11-14 I E S LIGHTING HANDBOOK

Electric Discharge Lamp Signs

An electric discharge lamp sign usually is an exposed lamp type of sign
since, in practically all cases, such signs utilize unshielded tubing. Tube
signs are constructed of gas-filled glass tubing which, when subjected to
high voltage, becomes luminescent in a color characteristic of the particular
gas used or of the fluorescent phosphors coated on its inner wall.
Fluorescent tubing may be made to emit almost any desired color by
mixing different phosphors. Most colors have a higher lumen output-per-
watt rating than the gaseous tubing without a fluorescent coating.
Color. Color produced by any one of these gases may be modified by
using colored glass tubing, which will transmit only certain colors.
Gases employed. Table 11-G lists some of the gases which may be used
and the color of light produced by each.
A typical tube sign and its wiring are shown in Fig. 11-13.
FIG. 11-13. Typical tube sign wiring.
Effective range. The range of effectiveness for advertising purposes of
tube signs is approximately the same as that of exposed lamp signs of the
same size, color, and brightness: 250 feet to several miles.
Legibility. For block letters of a width equal to three-fifths of their
height, the minimum letter height that will be legible to most people at
given distances is stated in Table 11-7, for red tubing. When colors other
than red are employed, distances given in Table 11-7 should be reduced.
The necessary reduction in the case of blue tubing is 25 per cent; in the case
of green tubing, it is 35 per cent.
For a given letter height, the corresponding letter and stroke width may
be determined from those proportions given in Table 11-1, page 11-4.
Tubing sizes. Standard sizes of tubing for signs range from 9 to 15
millimeters, outside diameter, but larger tubing is available.
Transformers. Several forms of high-leakage-reactance type trans-
formers are manufactured to supply the high voltage necessary to start
and operate sign tubing. This voltage is of the order of 5,000 to 15,000
volts. After a tube sign is lighted, one-third to one-half of the starting
voltage is necessary to keep it operating. The usual range of operating
current for tube signs is between 10 and 50 milliamperes.
Table 11-8 gives the maximum lengths of tubing which may be operated
satisfactorily on various transformers. The values given represent the
average of data published by several manufacturers,