On Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:25:14 -0600, cjt
wrote:

On 12/19/2010 8:23 PM, cjt wrote:
On 12/19/2010 8:19 PM, mm wrote:
snip

It's dirty enough to not let the bell work, but not so dirty that the
light doesn't go out. That's not hard. The neon light has a fairly
high resistance. The button when closed will have a resistance lower
than the light, so most of the current will bypass the light.
snip

What neon light? I thought we were talking about a doorbell button.

No neon light I've ever seen will fire on 24 volts.

For that matter, doorbells generally work on less than 24 volts. The 24
volt system is for the HVAC controls.

You're right. It's not neon. Still, it has a fairly high resistance
and the rest of what I said is true.

I didn't say 24 volts.