I thought I had heard/read that lower voltage was better, though a cursory search suggests that the rate of sputtering is nearly directly proportional to current, so that makes sense, the only reason aside from arcing that I could think of would be making the internal wires glow
On Sun, Oct 8, 2023, 3:52 PM liam bartosiewicz <[email protected]> wrote: > Another note about firing voltage is that in general, using higher > voltages for nixies, ie. >200V increases lifespan, assuming the proper > anode resistor is used. > > On Oct 8, 2023, at 11:13 AM, Nicholas Stock <[email protected]> wrote: > > I've noticed a few 7971's needing a couple of hours to fully illuminate > after which they're apparently very happy in the long term if in operation. > Is this sign of a very small leak or something else? I'm not sure what to > make of the 'gassy' term to be honest....were 7971's doped with Hg? > > Nick > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Oct 8, 2023, at 10:42, Paul Andrews <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I’ve had some of these tubes that require a higher than normal voltage to > even trigger. Most people drive nixies at 170V, but this can be a marginal > trigger voltage for some tubes and completely insufficient for others such > as the GR10G https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/gr10g/ > > Shining light on a tube ionizes the gas inside, the brighter the light, > the more ions. Tubes used in dark environments can take longer to light up. > Once they are lit, the number of free ions in the gas is usually enough to > keep it going. Several approaches were used to circumvent this. Some tubes > have an extra cathode driven with a very low current that is always on. > Some tubes were doped with Krypton 85, a radioactive gas, e.g. > https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/122p224/ > On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 12:13:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote: > >> Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a >> bit more voltage ? >> I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check >> them for aging effects. >> >> On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 [email protected] >> wrote: >> >>> Hello Jim, >>> >>> If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job. >>> Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick.... >>> >>> BR/ >>> Guus >>> >>> Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V <[email protected]>: >>> >>> >>> >>> I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some segments >>> will glow, but none will illuminate along their entire length. I have had >>> tubes in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they cleaned up after >>> running for a few minutes to a few hours. >>> >>> So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran it >>> over night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or so, >>> I noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of >>> their lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock. >>> This state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime >>> after light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded >>> state. >>> >>> This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as >>> soon as the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and >>> performed like it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 3-1/2 >>> hours after the sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the >>> tube, and it recovered as long as the light was there. >>> >>> I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of >>> education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but >>> it's cool! >>> >>> I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that >>> on the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run >>> the tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover >>> completely, but I think this is a fun exercise. >>> >>> Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I >>> might actually learn something. Thanks. Jim >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> 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/d2784c4a-c76f-4ae6-b0b1-86f14185bb22n%40googlegroups.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/d2784c4a-c76f-4ae6-b0b1-86f14185bb22n%40googlegroups.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/84ecf40e-cfbd-4d8b-a287-8be443d1cf08n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/84ecf40e-cfbd-4d8b-a287-8be443d1cf08n%40googlegroups.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/A2B96120-7BE5-46F4-859B-01C0715D6D8D%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/A2B96120-7BE5-46F4-859B-01C0715D6D8D%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/F0506BFC-9BD4-47F0-A824-13F4643C190F%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/F0506BFC-9BD4-47F0-A824-13F4643C190F%40gmail.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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