Originally, mechanical television sets of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s used Neon Plate lamps for illumination. (some projection sets used Neon Crater Lamps) These gas discharge lamps were the only device available at the time that had the fast response time required for television. Due to the neon gas used in these lamps, they gave off a soft, orange glow. They require hundreds of volts to operate, and yielded only a low amount of brilliance. Today, these lamps are becoming increasing rare and expensive.

    Modern LED’s can be used as a replacement for the original neon lamps. They offer extremely fast response time, low power, high brightness, and a variety of colors. They can be driven directly from low cost solid state electronics.

    Aurora Design’s NEL-1 series of replacement lamps offer all the advantages of modern LED’s built around a design that can be adapted to mount in any mechanical television. They consist of an array of 32 single color or RGB LED’s mounted on a circuit board containing the limiting resistors, diffuser, and connector.

    All Aurora Design LED Arrays offer plug-and-play operation with the WC-01 World Converter when equipped with the optional WC-01D daughter card. By simply connecting the output of the WC-01D to the LED Array with the available cable, the WC-01 will sense the type of LED attached, and make the appropriate settings.

    NEL-1M

    This monochrome array is designed to perfectly replace an original Neon Plate lamp. The wavelength of the orange LED’s is nearly identical to that of a neon lamp. When used in a mechanical television, these super high efficiency LED’s are bright enough to view in normal room light.

    NEL-1C

    This color array is designed to improve upon an original Neon Plate lamp. By using RGB LED’s, a stunning full color image can be obtained. With this array attached to the WC-01, the user can select between orange, black and white or full color display at the turn of a dial. When used in a mechanical television, these super high efficiency LED’s are bright enough to view in normal room light.

LED Arrays