Richard, it sounds like your 'de-poisoner' is a lot more capable than the one you listed (I have one already, but as has been discussed before, it has it's limitations...).
I'd up the voltage on the clock (I think the max is somewhere around 184V for the Spectrum 18) and see if that helps...hope you get it sorted, that's a real pain in the proverbial.... On Tue, Oct 3, 2017 at 8:47 AM, Richard M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >Cool. I've bought tubes from the first seller also (not IN18's) and they > were good....that's a pretty fancy de-poisoner! You should consider putting > that out there...I'd be interested...;-) > Yes, I put a lot of work in it. > You can switch it between manual and automatic mode. > In manual mode, you can set voltage, current and digit directly on the > device. > In automatic mode, the digits are controlled by an Arduino compatible > ESP8266 WiFi "Wemos D1 mini pro". > I can set, e.g. run digits 2,3,5 and 8 for 90 sec. each, loop 10 times and > then send me a push notification to my mobile phone. > After the routine, I can set it to turn off or cycle through all digits > 0-9 infinitely with a 10s interval. > > But the time to build this thing is nothing someone would pay me. :) > And for mass production there are too less people interested in such a > thing. > There are already similar devices on the market at a reasonable price: > http://www.ebay.com/itm/262483292894 > > >have you contacted Pete at all? > Yes, I already contacted Pete, that's what he replied: > *This is classic cathode poisoning. IN-18 tubes suffer more than most > tubes in this respect. The problem is that some batches are perfect and run > for years without issue, and others degrade very quickly.* > I just wonder why this happens to nearly all of my tubes. > > >it's almost as if the tubes are being under-driven > As mentioned, they only draw about 4.5mA, which might be too less, as the > minimal current, according the the datasheet is 4mA, nominal is 6mA and > maximum 8mA. > > What I notices is, that soon after I purchased my kit, the anode resistor > was changed to a lower value, from 10kOhm to 8.2kOhm. > > >a gas pressure leak > That's what I also thought. But, again: all of them? > > >you might want to tweak it up to 180v > Are you sure? As what I read, you should never drive the IN-18 Nixies > above the specified 170V. > > > > > Am Dienstag, 3. Oktober 2017 17:06:46 UTC+2 schrieb Terry S: >> >> Hard to tell from your pictures, but it looks like cathode poisoning..... >> I would try to manually de-poison a few digits individually, see what >> results, you have nothing to lose. Then I would run the clock at max >> brightness if it is adjustable, and see if the poisoning returns in short >> order. If the high voltage is adjustable you might want to tweak it up to >> 180v. >> >> I did have one tube where the digits faded over a period of weeks, it was >> not poisoning but rather a gas pressure leak I presume. I replaced that >> tube and it has not reoccurred. >> >> I don't believe the slot machine de-poisoning effects are useful, unless >> the current is somehow increased dramatically during the effect. The "on" >> time of the unused digits is just too short. >> >> Terry >> >> >> On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 9:31:28 AM UTC-5, Richard M. wrote: >>> >>> I bought the pv electronics SPECTRUM 18 Nixie Clock Kit, which, I think, >>> is of high quality and does not do multiplexing. >>> >>> The electronic is working fine. >>> But I have an other big problem: all my IN-18 Nixie tubes are dying, one >>> after the other. >>> >>> I already bought 10 tubes from two different sellers on eBay (which look >>> reliable) >>> All tubes were working fine, but after only several weeks, dark spots >>> begin to appear, until the Nixie becomes totally dark. >>> >>> I checked the supplied power and everything looks fine: (is it?) >>> 170V without a tube connected >>> with tube: 130V drawing 4.7mA >>> power is clean and without any noise as to my oscilloscope >>> Slot machine effect is running every 10 Minutes. 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