Have tried now with the series resistor (used a pot). but it does not 
affect brightness. Also current stays between 280-300uA, regardless which 
value the series resistor has. Did expect current to either rise or fall 
when changing the resistor value (ohm's law), but it just stays the same. 
funny.

I have a feeling my "problem" is related to the hv supply, which is 
probably better suited to charging a capacitor than supply a load.

Have yet to try with reduced driving speed...

On Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 9:08:01 AM UTC+2 Martin Kaufmann wrote:

> 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*
>>>>
>>>>

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