On Thu, 9 Nov 2017 07:45:40 -0500, bitrex
wrote:

On 11/09/2017 04:10 AM, wrote:
Another thread on here mentions the NE-2 neon bulbs. I remember those
going back to the 60s. They have never changed, but worked well for
testers or indicators if you did not want brightness.

But I always wondered, was there a NE-1, or a NE-3? I always wondered
why they are called NE-2? I have never seen any other number after the
NE-.

You can still buy an NE-3, it's a long lamp with a "telephone slide
base", designed to be mounted to a panel as an indicator and viewed end-on:

https://www.elliottelectronicsupply.com/lamps/neon-lamp-55v-02-watt-ne3-lamp.html

That's a weird looking thing...

Another thing I always wondered about these small neon lamps, is how
come they were always that yellow color. Neon signs have all sorts of
colored neon gasses.

These days LEDs are much more common, but I still see neon bulbs inside
of switches on power strips. (I have an old power strip and that switch
flashed on and off all the time. I guess they just get weak over time.