Fluorescent Lamp starter: simple but strange scheme (Eprom Eraser 1980)

Hello, I have opened an old Eprom eraser machine to replace the UVC lamp.

Please look at the attached scheme.

Starter is manual (pushing a button) and I found PINS shorted with a bridge!
Now anyway the new lamp works (it turns on when I push the button after some times), but I do not know if the circuit is correct. I knew that the capacitor and the starter should have been both in parallel with the lamp and the pins not-shorted...

Do you suggest to modify it? If it works can be dangerous someway or makes shorter the lamp's life? Why did they design such scheme (how does it works? is it like a tesla coil?).
Thanks

Do you know the manufacturer's name and catalog number for the ballast? It should be located on the ballast itself, either on a tag or stamped into it.

The florescent lamp has filaments at both ends. that's why it appears shorted.

The standard florescent light switch is a special switch. A push-push turns power on and off. A push/hold initiates the start sequence. You push the switch, hold until the ends of the lamp light and release. The lamp should light.

There is a two push button version of florescent switch too. Usually the red button is pushed and held to start and the black is used for off.

Originally, the switch completed the circuit to the filaments (no series cap). The two pins on the end were not shorted out. Beside heating the filaments helping to lower the ionizing voltage, the momentary contact and extra current flow would cause the inductor to kick back with a higher voltage to help to ionize the gas when switch was opened. You held button switch closed for a couple of seconds, seeing the ends of bulb glow, then it would start up when button was released. There are starters that do this function automatically with a momentary switch. Run level voltage is much lower then what it takes to start (strike) the bulb. That is what the ballast is for. It make the drive approximate a current source, not a voltage source.

It works because you are running from 220 vac mains. For U.S. 120 vac mains, this circuit would likely not work.

Anyway, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Did not think many folks were still using UV eproms these days.