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Re: STOCK UP ON NSTs FOR Y2K!!!!

Hi Nathan,

Yep!  We know about it.  Check the archives for the thread "Defeat the SGFP
Transformers!".  

We are hoping they will be really screwed up and "fail" all the time.
Instead of using a fuse or something simple, they will probably have all
kinds of electronics that will fail under hot, cold, temp cycling, high
voltage, transients, dissolve in tar ;-))...  Thus, we will see many
perfectly good transformers that just need the stupid relay or, whatever,
bypassed. 

Like Y2K, we will have to wait to see how much of a problem it is.  Right
now, it looks like it may help us more than hurt.  It just adds another
reason for the sign guys to give us a "bad" neon that is easy to fix.  The
basic neon transformer can't change much, so this goofy safety thing will
probably be an added PC board somewhere that we will have to dig into and
"fix".  We have x-ray, surgical equipment, hammers, etc. at the ready.  If
anybody runs across one of these, let us know and we'll get to finding the
fix.  

It sounds like this regulation may possibly supply us with an endless
supply of almost new transformers.  I wonder if any of the neon pros out
there have seen these yet??

Some links:
www.transco-neon-dot-com
http://www.neonshop-dot-com/neonweb/
www.franceformer-dot-com

Cheers,

	Terry


At 02:29 PM 12/27/1999 -0800, you wrote:
>Dear EVERYBODY
>
>I was just on an NST trip and picked up 4 15/30s and a 15/60 (wahoo!) and 
>found out from the man at the Portland Sign and Neon Co, Portland, OR that 
>in the next two years, due to new government regulations regarding high 
>voltage commercial NSTs,
>
>ALL NSTs THAT WORK IN TESLA COILS WILL BE PHASED OUT AND REPLACED WITH NEW 
>NSTs WITH SPECIAL CIRCUIT BREAKERS THAT ARE AUTOMATICALLY THROWN WHEN THE 
>NST IS RUN UNDER ITS MAX OUTPUT VOLTAGE!!! THIS MAKES THE TRANSFORMERS 
>OVERHEAT AND FAIL!!!
>
>I don't know if you will be able to bypass the internal circuit breaker by 
>depotting and rebuilding or not, but apparently to reduce the risk of fires 
>in neon signs due to running them with an NST with an output bigger than the 
>sign's load, (apparently in the sign industry this is done quite often) new 
>NSTs with an internal circuit breaker will be mandatory.  NSTs like we all 
>know and love will still be produced for two years, but after that 
>apparently all NSTs will have to have the breaker.
>
>They are still producing them for two years so that neon sign repairmen can 
>run a sign with a convenient transformer (if the sign is not working) and 
>quickly check for shorts.  Some of the new NSTs have a button you can push 
>to bypass the breaker for 30 minutes, but most of them won't.  SO if a neon 
>sign doesn't work, the repairman must take out the transformer with the 
>breaker, put in an old one to check for shorting, fix it, and put the new 
>one back in.
>
>I am not exactly clear on how or why the breaker works, but the man at the 
>Portland NST company said that it when it is thrown it makes the transformer 
>overheat itself and stop working.
>
>I will try to keep everyone posted as I learn more and understand better.  
>Perhaps some more source checking will be required...
>
>This could impact Tesla Coiling as we know it!!
>
>BTW, has anyone else heard about this....?
>
>For now, STOCK UP ON NSTs WHILE YOU CAN STILL GET THEM!!!
>
>Regards, Nathan Ball
>
>PS. thanks for warning me about the Fluke! You all probably saved my butt! 
>I'm sure i would have fried it...
>
>
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