Bulb in children's clock 12V 50mA MES

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fathertobe

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Ok. We have this clock.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KIDSLEEP-Night-Light-Alarm-Blue/dp/B000KGAGMG

First, stop laughing at the price. An incredible rip, I know but sleep is priceless.

Anyway, the problem is that the bulbs keep blowing - like one every month or so. What happens is the clock gets a knock, the bulb suddenly starts burning more brightly and then within a few weeks, it's gone.

The problem is really common. The manufacturer, of course, isn't interested. Except to supply a pack of four bulbs for an additional £6. (RRP of bulb is about 10p each!)

The bulb is the above spec. Or see here:

http://www.soundlightuk.com/shop/pr...MES-Screw-Fitting-Bulb.-Tubular-Envelope.html

My question is: What can I do about this problem? Do I need to replace with exactly the same power-rated bulb? Obv. it needs to be 12V but otherwise what are my options?

And for bonus points, what's causing the problem?

Many thanks if you can help (or have even read this far).
 
Stop knocking it over - filament lamps do not like the shock of a hefty thump or bang (unless they are of the rough service variety)
Buy the same type of lamp from somewhere cheaper and replace when you have to. Maybe put some foam tape on the back to absorb shocks that way ??? Or move it to where it won't get knocked over.....
 
fathertobe said:
Ok. We have this clock.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KIDSLEEP-Night-Light-Alarm-Blue/dp/B000KGAGMG

First, stop laughing at the price. An incredible rip, I know but sleep is priceless.
Click to expand...

Think yourself lucky you don't have a bit of a 'thing' for Nixie tubes. I wish my bedside clock was as cheap as that... :P

fathertobe said:
Many thanks if you can help (or have even read this far).
Click to expand...

Gblades is spot on about shock damaging the lamp, and an LED should cure the problem.
 
Standard dash lamp bulb in a car is 2.2w and 13.2 volt these will likely last longer as slightly over voltage but may be too big at 150ma you would need to check. R987 is part number.
 
A 2.2W will be brighter and hotter than the 600mW he has now - it might damage something.

The LED is definitely worth trying - could go for a coloured one.

Or maybe a torch bulb? They might be made to better withstand knocks.

fathertobe - can you get at the internal wiring? Another option might be to put a brighter lamp in and solder a resistor in series to knock it back a bit - if it runs less hot it will be more robust.
 
electronicsuk said:
Think yourself lucky you don't have a bit of a 'thing' for Nixie tubes. I wish my bedside clock was as cheap as that...
Click to expand...
Last year I bought this lot on eBay for 99p:

97161.jpg


I may not need it all as test equipment (I didn't actually want most of it), so I may end up cannibalising the one next to the bottom and building myself a Nixie tube clock.... :D
 
ban-all-sheds said:
I may not need it all as test equipment (I didn't actually want most of it), so I may end up cannibalising the one next to the bottom and building myself a Nixie tube clock.... :D
Click to expand...

I'll try and contain my excitement :lol:

I have to admit to cheating a little with mine - I ended up buying and building up a kit, as for what it cost, it made a lot more sense than starting from scratch. The nicely machined enclosure that came with the kit would have probably cost more for me to construct as a one-off than it did to buy the entire kit...

Still, IN-18s with 18mm digit height FTW :)
 
Adam_151 said:
What did the missus say when that lot got delivered to the house? :lol:
Click to expand...
She's sort of used to it.

And I had to collect it.

It was a genuine "ah - that wasn't in the plan" moment. The guy had all that for sale, with a BIN option. I thought I might be interested in 1 or 2 of the items, so to kill off the BIN option while I decided if I was I stuck in the minimum bid of 99p.

Nobody else bid, and I ended up with the lot. Anybody want to buy a Levell frequency generator and mV meter? I've now got 3 of each.....
 
electronicsuk said:
I have to admit to cheating a little with mine - I ended up buying and building up a kit, as for what it cost, it made a lot more sense than starting from scratch. The nicely machined enclosure that came with the kit would have probably cost more for me to construct as a one-off than it did to buy the entire kit...

Still, IN-18s with 18mm digit height FTW :)
Click to expand...
Yo - I prefer those to the end-on stylie

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-6-Tube-N...pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item5192ba89b6
 

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