I guess I'm in the minority here.
I've been using CFLs almost exclusively for years before any ban on
incandescents was ever thought of. Outside and special purpose lamps are
still good old Tungsten and I did snag a supply of 100 and 60W "just in
case" ;)
As far as noise issues, bulbs from Philips and Sylvania are the quietest
in my experience and the worst I've found were 23W (100W eq.) store
brand from Wal Mart that could wipe out the MW band for several feet. I
left those in the apartment we moved out of, good riddance. You get what
you pay for. The flood over my desk is about 6 or 7 years old and still
about as bright as a new one. I think I paid about $12 for it back then
but I've gotten my $ worth out of it.
The ones over my desk and bench are Sylvania 26W 6500K reflector/floods
and I have to get my DX-399 within 6" of the base to pick up any noise
on MW. The noisiest lamp in the house is also on my bench, a 6500K
circline in my magnifier lamp. But if it's on I'm working on something
and the radios are off or on a local anyway.
The color temp of a 2700K CFL I find is close to the standard
incandescent and I use them in the living/dining/bedrooms but for close
work the 6500K work best for me. The eye focuses blue light better than
red/yellow and hand soldering semiconductors in SOT-23 packages without
destroying them is fine, fussy work.
The 6500s are in all work areas and it does help my Lady with SAD or
winter depression from lack of sunlight since I changed the bulbs by her
desk and reading lamp.
Through trial and error I've found that a mix of 2 2700s to one 6500
make excellent grow lamps and the 6500s are perfect for a planted
freshwater aquarium. They have enough red to support plant growth
without runaway algae problems and I haven't heard any complaints from
the fish ;)
Do I think CFLs are better overall? Yes.
Do I think everyone should be forced to use them or LED? No.
Back to my soldering iron....
Tim Hills
Sioux Falls, SD
On 12/31/2013 11:11 AM, Bob Young wrote:
I have always liked DXing in the winter time, besides the enhanced DX
opportunities I like the heat given off by my old boatanchors. Nothing like
listening to a central american AM station with a 26 tube R-390A under a lamp
with a 60 watt incandescent bulb in it! Call the environmental police! haha! I
used to listen to RJR with an HRO-60 and along with the reggae music I really
felt like I was in Jamacia.
Bob Young
Millbury, Ma
KB1OKL
From: mikesanb...@hotmail.com
To: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 04:42:25 -0800
Subject: Re: [IRCA] [NRC-AM] OT Light bulbs
Good observation. An incandescent light bulb does have striking similarities to
those vacuum tubes from years gone by. They say that much of the energy given
off by classic bulbs is wasted as heat. On the other hand, many folks who use
the LED lights complain of headaches from the brightness. ms
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