I've always just "unpoisoned" tubes with slightly higher current then normal, not higher voltage. A couple of hours to a few days usually fixes them for me. I don't think a 150-200% overdrive on the current will hurt it too much for a short duration. I've seen some tubes unpoisoned right in front of my eyes after just a few minutes at around double the current.
I've used brand new tubes where some digits didn't light fully.. usually after a few days of normal usage, at normal current levels, they came back. I've always viewed this as normal. I figure they have been sitting unlit for decades, it may take a little while to get everything lit up. Regards, -Moses On Friday, April 21, 2023 at 1:19:55 PM UTC-7 Benoit Tourret wrote: > I don't know how to rise the intensity... > I wish I had a laboratory DC power supply, but mine stops at 30V. > so I put a NCH6300HV to raise the voltage. If I can adjust the voltage, I > cannot adjust anything else. > however I added a voltmeter and ammeter to check what I'm sending to the > tube. Do you know if there is an adjustable power supply that can be used > for our beloved tubes? > So, I regulate the voltage and I check that I do not exceed the desired > values. > > should I change the 32K resistor between the PS and the tube? could a > potentiometer be used? > > So I did see an improvement. but some need to be "heated". I of course > doesn't speak of temperature, but they need 10 to 20 seconds to get their > full glow, a bit like a neon tube with an old starter. > They are 52 years old now and never been used. > > Le vendredi 21 avril 2023 à 16:20:59 UTC+2, gregebert a écrit : > >> 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. 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