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Chinese neon bulb

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vlad777

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**broken link removed**


My chinese neon bulb died.
I opened these bulbs (from other manufacturers also) when they
die and it always seems to be electronics malfunction.
Filaments are always ok.
So I decided to fix this one.

Two resistors 22R, two transistors E1300x ,main cap 6.8 uF 400V ,four diodes
found dead and I replaced them.
I replaced transistors with (unknown) C4106 I found in old PSU.

Bulb now shows signs of life but it don't work. I didn't have 22R so I put 100R
and that may be the problem.

Can someone tell me how this schematics work?

Many thanks.
 
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It is not a neon light bulb. It is a compact fluorescent light bulb. Each one has a different circuit and mine use Mosfets not transistors.
The oscillator is around 40kHz. The big capacitor usually dries out due to the heat and fails then other parts are over-stressed and they also fail.

I phone the importer and they send me coupons to get replacements for free.
 
It is not a neon light bulb. It is a compact fluorescent light bulb. Each one has a different circuit and mine use Mosfets not transistors.
The oscillator is around 40kHz. The big capacitor usually dries out due to the heat and fails then other parts are over-stressed and they also fail.

I phone the importer and they send me coupons to get replacements for free.

Didn't your government give you those bulbs for free in the first place? Free bulbs for life...
 
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My electrical utility company gave me 10 compact fluorescent light bulbs for free. They were made by a no-name-brand Chinese company that went bankrupt so they are not replaced for free.
The name-brand (Osram-Sylvania) ones I bought are replaced for free if they fail within about 7 years. They usually fail when they are only 3 years old.
 
i change similar bulb each 2-3 months in my house they never pass over 3-4000 hours. (they dont have life better than incandescent in my case) but i only buy cheap no brand bulb at approx 1-2$ each
 
My name-brand compact fluorescent bulbs cost $2.00 each when on sale. But I get them replaced for free.
They are pure white, not yellow like the cheap ones.
 
Here in Canada, Our government is banning Filament bulbs to save Power.
So Compact Florescents will become the most common lighting.

Maybe some LED Lighting. But How long do they Really Last?
Haven't bought any yet.

From My experience over the past 3 years, these Compact bulbs do NOT last there Guaranteed Life.
And in many cases, you will not get Free Replacements for them.

Besides that, they are NOT Enviromentally Friendly.
Who Actually disposes of them correctly?

They Cost More to make and buy.
And What are the enviromental consequences in that manufacturing process?

In the Winter, Incandescent Bulbs give off Useable Heat.
So Compact Florescents are really only Energy Saving When you don't need to use your Furnance to heat your house.

Definately NO Overall Savings to me.

ONE UNHAPPY PERSON.
 
In the Winter, Incandescent Bulbs give off Useable Heat.
So Compact Florescents are really only Energy Saving When you don't need to use your Furnance to heat your house.
That's only if the energy source you use in your furnace is as expensive as electricity, but I doubt that it is. The cost of electricity to heat a house is much higher than the cost of using heating oil or natural gas, or even propane gas.
 
That's only if the energy source you use in your furnace is as expensive as electricity, but I doubt that it is. The cost of electricity to heat a house is much higher than the cost of using heating oil or natural gas, or even propane gas.

i am also in canada and i heat with wood which is almost 3-4 times less expensive than electricity so i like fluocompact, i also have some led light projectors (4W), they are a lot better but they cost about 8$ each!
 
That's only if the energy source you use in your furnace is as expensive as electricity, but I doubt that it is. The cost of electricity to heat a house is much higher than the cost of using heating oil or natural gas, or even propane gas.

Actually Our Electricity cost here Is Not nearly as high as yours!
 
I use less expensive air conditioning in summer when I use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of hot and wasteful incandescent light bulbs.
But since the sun sets very late and rises very early in summer then I don't use lights very long.
 
Here in Canada, Our government is banning Filament bulbs to save Power.
So Compact Florescent will become the most common lighting.

So let me say this:

Here in the US, Our government is banning Filament bulbs to save Power.
So Compact Florescent will become the most common lighting.

However here in the US we have a few caveats. Around the beginning of this year up here in Cleveland, Ohio First Energy decided to give every customer two free bulbs. But they weren't quite free. Actually they were pretty expensive. Now follow this logic.

First energy contracted with a Chinese manufacturer of CFL bulbs to manufacture 3,000,000 bulbs and ship them to Cleveland. This great plan called for a few thousand First Energy employees to wear a few thousand green T Shirts and go door to door distributing these three million bulbs. I bet the green T shirts came from China too but here nor there. Now here is where it gets funny. They were going to add a few bucks a month to our electric bills over a few months to pay for the not so free bulbs. The total amount for two bulbs was to be $14 USD or $7 per bulb. Now why the hell would I pay the power company $7 for a bulb I can buy at Lowes, Home Depot or any hardware store for about $3?

People began to question this and the truth began to come out. Keep in mind this had all been approved by PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) who is supposed to look out for the consumer of utilities. They actually approved this half assed idea. My state government at work.

Now it gets good. First Energy actually had this all figured out. If I replace two 60 watt incandescent bulbs with two of these not so free CFL bulbs I will use less power, granted not much but less. Then as I replace every incandescent bulb in my house my bill will slowly decrease. I am using less power. The problem here is they are in the business of selling power. Go figure. The increased cost of the bulbs at $7 each was to offset the money they would lose so they figured they could offset by charging me for the power I am not using that I would have used. This is real bright logic. Most of us are brighter than the average CFL bulb.

This led to people going nuts calling PUCO and First Energy screaming at them we didn't want their bulbs. PUCO decided it might be wise to reverse their stupid decision and the whole thing stopped. I figure somewhere in a warehouse in Cleveland lie 3,000,000 CFL bulbs and a few thousand green T shirts. Beats the hell outta me?

The incandescent bulb has been around how long? Thin glass envelope, a tiny piece of tungsten and some tin. Now I look at these damn CFL bulbs and wonder what has to be better for a landfill? Tough decision there huh?

Just My Take
Ron
 
The incandescent bulb has been around how long? Thin glass envelope, a tiny piece of tungsten and some tin. Now I look at these damn CFL bulbs and wonder what has to be better for a landfill? Tough decision there huh?

Just My Take
Ron
Not only that, but the CFLs are engineered to fail within 3 or so years.
They may offer a replacement within a time frame, something that audioguro seems to be taking advantage of, but most people will just drive to a hardware store and buy a new pack rather than dealing with all that.
They can easily make both CFLs and incandescents last decades but there is simply no profit in making a bulb that lasts 10 years.

This is the reason why I believe we will never see a (consumer level) LED bulb that lasts more than 5 years.
Sure, the LEDs may last a decade or more, but the components that drive them will be engineered to fail within 5 years.

That's planned obsolescence for ya. >_>
 
Sure, the LEDs may last a decade or more, but the components that drive them will be engineered to fail within 5 years.

Which components would those be? The only components in an LED bulb should be the LEDs, the PCB, and a resistor or two. I am not saying you're wrong, but there really shouldn't be much inside an LED bulb (then again, maybe this is how they will get them to "fail", by over-engineering the entire thing)...

:)
 
LEDs fade over time, which is why spacecraft do not use opto-isolators.

I have a clock radio that is about 35 years old. I added a new audio amplifier, new speaker and a lot of bass boost so it sounds very good.
But its red LED display has faded so much that it can barely be seen in daylight. I don't think the main filter capacitor has lost some of its capacitance because when the display flashes it does not start very bright then fade like LED traffic lights do when they flash.
 
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