On Thu, 4 Jan 2001 22:37:27 +1300, you wrote:

>Twice this week I've had my work spotlight bulb blow when I turned
>it on. Other spotlights in the house seem to fail more often than
>ordinary bulbs, and quite regularly. And I'm sick of it. The other day
>I said I thought that cold filaments are more likely to burn out if
>power was applied at the peak of the mains cycle. Is this true ?
>
>Is there a simple non-PIC solution to reduce this stress or reduce the
>230V down by 10% (which would significantly increases bulb life) for
>a 60W bulb. A series resistor sounds like it should work, but are there
>any real safety concerns with a few watts of heat and/or regulations
>that prohibit this
>
>I'm peed off enough, if all else fails, to make a PIC circuit that will
>allow initial power to the bulb only at 0V (and I don't care if I don't
>break even in the long run. The satisfaction of almost never replacing
>a bulb is quite appealing right at this moment)
>
>Any comments or experiences ? One other thought was to replace
>filament bulbs with the more expensive fluorescent bulbs, although
>I've always felt they're "a bit cold"

Switchmode PSUs often include thermistor-type devices to limit inrush
current - you may be able to use one of these.

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