A simple solution to the multi-click?

[REparsed]

What if a reverse clickie (or other suitable switch) had a small value resistor (several times the resistance of the hot filament) that would come into circuit on the initial press of the switch and then be bypassed on rebound?

Would that fraction of a second be enough time to warm up the filament?

 

[kennyj]

I've been toying with the idea of a switch tied into a variable potentiometer that, by design, couldn't be toggled in less than half a second. It goes from off, to high resistance, to moderate, to low, to wide-open once fully actuated. I was thinking something like a slide switch would be best for this, like on the SL-35.

Your idea sounds much simpler, though, and could possibly build upon existing 2-stage activation techniques commonly used for LEDs (namely, the McGizmo clickies.)

This might even be a good way to allow protected cells to ignite high-draw bulbs.

 

[REparsed]

Another thought...

Anybody ever experiment with NTC thermistors like these:

http://www.ametherm.com/Inrush_Current/Standard_SL_Data.htm

 

[kennyj]

That looks perfect as an intermediate solution (wouldn't want that resistance while actually running the light, but perfect for starting the bulb.)

 

[REparsed]

With the right part I think the trade off might be worth it. The spec sheet for one of the surge limiting thermistors says it starts out at 1.3 Ohms and ends up at .043 Ohms steady state.