Skewed in one direction means they were pulled out at an angle and this can lead to seal damage. Without a tube straightner you can gently straighten them with flat jawed needle pliers by applying as little force as possible to get them perpendicular again. I have done this without causing any compromise to the seal on quite a few tubes. The thicker the pin, the more likely the damage to the seal. When Nixies were common place and replacements were widely available less care was taken with them in inserting and removing them by hamfisted individuals. Now that you have to pawn an arm or a leg for some tubes more care is taken!
I have Z566s on a PV Electronics board with the plexiglass mounts and these give a good grip on the pins and support to the nixie. I have used the same sockets without the plexiglass as 'flying' connections but only after shrouding them in heatshrink to stop them splaying open and causing poor or loose connections. This thread has raised some very interesting points in regards to tube fitment. On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 3:37:05 AM UTC+1, Jason Perez wrote: > > > > On Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 12:32:51 PM UTC-4, gregebert wrote: >> >> A solution to the inflexible socket-pins soldered to the PCB is to >> custom-fit each tube. Assign a unique number to each tube and socket. Place >> the pins onto the tube, then solder the pins to the PCB (almost like >> soldering the tube in-place). Remove the tube, clip-off the extra leads on >> the PCB. >> >> The tube can be inserted almost effortlessly, and with far less force >> than a conventional socket. My last clock has 18 sockets for IN-18's. >> "Only" 14 are actually populated, though. I found that even though each >> tube is custom fitted to a particular location, it's fairly easy easy to >> interchange them because the pins are manufactured with reasonable >> consistency. Most IN-18 pins are soft and easily bent, so be extra careful >> when handling, socketing, straightening, etc. Nevertheless, I do keep each >> tube in it's assigned socket. >> >> If you have a 3D printer, make a socket-cap to slip over the soldered >> pins. It will provide some mechanical protection for the pins, and it makes >> insertion of tubes much easier. It will have the same appearance as a real >> socket. >> > I will keep this in mind for assembly. I did notice all of the pins are > skewed in one direction on a couple of the tubes I ordered. Not sure > exactly how you're supposed to straighten them, I saw a tube straightener > on ebay but it was $150 or something......for a piece of metal? There has > to be an easier way. > -- 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/88255135-f444-45ba-98e4-c8fe35066103%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
