Anyone off to VCF-UK

Tony Duell [ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk] wrote: OK. A "rough service" bulb is what you want. That's a filament light bulb to you and me but you can drop it a few more times before it becomes a candidate for immediate landfill. A quick check online suggests that instead of ~40p you'll end up paying ~?2 but if you only use it for servicing gear (and you're not too clumsy) then I presume the slight increase in cost probably isn't a big deal. What they sell them for and what you do with them are different things. AFAIK the legislation doesn't stop you buying a carpet and using it as wallpaper (or buying a rough service bulb intended to light up the local mechanic's workshop and then sticking it in a lampholder at home). I don't think it even matters if you walk in and say "I want a rough service bulb and I'm going to take it home, stick it in a domestic lampholder and read a schematic by it all night long". It's not even theoretically illegal for them to sell it to you under those circumstances or for you to purchase it and use it under those circumstances. As long as the box holds no more than two bulbs and the box says "not for domestic use" (or some similar restrictions) they can sell them and you can buy them all day long. How long they'll be commercially available depends (I presume) on how long commercial premises keep needing them (which I presume depends on how long it takes for a viable LED based lamp to appear at a sensible price). At that point you'll need to design a suitable replacement; but I wouldn't worry just yet. (Hey, leaded solder is still easily available). Antonio