6" neons with "transformer" is it necessary???

[Supradude]

Hi Techers

I just got a set of 2 6" neon thin lites from caseetc and i want to use one of them and give the second to my friend. The thing is, they come with a "transformer" type device that the neon tubes plug into. I opened up the box and found there was quite a bit of electrical circuitry in there and it isn't just a voltage splitter. Has anyone here bought a similar set and was able to use each neon tube individually i.e. just disregard the "transformer" box??? T.I.A.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Uh, neon lights don't run off 110v, they run off what, 15, 18 thousand volts? You neeeeeeeeeed the transformer...

edit: said bulbs instead of lights...little neon bulbs will run on like 60 volts or something like that...

 

[sohcrates]

yeah, the transformer is the source of excitation for the neon bars....w/out it, all you have is a glass tube full of transparent gas!

it doesn't surprise me that they would send only 1 transformer for BOTH rods (this makes the most sense economically), so unfortunately, you're stuck with both (or you could be a nice guy and give them BOTH to your friend!)

btw...if your bored sometime, go to a bar and in between songs from the blaring music put your head near a neon sign and listen to the buzzing, that's due to the transformer.