"bob haller" wrote in message
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On May 17, 10:18 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
"Existential Angst" wrote in message

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Awl --

Guess what.... of course it didn't lite up! Seems like the sodium bulbs
were mixed in with the metal halide bulbs, in the hardware store, and I
was just looking for "70W".

The Q is: Did it harm the ballast? The bulb was in there for a few
minutes, while I mucked around (25 feet up in a tree), tryna figger
stuff
out, before I noticed the "MH" designation on the bulb... A short length
of the glass stem glowed very slightly.

So, I disconnected the fixture (70 W) from power altogether, until I can
(hopefully) exchange the bulb.
I doubt the bulb was harmed. Man, these things aren't cheap.... almost
$22 for the metal halide bulb.

These bulbs are really inneresting in design. Not sure what does what,
but the insides are neat.
I assume most of these bulbs are similar to regular ole fluorescents in
principle, where the atom at hand needs to be vaporized, then ionized
(ignited), then kept in a steady state current.

Have no fear..... put in the sodium bulb ($7 cheaper), lit right up. I
musta done 1/4 mile worth of climbing for this g-d buhb....

I tell ya, not to go off on a luminous rant, but lighting, at least in
pubic
places, seems to almost smack of hostility.
Sodium lamps, around for AGES (60 years, mebbe, from the 50's??), really
have an "optically humane" output, visavis effing metal halide, yer
typical
parking lot lighting, which are positively garish, in the harshest way.
Carbon arcs proly give softer light....

Now we have these miserable-assed CFLs....

LED traffic lites/brake lites pert near puncture yer retinas..... At
night,
at a red light (harsh unto itself, if LED), I"ll often have to drop down
my
sun visor, until the car in front of me starts moving..... holy ****....

And neighbors, with their effing "security lighting", apparently don't
understand "indirect", "diffuse", or "cover"....

No breaks, yo, no breaks.
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EA



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EA

I like CFLs and anixiousy await affordable LEDS.

the early CFLs were poor quality, costly, didnt last long, and light
quality poor.

but current ones not from a dollar store are actually very good.

and in a parking lot light situation who cares about color rendetion?

the only lights i really hate are the new super brilliant ones on
police cars and emergency vehicles. so brite they are a distraction of
their own.

and the super brite blue headlights on newer vehicles are really
unsafe they can temporarily blind drivers
=================================================

Absolutely. And expensive, fwih -- another "extortion by technology".
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EA