Project neon signs awaiting repairs in the neon attic...
Bud© On Tap Blinking Neon Sign
A very rare sign since I haven't seen another one like it. Made in 1977. A gift from my friend Dan Y who has since passed. He had it hanging on the backyard patio under the awning for years. The wiring got dried and cracked, so he stopped using it and gave it to me. Just the white double-stroke BUD tubes lit up. The lower on tap tube was broken and it wires to the single stroke BUD tube. So the clear single stroke BUD tube, although good, did not light up. Somebody years ago, probably when the 'on tap' tube got broken, Re-wired this neon to simply light the white BUD without any blinking. I heard something running when I plugged it in and then realized it was a blinker. These old neon signs that blink use a motor to open and close contact switches. I bypassed the broken on tap tube and saw the red underlying tube switch off and on. Then I realized the rig to the wiring and put it back to original stock connections, less the on tap tube. Wow, it started the cool switching effect to the BUD, alternating from white to red! Thank you Dan Y! I'm having the On Tap tube repaired to try and bring this back to full glory. After my friend Dan passed, I figured I waited long enough and could put some $$ into this sign. Many of these antique neon beer signs from the 1970's often had border steel all the way around. Obviously it protects the tubes better, but it also adds weight to the neon sign. Even with the added protection, a neon tube still wound up getting broken!
Miller High Life© animated neon sign.
Another of these very unique neon beer signs with 3 display modes. All lit, border only and center only. This neon sign as you can see needs a 'High Life' tube made or replaced with a good used one. I already replaced the border tube. Yes, that was broken too when I bought it. This old neon sign uses a motor to open and close contact switches to make the blinking happen. It has a dual-output transformer with one side providing 5KV and the other 3KV. There are only 3 wires from the transformer, so the 2 high voltage circuits share a common ground wire.
Camel Cigarettes© neon sign
Looking back at these old Camel advertising neon signs decades later, one wonders what the advertising department people were thinking. As you see, the Camel top on the top is broken on the M. It appears that is the common problem for many of these signs.
Camel Lights© neon sign
Another Camel sign with a broken M. Someday I'll stumble on some replacement tubes for these Camel cigarette neon signs. The signs are very similar, but the electrodes attach differently on the top Camel tube. Therefore each Camel tube is different and NOT interchange-able.
Coors Cervesa neon sign
The neon tube spelling Coors broke an electrode at the far right end on this sign. The tube is at my neon guy's shop for repair. The mountain background tube on this sign reminds me of the Busch signs that use a similar tube to mimic a distant mountain range.
Genessee neon sign
This is an older Genessee beer neon sign. The clear tube spelling Genessee that broke has a unique double-paint job. First, the tube was dipped in red on the back half. This gives a red appearance to the tube when turned off. Then it was re-dipped to add the block-out paint. Another tube waiting at the sign shop for repair. It probably won't look perfect, but I'm sure it will look better working!
Genny Beer neon sign
This Genny neon sign broke exactly opposite of the one above it. The border oval broke, and that tube includes the beer copy for under the Genny word. It was an argon tube, and the coloring powder scattered inside, so it would need a whole new tube made.
Lite Beer neon sign with switchable open
This Lite beer neon sign features a switchable 'open' tube. To do that, the switch is 3-way. The switch settings are off, 'Lite' lit and finally 'Lite' and 'open' lit. The border oval broke, and that tube is another one that is sitting at my neon sign guy's shop to be fixed.
