At first I thought that "making a transmitter from a CFL (Compact Flourescent Lamp) would at last be a plasma antenna experiment since flourescent lamps are plasma generators, but that 's not what it was. I heard about it on "This Week in Amateur Radio" and here's the link
http://mjrainey.googlepages.com/dasderelicht
ill have to do that sometime.
Wich in my house could be pretty soon since for some odd reason we go through lightbulbs fast around here ive replaced a few with these cfl's.
I think all the incandescents seem to blow out a lot in my home it must have something to do with the cheap wiring used in some mobile homes.
Ill just have to remember to stick a post it note on my computer desk so i dont throw that cfl out when it does blow out.
Anyways great idea.
Carl,
Nice find and thanks for sharing. The thing that struck me was the old mica caps which were shown in the picture of the protoboard circuit. Us old timers remember those and can even read the color code! It even looks as if the author used telephone trunk wire to extend the leads. That brings back memories.
Sometimes useful parts can be found in surprising places and this is a good example. It is nice to see the "hacker" spirit demonstrated once again.
Neil
Though im only 41 and may have never used those, a good friend of mine used them because of his poor eyesight and because he had alot of them laying around the shack.
Most of his creations were hideous but boy could he talk, he was a die-hard cb'er. I could be anywhere in Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and hear his clean loud audio on Am and so did the rest of the world lol.
I told my wife about this article and she told me to get the cfl's out of the lamps around the house, she hates those things.
Not enough clean light from those bulbs, so it looks like ill be getting a breadboard and start tinkering again. I even thought about ripping up an old zenith color tv we have not used since we bought our HD TV set.
Should be alot of good parts in that old tv.