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Here's a sign we I did for an old longtime client who asked me to remove one of my favorite little signs that I did for him a couple of years ago and replace it with a much larger wall sign. This time around I got the opportunity to get some very good advice from Sean (Fishing Nut) and Gary Nutting from this board in the early on stages of the project. In the end it swung another direction with color and the project got finalized with Tecnolux's Ruby Red pumped argon in 12mm for the lettering and their 4500 Tri-phosphor white in a fat 18mm for the outer border for that subtle accent look on the border. Ruby Red does NOT appear to be an easy product to order right now. From what I was told this factory direct order was the last for a while, how long can be anyone's guess. The Tecnolux Tri-4500 was a factory mfg direct order as well. Just like anything, if you work with neon plan on ALL your orders to be mfg direct be it FMS, EGL, or Tecnolux because not many sign suppliers stock neon anymore. In order. The removal of my favorite little neon sign. While we were on site for the sign removal we just went ahead and drilled the new signs mounting holes with a roll of my favorite Westrim gridded pattern paper. Some fresh from fab pics. My fab guy wasn't happy with me This raceway/cabinet we divided into three parts, the top two and bottom smaller cab. It just made it easier for me to move around, paint, and install since sign fabrication and installation is not my full time gig anymore. The universal access doors complete with clips The railing system for the easy transformer mounting and any future servicing

Came across this bit of news, thought it was interesting enough to post here

LIGHTNING DEAL - 100 NOVAGLO ELECTRODES $44.25 Right now for a limited time and with limited quantity we're having a Lightning Deal on high quality iron shell, pure ceramic collar 15mm, 13mm, and 12mm Lead Free Novaglo Electrodes. 100 Tubulated, or non-tubulated boxes only $44.25 each + shipping Novaglo Brochure.pdf To place an order you can buy direct from our cart LINK For inquires or orders you can call us at (858) 880-1400 or email us at orders@thesignsyndicate.com

Now that the results from our testing are public and made available to anyone in the electric sign industry, what is your favorite light source and which do you stick to in the following categories? 1. High Powered White, Neon or LED. Modules that are .85 watts and higher. 2. Mini to mid sized LED''s, .85watts an below? 3. What is your favorite RED LED? 4. What Mfg do you use for outline, exposed, or border tubing Neon or LED? Think blue, red and green 5. What Neon or LED's do you use for blue? 6. What Neon or LED's do you use for blue? 7. When it comes to standard sized sign cabinet, double sided, single sided or monument signs. What lamps do you use? Which HID, LED, or HO Fluorescent lamps do you use and mfg? 8. Which mfg and brands did you use before that you may have dropped using, what were the reasons?

Here's a good story http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2013/08/29/neon-artist-helps-restore-roadhouse-relics-mural

Here's an interesting take on the removal of tradition from across the sea in Hong Kong and what it means http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2013-08/31/content_16933958.htm

When's the last time you've seen someone have so much stock of Neon Components of porcelain & glass housings/receptacles, CPA's, GTO, and much more? I think it's official, we're the largest supplier on the west coast, I can't think of anyone else. Kgirl working hard on this hot humid day, I'm sweat'in just looking at her! She's showing me how much sweat she has produced Lot's of hard to find porcelain / glass housings. These can go pretty quick, and it's all limited supply, once it's gone.....it's gone! Need to order some? These hard to find components aren't exactly collecting dust, especially with the recent surge in Neon production. Call to order (858) 880-1400, by email orders@thesignsyndicate.com, or visit our online shopping cart which some limited items

We just had a recent thread about Neon Transformers and a discussion for midpoint and virtual returns and it was never really explained into detail of why this wiring method is best for some applications where it's possible. So I thought I would post a video we did back in 2009 where I spent a few hours with Telford Dorr where he explains detail "capacitance" in neon signs, why we get it, and what it does in a sign. It's one thing to read about capacitance, it's another to hear it and see it in an electric sign. This was originally done in our tutorial section and was a quicktime video, but I spent some time last night converting it over to our youtube.com channel Click on the YouTube symbol in the video frame to enlarge it

Their at it again. There is always a place and application for all light sources but... The Drake Hotel Brings Light To Going Green http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2007827 "...The Drake Hotel and Olympic Signs of Lombard have teamed up to create green energy you can see. The Chicago landmark neon sign will be replaced with environmentally friendly Sloan LED lighting. Licensed by the EPA, Olympic Signs will dispose of the antiquated neon piping that used to adorn the 20ft "The Drake" sign. Thus, neon's 70 year run illuminating Lake Shore Drive officially ends. The new and improved sign will be the first of its kind. Olympic Signs President Robert Whitehead, whose company is known for green energy, has lead his team in the production of a new mold, a new source of energy and a new spin on an old goal: reduce, reuse and recycle. The original "The Drake" sign will be refurbished; essentially Whitehead's team will restore the background metal to its former glory. The neon piping will be recycled per EPA standards and the new lights will reduce the amount of energy the hotel needs to light "The Drake"...." ======================== If this is going to be another retrofit some neon gas pumped tubes to LED then The Drake should get ready for failure. We all remember the Genesee Beer debacle that we kicked around here a couple of years ago. Again, why retrofit something that's already in place? Just re-engineer the transformers and re-pump or retrofit with newer lamps. But Olympic Signs thinks they are saving the world from evil and curing cancer at the same time and one LED at a time. Olympic Signs say that LEDs over neon only cost 25% higher and that the sign user can make up for it in 10 months in energy consumption costs. Really? Genesee Beer had all kinds of issues from the start to the end, and if what I'm hearing is accurate they still continue today. Lets review those figures we came up with on that sign. Neon Project @ 380 linear feet 3.6 watts per foot x 380 linear feet = 1,368 watts $719.00 annual cost of operation @12 hrs a day for 365 days a year 11 Transformers = $990.00 New Wholesale Glass = $1,710.00 ****Much cheaper on glass cost for just adding new electrodes to old glass Total $2,700.00 SloanLED Flexibrite @380 linear feet 2.8 watts per foot x 380 feet = 1,064 watts $532.60 annual cost of operation @ 12 hrs a day for 365 days a year 22 Power Sources = $1,914.00 SloanLED Flexibrite = $7,075.00 ***Does not include the price of glue, clips, and caps and wiring Total $8,985.00 ROI: 48 years Hardly 10 months. But if Drake Hotel doesn't care about smart business sense and they just want to "pose" as a fictitious guise of been an earth saver by putting up a different light source among other things then hell, SPEND by all means. Sounds like they found the right sign company who will feed their ideology. I'm not hatin!! Money in hand and job is sold. Just don't remove a light source that does not degrade in light output, or be able to retrofit one with one that won't (Neon Gas)....with one that will and say it's better or better for the environment. Because it's not! Just sell it as what it is, an alternative to using Neon Lamps, not "Green energy you can see". Does Olympic not know Neon NOW is recognized as "Green" by UL? Last I looked it TOO has a UL Green Leaf stamp of wacko environmentalist approval A 70 Year old classic sign, The Drake has been a landmark....what a shame. Hope it works out for them

July 2013 Electric Sign Industry Neon & LED Test Comparison Results Login or join (free) to download the newest Sign Syndicate test comparison .pdf result sheet at the bottom of every Light Project Test entry with the most current date. Below are the various categories of our test results made available for the electric sign industry. Project Tight Whitey (Year 3 & 4) - The white exclusive LED only test comparison for mid to mini sized LED modules The Red Light District (Year 3 & 4) - The Red Neon & LED channel letter light source test comparison Border Security (Year 3 & 4)- The Neon & LED border tube lamp test comparison Blue Light Special Year 1 & 2) - The blue Neon & LED test comparison for channel letter The Great White Hope (Year 5 & 6) - The white Neon & LED test comparison for large channel letters and sign cabinets (Discontinued until August 2013)

The history of the neon sign industry in the US has not yet been written. What has been written is brief, and mostly focuses on Times Square and Las Vegas, overlooking the realities of the neon industry in other places. Because neon only began in the US in the 1920s, it's still possible to collect the stories of people whose families have been involved in the industry from the beginning, or near the beginning. Would you like to contribute your stories, your family's stories, and your business' stories to this history of the neon industry? How long has your sign shop been in the neon business? How long have there been tube benders in your family? How has your shop managed through the changes the industry has faced? I'm a historical geographer, working with the support of the American Sign Museum on a book that will detail the rich history of this industry in cities and towns all over the country. The book will trace the spread of neon across the US, along with tourism, automobile travel, and highways, to show how neon transformed the American landscape. It will follow the industry from its first bloom in the 1920s and the end of Prohibition, through the Great Depression and the WPA Storefront Modernization program. From the blackouts of WWII to the boom in consumer culture of the prosperous 1950s. From the urban renewal and "Scrap Old Signs" programs of the 1960s-'80s, to the rise of neon art and "retro" neon in the 1980s and '90s. The book will reveal the challenges and synergies the industry has faced with competing technologies -- fluorescents and LEDs, plastic signs and digital message centers -- all have been seen as threats to neon's success and survival, but have also worked together with neon. Neon in the US is nearing its 100th birthday. Will it survive to see that day? Let your voice be heard. If you or someone you know has a long tradition in the neon industry, I'm interested in interviewing you. Please contact me by email (preferred) at dydia@lsu.edu, or by phone at 225-937-9371. Dr. Dydia DeLyser Associate Professor of Geography Department of Geography and Anthropology Louisiana State University

Here's a small job I just recently finished. Small potatoes in size for sure, but what's more important are the components used, the pride taken even in the smallest of jobs AND the soon to be end result. Small sure, but large/bright light output when we talk "Green". IF there is anything about our electric sign industry when and where someone can coin a phrase "Going Green" AND mean it, AND back it up this is one of those instances. No blanket marketing claim talk here, and I wont try to convince you that what I can do will save the planet....truth is.....no one can, and she doesn't want/need our help. I'm not selling guilt to get you to buy something!!! The Mayan calendar expired and we're all still here, reality is here...and HERE is my "Green" project. Yes the sign is simple and average and during the day you would probably miss it. But once night sets in this average signs will transform into the Incredible HULK!! Years back I posted the "Green Machine" in the Portfolio Board of this forum, the process I took to get a bright green sign and all the samples I did. That job is located here http://www.thesignsy...e-green-machine This project is just another spawn of that, a "redux" !! Green light source behind a green face, and the overwhelming power of rare-earth phosphors coupled with using 13 or 12mm glass....... I LOVE using small diameter glass!!! Yes, slightly more of a load, and more transformer is needed but, this is all about taking pride!! What's a little unique about this job compared to the latter ("Green Machine") is the neon processing of this one will for the most part be flawless especially when it comes to the electrodes using Fluxeon's "Electra" (Which we now sell here on the Sign Syndicate) Let's start from the beginning. In the Beginning there was Fluxeon's "Electra" processing this jobs electrodes each in a matter of seconds under a vacuum (Wham BAM, you're done). The neon is Elite Lamp Technologies Custom Coated Rare Earth phosphor "Kawasaki Green" or as I like to call it "Hulk Green", The Electrodes are Transco To Go's lead free "Novaglo Electrodes" Transco's Lead Free Novaglo Electrodes Here is the wall and structure I have to work with for this wall sign. Pretty easy when you do all the planning in the shop. No drilling holes to install this job in the field, NONE! Rare...no?!?!? The Rear open ceiling The installation components. Silicone GTO and Electrode Caps. This sign will be powered by a self adjusting magnetic transformer 10,500kv to 15,000kv. There is a five and a half inch space between the rear of the channel letters and the wet location raceway so on my pattern I placed all service holes dead center and used my pattern to make all raceway penetrations ahead of the installation day. I used 1/2" EMT with compression connectors for this. Disconnect with rubber boot. Don't forget to loose the "On/Off" plate to make the exterior seal water proof!!! Instead take a Sharpie and mark "On/Off", or just "Off". Porcelain bushings for all those high voltage pass thru's you need to make using GTO, I like the porcelains over the plastic bushings for HV. Again, PRIDE!!! Big beefy magnetic Transformer The shortest connection possible to your first neon lamps is ALWAYS best!!! To the right of the TANK you'll my double nutted structure ground, bottom for the feed and top for the tranny service ground.

Box of 100 Quality Electrodes just $44.25!! You can visit The Sign Syndicate Store to see most of what we have in stock, but we still don't have it complete and functioning yet STORE If you have any Questions or if you would like us to send you a Product & Price List of what we stock, call (858) 880-1400 or email us as orders@thesignsyndicate.com

This is a story that was posted on our site here back in August of last year, but with more infomation. Looking into the story more closely that were provided a lot does not add up, maybe someone can correct me, if I'm wrong. Genesee Beer Sign Relit with LEDs I think the sign installers just got themselves into a bind, I sure don't know what information Garston Sign Supply supplied them has to say, it's a good idea to retrofit a classic open channel letter sign that has red neon, to LEDs. But in a couple of years they will have an unhappy customer, and this sign will be re-retrofitted. Maybe it's a good thing they left the glass housing receptacle holes in place. There are signs that can be retrofitted with LEDs, and there are signs that you just don't do, this Genesee Beer Sign is one of them. Why do you ask? Here's the question that should have been asked going into this project, and something that should have been brought up. Does saving in energy for a new light source that regularly degrades in time, outweigh the other existing light source that does not degrade in light output? Maybe Victory Sign, Mower & Associates, Davis Marketing, or Gartson Sign Supply don't know. I dont think the owners of Genesee Beer are going to be excited with a re-retrofit bill in the near future. If I'm the owner of Genesee Beer, the ROI in an expensive upfront cost to gut and retrofit this sign with flexible LEDs to gain a little savings in power every year will never happen, it's like that boat that never ports, the golden parachute that never lands. Because in a few years, the project term will be, "Re-Retrofit". The least expensive route to this project WOULD have been to simply and efficiently "re-engineer" the existing neon system, make runs closer together, make sure there is proper drains and ventilation holes, check for reliable and proper loading, remake all new glass or BETTER YET use the old glass (maybe even anneal it too) and add new electrodes preserving that old uniqueness, neon glass is CHEAP! Whammo! Done! Red Neon does not degrade in light because it's only Glass and Gas, it's not even susceptible to ambient temperatures. NOW that would have been a story, "We preserved this sign in it's original form by taking down the classic neon glass made way back in 1952, and simply removed the electrodes and repumped it". IMO Neon Project @ 380 linear feet 3.6 watts per foot = 1,368 watts $719.00 @12 hrs a day for 365 days to operate 11 Transformers = $990.00 New Wholesale Glass = $1,710.00 ****Much cheaper on glass cost for just adding new electrodes to old glass Total $2,700.00 SloanLED Flexibrite @380 linear feet 2.8 watts per foot = 1,064 watts $532.60 @ 12 hrs a day for 365 days a year to operate 22 Power Sources = $1,914.00 SloanLED Flexibrite = $7,075.00 ***Does not include the price of glue, clips, andcaps and wiring Total $8,985.00 ROI: 48 years In the media link it's said the the Beer company only pays $26 a month in energy now, that's not possible, it would be more around $46 to $50, and the consumption is not double over using neon Between the 48 years how many times will this project need to re-retrofitted? In the current state of product I'd say, at least 7 times just being generous. I just hope one day someone can't say, remember "Citgo"?

The American Sign Museum gets a $900,000 donation from an "anonymous" donor so it can complete it's long anticipated permanent home. Hmmmmmm, why would a donation so huge be SO anonymous? What is there to hide? A little odd, is it not? What IS interesting is. On one side of the fence you have a brother creating antiquities by the way he mis-characterizes neon and surrenders the typewriter to his advertisers in the form of obligation pieces in his brochure magazine, to the likes of individuals like "Magic Mouth", the "New England Sign Spinner", or just about anyone who will claim that they can save end clients money by using LEDs and saving 90% in energy consumption. Throwing Neon and Fluorescent lamp technology under the bus with false claims of Mercury Dangers, and LEDs as a clean light sources sold under "green" in his "Signs Fiction", ummm, "Signs of The Times" brochure rag. Then opposite of the Community Organizer you have the "Signtologist", who just got a mysterious large anonymous donation of $900k which made a new dream possible. I like antiques too, but let's not "Create" them! One creates, one exhibits. Lastly, I think I vomited in my mouth a little bit here when I read it. The Sign Hugger finally gets her presidency for the California Sign Association. It was bound to happen sooner or later right? A Hippie throw back, Green (I mean Red) marketer just got elevated. Someone who executes statements but never explains them, another regurgitated multi-assoc. member name and face of other places & events, IS once again in charge of something. How can someone be in so many places at once? This I would like to know. Will we EVER see new faces? These associations need a serious face lift, not a small nick and tuck. Like California needs another environmentalist wacko at the top of something. Not that I really SHOULD care, I would never be an association member but she did say that "Green" is a migration, not a trend and we all better get used to it, *Cough* Cap & Trade *Cough*.... *Cough* Solyndra *Cough*, oh my, gotta clear my throat. I sure hope people at CSA has stocked up with plenty of Broccoli, and their manur...errrrr, work boots. It's going to get thick in there with constant FaceBook and Twitter "Green", and saving the planet announcements! Look around everyone, YOU are the movers and shapers of this industry! Now listen to what I need YOU to know....and believe! I'm just not a big broccoli eater myself