[time-nuts] Rubidium Lamp PIX

cdelect at juno.com cdelect at juno.com
Sat Dec 29 15:36:07 UTC 2012


Don,

The only lamps besides FRS lamps I have had to "rejuvinate" were HP lamps
that the oven had run away on forcing all the Rubidium out into the bulb
and coating the walls. 

The design of most standards insures that the base of the bulb will cool
faster than the bulb when turned off thus collecting the Rubidium back
into the base. The FRS was not quite as good in this respect!

If upon inspection you can see Rubidium anywhere but down in the very
base of the bulb you can use a heat gun to force it back into the base.
I sit the bulb so the base is sitting on something to heat sink it and
then ply the heat gun around the top of the bulb until all the visible
Rubidium  is off of the bulb proper. On an HP unit you can just leave the
bulb mounted on its board to use as the heat sink.

Here is a link to an excellent description of FRS lamp repair.

Corby


http://www.n4iqt.com/efratom8084008/eeratom_model_frs_lamp_assembly_repai
r.pdf



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