Hi In the (unique) case of the Efratom “light bulb” cell, you can indeed pop them out and replace them. Been there / done that with the (then) factory guys involved. The new bulbs were sold as replacements and did indeed fix the problem of a dead bulb. About the only added work involved was to re-adjust the frequency after it had burned in for a few weeks. Repeating that adjustment process as it was done then would be a bit tough with no Loran :) I still have the Austron, apparently it was well enough cared for as a demo in the UK that it’s survived all these years.
Bob > On Jul 29, 2015, at 11:49 PM, Chuck Harris <cfhar...@erols.com> wrote: > > Hi Mike, > > The Rb lamp voltage is just a guide. If your Rb isn't working, then it > is important... If it is, it is just a guide. > > If your bulb is clear, and it is glowing, it is probably also working. > > I seem to recall from HP's descriptions of how their 5065 was made > that the lamp, and filter cell are a specially matched set. Just any > lamp is not necessarily going to work with any filter cell. > > -Chuck Harris > > Mike Niven wrote: >> Thanks for the comment Bob. Tracing Efratom through the ages, I see they >> are now >> Microsemi. I wonder whether they will still have a lamp for such a >> geriatric Rb >> source and at what price - probably more than the cost of the complete Racal >> 9475? I will follow it up anyway as I hardly ever see working or scrap FRKs >> for >> sale in the UK. -------------------------------------------- >>> On Tue, 28/7/15, Bob Camp wrote: >>> >>> Hi >>> >>> The Efratom bulbs have a “magic mix” of gas in them. The only place I have >>> ever >>> bought them is direct from Efratom. They were fairly expensive back in the >>> early 90’s … >>> >>> Bob >>> >>>> On Jul 28, 2015, at 9:56 AM, Mike Niven <mfniven at ymail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Would anyone know of a source of the Rubidium bulb fitted in the Efratom >>>> FRK >>>> (and probably other FRx) standards? I have repaired and refurbished my >>>> Racal >>>> 9475, which is fitted with the older style FRK (not -H or -L) module. It >>>> is >>>> working properly at present but the lamp voltage is down to 5.5V, which is >>>> below the stated minimum of 6V. I have tried rejuvenating the bulb using a >>>> hot air gun, as described by Corby, but this has had no obvious impact. >>>> Hence, >>>> I have little feel for how much life the existing lamp has left and a spare >>>> would be good for my peace of mind. >>>> >>>> Many thanks. >>>> >>>> Mike _______________________________________________ >> _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- >> time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to >> https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the >> instructions there. >> > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.