  Planetary Nebulae (PNe) abundance patterns have long been used to note
signatures of nuclear processing and to trace the distribution of metals
throughout galaxies. We present abundance gradients and heavy element ratios
based upon newly acquired spectrophotometry of a sample of >120 Galactic PNe.
This new data set is extracted from spectra that extend from 3600 - 9600 A,
allowing the use of [S III] features at 9069 and 9532 A. Since a significant
portion of S in PNe resides in S+2 and higher ionization stages, including
these strong features should improve the extrapolation from observed ion
abundances to total element abundance. S is believed to be precluded from
enhancement and depletion across the range of PNe progenitor masses, making it
an alternate metallicity tracer to the canonical oxygen. If S can be reliably
determined in PNe, its stability in intermediate mass stars makes it a valuable
tool to probe the natal conditions as well as the evolution of PNe progenitors.
This is a continuation of our Type II PNe work, the impetus being to compile a
relatively large set of line strengths and abundances with internally
consistent observation, reduction, measurement, and abundance determination,
minimizing systematic effects that come from compiling various data sets. This
research is supported by the AAS Small Research Grants program, the Franklin &
Marshall Committee on Grants, and NSF grant AST- 0307118.
