There are a few tube stem manufacturers still producing parts, like: https://richlandglass.com/custom-glass-tube-stems/ and there are also some interesting YouTube videos like: https://www.youtube.com/@SignalDitch which are full of links in the comments section and have nice information on where to get parts for vacuum tube manufacturing (hobbyist style) Richland Glass in mention in the Video and at around 11 minutes he discusses tube stems.
/Martin On Saturday, 4 January 2025 at 06:26:14 UTC+1 Jeff Walton wrote: > I think that even Dalibor would tell you that he has not perfected the > process. He’s gotten better but keeps discovering little things that make > a big difference in the seals, coatings, glass physics and composition, > contamination issues and gas mixtures. I personally think that there are > things that were learned, “forgotten” and are being rediscovered about the > process of making ultra-reliable tubes. Without mass production and large > demand for the product, the steps for improvement are small and the > reliability is directly proven over time. > > The 7971 tubes are among the most reliable that I have observed in my own > collection of stuff. Remember that those robust tubes are already 50-60 > years old, so the seals have proven that there are reliable combinations of > metal and glass just waiting to be rediscovered and mastered. There are > certainly multiple variations of the 7971 and it seems that all of the > different constructions share a degree of reliability that none of the > smaller Russian tubes ever duplicated. Time will tell how well the tubes > from Dalibor and DuDu Sa will stack up in terms of long reliability. > > > > Jeff > > > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf > Of *Terry Kennedy > *Sent:* Friday, January 3, 2025 9:25 PM > *To:* neonixie-l <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [neonixie-l] Re: B-87971 tubes > > > > I'd be concerned about the tube lifetime. B-7971's are among the most > robust Nixie tubes I've ever seen, with some hitting 60,000+ hours, just in > the clocks I built. And they were used pulls from stock ticker systems > (there are no real "New Old Stock" 7971's, no matter what anybody says. > > > > Even Dalibor had a run of bad tubes (all replaced under warranty at no > cost) after he had perfected his process. > > > > On Sunday, December 29, 2024 at 1:34:51 AM UTC-5 Richard Scales wrote: > > Hello, > I am in discussion with a tube manufacturer regarding the implementation > of a B-8971 replacement tube. > It seems that the idea is fully achievable though I would need to order > 100 units of the first batch in order to make it happen. > Naturally I am asking to see if anyone would be interested in committing > to the purchase of a number of tubes to see if I can get an order for 100 > units together. > Please let me know if you might be interested, the target price for the > first should be close to $75+whatever duties and taxes are applied. > Thereafter the price could get much closer to $50+taxes etc. > Just let me know. > - Richard > > -- > > 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/bc1fdd08-8314-40cd-b01d-892156b659aan%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/bc1fdd08-8314-40cd-b01d-892156b659aan%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/a98c59df-5386-4638-8270-ce268f72b5ban%40googlegroups.com.
