Osborne Vixen - Zenith 7" display t-shooting issues

[Chuck Guzis]

On 11/08/2014 08:43 AM, drlegendre . wrote:

> A few weeks ago, I had to put a new AC cord on a Luxo magnifier lamp, the
> type with the 20W circular fluorescent tube. I was really surprised to find
> nothing but an iron-core choke in the base.. no starter device, nada.. just
> a choke in series with the line cord (and the lamp) I assume. It +is+ the
> type where you must hold down the power button for a moment to light it, so
> perhaps that's a (manual?) starting mechanism. But in any case, I was a
> little puzzled that's all there was to it, so to speak.

Yup, the inductive "kick" is enough to reach the firing voltage of the 
fluorescent lamp.  You can get rid of the annoying "push and hold" 
phenomenon by replacing the switch that temporarily completes the heater 
circuit with an inexpensive "starter" unit.

-Chuck