1966 Mag: Build NE-2 Neon Bulb Computer - scan available

[Ethan Dicks]

On 7/28/07, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
> You wrote:
> > Then there were the "bulb savers"--small discs probably containing
> > nothing more than a carbon resistor
>
>    I've seen products that match this description (in the US) that
> contain a diode, which gets placed in series with the bulb.  They
> work great if you like dim yellow light.

Dim, yellow, _flickering_ light.  ;-)

Sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s, my dad made a "light
dimmer" that was just a metal project box, a diode (half-wave
rectifier) and a toggle switch.  Flip the switch for full brightness,
flip again for "dim".  It worked fine, for what it was, but the dim
light wasn't that good to read by.

-ethan