Actually there was something else I was wondering about. Is there such a thing as an accurate vacuum gauge which you can just drop into a chamber instead of connecting to the valve / air line of the pump? Conceivably it's something that has it's own sealed air container and would detect the expansion force / difference between external and internal pressures?
On Monday, August 28, 2023 at 2:16:13 PM UTC-4 Miles Thatch wrote: > Thanks for the read references. I know this group has a shared drive with > some reading material. Maybe I can find some of these there. > > I'm primarily interested in making a few special character display nixies > like the in-12 tubes. More experimentation than anything. I've seen a gent > on Youtube make one in his garage. > > > On Monday, August 28, 2023 at 1:56:37 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote: > >> I did a lot of research about 15 years ago when I was thinking about >> doing neon art. There are 3 really good books (The Neon Engineer's >> Notebook, Neon Techniques, and The Neon Superguide) and I recommend you >> read all 3 cover-to-cover. Though not particularly for nixies, there is a >> lot of good info about the overall process. I have yet to read the Weston >> text (Cold Cathode Glow Discharge Tubes). >> >> You will need to pump down to the micron range, and that generally >> requires a diffusion pump ( a fascinating device, and another topic on it's >> own...) in addition to a traditional vane pump that will get you well-below >> the millibar range. I decided against doing neon art because the bombarding >> process is very dangerous; far more dangerous than experimenting with >> microwave oven transformers. >> >> The manifolds I saw were made of glass, even the valves, and require a >> special lubricant/sealant. I think you can use induction heating, rather >> than bombarding, for removing impurities. The other thing that discouraged >> me was the need to use mercury; it's rather toxic and I was concerned about >> inhaling vapors. I'm not afraid of mercury in liquid form. >> >> Keep me posted if you start experimenting. I have a vacuum pump and >> intend to do some basic tinkering with gas discharges, but I have no >> intention of taking it to the point of making something durable. >> >> On Monday, August 28, 2023 at 10:23:32 AM UTC-7 Miles Thatch wrote: >> >>> I'm looking to experiment with making a cold cathode character display. >>> I have plenty of experience experimenting with manufactured IN-12 tubes and >>> the power supplies that drive these, but I want to step further to >>> experiment in making my own. >>> >>> What grade of materials / tubing / valves should I be looking at to try >>> and build my own jig for evacuating air from a tube and populating a gas? >>> >>> I don't suppose just about any valve with do (like liquid control valve) >>> and looking at my hobbyist grade vacuum chamber, the tubing contains a >>> spooled wire on the inside to provide rigidity to counter the vacuum forces. >>> >>> Would brass / copper tubing sealed with aluminum weld be suitable? >>> >> -- 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/770451d1-35b3-44ce-bd56-fa1ca76ff051n%40googlegroups.com.
