This is the clock I made using Richard Scales B-8091 clock PCB. https://www.facebook.com/groups/142414439207058/search/?q=b-8091
On Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 12:41:14 AM UTC-4 gregebert wrote: > Those are very valuable tubes, so if you are willing to design your own > driver and the PC board, I would do that. I've made several clocks and > never had a design problem that affected the tubes. Even if you find a > board to purchase, see if any of the following apply: > > Some of my suggestions: > #1. I dont like sockets because they put stress on the tube pins. Some of > them grip the pins very hard and it's difficult to insert or remove the > tubes, which adds to the risk of bending or breaking the pins or putting > stress on the glass. Instead, I use socket pins soldered into the PCB, and > the force to insert/remove tubes is very low. > > #2. Direct drive. There's no need to multiplex individual tubes, and > there's no cost benefit when tubes are worth hundreds of dollars apiece and > the drive electronics is at most a few dollars. Multiplexing requires > higher current, and that degrades the tube's lifetime. > > #3. Use a current regulator, and set the current at the recommended spec > value; too high and you wear-out the tube. Too low and you risk cathode > poisoning. A single anode resistor per-tube is OK, but as the anode voltage > varies, so does the current (no such problem with a current regulator, > though). You can mitigate this by using a higher anode supply voltage and > larger anode resistor, at the expense of more wasted energy. As tubes age, > their striking voltage may increase, so having a higher anode voltage will > help mitigate this. > > #4. PIR sensor. Turn off the tubes if nobody is there to watch them. > > #5. Protect the tubes inside a case, and make sure there is enough > ventilation so the heat doesn't build-up inside. On my later designs I have > a thermal sensor (sometimes several) so that software can monitor critical > temperatures and shutdown if things get too warm. > > #6. Depoisoning routine to exercise all cathodes. > > #7. Backlighting (or base lighting). I havn't done this on any of my > clocks, and I've never had problems with tubes not firing-up. Others have > reported problems without backlighting. It can have aesthetic value, though > I'm not fond of it. > > That should cover the necessities for the tubes; there are always lots of > other features that can be done, especially if the clock has open-source > software (or you develop it on your own). > > On Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 8:17:28 PM UTC-7 Chachi88 wrote: > >> I am climbing stairs from the foot of the mountain to sit at the feet of >> all you nixie gurus. >> >> What is the current state of the art for remote driver boards? I am >> aware some of the older drivers are not as reliable or can cause the tubes >> to degrade quicker. Some of the new options I am seeing have "cathode >> poisoning prevention" I have recently come upon qty 6 of the NL8091's and >> their original sockets and socket mounting plate, which I wish to reuse for >> a clock. Are there any off the shelf boards even capable of driving this >> tube? I was looking at a board on ebay that comes with an IR remote but it >> seems too good to be true, I would be willing to spend 5 times as much for >> a board that was properly documented and put together and had some sort of >> pedigree... >> >> Thanks in advance for any advice or direction you can give. >> > -- 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/bac36066-03e6-4a6e-a83a-69020b75572fn%40googlegroups.com.
