Not sure why by my messages aren't coming through.. On Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 12:49:13 PM UTC-5 Instrument Resources of America wrote:
> I saw bombarding being done. I sit here now shaking and shuddering from > the experience. Here is a fairly detailed video of neon sign > manufacturing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH635AEawGY > The bombarding process starts at about 12:30. The demonstration that I saw, > they deliberately drew a two foot arc just for show. It was impressive, and > S-C-A-R-R-Y. This may not help you with your endeavors, but it is > interesting, and mentions 'neon' a number of times. > > Ira. > > > > On 11/22/2024 8:27 PM, gregebert wrote: > > > Several years ago I researched neon signage, and you need a high-vacuum, > around 1 micron (10-3 Torr). The books I have didn't get into specific > vacuum levels, as there are multiple ways to cleanse the tubes, notably via > bombarding. They did not cover nixie tubes. > > To get micron-level vacuum, you need a mechanical pump to get around 100 > microns, followed by a diffusion pump. There might be other ways to get the > required cleanliness without a diffusion pump, but I dont have any details. > If you just want to do some experimenting, start with a mechanical pump. I > plan to do that soon, as I have a small pump used for evacuating air > conditioning equipment. > > Some of the reasons I'm not doing neon work are the cost of the equipment, > the dangers of bombarding, need for mercury to extend tube life, and I > expect it to be difficult to find getter material. All I want to do is get > some sort of discharge glow, and play around with easy-to-find gases like > argon and helium. > > I saw a mention in the Weston book of pressures in the 10-2 to 10-4 Torr, > though it covers theory of operation rather than fabrication details. > On Friday, November 22, 2024 at 12:33:28 PM UTC-8 Miles Thatch wrote: > >> >> [image: vac.png] > > -- > 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, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/7e19cde9-eb07-42fa-bb3b-2ccf0d4b22a6n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/7e19cde9-eb07-42fa-bb3b-2ccf0d4b22a6n%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, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/f8259611-a480-46ee-b1ff-d6d86c2bca0bn%40googlegroups.com.
