches to show power on?
Never seen them that size before. They're so cute. :)
Barthelme still makes these. They are 0,25W, for 115V you need a 120K resistor, for 230V a 390K resistor.
Such a Neon bulb is not only usefull as a light indicator, but can also work as a clamping/overvoltage protection, below the striking voltage a Neon bulb acts like a open circuit, so 0% leakage.
Yes those lighted cords are nice...no going back to jingle
Nice. At the moment i am building a fancy binary clock out of them. Much better than those boring leds :-)
I'm thinking consumer stuff used them, like some domestic toasters or whatever, or at least industrial indicator lights.
I believe the minimum turn on voltage is called the "striking voltage" and guess that's analogous to striking a match and turning it on!
The same term is used for High Intensity Discharge lamps like Sodium Vapor and Metal Halide.
Those little ones might be "NE-1", I have some similar sized onrs that are "NE-1H", they have a round top ("lens") instead
That was interesting ~ thanks.
Old rotary-dial phone instruments in the U.K. used to have a neon buried away deep inside; I think it might have been for lightning protection or other over-voltage protection on long overhead lines. Their glow never reached human eyes - it definitely wasn’t an indicator, and sometimes they were completely encased in shrink.
I never knew about only one pole lighting on DC.
Do you know what the electrodes are made of? They always seem to have the same characteristic shape.
I think they were thermistors.
I've ordered these from eBay or Ali last year.
They're really cute and fit in a 3mm LED holder. Really nice.
$0.05 is a steal. I would have bought all they had in stock 😎
I have some in a few 240v light switches to see at night. Mine have been going since 1993. The have a bit of a flicker but they last forever. :)
I wonder if that is the size they might use in lighted extension cords.
super tiny?
tiny - being small
super - modifier to emphasize
I’ve used these small neons as a Colon(DP) between Nixie tube digits on my Nixie clocks 👍🏻
Cool.
Try putting a neon bulb on a curve tracer (a diode test fixture works). The characteristic curve is pretty interesting. Also an effective way to extract more life from a tired Nixie tubes.
Learned more once again...
Always
Mmm-
Vs / desired curent= I limit resistor
67 VDC / 100 kohm = so max current NMT 670 uA.....
But I don't know what the blub voltage drop is...under normal glow..
Please measure and tell us...
I did look for some norminal current...but listed was just small blub glow current
ranges of 0.1 to 10 mA...And a little when glowing...that's all over map...
But plausible for many blub sizes...
When plasma strikes and glows blubs has almost no resistance...but there must be a little V drop...
Ok...1 volt? voltage drop across lamp
66 Vdc across 100 K = 670 uA
Ah ha...wow...looking at google..Google...
Lots of curves...
A strike voltage...
Maybe when the plasma emits
I never knew about that driving with DC only half electode glows...but I suppose plasma creation with DC voltage..like in early PVD sputtering ...
Pull vaccum...add neon...turn up DC volage plasma strikes...put near a target...ions will collide...material then is coated with your target material
Down a hole you go...lol
I do enjoy using the Heathkit Nixie frequently counter...that is old school -still works...My workng Racal Dana 1992 was sent to ABQ....for a periodic tool cal...but an App was found on smart phone...
Someone pawned my beloved 1992...
I had 2 counters...one is broken...the working one was pawned in ABQ buy........??
I bet she or she was offered $10 and took it..
I haven't thrown the broken one out -it has signs of life fot IMASI Guy has inspired me...during his quick 1992 instrument repair....the working one had the 1 GHz option...broken one if working 512 MHz...bummer
I really don't mind being stuck in the 1980's...but learing with new things not possible to obtain...
The little Heathkit with big digits...good enough for a quick and dirty...to insure I pressed 10.kHz in instead of 100 kHz on the function generator....and theres the little reminder of when Pop and Joe built it...he conned his ham friend to buy it...and Joe was much older so pop got it anyway....1972...?
It might measure 50 MHz max...IDK