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From: ken@hertz.njit.edu (ken ng cccc)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: dimming fluorescent lamps
Message-ID: <1991May7.200123.16415@njitgw.njit.edu>
Date: 7 May 91 20:01:23 GMT
References: <9105071811.AA22909@alessia.dei.unipd.it>
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I hope this thread won't stir up too much controversy.  I currently have
2 sets of 2 20 watt fluorescent lights that I bounce off the ceiling in
order to light the room they are in.  I would like to be able to dim
these lamps for when I don't need them on full strength and to prevent
the temporary blindness when turning them on at 3 am.  Can this be done
with fluorescent lamps?  If I build something with SCR controllers, are
there any noise precautions I should take?  (I presume a ferrite coil
across the power lines and a 0.01 microfarad cap across the SCR itself
will be enough.)

What I have been toying around with is a set of relays (one for each
lamp) to turn the lights on and off in a sequential manner, but I'd
like a better method if possible.

Kenneth Ng
"No problem, this is how you make it" -- R. Barclay, ST: TNG