now the BIG question......how long will the NIMO tubes last ?? I've done a limited amount of runtime on mine, less than 50 hours, and I can already see very faint phosphor burn with a UV lamp. My anode current is around 30ua (varies by digit, but averaging around 30ua which is the datasheet spec). I also wonder how long the filaments will last (each tube has two parallel filaments), either from power-cycling or total runtime. I have inrush current-limiting on the filaments so they dont get stressed as much, per recommendations on how radio/TV stations prolong the life of their expensive transmitter tubes.
I have a PIR sensor to shutoff the HV after a programmable time (currently 100 seconds), and another programmable delay to shutoff the filaments. The filament timeout is the one I'm not sure how to optimize; I was thinking of running up to 26 hours so I could do multiple activations per day without cycling the filaments. I do have a front-panel switch to override the PIR sensor so that the display will stay off, and consequently force the filaments to time-out. I dont have enough NIMO tubes to experiment with and determine the best timeout to maximize lifespan. I'm hoping it will end-up like the Voyager spacecraft, which were overdesigned and have outlasted the wildest expectations of how long they will function. On Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 12:35:38 PM UTC-7 jörg wrote: > The TH-19A is pretty interesting but unobtainium. > So I have switched to the green neon indicators, which I've ordered some > time ago at aliexpress. > Same type as gregebert use, I guess. I've mounted them a bit too far from > the center. > The nimos are dimmed based on a LDR, so I have to pwm the indicator bulbs, > to sync to the nimo brightness. > > > [image: nimo-colon.jpeg] > > On Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 3:46:38 AM UTC+2 Audrey wrote: > >> I have automated searches setup aswell but sometimes they just miss things >> >> On Tue, Apr 4, 2023, 9:24 PM Mac Doktor <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> On Apr 4, 2023, at 9:00 PM, Nicholas Stock <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Looks like they all sold out though. >>> >>> >>> He must have just gotten them. I've never seen them before and I have a >>> search for "magic eye" that I check every day. I go through his stock >>> periodically as well. >>> >>> >>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH >>> "The Mac Doctor" >>> >>> https://www.astarcloseup.com >>> >>> “...the book said something astonishing, a very big thought. The stars, >>> it said, were suns but very far away. The Sun was a star but close >>> up.”—Carl Sagan, "The Backbone Of Night", *Cosmos*, 1980 >>> >>> >>> -- >>> 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 view this discussion on the web, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6C443C41-DABE-4211-959C-EC9B706E12D5%40gmail.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6C443C41-DABE-4211-959C-EC9B706E12D5%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- 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 view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/57c25674-1765-40c4-8fd0-4688ee0ee172n%40googlegroups.com.
