[Elecraft] Re: FCC rules part 18 [CF bulbs vs. LED]

[wayne burdick]

CF bulbs are very efficient, but not without compromises. Home Depot 
doesn't bother to tell you that they contain a decent amount of 
mercury. Somehow the manufacturers obtained an exemption from the 
usually strict rules. They're banned from many landfills, and in some 
communities require HazMat handling and disposal. (Don't let your kids 
or pets play with them.)

This would seem to be mitigated by their long lifetime. But my 2-year 
old, who knocks over lamps once in awhile, doesn't discriminate -- he's 
broken just as many $6 CF bulbs as normal bulbs.

Meanwhile, LED bulbs are on the ascent. They're incredibly expensive 
now, but this is bound to change. They may turn out to be the rugged, 
less toxic successor to ordinary bulbs for which mankind has searched 
for decades. They're also far more efficient than CF's, which is why 
this topic isn't OT -- they're QRP bulbs  :)

Wayne
N6KR

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http://www.elecraft.com