The IN-1 datasheet says 2.5mA typical operating current, so you should try cleaning the other 3 tubes at just under 3mA. The other 7 tubes might clean-up on their own at normal current if the usage is balanced.
So did you see some improvement ? On Friday, April 21, 2023 at 12:14:05 AM UTC-7 Benoit Tourret wrote: > I ran each tube with 180V 2mA / two hours, turning each plate for 2 > minutes. > > on 10 tubes: > > 7 are OK > 3 are not perfect. > > I will wait to be able to lit them all together. > > > Le jeudi 20 avril 2023 à 01:27:40 UTC+2, gregebert a écrit : > >> I couldn't resist asking google Bard this question: Are IN-1 nixie tubes >> reliable ? >> Well, here's the answer. Feel free to laugh.....love the part about the >> filaments. Geez, maybe that's why I had so much trouble with mine ? >> >> IN-1 nixie tubes are generally reliable, but they can fail over time. The >> most common failure mode is a leak in the vacuum tube. This can happen due >> to a number of factors, including manufacturing defects, physical damage, >> or exposure to extreme temperatures. >> >> If a leak develops, the tube will slowly fill with air and the filaments >> will eventually burn out. This can happen over a period of months or even >> years. To prevent leaks, it is important to store IN-1 nixie tubes in a >> cool, dry place and to avoid dropping or banging them. >> >> Another potential failure mode is a failure of the heater filament. This >> can happen due to a number of factors, including overheating, overvoltage, >> or physical damage. If the heater filament fails, the tube will not light >> up. >> >> To prevent heater filament failures, it is important to use a regulated >> power supply and to avoid exceeding the maximum operating voltage. >> >> On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 2:03:54 PM UTC-7 gregebert wrote: >> >>> I never had an IN-1 run long enough to get poisoned. Mine developed >>> internal shorts, resulting in 2 numerals glowing at the same time. >>> From what I've heard, nixie degradation increases exponentially with >>> current, so you want to stay as close as possible to normal operating >>> current. Try running the worst digit continuously for a few hours at 20% >>> higher current, and see if that helps. I was (briefly) drawn to the IN-1 >>> over 10 years ago because of the large size for the low cost; I bought a >>> case of 25 for around 40USD including shipping. Only a few survive today >>> that weren't dissected or tortured in a microwave oven (yeah, pretty >>> hilarious but kinda toxic because of the bakelite). >>> >>> A few of the IN-18's in my clock have shown signs of poisoning even >>> though I run a cleansing routine for 1 hour every night. This is >>> most-visible on the first day of the month for the months digit, and it can >>> take a few days to recover. This clock has 14 tubes; kinda ridiculous but >>> it looks impressive. It was inspired by the movie "Tomorrowland", which has >>> a brief scene with two 6-digit IN-18 clocks. I'm certain one of our >>> neonixie members is the creator of that clock (that was an invitation for >>> you to take a well-deserved bow...). >>> >>> Tubes that run 0-9 during the day need no cleansing (unit seconds, unit >>> minutes, unit hours). Tubes the run 0-5 during the day are cleansed by >>> running 6-9 (tens seconds, tens minutes). Tubes that are static, or near >>> static (tens hours, month, day, year) run 0-9 for cleansing. >>> >>> The static tubes, notably the 4-digit year, show very little signs of >>> poisoning because I have swapped them around to put the >>> most-vulnerable-to-poisoning tubes where they run 0-9 during the day. >>> >>> I havn't seen any signs of poisoning on Burroughs tubes. >>> >>> On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 11:39:54 AM UTC-7 Benoit Tourret wrote: >>> >>>> Hello, I have some IN-1 that seems to be poisoned. poisoned or rather >>>> oxided, as they seems to be really new. it is fine mesh from September >>>> 1971. >>>> two of them are fine after one or two day, tree other doesn't show any >>>> improvement. >>>> >>>> I read that I must overload them a while but how many and how long >>>> should I keep one digit on before light the next digit ? is it 1 second or >>>> one day... >>>> >>>> by the way, as I read that this tube doesn't have mercury inside, can >>>> it be unpoisonned ? >>>> >>> -- 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/ced3c3e1-eb74-42fe-b372-c8b6e9845f40n%40googlegroups.com.
