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Re: VICTOREEN SGCA-2500D



At 08:40 29/05/99 -0600, you wrote:
>Original Poster: "B**2" <bensonbd-at-erols-dot-com> 
>
>Hi All,
>    Measured some of the spark gap tubes sold by ALL and got the
>following voltage breakdown measurements*
>TUBE#_______BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE KV__________________
>__1___________________2.75 Kv__________________________
>__2___________________2.5 Kv___________________________
>__3___________BETWEEN 2.75 AND 3 Kv___________________
>__4___________BETWEEN 2 AND 2.25 Kv___________________
>__5___________BETWEEN 2.5 AND 2.75 Kv__________________
>
>These seem to be within the 10%  manufacturers tolerance.  On the tube
>is written "Ni-63".  I suspected this to mean a radiactive isotope of
>nickel.  I checked it out with my "Chernobel" (sp) radiation detector.
>I got clicks every 5 to 10 seconds.  As a reference I get clicks once
>a second from a thoriated tungsten rod purchased at a local welding
>shop.  Does anyone know if the "D" in the label stands for deuterated?
>If it is, these would be the ultimate spark gaps!  They seem to be
>fairly rugged.  It would be interesting to get some switching
>waveforms with a 0.01 uF or larger capacitor.
>
>    All has 2500 in stock.  They will sell 50 for a price break of
>$50.  The remainder of the label says Cleveland Ohio  Made in the
>U.S.A.
>
>    *The Hi Potting was done with a Hipotronics Hi Pot tester model
>HD-100 set on its lowest scale.

Hi b**2,all

	Victoreen products have a web site at 

http://www.inovision-dot-com/IRM/products_victoreen.htm

can't find "our" spark gaps in the catalogue though. might be worth
e-mailing them for a spec. 
I have ordered 20 of them from all electronics to try and torture them to
death. well near death anyway. One problem might be that if they are
designed for low duty cycle use ie surge protection, they might not last
long in a coil tank circuit. What I am planning to do is try and sort them
into voltage breakdown categories of say 1 or 2 % and run them in parallel
to try and keep the current density down. Anybody see anything I might have
missed?. I looked up ni-63 and got the following : half life 100 years.
beta emitter 63.88 Kev max 17.13 kev ave. it appears to be non hazardous,
but if one of our health physics would like to comment..
If they don't work, hey we can always go back to the plumbing off cuts.

regards 

bob golding