[Elecraft] smoke test

[Ralph Tyrrell]

As I sit at my computer the radio desk is to my back. I heard a burst of static behind me. That was odd since no radios were on.  The only thing on at the radio desk was the desk lamp and a power supply that keeps the batteries charged. Both are plugged into a strip that switches power to them.

I went over to the radio desk and looked at my equipment, both off. Still puzzled I turned on the 2m rig, all normal. Then I turned on the K3. All normal. I turned them off again. The K1 sits by, not connected to anything at this time.

Still puzzled  I sat there wondering if something had happened to my battery bank or one of the batteries.  I have three 26AH batteries in parallel. Each battery is fused before to goes to a fused buss.

Then my nose began to notice the smell we all dread. Something electrical was over heated.  Still I did not noticed a symptom I should have noticed earlier, the desk lamp was off. I touched the top of the lamp and it was very hot.  The bulb, a 13 Watt Florissant had failed. The ceramic base was too hot to touch. 

How often do Florissant bulbs fail this way?

I had the feeling that if I were not there a fire may have started.

73, Ty, W1TF, K3 #696, K1 #1423