"Toy" component help please!

[Stanislaw Flatto]

A 'toy' that we enjoyed for few years disintegrated and we would like to
replace it.
It was a table lamp, but the bulb included a cicuitry sensing the timing
of power switch on-off operations and a dimmer.
When the switch was operated the bulb would produce full brightness, if
the switch was thrown on-off-on within ~ 1-1.5 seconds the bulb would
enter the dimmed condition.
When the bulb failed we thought that it means just buying a replacement.
No chance!!!
So who has some info on this kind of bulb, like who is the producer and
so on.

TIA.

Stanislaw
Slack user from Ulladulla.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

A 'toy' that we enjoyed for few years disintegrated and we would like to
replace it.
It was a table lamp, but the bulb included a cicuitry sensing the timing
of power switch on-off operations and a dimmer.
When the switch was operated the bulb would produce full brightness, if
the switch was thrown on-off-on within ~ 1-1.5 seconds the bulb would
enter the dimmed condition.
When the bulb failed we thought that it means just buying a replacement.
No chance!!!
So who has some info on this kind of bulb, like who is the producer and
so on.

A company (Philips maybe?) used to sell these types of bulbs. They have
the circuitry built into the base - it's a button in series with the AC.
The ones I recall had 3 or 4 levels of brightness based on repeated
switch on/off cycles as you describe.

I haven't seen them in years.

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[[email protected]]

A company (Philips maybe?) used to sell these types of bulbs. They have
the circuitry built into the base - it's a button in series with the AC.
The ones I recall had 3 or 4 levels of brightness based on repeated
switch on/off cycles as you describe.

I haven't seen them in years.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
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| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

Menards in the midwest sold those bulbs until a couple of years ago. I
still have a couple.
But, there is something even better out. It is a light dimmer that
responds to touch of any metal part of a lamp. The first time you
touch any metal part of the lamp, it glows diml;y. Touch it again and
it is about 70% of full on, touch it a third time and full brightrness,
touch once more and it goes off. The box to do this is about half the
size of a regular pack of cigarettes and can be placed into the base of
almost any lamp. These touch modules are sold in the sections of
hardware stores where they sell the electrical parts to rewire lamps.
I put one in my wife's dressing table lamp so she does not have to try
to turn a swich with wet nail polish/makeup, etc. just barely touch any
metal part of the lamp to control it. The modules are under $10.00 and
they have the added feature of coming on dim first so the filament
almost never burns out due to turn-on surtge.

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann

 

[L.]

Menards in the midwest sold those bulbs until a couple of years ago. I
still have a couple.
But, there is something even better out. It is a light dimmer that
responds to touch of any metal part of a lamp. The first time you
touch any metal part of the lamp, it glows diml;y. Touch it again and
it is about 70% of full on, touch it a third time and full brightrness,
touch once more and it goes off. The box to do this is about half the
size of a regular pack of cigarettes and can be placed into the base of
almost any lamp. These touch modules are sold in the sections of
hardware stores where they sell the electrical parts to rewire lamps.
I put one in my wife's dressing table lamp so she does not have to try
to turn a swich with wet nail polish/makeup, etc. just barely touch any
metal part of the lamp to control it. The modules are under $10.00 and
they have the added feature of coming on dim first so the filament
almost never burns out due to turn-on surtge.

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann

OK - question.............

The "Touch Lamps" that are normally sold (or were) used to be affected by
R.F. - in a lot of cases. When you install these modules, are THEY
susceptible to R.F.? Meaning - if your neighbor keys up his CB or Ham, your
"touch lamp" will activate itself as though you're touching it to make it go
throught its phases.

Lou

 

[L.]

OK - question.............

The "Touch Lamps" that are normally sold (or were) used to be affected by
R.F. - in a lot of cases. When you install these modules, are THEY
susceptible to R.F.? Meaning - if your neighbor keys up his CB or Ham,
your "touch lamp" will activate itself as though you're touching it to
make it go throught its phases.

Lou

For what it is worth, there "was" a recommended cure that "presumeably" did
work to cure the "touch lamp" of being triggered by R.F. . Not sure how
well - I only read about it - not do any actual mods.

L.

 

[Ohmster]

[email protected] wrote in 75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

[snip]

But, there is something even better out. It is a light dimmer that
responds to touch of any metal part of a lamp.

[snip]

What is cool about these dimmer on off switches is that you can even put
the sense wire into the dirt of a potted plant. Touching any leaves on the
plant will activate the lamp switch circuit.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

[email protected] wrote in 75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

[snip]

But, there is something even better out. It is a light dimmer that
responds to touch of any metal part of a lamp.

[snip]

What is cool about these dimmer on off switches is that you can even put
the sense wire into the dirt of a potted plant. Touching any leaves on the
plant will activate the lamp switch circuit.

And let the plant figure out how to control the lamp? That's giving a lot
of power to the plant!

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

 

[Morse]

[email protected] wrote in 75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

[snip]

But, there is something even better out. It is a light dimmer that
responds to touch of any metal part of a lamp.

[snip]

What is cool about these dimmer on off switches is that you can even put
the sense wire into the dirt of a potted plant. Touching any leaves on
the
plant will activate the lamp switch circuit.

And let the plant figure out how to control the lamp? That's giving a lot
of power to the plant!

There's nothing wrong with power plants- we'd be screwed without them ;-)

Dave

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

[email protected] wrote in 75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

[snip]

But, there is something even better out. It is a light dimmer that
responds to touch of any metal part of a lamp.

[snip]

What is cool about these dimmer on off switches is that you can even put
the sense wire into the dirt of a potted plant. Touching any leaves on the
plant will activate the lamp switch circuit.

And let the plant figure out how to control the lamp? That's giving a lot
of power to the plant!

Not really. Politicians need lamps to. ;-)


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida