DON'T THROW OUT THAT LIGHT BULB !!!

[rotylee]

Maine law does not allow fluorescent bulbs, including CFLs, to be disposed of in the trash because they contain a small amount of mercury.

[obelix]

how does one go about opening these bulbs?

[demonstar]

how does one go about opening these bulbs?

I also noticed the ones we have here in the U.K. have no screw. They appear to be sealed.

[Dragonfly]

Theres a ridge (see photo) around the base - if you carefully insert a flathead screwdriver in the ridge and twist it sideways, you should be able to pry the top and bottom apart. Sometimes you have to do this in a few places to separate the parts.

[demonstar]

Theres a ridge (see photo) around the base - if you carefully insert a flathead screwdriver in the ridge and twist it sideways, you should be able to pry the top and bottom apart. Sometimes you have to do this in a few places to separate the parts.

Thanks, I got you. Now I've just got to wait for a bulb to die. 

[frequencycentral]

...................I can see legions of DIYers sitting in darkened rooms building effects..................

[McGhie]

Oh wow Dragonfly (and the people who started tinkering with this!!!) this is just fantastic! You made my day with this thread!

...................I can see legions of DIYers sitting in darkened rooms building effects..................

[col]

how does one go about opening these bulbs?

See Dragonfly's answer but some are glued and you can't prise them apart. To avoid poutting strain on the bulb and potentally breaking the glass part containing the nastys I go around the seal with a junior hacksaw, then you need to cut the two wires that go from the circuit board to the bottom of the glass part. The bottom of the bulb complete with circuit board than falls away. You then unclip or unscrew the circuit board and cut the wires that go to the terminals. Then the scavanging starts!!!!

[Fl!P]

I was looking at this picture of CF ballast and saw those 2 carby comp resistors and thought:
Woah, mojo!


Also, I tried using the transistors I found (13003, designed specifically for ballast) and they only half worked.
I used them in a NPN Fuzzface circuit with 'Roger Mayer mods'. They have gains of 17 and 20.
It really didn't sound any good, crackley with no sustain.

Though, If I get a breadboard, I'll see if I can get a decent sound out of them/bias them.

[GREEN FUZ]

I`m amazed you can get so many useful parts out of these bulbs. I`m also surprised that there aren`t any SMD`s.

[runmikeyrun]

you forgot something...They also have Mercury inside them.

Andrew K, this is how he came to be insane enough to figure this out!

j/k, this is a great idea.  How can you test the transformers to find out what application they can be used for?

[ambulancevoice]

now, whoever is first to reuse the pcb gets extra brownie points

even more if you reuse the bulb and its base

[col]

I was thinking about this last night. What actually goes when one of these stops working as so far I've not pulled anything from the circuits that doesn't work?

[slacker]

I was wondering that as well, presumably like with normal fluorescent strip lights it's the tube that goes not the electronics.

[asfastasdark]

Could someone trace the PCB of one of these lamps, and make a schematic? I wanna see what effects me or other people can come up with... lol. It's worth a try.

[col]

"Could someone trace the PCB of one of these lamps, and make a schematic? I wanna see what effects me or other people can come up with... lol. It's worth a try"

All the ones I've had have had a different circuit from different manufacturers so it might not be that useful. If I get one soon I might try and do it.

[comfortably_numb]

How would one go about testing for the pin-out of the transistors?  R.G.'s site has an article on gain testing, yes?

Thanks,
Joey

[frank_p]

How would one go about testing for the pin-out of the transistors?  R.G.'s site has an article on gain testing, yes?

Thanks,
Joey

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/semitest.htm

[asfastasdark]

Just imagine popping two transistors found in the bulb into an OD circuit, and you get amazing tone, all from some obscure industrial transistor that no one has ever heard of! 

[oldrocker]

I use those bulbs in my magnifying light when building pedals.  Recycling at its finest.