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On 5/1/18 8:06 PM, Bert Hickman wrote:
David and all,
These 120 mA beasts were indeed used for lighting, but not for neon
signs. They're "cold cathode" transformers. They used to be quite
popular for indirect "cove lighting" for high-end homes and numerous
commercial buildings. The gas tubes were larger-diameter (18, 20, and
25mm) argon-mercury vapor tubes with various phosphor colors. Think long
straight or custom curved neon sign tubes, on steroids. The higher
discharge current provided brighter illumination needed for indirect
lighting applications. Google images of "cold cathode cove lighting" to
see examples of this lighting technique.
and clearly for big industrial/commercial - 277V is the voltage you get
to neutral when connected in wye/star on a 480 delta service. You get
that in factories and fairly big kinds of places where they're running
big motors and such. A "light industrial/office" tends to go more 208/120.
I used to run across 277V ballasts for various kinds of lighting (HID,
fluorescent) for factories and such.