Eagle Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 I have one of those perpetual motion magnetic UFO pendulums ..The cat's go nuts watching it. It does have an onboard batter for four LED lights..I turned it on today, ,no lights..Hmm. Batteries..nope. I take it apart and it's a simple circuit . One 470 ohm resistor and two glass tubes that look like a combo bi-metal strips / fuse assy. Running a voltage ck,,there is no power going thru the switch/fuse ? Both of them. I de-soldered both and ohmed them out. Both open. If I run a jumper wire between both the lights operate..I can't remember if they flashed or not. So why are these installed.There isn't enough load generated by the LED's to trip an analog flasher. And it doesn't need to be a fused circuit. 3 Volts. Why not just install flashing LED's or a 555 timing circuit ? I'm perplexed...I have never seen devices like this. Maybe I can thermal shock them with a heat gun ? Any sparkies out there with knowledge of these tubes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 They remind me of miniature mercury switches, but nowadays, they would be banned from use. Could they have contained some other substance which has evaporated with time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pygar Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Hold a magnet near one- it may be a reed switch not operating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Joe it looks like a switch inside. 2 Metallic bars overlapping like a bimetal strip. But way too thick I have merc switches on the antique boat motors. Wonderful design. The Dakota has a [Green] version on the hood trouble light. It is simply a ball bearing in a viscous fluid..Not near as much fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 It has a pretty strong magnet mounted as the battery cover..You could be right I tapped pretty good on both of them trying to see if I could get any reaction. It does have some familiarity to a reed. I'll ck it tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 I couldn't wait till tomorrow. Went back took it apart. They are reeds. The wires near the contacts I think are used as mechanical stops .I removed the shunts,,I then resoldered the reeds and clocked them relative to the the flux lines they pass thru. One side works,,as I inspected the other closer I found the contact where it passes thru the glass was cracked. So I removed it and run all four lights thru one reed. The last I worked on Reeds was 30 yrs ago on a 747 SELCAL . They didn't look like this. Now days would be a Hal effect or Prox switch. It passed the feline test. Thanks Pygar and Joe ! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pygar Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Pleased I could help! I'll look around a bit, they're rare... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pygar Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 https://www.allelectronics.com/index.php?page=seek&id[m]=pattern&id[q]=reed+switches Dang, I'm good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 YA but did ya read the small print. Thank goodness it only effects people in California.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pygar Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Ah, ya hasta eat bowls and bowls of 'em every day for 40 years for that ta happen! Are ya a man or a Commiefornia mouse!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 We have our share of commies here at home.. I liked it a lot better before the wall came down..We knew where they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinplate6 Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 I remember pulling the covers off of old thermostats and watching the mercury flow and seeing the circuit spark when the heat came on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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