There are some ideas for creating gas mixtures here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax7xlcFS2QY&t=567s
On Saturday, June 19, 2021 at 6:23:43 PM UTC+1 gregebert wrote: > If you are looking for longer life, I dont think the gas mixture will make > a big difference. The quality of the glass seal is the most important > thing, and I suggest using kovar wire for your leads as it was formulated > to seal with glass. Second, you will need a good vacuum and need to > bake-out the impurities by running at high temperature. For neon signs, > this is done during the bombarding process and electrodes get red-hot while > the glass gets to several hundred degrees; one trick is to see if the glass > is hot enough to burn newspaper. Lastly, electrode degradation from > sputtering will literally cause electrodes to "dissolve" over time, so > choosing the right material and adding a small amount of mercury has been > done by many manufacturers. If you look thru this forum, you should be able > to find a link to a scanned copy of the Weston book (Cold Cathode Discharge > Tubes); it's pretty heavy reading but will give you more knowledge than > you can imagine. > > On Saturday, June 19, 2021 at 1:25:22 AM UTC-7 ErikPaul wrote: > >> Greg >> I actually contact every supplier of small neon cylinders about getting >> the gas premixed, and most of them discussed the difficulties you mentioned >> about getting the proper mix in small quantities. The cheapest I could find >> for a pre-mix was ~$350, which is quite a bit more than I am looking to >> spend on my mad science project. >> Nick >> I found a used diffusion pump on ebay for less than $100. >> The best idea I have come up with is to try to outlet a small shot of >> argon and then fill the remaining with neon up to the desired pressure. I >> am using swagelok metering valves which have a rated flow coefficient, >> which one might be able might be able to calculate the time/position of the >> valve opening. In watching Dalibor's video(his website is the best resource >> I've found, but there are two YouTube videos of others who created their >> own nixied. One is a Darth Vader including a light saber!) you can see him >> using the swagelok metering valves that have micrometer knows for precise >> control. >> >> My main concern is what the extra argon in the k4 mix would do to the >> striking voltage. I could simply use pure neon but that would lead to >> shorter life, but as my goal isn't commercial production that may not be a >> big problem. >> One idea that did occur to me was to possibly harvesr/transfer the gas >> from another tube, as I just purchased a large lot of malfunctioning tubes >> on ebay. No idea how to accomplish the transfer without needing a pump but >> I may try to look into that option. >> On Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 1:54:54 PM UTC-5 nickja...@gmail.com wrote: >> >>> Okay, so I can confirm I'm not the only psycho with crazy >>> aspirations... Using U glass seems like a very cool idea. Watching >>> Dalibor's videos is mesmerizing and I can't imagine the frustration and >>> hours of trial and error he went through. But that's half the fun, right? >>> >>> A diff pump or turbopump setup and I think a way to bake out the tube to >>> get that last little stubborn fraction of molecules sticking to the inside >>> to release. Keep looking on ebay and you can find pumps and such. I >>> recently sent a deal to a friend I saw at $250 for a small turbopump with >>> controller. Thought about buying it myself as a secondary, but my junk >>> stash is already quite large. I am buying parts to build a functional >>> system for all sorts of experiments and would love to get some glowing >>> tubes at some point. Lasers, nixies, discharge, etc. Just learning >>> machining processes on my 11" Sheldon lathe and South Bend vertical mill, >>> both 1950s vintage. Logan 8" shaper is pretty antique as well. >>> >>> As for mixing your own gas, like setting up an aquarium the larger the >>> vessel and amounts of gas, the easier it will be to control the proportions >>> and get it right or close enough. Maybe a manifold with gases going in at >>> same pressure/flow rates, through same orifice sizes, and solenoid valves >>> controlled by a uprocessor to get the ratio you want? Flow gauges for >>> argon used in welding are easy to come by with a little ball that shows >>> flow rate. These might be calibrated for specific gases. >>> >>> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:23 AM ErikPaul <crusad...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> So I've been working on making my own nixies, main dream is to produce >>>> a tube using uranium glass tubing in place of your regular boro or soda >>>> lime glass. In sourcing fill gases(not a huge quantity of suppliers who >>>> sell in small quantities to non-commercial) i keep coming across a mix >>>> called "K4" which is 75% neon 25% argon. My question is would the much >>>> higher percentage of argon make the breakdown voltage too high? I found a >>>> couple of Ne-Ar voltage to concentration graphs but the highest Ar % that >>>> they show is 5%, but it looks as though the curve trends upwards with >>>> higher %. >>>> My main draw to the K4 is it would remove the need for separate Ne and >>>> Ar valves and inlets. My gut tells me that it won't work well but I >>>> figured >>>> I'd chuck the question to the experts(you guys). >>>> >>>> Erik >>>> Here is a link to the graph I mentioned >>>> http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Documents/SO%20Gas.htm >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2b40a2c0-8329-4d6f-9c89-93aeba4e0f61n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2b40a2c0-8329-4d6f-9c89-93aeba4e0f61n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. 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