Filament should be AC though various schemes exist for DC use. The aim is to have an average voltage between filamant and anodes that';s similar across the width of the display. If DC is used there will be more acceleration and hence brighter digits at one end.
On Mon, Feb 16, 2026 at 10:45 AM Adrian Godwin <[email protected]> wrote: > These are unobtanium in the pinball community. You might want to see > whether you can get a good price for them there. > > I'd reduce the filament voltage a little. It shouldn't be possible to see > the glow easily. Maybe faintly, in a dark room. Actual voltage will depend > on filament length. > > Anode/cathode I'd normally use about 15V but less will lead to longer > life. The phosphor on the digits tends to burn with exposure and as usual > this is particularly noticeable if they're left static. > > Schematics are available for pinball machines if you can identify a > display of similar size. > > > On Mon, Feb 16, 2026 at 9:17 AM 'Richard Scales' via neonixie-l < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Further to my post - I did a little research and decided to give it a go. >> >> I connected the filament to a DC supply and increased the volts until a >> discernable glow was seen on the filaments - this was around 10V. >> >> I took the easy route of using the same voltage to supply a grid and a >> cathode - and it worked! >> >> For maximum brightness and kindness to the display (those may be >> contradictory!) I would love to know the 'proper' drive method/voltages and >> whether or not it is absolutely necessary to use A/C on the filament. >> >> - Richard >> >> On Monday, 16 February 2026 at 08:11:29 UTC Richard Scales wrote: >> >>> Hello, >>> I am fortunate to have a few of these 20 character multi segment >>> displays and would like to drive them. >>> >>> These have come from Goetlib games machine displays where where are two >>> of them mounted on a board (for which I also have no data) and I have >>> several of these boards and I hope that the displays are OK. >>> >>> Can anyone point me towards any data sheets or perhaps suggest what the >>> filament, grid and segment voltages and currents might be? >>> >>> Should the filament be DC or AC? >>> >>> All pointers gleefully received - thank you. >>> >>> - 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/b3e56859-2b73-4126-a863-d9b6a3348823n%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/b3e56859-2b73-4126-a863-d9b6a3348823n%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/CALiMYrtYZjubeA%3D5i2H6qGwz%3D%2BCidTe608So2QYTOU%3DZmHcfNA%40mail.gmail.com.
