Ira, My experience is that cathodes lay in trays in the factory. About 250 n a tray, that was sealed before it went to the production. So I believe that exposition to air will degrade the cathode, but not destroy it immediately. However it could be that the first warm-up initiates a chemical process that makes the coating vulnerable to oxygen.
Anyhow, getters are more sensitive to exposure to the atmosphere. John, That are exactely my thoughts. I bought those trays at the closing ex-Philips CRT-plant in Heerlen (NL) for Dan. They were all open. Also some tins with getters, some of what are still sealed under inert gas(?). eric Sorry for the late reaction, but I my provider was down [e] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Instrument Resources of America Sent: dinsdag 29 april 2014 1:42 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] Neon size limitations? Also!!! It is my understanding from being a member of T.C.A. Tube Collectors Association, another Yahoo group, that once the 'cathode' of the gun is exposed to 'air' it is DESTROYED, and can NOT be used again. Ira. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/!%26!AAAAAAAAAAAYAAAAAAAAAPDddShx705MuX20yCpp0vvCgAAAEAAAAOTwC5r7F6pDg/iEquMoNYcBAAAAAA%3D%3D%40zeelandnet.nl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
