Does any one know if it is possible to make a fluorescent light flicker (that creepy old hospital atmosphere). All of the flicker products I have seen say not to use them on fluorescent bulbs.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Flicker fluorescent?
Collapse
X
-
I work with fluorescent bulbs in my line of work. If you twist them just right in their sockets you can get them to flicker. You'll hear a buzzing electrical sound. If you twist them all the way in they will stay on. But just right before they fully go into socket, stop. They should stay in to place. SHOULD~Bill Mlinac
The Deadland Haunted House
www.facebook.com/Deadlandhauntedhouse
www.Thedeadland.comsigpic
Comment
-
We made dummy ones using the clear tubes sold to protect the bulbs from dropping glass when they burst. We fogged them with a dash of flat white and fogged them with flat black on the ends. The flashing was made using a regular small bulb inserted in one end and a flicker generator. They looked great in a dark room.
MattListen to them, Children of the night. Oh what music they make.
Comment
-
There is another way to do this...if you wire a resistor or a device that would act like a resistor in series with the fluorescent lamp, then it will cause the light to randomly flicker on and off. I have used a standard light bulb and that limits the amount of current that gets to the ballast, if you use too high a wattage bulb, there will eventually be a break-even point and the fluorescent will stay lit, if you use too low a wattage, not enough current will get to the ballast so nothing will happen. You have to use trial and error to get it just right, or at least thats what i did. You can also try wiring a dimmer (potentiometer) to the light, that may work as well...i also painted the lamps with a light green color so they wouldnt be as bright and would have that "fluorescent camera on film" look. Just note that all this on and off will wear the life out of your lamps and ballasts really quickly.
Matt I like your idea, sounds like it worked pretty good.Nate Mitchell|creative consultant
[n8 creative studios]
Comment
-
Greg (and anybody else who is interested), we decided to do the fake bulb method. We took fluorescent fixtures (no bulbs) that had a plastic cover. We rigged low watt regular bulbs inside (one bulb worked well, made it look like the other one had burned out). We lightly sprayed the cover with black spray paint to age it and put them on a flicker system. They look pretty good.
Comment
Comment