My T5 make a noise when connected to a Radio Shack timer.

WingoAgency

I am planning to make a controller to control the T5 so I first want to test them with a Radio shack electronic timer.· But After I connect the T5 to the lamp module of the timer, it(the T5)·make a noise when power up.· Why is that?

Note: the T5 I am using·have 3 prongs·plug, not the more common 2 prongs ones

Thanks in advance.

WingoAgency

I found the problem. I connect the Radio Shack lamp module which does not have power for the T5 ballast. When go back to the appliance module everything works fine. I wonder what's the difference bewteen the two modules internally?

Bruce Bates

Wingo -

Lamp modules were only intended for incandescent lamps, and should be so labelled. This is because lamp modules permit dimming, and you can not dim a fluorescent lamp without a special ballast.

Appliance modules contain nothing more than a small relay inside. Appliance modules can not be dimmed and thus can be used for most any type of load.

Had you used the words "fluorescent lamp" instead of "T5", or even used the fluorescent designator "FxxT5", you would have had this answer yesterday within 5 minutes of when you posted it. I sold all sorts of lamps for over 20 years, and I never heard fluorescent lamps generically described only by the size of the glass envelope. Do you call an ordinary 60 watt incandescent bulb an A19 when you want to describe it?

Regards,

Bruce Bates

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WingoAgency

Thanks for the tips on the proper naming conventions. I come from the reefing community where we call T5 fluorescent lamp as "T5" and Power Compact fluorescent lamp as "PC" and Metal Halide as "MH" .......

Post Edited (WingoAgency) : 9/29/2007 7:44:38 AM GMT