Weird 1980s tv problem. Would like explanation.

Neons emit random noise, dependent on individual breakdown characteristics and current. At some amplitude level or frequency, this could be overloading another section of the circuitry. This could latch up a logic function in one state, if it resulted in positive feedback.

You don't indicate if ....one channel was more problematic than others, in a wide range of sets ... or whether it only occurred after some time period set on the problematic channel .... Cold or heat dependent .....same sets returned more than once etc.

Without a memory, either mechanical or electronic, this should have been reset on recycling of power.

RL

And another weird neon problem. My main bench power supply, I've never had to go inside it , so this minor problem remains. The mains-on neon never lights in sunlight or room light but comes on and flashes if its night time and next to no low light in the room, if the ps is left switched on. Its a pip type, only a pip protrudes through the casing if that is relevant.

There were also Sonys like that. I thought it was leakage in the neon that caused that failure.

This is an easy one... your vision is not linear based on lighting conditio ns, but very relative. A flash or low glow in a neon bulb would be entirely invisible under normal-light conditions, but in low light, your heightened sensitivity would pick it up easily. Further, Neon lamps, after they trig ger, are not like many LEDs which are on/off devices. Once they trigger, vo ltage may drop considerably and they will still remain lit. So, if there is a capacitor in the circuit to trigger it, then when it reaches that point and 'fires' the lamp will flicker. But the carrier voltage to keep it runn ing is not there. So it is only a flicker.

Some SS-relay operated neon ballasts from the very early days of electronic ballasts behaved the same way if wired with the 'neutral' switched, or at

277V under some conditions. Firing voltage is achieved, but operating volta ge is not present. They flash. And if, as in some Euro applications, the "n eutral" is above ground, this can be a real issue. The ballast design chang ed pretty quickly for this reason.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Yes, NE2 lamps age, and their internal resistance changes as a result. So, if the circuit depends on 'sensing' the operation of the neon lamp, and the operating resistance changes sufficiently, the circuit will latch.

Small pen-type one-point voltage sensors discern between AC & DC by only one side or the other glowing under DC, both under AC. Back in the day where mains DC was common (up to 2007 in NYC), that was important to know at a glance.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

BTW What does the "2" signify?

Mike.

It is a type of bulb number.

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

It was channel independent, never intermittent and not hot or cold dependent and the sets never returned for the same problem. By the way Jur006 had the correct explanation. I had forgotten what it was but his answer jarred my memory.

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

You are right. I had forgotten that was what caused the problem. Thank you for jarring my memory.

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

at caused that failure.

I am replete with useless knowledge.

Next though, I don't even know if I ever even knew this, but what would tha t circuit be called in a digital IC. Like in a 74XX series or something ?

Something has to momentarily cut the current to all the other neons, likewi se if you tried to make this in logic, it would most likely be a bunch of b istable flip flops but with a bit different gate arrangement.

Hell, I now wonder if neons is not maybe the best way to do it even today. There is only one main dropping resistor to all of them, when you hit the s witch or whatever YOUR neon pulls more current and is fired, the other ones cannot fire because of not enough voltage.

There may be a nifty way of doing this with SCRs. I just can't think of an application right now. In fact I am pretty sure I could do it with SCRs and not too many other components. But then what ? Maybe some presets for equi pment where things are still set by voltages ?

Actually, you could make the neon lamps, themselves, be the storage element. Connect one side of all the lamps together, and tie to B+ with one resistor. Have individual resistors to ground on each lamp. Short each individual resistor with the select pushbutton. When you press this button, all other neons will go out, and the selected one will light, and stay lit when you release the button. Now, a circuit detects which of the individual resistors has voltage across it, and selects the desired function. Definitely cheap, and will work for a while. Eventually, the neons will get far enough out of balance to cause problems.

Jon

No It was a Large Scale CMOS chip. Maybe made by NEC. (NEC codes worked with some AOC sets.)

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 
https://www.avast.com/antivirus