Flourescent light flicker

[puffpio]

I've heard that flourescent lights flicker because they since in the US, our AC power cycles at 60Hz, the lights then flicker at 60Hz. Unfortunately our eyes can pick up on it and fatigues us.

Can flourescent lights be setup to run off of DC power and just put a power supply or something to convert the AC to DC? Or maybe a converter to up the frequency of the AC from 60hz to 100hz? I'm not an EE major or electrician, but do these solutions make sense?

 

[Borracho]

my lights only flicker when they are about to go out

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Borracho
my lights only flicker when they are about to go out

Or when the balast is about to die.

 

[Bootprint]

Some lights have a ballast to prevent this I believe.

 

[Fiveohhh]

I don't think so you could probably get it to run at 100Hz if you knew what you were doing, but not sure if 100Hz would still be bothersome or not. but they do flicker at 60Hz or so like you said

 

[Fiveohhh]

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Some lights have a ballast to prevent this I believe.

I think All flourscent lights have a ballast

 

[DurocShark]

VHO lighting works better...

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Fiveohhh
I don't think so you could probably get it to run at 100mhz if you knew what you were doing, but not sure if 100mhz would still be bothersome or not. but they do flicker at 60mhz or so like you said

60MHz, eh?

 

[Xionide]

OVERCLOCK IT!

-Xionide

 

[Fiveohhh]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Fiveohhh
I don't think so you could probably get it to run at 100mhz if you knew what you were doing, but not sure if 100mhz would still be bothersome or not. but they do flicker at 60mhz or so like you said

60MHz, eh?

hehe you can tell what my mind is tracked on 60Hz

 

[Heisenberg]

Modern ballasts increase the frequency of the AC and eliminate flicker, so it shouldn't be a problem unless you're using old hardware.

 

[OZEE]

Most of the (expensive) electronic ballasts switch at faster than 60Hz (I think perhaps 400 Hz??) However, if you're using the older-style ballasts, they're stuck at line frequency, which is 60Hz in North America

 

[Fiveohhh]

Originally posted by: OZEE
Most of the (expensive) electronic ballasts switch at faster than 60Hz (I think perhaps 400 Hz??) However, if you're using the older-style ballasts, they're stuck at line frequency, which is 60Hz in North America

Thanks for the info.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Those $5.99 screw-into-socket fluorescent bulbs runs at thousands of Hz.

As a downside, they interfere with AM radio sometimes.

 

[CraigRT]

i hate fluorescent lights for that reason... ouch

 

[nakedfrog]

Kilohertz?


O, it hertz!

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Fiveohhh

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Some lights have a ballast to prevent this I believe.

I think All flourscent lights have a ballast

In some form or another. I think one of the shoplights in the garage has a small transformer on each end. I suppose you could liken that to a magnetic (read: junk) ballast. I know it flickers like crazy.

 

[beer]

Well, like others have said, modern flourescents don't flicker. If you have older hardware that flickers you're probably SOL, I don't know of a way to increase frequency without modifying the current/voltage relationships.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: beer
Well, like others have said, modern flourescents don't flicker. If you have older hardware that flickers you're probably SOL, I don't know of a way to increase frequency without modifying the current/voltage relationships.

The one in my dorm room don't flicker at all.

It takes two bulbs and they're thinner than what you put in shop light, but still 4ft long.

 

[Pepsi90919]

fluorescent light is cold and useless for anything.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
fluorescent light is cold and useless for anything.

But they seldom burn out.