Using NE2 bulbs as voltage regulators

bitrex wrote:
> On 8/9/2015 7:36 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
>> Why bother shielding the NE-2s? A bit of radiation or UVA will improve
>> the turn-on performance, and is pretty unlikely to be noticed in
>> operation.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Phil Hobbs
>>
>
> Indeed, I think some glow tubes were manufactured back in the day with a
> small amount of radioactive material to encourage ionization in dark
> environments.
   That was one of the tricks that Victoreen did for their Corotron(TM) 
high voltage regulators.

jurb6006@gmail.com wrote:
>> "Why bother shielding the NE-2s? A bit of radiation or UVA will improve the turn->on performance, and is pretty unlikely to be noticed in operation. "
>
> Wouldn't that change the ionization somehow and thus the intrinsic voltage drop needed to regulate voltage ?
>
> And I say just use one and use resistors like they did in the earlier solid state analog "pass transistor" type regulator controllers.
>
>
   Perhaps you are confusing the striking voltage with the on/regulating 
voltage (different ionization levels,look in Handbook of Chemistry and 
Physics).

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Sun, 9 Aug 2015 04:49:03 +0000 (UTC), "Geoffrey S. Mendelson"
> <gsm@mendelson.com>  wrote:
> (...)
>
> Never mind using neon bulbs as regulators.  Use zener diodes.
>
> 400V High Voltage Regulator.  $7.50
> <http://uraniumrocks.com/collections/cdv-700-parts-and-upgrades/products/400v-high-voltage-regulator-for-cdv-700-use-with-russian-gm-tubes>
>
   Their solid-state HV regulator is a lot noisier than the Codatron(R), 
roughly as bad as the regulators that Titan Industries used to make.

>"   Perhaps you are confusing the striking voltage with the on/regulating 
>voltage (different ionization levels,look in Handbook of Chemistry and 
>Physics). "

Something I never had cause to look into, but if that voltage really is that stable I guess that is sort of the tube equivalent of a Zener diode, bidirectional in fact.