Hey Everyone,

     I'm new here and think the idea of a reproduction RF fixture is a great idea.

     My $0.02 is that using two F40T8s on independent T8 IS ballasts is the way to go.  These are readily available parts and the only missing piece is a "blinker" box to independently blink the power to the two ballasts to mimic preheat.  Larry, if your blinking strategy doesn't work out I can design a small electronic module to do this.

     While not the best thing for the lamps and ballasts, I don't think blinking a couple times on start-up will be too bad.  My wife has an art studio lit with two 2x32W T8 fixtures.  They originally had cheap, tiny ballasts that only heat one end of the tube.  One died recently so I replaced it with a standard 2 lamp T8 IS ballast.  These lights get cycled at least 4 times a day and they have had the original lamps for at least 4 years.  Based on this, I think the idea of blinking them should still give reasonable lamp life.

      Anyway, just my thoughts, and I hope this works out well for you.  I think between antique car/gas station memorabilia collectors and WWII collectors and museums, this fixture could have a lot of appeal.


Yeah I thought about a down sized 40 watt RF fixture also, but while it would look good, it would not be like the original. I figure if going to all the expense, might as well make a full sized fixture.
The RF fixture is really a odd size of six foot with a five foot bulb and being different is a plus in this case, the more different the better and anyone that has ever seen one of these big beasts remembers it for sure.
It was the SHO fixture of its day, as far as I can tell it was the first high output fluorescent fixture ever made.

As far as the blinking part on startup, it was just an idea to check the feasibility of it.
I have gained so many good ideas from everyone here, it has pointed me to a more clear vision of which way to go.

I am still in the thinking stage as it is cheaper to make mistakes on paper than in the work shop.

Thanks.

BTW I am new here too.

@mbulb146:
Building anything for yourself could be quite easy, but when selling it, you have to face the mandatory certification and there we are talking about $1000's per model. Quite out of reach, unless you are ready to sell 100's of pieces of the same model.

What could be easier, is the use of an of-the-shelf SELV (e.g. 12VDC) power supply and then do all the effects with LED's hidden inside a 5foot long, 10/8 inch diameter glass tube. As all the custom stuff will be at the safe voltage, there is no such certification burden anymore. But the down side, that does not look as authentic as the real fluorescent.

I don't know how exactly it works in the US, but in Europe if you sell a kit, the requirements are exactly the same as when you were selling the final assembled unit, so selling that as a kit won't help as much. In the Europe it will be even way worse, as some lawyer may start to ask "How did you ensured, the user will assemble it correctly?" And that mean you have to have to submit the kit to a study assessing all the risks, what to pass is just a plain hypothetical possibility.