wrote in message
...
Dave wrote:
I saw somewhere that you could use an NE-2 bulb between the antenna "hot"
lead and ground as a static discharge device for a receiver, but can't
find
an NE-2 and don't know anything about neon bulbs. Anybody know if a
standard neon bulb rated at 125 VAC could be used in this manner? Or how
I
could test it? I'm thinking about charging up a 50V electrolytic
capacitor
and hitting the bulb with that, to see if it discharges the cap. I have
a
.22uF 630V mylar cap between the antenna and the input to the tuner
because
the 35V disc I had there got blown, so I know that static can be a
problem
with my setup even though it is grounded at two points.
Would welcome any ideas anyone has on how to make this work...

Thanks,

Dave

This was fairly common in WWII era radios.

A NE-2 fires at around 90-110V, which is more than a lot of solid state
equipment can handle, so the protection offered is dubious with modern
radios.

That said, it certainly can't hurt anything to try it if you have some
weird problem with static.

You can still get them, but probably not locally.

Jameco (http://www.jameco.com/) still carried them last I looked.

To see where a particular bulb actually fires, put the bulb in parallel
with
a capacitor and feed it with around a 100V or so DC though a resistor of
a few K.

You will have built a relaxation oscillator. The larger the cap and/or
resistor,
the lower the flash rate.

If you don't have a 'scope to measure the voltage, increase the resistor
size until the flash rate is slow enough to watch the cap charge with a
voltmeter.

--
Jim Pennino


Thanks for the reply, Jim.

While waiting I set up a charging system for a cap and then tested to see
whether the bulb would discharge the cap. No go. I am sure that at a high
enough voltage the bulb might help, but I am going to have to use a resistor
in parrallel with the bulb, or some other setup, to guard against relatively
low voltage static buildup.

Thanks for the relaxation osc. idea. I might actually use that in m search.
Never would have thought of it.

Much appreciated...

Dave