I have one of those u shaped standard xenon flash tubes and in the specifications it says their good for 10,000 flashes!!! What that’s not much considering I wanted it for an rpm meter!!! I can use up 10,000 flashes in seconds!!
Is this figure correct? How do they die do they get dull or just stop working?
Thanks Hayden
Is this figure correct? How do they die do they get dull or just stop working?
Thanks Hayden
Flashtubes come in two 'flavours': those intended for 'one shot' use (e.g. camera flashguns), and those for continuous operation (stroboscopes). Perhaps yours is the wrong sort for your application?
Life expectancy, as with other components, is based on rated output - if they are underrun, the life is likely to be much longer than spec. Similarly, overunning is possible, but severely shortens tube life.
Failure mode depends on the actual tube design and the application but usually involves failure to trigger, but the larger tubes can fail catastrophically, exploding and throwing glass everywhere, so you should use a guard over your tube to be on the safe side.
Life expectancy, as with other components, is based on rated output - if they are underrun, the life is likely to be much longer than spec. Similarly, overunning is possible, but severely shortens tube life.
Failure mode depends on the actual tube design and the application but usually involves failure to trigger, but the larger tubes can fail catastrophically, exploding and throwing glass everywhere, so you should use a guard over your tube to be on the safe side.
The clue is in the application stated: Photographic use
Not really suitable for your application unfortunately. If you do decide to try it, be careful to guard it, as you may well exceed the rated dissipation, which could be messy
I'd suggest finding a more suitable tube - they're not very expensive. Alternatively, you could modify one of the cheap 'disco' strobes. Whichever way you do it, just watch out for charged capacitors and the secondary of the trigger transformer!
Not really suitable for your application unfortunately. If you do decide to try it, be careful to guard it, as you may well exceed the rated dissipation, which could be messy
I'd suggest finding a more suitable tube - they're not very expensive. Alternatively, you could modify one of the cheap 'disco' strobes. Whichever way you do it, just watch out for charged capacitors and the secondary of the trigger transformer!
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