Compact fluorescent lamps in non-standard colours are not quite as unusual as they used to be, starting to obtain a bit of a foothold for either decorative lighting, or for use at occasions such as children's parties. They generally however are adaptations of existing designs of integral compact fluorescent lamps - aimed squarely at the domestic market. This lamp however is a very clear indication that Osram at least think that there's a market for them in the professional sector. This lamp is designed for use with an external (usually permanently fixed) ballast. While this drives the initial system cost up slightly, in the long term it reduces maintenance costs however, as the lamps are cheaper to replace, and the ballast should last the life of the installation. The two pin cap on this lamp includes an internal glowbottle starter and RF suppression capacitor, which of course limits this lamp to use on conventional magnetic control gear - a four pin version exists, which is the same lamp sans starter, specifically for use on electronic control gear.
As usual for Osram, the overall manufacturing quality is very good, and the lamp performs well. The fact that this lamp had never been used before was evidenced by some quite impressive flickering and swirling effects in the tube for the first ten minutes or so of use, this died down quickly though, and has not returned despite a number of starts both warm and cold since then.
While the text on the packet and the lamp state the colour as "red" if you were to ask anyone on the street what colour it is, they'd actually answer very decidedly "pink." These lamps get their distinctive colours from the phosphors used in them rather than through a coloured coating or glass. While easier to produce than physically coloured lamps, this does have the downside of limiting how saturated the colour can be, as phosphors to produce a deep saturated colour from the mercury vapour discharge do not exist (with the exception of blue). As a result of this, both the red and green are more pastel than pure.
While the colour may disappoint if you were hoping for a bright traffic signal red lamp, it can actually be used to great effect from a decorative point of view if mixed with other light sources. Wall mounted uplighters and similar situations spring to mind most readily.
I would be curious to know if a yellow version of this lamp (or any other colour for that matter) exist or have ever existed to compliment the three colours I have here.
