Thank you very much for your explanations. The OG-4 type draws 400-450 uA according to specs. I'll try to see, if there is potential with optimizing the series resistor.
As for the drive speed. Currently I use 200us - if my math is right, I am more in the range of 5000Hz with this (probably divided by two, due to the nature of my isr stepper routine). Maybe I have to reduce speed as much as possible without getting into "flickering" in order to max. out brightness. Gonna try this too. Alternative tubes or leds are not an option - it just matches perfectly with the in-4 nixies I will combine the dekatron with. I really love the optics here :-) I've seen this sort of dekatron-animation with clear bright glows on all of the cathodes - this tells me it should be feasible... On Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 6:17:19 AM UTC+2 gregebert wrote: > Brightness is a function of current; more current=more brightness, but > also causes more wear out of the tube. It's important to stay within > datasheet recommendations, otherwise your tube will fail prematurely. > Brightness is increased by increasing the high-voltage supply or reducing > the series resistor value, or a combination of the two. I have a single > A-101 dekatron in one of my clocks, and it's been running 27/7 for 11 years > now with no visible degradation. I think my supply voltage is around > +500VDC, and the series resistor is around 470K [sorry, that's from memory > from 2013...] > > Brightness is also a function of how much (or little) the pattern changes. > If you are trying to get a full-circle on a dekatron, it will need to be > spinning about 30 times/second to trick your eyes. There are 30 dots per > revolution on a dekatron, so that's around 900Hz. Since the individual dots > are only glowing 1/30 of the time for a full-circle pattern, they are going > to be noticeably dimmer than a stationary dot; you can see this in your > photos. > > If brightness is paramount, then you would be better off using 30 LEDs (or > 30 neon bulbs....) in a ring and drive them individually so they can be on > 100% of the time for max brightness. It's not as cool as a dekatron, but it > is brighter. > > On Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 2:21:25 PM UTC-7 Martin Kaufmann wrote: > >> https://threeneurons.wordpress.com/ - yes, this was/is my main info site >> regarding these tubes. being a noob, I did not fully understand everything >> though. Also cannot recall to have read something about controlling tube >> brightness, but I might have missed it and will check again. >> >> On Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 11:08:38 PM UTC+2 Mac Doktor wrote: >> >>> >>> On Oct 5, 2024, at 4:50 PM, Martin Kaufmann <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> maybe one of you who truly understands dekatrons, can explain to me or >>> give me a hint, >>> >>> >>> Just to be clear, have you seen/devoured this site? >>> >>> https://threeneurons.wordpress.com/ >>> >>> >>> I take it that Mike is one of leading lights in the Dekatron realm. >>> >>> >>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH >>> "The Mac Doctor" >>> >>> https://www.astarcloseup.com >>> >>> "If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes."—Roy Batty, *Blade >>> Runner* >>> >>> -- 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/33899814-103b-47e6-994a-99f54d5a8a5cn%40googlegroups.com.
