Multi Meters

[meow2222]

Cost first, efficiency second. Theyre less reliable and much shorter lived than 50Hz transformers.

NT

[Autolycus]

... which in turn are less reliable and shorter-lived than a house brick, with which they are as interchangeable as they are with glow starters.

I have found electronic starters to be particularly useful with 6ft tubes, which are notoriously more difficult to match to a glow starter.

[John Rumm]

Reduced flicker on starting, longer tube life, plus "one size fits all".

[Andy Wade]

[Electronic fluorescent lamp starters]

Not efficiency, that's down to the tube and ballast and whether 50 Hz or HF operation. Otherwise, generally:

- flicker free start - you get a longer and better defined pre-heat time, then a tube in good condition will strike first time;

- (as a consequence of the above) less tube-end blackening and longer tube life in frequently-switched applications;

- better low temperature starting;

- they don't keep trying to strike a knackered tube - they try N times and then give up (N = 3, I think);

- indefinite life, unlike glow starters which do fail;

- less RFI.

They're just far more civilised than the crude glow starter and are well worth the small extra cost (IMHO).

[Man at B&Q]

Depends on the design of the SMPS. Many regulate perfectly well without a load. It's only where the designer has cut corners that a load is *required*.

MBQ

[meow2222]

sorry i was thinking of electronic lighting psus, not starters

NT

[Ed Sirett]

Agreed. Also a DVM on a DC range applied to an AC supply will simply show random numbers, IME.

[Dave]

I agree with that.

You haven't lived until you have to work on live wires, with one hand deep in your pocket, feet on a rubber mat with rubber soled shoes :-)

Dave

[Owain]

And if you ask really nicely the boss will let you wear your work clothes home at night... ;-)

Owain

[The Medway Handyman]

And brown trousers on................

[Dave]

They don't start out that way much and never ended up in that colour with me :-) Real voltages can be found in the back of a TV set. I used to work on them about 50 years ago.

Dave

[Tim Downie]

No need. They turn brown soon enough. ;-)

Tim