Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!csus.edu!ucdavis!csusac!sactoh0!pacengr!americ!erk From: erk@americ.UUCP (Erick Parsons) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: surge supressor diodes Message-ID: Date: 8 Mar 91 12:15:19 GMT References: <1837@ole.UUCP> <17812@milton.u.washington.edu> <17958@milton.u.washington.edu> Lines: 31 >In article <17958@milton.u.washington.edu> whit@milton.u.washington.edu (John Whitmore) writes: >In article eugene@locus.com (Eugene Hu) writes: >>whit@milton.u.washington.edu (John Whitmore) writes: >>> And there are some exotic devices; neon bulbs are a >>>VERY good clamp, and some radioactive-electrode gas-filled tube >> >>So does this mean that all the stuff I have plugged into power strips >>with neon pilots is surge protected? > > No; those pilot lights are connected with a 100 kOhm resistor, >and will not really absorb surges. If you connect the pilot light >WITHOUT the resistor, it will happily burn up a 15A fuse. I've seen >it happen. > Neon lights are actually Ne/He (the helium lowers the >breakdown to about 70V); other gases and geometries can be had >with a wide range of breakdown/breakover characteristics. >Once ignited, the plasma can pull a LOT of current, so the limiting >resistor is necessary. > John Whitmore How about using two or three neon bulbs in series ? These things are cheap. This would effectively clamp the line to 140-210 Volts. -- -------------------------------------------------//------------------------- (ames att sun)!pacbell! ----> sactoh0!pacengr!americ!erk Multitasking, ucbvax!ucdavis!csusac! --/ // Never leave uunet!msac! -/ Erick Parsons \Sacramento Ca Home Without it --------------------------------------------\X/-----------------------------