Nick, I hear that too low of a current can cause other problems with sputtering and cathode poisoning.
On Mar 9, 4:57 am, Nick <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mar 9, 8:46 am, "JohnK" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > How about you check the tolerance % of the resistors. Did you use 10%, 5% > > etc ? > > And, how about you measure the voltage drop across each of the anode > > resistors in turn.... and with different digits ON. > > > BTWQ, that current increase is not large.... BUT, it may not be spread > > evenly across the tubes; what if it is one tube drawing all the extra? > > Further to that - accurately measure each anode resistor, then measure > the voltage drop across them, then for each work out the current - you > should probably use a BIG digit, such as "8" to do this. > > Generally, the life of a nixie exponentially decreases with increased > anode current. I would probably aim for an average of 2mA per digit, > and 1.5 may be enough, i.e. always err on the low side. > > Bear in mind that this is NOT precision science. 10% or worse > resistors were commonly used, and the characteristics quoted for tubes > are really an idealised average over a sample. > > Note that the current requirement for a given level of illumination is > related to the surface area of the digit. Some tubes are cute about > this and make the "1" fatter and the "8" skinnier etc. to compensate, > but this is not always the case. > > So, relax a bit, aim for about 2mA or a bit less, and stick with that. > Note the decimal point is max rated at 0.3mA > > Nick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/neonixie-l?hl=en-GB.
