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End-lit glass rod

Hi all,

I need to make a replacement for a decorative neon tube. It's about

3 feet long and has a series of simple bends in it.

This is what the tube's supposed to look like :

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(the colour should really be a bit more pink than that photo shows). It would be possible to get a neon shop to make me a new one, but I'll also have to replace the transformer : it's going to turn out quite expensive. I'm wondering if I can simulate the effect by using a glass or even acrylic rod, and illuminating it from the end with a high power LED or a halogen bulb.

What do you think ? Could I get such a rod to glow like a neon tube ? Would I have to roughen the surface to get it to leak enough light ?

-adrian

Reply to
Adrian Godwin
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my thought is that it will be far more costly to experiment and have someone produce this bent rod for you and get it lit properly, than the cost of the neon procurement would run....... m

Reply to
michele

Maybe you can make a similar alternative using electroluminescent sheet or strip. Not used it myself but it has been around for a few years now and seems to be readily available. From what I have read you can buy sheet material a cut it to suit your needs. Might be worth investigation, google on "electroluminescent sheet" or similar.

Reply to
David Billington

This stuff might do the trick

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Reply to
David Billington

there are certain colored plastic rods that appear to glow, but don't really. they are usually fluorescent dayglo colors.

Reply to
charlie

That was my first thought, but the sample I tried was disappointingly dim. It was quite cheap, though - maybe good stuff is brighter.

Michele is right that I could easily waste as much mucking around with different ideas as getting the right thing to start with, but I thought I could mess around with rod & lamps myself : I don't have the expertise for tubes or the kit for gas-filling, but I could probably bend a solid rod at least well enough to test the idea out.

-adrian

Reply to
Adrian Godwin

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

The one I have is a bit burnt. It appears to be only the primary that's damaged and I may be able to rewind it, but it's hard to say for sure.

-adrian

Reply to
Adrian Godwin

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