Abstract: A device for starting and operating gas discharge tubes including a DC-to-AC inverter which generates a low voltage or a high voltage at an output thereof in response to first or second input signals, respectively. The output of the inverter is connected to a gas discharge tube and sensing means generates a signal proportional to the current flow through the tube. Suitable means provides a trigger or synchronizing signal to a driver. The driver, responsive to the sensed output signal and the trigger or synchronizing signal, generates a drive signal synchronized with the trigger or synchronizing signal and having a duration inversely related to the magnitude of the current flowing through the gas discharge tube. A high voltage switch applies a second input signal to the inverter in response to the drive signal to provide a decreasing high voltage duration during successive cycles of the inverter as the tube begins to conduct current.

Abstract: Apparatus for detecting a peak value of an analog signal includes a first counter for counting pulses from a digital clock for successive samplings of the analog signal to convert each sample of the analog signal into digital form and a counting register into which the pulse count in the first counter is transferred to be recounted at a later sampling. With a prior digital count in the register, the digital clock simultaneously (1) increments the counter to count the current signal sampling and (2) decrements the register to zero to recount the prior signal sampling. The counter is constrained to count up until both counting and recounting steps are complete before the count in the counter is transferred to the register. In this manner the counter will always attain the greater of the current and the prior sampling pulse count values and this maximum value will always be transferred into the register.