Sujet : Re: suggestions for plasma globe that is slow to turn on?
De : none (at) *nospam* anywherenet.com (Bill Abers)
Groupes : sci.electronics.repairDate : 12. Jun 2025, 00:06:51
Autres entêtes
Organisation : A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID : <102d26b$28ibs$2@dont-email.me>
References : 1 2
User-Agent : Mozilla Thunderbird
On 6/11/25 2:49 PM, ehsjr wrote:
On 6/11/2025 11:46 AM, Bill Abers wrote:
I own several plasma globe type devices basically similar to this:
https://www.arborsci.com/cdn/shop/products/
PlasmaGlobe8inch1500x1000.jpg?v=1652122477
I also have a dome, a disc, and another device resembling a spiral
glass tube.
Several years ago, I took a look inside all of them and they basically
all have the same type of circuit: a single transistor driven small
flyback in the 3-8 KV range coupling to the glass tube or globe.
One thing that sort of bothers me about my devices is that, over time,
a couple of them have become slow to turn on, especially after sitting
for a period of time, but not in every case: one of my plasma domes is
difficult to turn on all the time.
What I mean by the aforementioned is that, once the device switch is
activated, the glass will remain dark for a few seconds before it
starts to show "plasma". In the case of the plasma dome, there are
two controls on the front of it controlling intensity and frequency
that I have to fiddle with for maybe 30 sec sometimes before the globe
will activate.
My question is, what causes this behavior and how do I rectify it?
Thanks.
Bad power supply electrolytic capacitor.
Replace it. One possible way to locate
it is if it is bulging. Otherwise, can
you troubleshoot?
There are 3 electrolytics in the unit and I just tested them. All good.
What Liz said suggests cleaning the glass which I am going to be doing
shortly. No water, Windex, or anything of that sort, just dusting off
with a dry cloth.
Another thing I wonder about is the twist in connection between the
plasma bulb and base. Wondering if I could lightly coat the interface
there with something for better conductivity and/or clean it?
Ed