CompuServe Thread

UV Lamp failed on trip

3 messages in this thread
#119195From: Bill Webb /CAJan 28, 1994 12:23 AM
Doug.. My experience (see other messages) with the battery does suggest it is not so good. I figured the cigarette lighter port would be a good way to check. Found that the battery had lost energy down to zero over a couple of days, without use. So I plugged in the cigarette lighter output and you have by now read the rest. With the battery removed the led's now light with the 12 vdc lighter output. But the tubes don't light. They still perform okay in AC mode. Bill
#119503From: Doug MitchellJan 30, 1994 10:21 PM
Hi, Bill– It sounds like there must be a bad inverter or a bad connection, probably inside where you cannot get at it without risking the warranty. It is surprising that my suspicions about the battery were correct and the lamp is _also_ bad. That is a curious coincidence unless the battery managed to damage the lamp – did you look for small traces of leakage? What brand is the battery? You said you tried the lamp before the trip – did that include battery power? Count a strike against that model if we ever get enough info from enough people to compose consumer reports on UV lamps. –Doug
#119622From: Bill Webb /CAJan 31, 1994 11:03 PM
Doug.. Returned the lamp and talked with the fellow at Fluorescent Minerals. He said they've had nothing but trouble with that model and assured me it would be replaced. Evidently there is now another manufacturer's product that does the same stuff and costs the same, and that is what they are currently shipping. So that is what I will be getting. The battery, as far as I can remember now, it having gone to San Gabriel, is that it was some kind of generic (no name) thing. Hell of a note just as I was getting back into prospecting shape. Bill