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Is there any reason nowadays to use a neon indicator lamp instead of a LED?
Why a neon lamp indicator on power strip switch flickers in the dark?Powering neon indicator lamp from batteryHow does a 120VAC neon indicator lamp respond to a leading-edge triac dimmer?
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$begingroup$
I have a bunch of old neon indicator lamps recovered from old AC devices and used to indicate power status.
I wonder: is there any reason nowadays to use the neon lamps instead of LEDs? I see they are still widely available.
LEDs are cheaper even after considering the need of a diode in AC applications. They blink half as often in AC applications, but emit much more light per Watt.
In which cases are neon indicator lamps still preferred?
indicator neon
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
I have a bunch of old neon indicator lamps recovered from old AC devices and used to indicate power status.
I wonder: is there any reason nowadays to use the neon lamps instead of LEDs? I see they are still widely available.
LEDs are cheaper even after considering the need of a diode in AC applications. They blink half as often in AC applications, but emit much more light per Watt.
In which cases are neon indicator lamps still preferred?
indicator neon
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Electricians screwdrivers.
$endgroup$
– Andy aka
11 hours ago
$begingroup$
I've seen them used as voltage regulators, though mostly in very old circuit designs.
$endgroup$
– Hearth
10 hours ago
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
I have a bunch of old neon indicator lamps recovered from old AC devices and used to indicate power status.
I wonder: is there any reason nowadays to use the neon lamps instead of LEDs? I see they are still widely available.
LEDs are cheaper even after considering the need of a diode in AC applications. They blink half as often in AC applications, but emit much more light per Watt.
In which cases are neon indicator lamps still preferred?
indicator neon
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
$endgroup$
I have a bunch of old neon indicator lamps recovered from old AC devices and used to indicate power status.
I wonder: is there any reason nowadays to use the neon lamps instead of LEDs? I see they are still widely available.
LEDs are cheaper even after considering the need of a diode in AC applications. They blink half as often in AC applications, but emit much more light per Watt.
In which cases are neon indicator lamps still preferred?
indicator neon
indicator neon
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
asked 11 hours ago
FarOFarO
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
7025 silver badges24 bronze badges
1
$begingroup$
Electricians screwdrivers.
$endgroup$
– Andy aka
11 hours ago
$begingroup$
I've seen them used as voltage regulators, though mostly in very old circuit designs.
$endgroup$
– Hearth
10 hours ago
add a comment
|
1
$begingroup$
Electricians screwdrivers.
$endgroup$
– Andy aka
11 hours ago
$begingroup$
I've seen them used as voltage regulators, though mostly in very old circuit designs.
$endgroup$
– Hearth
10 hours ago
1
1
$begingroup$
Electricians screwdrivers.
$endgroup$
– Andy aka
11 hours ago
$begingroup$
Electricians screwdrivers.
$endgroup$
– Andy aka
11 hours ago
$begingroup$
I've seen them used as voltage regulators, though mostly in very old circuit designs.
$endgroup$
– Hearth
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
I've seen them used as voltage regulators, though mostly in very old circuit designs.
$endgroup$
– Hearth
10 hours ago
add a comment
|
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Neon bulbs use microamps of current when fed through a dropping resistor directly from the AC line. LEDs need 10× to 100× the current and can't be fed AC directly.
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Have a look at this video by BigClive, the light effect (scroll towards end of video to see it) would require a significantly more complex circuit and/or obscure components if you would use LEDs and tried to get the same (random) light effect.
This is the circuit that is used:
I admit that this isn't a "killer application" of neon lamps but more a fun project.
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
I think you'll find neons have more resistance to ESD, transient overvoltage, and high temperatures.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Neon bulbs use microamps of current when fed through a dropping resistor directly from the AC line. LEDs need 10× to 100× the current and can't be fed AC directly.
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Neon bulbs use microamps of current when fed through a dropping resistor directly from the AC line. LEDs need 10× to 100× the current and can't be fed AC directly.
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Neon bulbs use microamps of current when fed through a dropping resistor directly from the AC line. LEDs need 10× to 100× the current and can't be fed AC directly.
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
$endgroup$
Neon bulbs use microamps of current when fed through a dropping resistor directly from the AC line. LEDs need 10× to 100× the current and can't be fed AC directly.
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
answered 11 hours ago
Dave Tweed♦Dave Tweed
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
135k11 gold badges172 silver badges294 bronze badges
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
Well a diode and a led cost less than a neon lamp, but indeed I just discovered that the usual red or green LEDs are much less efficient than "high power/, high efficiency" LEDs. Still I'm surprised that luminous efficiency and a diode make them more popular than cheaper diodes+LEDs.
$endgroup$
– FarO
10 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
But the voltage they operate at means that the Wattage may be much higher than LEDs
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The ~100 milliwatts we're talking about here rarely matters in line-powered equipment.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes but that just means the stress on "microamps" also don't matter. Its main advantage is that it can feed directly off AC rather than efficiency - the main reason people don't use them these days is that equipment will invariably have a DC power rail anyway to power the CPU (heck, even a switch has a microcontroller these days)
$endgroup$
– slebetman
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
@slebetman: The microamps is important, because it means that a modest 1/4 W resistor can produce the necessary voltage drop. An LED requires both a greater voltage drop AND more current, causing much more power to be wasted.
$endgroup$
– Dave Tweed♦
2 hours ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Have a look at this video by BigClive, the light effect (scroll towards end of video to see it) would require a significantly more complex circuit and/or obscure components if you would use LEDs and tried to get the same (random) light effect.
This is the circuit that is used:
I admit that this isn't a "killer application" of neon lamps but more a fun project.
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
Have a look at this video by BigClive, the light effect (scroll towards end of video to see it) would require a significantly more complex circuit and/or obscure components if you would use LEDs and tried to get the same (random) light effect.
This is the circuit that is used:
I admit that this isn't a "killer application" of neon lamps but more a fun project.
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
Have a look at this video by BigClive, the light effect (scroll towards end of video to see it) would require a significantly more complex circuit and/or obscure components if you would use LEDs and tried to get the same (random) light effect.
This is the circuit that is used:
I admit that this isn't a "killer application" of neon lamps but more a fun project.
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
$endgroup$
Have a look at this video by BigClive, the light effect (scroll towards end of video to see it) would require a significantly more complex circuit and/or obscure components if you would use LEDs and tried to get the same (random) light effect.
This is the circuit that is used:
I admit that this isn't a "killer application" of neon lamps but more a fun project.
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
answered 11 hours ago
BimpelrekkieBimpelrekkie
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
58.9k2 gold badges61 silver badges135 bronze badges
add a comment
|
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
I think you'll find neons have more resistance to ESD, transient overvoltage, and high temperatures.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
I think you'll find neons have more resistance to ESD, transient overvoltage, and high temperatures.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
add a comment
|
$begingroup$
I think you'll find neons have more resistance to ESD, transient overvoltage, and high temperatures.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
I think you'll find neons have more resistance to ESD, transient overvoltage, and high temperatures.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
answered 6 mins ago
abbabb
1
1
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
abb is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment
|
add a comment
|
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1
$begingroup$
Electricians screwdrivers.
$endgroup$
– Andy aka
11 hours ago
$begingroup$
I've seen them used as voltage regulators, though mostly in very old circuit designs.
$endgroup$
– Hearth
10 hours ago