Try to leave middle filaments connection on the ballast open. These usually are not checked by lamp presence/EOL circuit. It all depends on the ballast topology of course, some variants run 2x36W lamps in parallel, so won't run one single long lamp at all. Somewhat crappy looking modern Chinese Wonder Philips Certalume of mine is really omnivorous in this regard, will try to drive pretty much everything from single 18W T8 to 18W SOX to 2X36 to your long tube at 320 milliamps)

 

I'm trying to get a 240cm long 85w lamp running - Marcel generously gave one to me. He runs them on an 80-something watt electronic driver and i've seen this specific lamp running, but i'm trying to get one working with whatever i have sitting around.
I've been trying to fool a 2x 36w electronic driver into running - and i actually got the lamp running for a few seconds but the system i use to fool the driver into running (putting a resistor in place of the missing filaments) does not work properly. Works for Philips drivers, not for the Osram i'm currently trying. Somehow it just keeps on dumping current through the 'fake filament' resistor or the little light bulb i used until either starts to smoke. Philips just gently glows a 6,3v 500mA lamp.

I have no success in running it on 2x 36/40w chokes parallel, nor with a 100w (meant for almost 1a of current for 200cm long sun tanning lamps), nor from a 50/80w HPL-N choke. In either case it flickers and the ends glow up but does not run.
I'm starting to think these 85w 178v lamps were not supposed to run from 220/230v mains via just a choke ballast - but rather 380/400v. On 230v, just too little voltage difference between mains and the 178v running voltage of this type of lamp. Is this correct?

EDIT
seems to be a 85w RS lamp intended for starterless operation. In the attachment the wiring diagram for it according to the 1965 catalog. I assume the ballast is something that steps up the voltage. I couldn't read the RS on the etch, it's almost gone.

I have a bad feeling that this is going to become an argument…

Oh ok… maybe 🤔… I will think about it…

@Maxim
That as well has been a problem of mine, I usually just do what comes to mind without thinking about how it would look to other people. Of course that can be good and bad, but in my experience mostly bad.

@HomeBrewLamps — no offense Owen, but didn't you step down as a moderator? And thus, rule enforcement does not fall on your shoulders any longer?

And why are you so offended that Alex and I exchanged some VERY docile criticisms? Evidenced by Alex's first reply, he understood exactly what I was getting at. So why is that when one says hurty words the wee woo police  come out?? It's not even you in most cases, this has happened before, particularly with Rudy.

I mean, inherently lamp bans are political discussions. In all senses of the word, that is exactly what they are— decisions made by political figureheads. So I find it odd that we cannot even bring up politics when the topic at hand is literally that.

And I can imagine bias from the mediating side can affect things too... not saying you are, but no one is completely non-partisan.

And you say people leave when someone can't get along. Well, I disagree, and I think occasionally hosting productive conversation regarding personal opinions is healthy and a good way of avoiding echo-chamber insanity. Have a look at Reddit, for example.

I'm sorry if this thread took a turn though. And I do understand that this should've been done through DMs. But my reasoning stands that Alex has done some bizarre things that could warrant some annoyance.

https://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=8162&pos=43&pid=258144

I couldn’t find any revolutions

Oh alright then 

Just look it up on the gallery, do that for any light that you're unsure about. @Maxim has a photo on his gallery.