Socket for flash tube?

[BetterSense]

I found a flash tube in a box of junk I bought. It's about the size of as small light bulb and has a curly flash tube inside it. There are 4 pins in the base but only 3 are connected. Could I hook this up to my novatron somehow? Where can I get a socket?

[Leigh]

Don't mess with it. Without knowing its characteristics it could blow up in your face.

I used to be a warranty service station for Novatron, and I'm reasonably familiar with strobe systems.

- Leigh

[ic-racer]

I agree with Leigh. Also, if you knew enough about xenon flashes to do this safely you'd know the trigger just has one lead.

[Jim Jones]

Most replaceable Zenon bulbs I've seen have two leads for the anode and cathode as well as one for the trigger. The base may have other contacts so a standard base and socket can be used.

[Jim Michael]

I'd love to hear an explanation of the physics involved here.


Don't mess with it. Without knowing its characteristics it could blow up in your face.

I used to be a warranty service station for Novatron, and I'm reasonably familiar with strobe systems.

- Leigh

[Leigh]

The base may have other contacts so a standard base and socket can be used.
What is a "standard" socket.

I know of a couple dozen different sockets with four or more terminals.

- Leigh

[Jim Jones]

The flash tube in the Sylvania Wabash strobe unit I still occasionally use has a ceramic octal socket with only 3 pins connected. The tube base has only four pins installed. Some flash tubes may even use the same four pins of the types 201, 80, and other radio tubes from about 1920. Such ceramic sockets seemed to handle the power of amateur radio transmitters and the 2000 Volts from the Wabash perfectly over many decades. Eventually the inclusion of concentric modelling lights made special sockets necessary.

[Greg Blank]

Why not just post a photo of it?


I found a flash tube in a box of junk I bought. It's about the size of as small light bulb and has a curly flash tube inside it. There are 4 pins in the base but only 3 are connected. Could I hook this up to my novatron somehow? Where can I get a socket?

[BetterSense]

I'm digitally challenged, but I can borrow my wife's cell phone later and get a pic of it.

[John Koehrer]

Maybe a better word for "standard" would be commercially available. :)
Why build it when you can buy it?

Want to live vicariously? wrap the contacts with bare wire! =@0

See #4 by Mr. Jones

[domaz]

I think the explanation for flash tubes blowing up in your face is that significant voltages are always involved with them. Like over 2000 volts- not something to play with without proper care.

[Jim Jones]

Zenon strobe lamps not only have a wide variety of bases, but widely varying electrical characteristics. In the 1940s, oil filled capacitors charged to a few thousand Volts often powered them. Except for very high speed flashes, these were replaced by electrolytic capacitors charged to a few hundred Volts. Then thyristor control circuits enabled electrolytic capacitors to also work for high speed photography. However, a capacitor charged to a mere few hundred Volts is not a toy. The trigger voltage is probably still several thousand, but at much lower current like a spark plug. I have wrapped bare wire around high voltage electrical components, but very carefully and with several decades experience in electronics. Don't play with the interior of electronic flashes at home unless your significant other is a RN with a defibrillaror handy. The energy involved in strobes usually isn't fatal, but why gamble?

[Steve Smith]

I agree with Jim. Personally and if I wanted to use it, I would try to connect to it but I also have many years experience with high voltage circuits - mainly valve (tube) based audio equipment.

I think that generally if you have to ask, you should steer clear of it.

I don't think there is a chance of it blowing up in your face as has been suggested. If the trigger wire and one of the other wires were swapped over, it just wouldn't do anything. If it is connected correctly then it would probably work if there was enough trigger voltage to ionise the gas. If not, it would just sit there doing nothing.

There is more danger involved with being close to the high voltage supply which is connected directly to the two ends of the flash tube.


Steve.