>suppose).  There is one lamp that is pretty unstable, I already see that
>around, the light is not quiet, it jumps up and down the pins in a very
>unstable situation.  Perhaps there is lower neon concentration, or
>something like that.

I've read that the older high quality neon lamps had a small chunk of
radioactive material near the envelope (perhaps inside?) to partially
ionize the neon gas.  Probably made the lamps easier to start and more
reliable, especially in low ambient light situations.  Wonder if anyone
still builds 'em like that.

I've also read about troubleshooting difficulties with some of the old Tek
scopes that used gas-discharge regulator tubes.  Scopes wouldn't work
right, until the tech removed the covers.  Once exposed to ambient light,
everything would fall into place.  I'm sure that could be a real bear to
track down the first time you run into it...

Some of my power strips have flickering neons too.


newell