Re: [neonixie-l] Nixie Nirvana

[Nicholas Stock]

Hi Jeffry, welcome to the group!!!

As a long time Nixie fan, clock builder, collector etc, I applaud you for
keeping the treasure trove together. I noted a lot of highly sought after
goodies in the photos (including a rather *excessive* number of old Axiris
VU meters!). As a fellow nixie/neon nutcase and one of the moderators of
the group, let me know if there's anything I(we) can do to help you with
info, pricing etcthere are a lot of really knowledgeable and thoughtful
folks on this list and whilst a lot of us are probably *agog* at the
collection, deep-down we're happy that it is all in one place and with
someone who knows its value (not just monetarily).

Cheers,

Nick

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 6:16 PM Audrey  wrote:

> You should give them to me :)
>
> On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:14 PM Jeffry Portell 
> wrote:
>
>> Yes he and I are the same age. I need to think about where all this
>> should go in the event of my demise.
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 3:27 PM Jeff Walton  wrote:
>>
>>> Nice to hear that someone from the group was able to make the trip.  You
>>> are fortunate to have your hands on such a treasure trove of antiquities!
>>> Looking forward to seeing photos of the collection.  Eventually we all have
>>> collections that will change hands, some sooner than others...
>>>
>>>
>>> *Jeff *
>>>
>>>
>>>  Original message 
>>> From: Jeffry P 
>>> Date: 8/23/21 11:15 AM (GMT-06:00)
>>> To: neonixie-l 
>>> Subject: [neonixie-l] Nixie Nirvana
>>>
>>> Good morning to all!
>>>
>>>
>>> I joined the original Neonixie-l group on Yahoo many years ago when
>>> Raymond W. was moderator. I had the privilege of paying him $100+ for a
>>> ‘Four Letter Word’ kit that never arrived. Raymond was good at making
>>> excuses ( waiting for parts, illness, earthquakes, no reliable help, etc.)
>>> and always promised that no matter what I would get a kit. Meanwhile, the
>>> time had run out for a refund. The (4) B7971’s were gathering dust while
>>> waiting to broadcast their message as tame, colorful, or indecent per your
>>> preferences! I think there was something in there about nuns blushing as
>>> well. I still get a twinge while checking my postal mailbox and recalling
>>> the 2 years of looking for a package from ‘Indonesia’.
>>>
>>>  R.W took a lot of money from people and didn’t deliver. I believe many
>>> of his unfortunate customers were, and still are, responsible for the
>>> renewed interest in using nixie tubes. Kits were being designed by
>>> hobbyists and enterprising individuals found and marketed tubes  that could
>>> be used to build clocks. I had bought the (4)B7971’s for my FLW on eBay in
>>> anticipation of the kit arrival.
>>>
>>> I love clocks-flip clocks, nixies, and electronic types especially.
>>> Online auctions made access to these clocks easy and somewhat affordable. I
>>> ordered another kit from a seller on eBay named Pete Hand. I actually
>>> received the kit, built it, and I was now the proud owner of a Four
>>> -Letter- Word. I’ve owned quite a few four letter words in my lifetime but
>>> once they fall out of your mouth…..
>>>
>>> I bought and built another kit and was hooked on nixies. I watched
>>> prices rise for certain tubes and bought them and others as my budget would
>>> allow. The intention was to make clocks with them when I retired. I bought
>>> a few kits that featured newer display types and learned about SMD’s
>>> through trial and error.
>>>
>>> This past weekend I made a trip to Madison Alabama which is a suburb of
>>> Huntsville AL. NASA and it’s supporting industries (Northrup, Intergraph,
>>> Boeing, Dynetics, etc.) put Huntsville on the map as a hub for technical
>>> and engineering products and services. The area has computer scientists,
>>> mechanical and electronic engineers, Material Science PHD’s, and thousands
>>> of really smart people.
>>>
>>> Please bear with me as I feel there is a story to be told here. A
>>> computer scientist, whom I’ll call RS had a more than passing interest in
>>> Nixes. Unfortunately he passed away suddenly while in his prime years. I
>>> believe this person was personally known to members of the Nixie
>>> community.  I am in possession of RS’s extensive collection of Nixie tubes,
>>> built clocks, and collector's pieces. Technical documentation and assembly
>>> manuals were kept in file folders.  Included is some correspondence related
>>> to RS’s support of the art of manufacturing Nixie tubes.
>>>
>>> I arrived home yesterday after having flown to Huntsville, renting a
>>> truck, packing the collection, and driving 12 hours. Saturday and Sunday
>>> were one long day for me and I need to rest a bit and recover. If RS’s
>>> brother reads this I want to say it was great to meet you and thank you for
>>> giving (no it was purchased) myself and the world this fine collection to
>>> enjoy. I plan on keeping this collection complete.
>>>
>>> Now for the good part………
>>>
>>> I believe RS was friends with engineers in 

Re: [neonixie-l] GARGANTUAN Nixie

[Nicholas Stock]

Whilst it is an impressive feat (and a very amusing watch)...it is
stretching the notion of a nixie tube

On Tue, Aug 24, 2021 at 1:23 PM Jon  wrote:

> Simply brilliant. Chapeau.
>
> Jon.
>
> On Tuesday, August 24, 2021 at 8:51:52 AM UTC+1 M1 wrote:
>
>> Can’t find that it was posted here or not.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ron is at it again.
>>
>>
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6SUaZ8PLeI
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Michail Wilson
>>
>> 206-920-6312 <(206)%20920-6312>
>>
>> .
>>
> --
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> 
> .
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] GARGANTUAN Nixie

[Jon]

Simply brilliant. Chapeau.

Jon.

On Tuesday, August 24, 2021 at 8:51:52 AM UTC+1 M1 wrote:

> Can’t find that it was posted here or not.
>
>  
>
> Ron is at it again.
>
>  
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6SUaZ8PLeI
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Michail Wilson
>
> 206-920-6312 <(206)%20920-6312>
>
> .
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] VFD filament drive

[Tomasz Kowalczyk]

Did you try simple PWM? I once tried it, but didn't leave it on for long 
time, so I can't tell if it shortens the tube life or not, but by simple 
logic it shouldn't. For most of the time the cathode will be at the same 
potential. Also it's a nice method of elevating the cathode potential above 
negative segment/grid voltage to get rid of faint glow of off segments.

poniedziałek, 23 sierpnia 2021 o 20:19:58 UTC+2 gregebert napisał(a):

> Transformers are not ideal, so even with zero load, they consume  
> inductive current. Most of the energy gets returned to the AC line, but 
> some of it gets dissipated as heat (winding resistance, and hysteresis). 
> This is why unloaded wall transformers still get slightly warm.
>
> You can measure the magnetizing current with multimeter.
>
>
> ---
> Be warned that large transformers will have a startup surge current; I 
> have an isolation transformer in my workshop that can supply 20A/120VAC. It 
> has dual primaries, so I can run it from 120V or 240V. If I try to run it 
> from 120V, even with no load, it almost always pops the 20A breaker for my 
> workbench. So, I use 240V and even then I can hear the wires in the conduit 
> vibrate for an instant when it's energized. 
>
> If you are worried about blowing the fuse in your multimeter when 
> measuring the magnetizing current, it's good practice to use a variac to 
> increase the line voltage starting from 0 volts into your transformer.
>
> On Monday, August 23, 2021 at 8:49:01 AM UTC-7 Paul Andrews wrote:
>
>> Thanks Martin,
>>
>> I'm OK with using a transformer. I would prefer something off the shelf, 
>> but perhaps I should just wind my own anyway. Seems like a useful skill to 
>> have.
>>
>> As with a lot of these things, I find that I have a lot of questions. For 
>> example, this statement:
>>
>> "The transformer is 1:1, center-tapped. Since the output is to be 300 mA 
>> max, the magnetizing current at the input should be no more than 30 mA. I 
>> will try 10 mA"
>>
>> First of all, how does he get a 10:1 ratio of output current to 'maximum 
>> magnetizing current'. Second, what is 'magnetizing current', does he just 
>> mean current through the primary?
>>
>> Then he introduces terms in equations without defining them - they are 
>> probably obvious to the initiated (which I am not unfortunately). For 
>> example, Xl in  L = Xl/2/PI/F and Al in  N = (L*1e6/Al)^.5. Then having 
>> calculated the required number of turns, he just ignores that and goes with 
>> something much larger.
>>
>> On Friday, August 20, 2021 at 5:51:17 PM UTC-4 Dekatron42 wrote:
>>
>>> There is a nice article in NutsVolts magazine: 
>>> http://www.nutsvolts.com/media-files/Forum-Articles/QA_201110.pdf where 
>>> a powerful driver is shown, needs a small transformer but seems to be well 
>>> designed with equations for calculations of the transformer.
>>>
>>> /Martin
>>>
>>> On Friday, 20 August 2021 at 21:37:46 UTC+2 Hannah Mishin wrote:
>>>
 Theres a section on filament driving in my blog here:

 https://hannahmishin.com/blog/2017/4/30/russian-tri-color-vfd-indicator-clock

 *Hannah Mishin*
 *  She/her/hers*
 

 *hannahmishin.com* 



 On Fri, Aug 20, 2021 at 1:48 PM Toby Thain  
 wrote:

> On 2021-08-20 12:58 p.m., Paul Andrews wrote:
> > I'm designing a clock for DT-1704 tubes and am stumbling at the 
> filament
> > drive stage. They want 1.6V. I want to power it from 5VDC. ...
> > 
>
> FWIW I've used LM2575 1A adjustable step down for DC filament voltages
> in that range.
>
> --Toby
>
>
> > ...
> > 
> > So I would appreciate any suggestions for what direction I should 
> take
> > here. I have too many options and no clear criteria.
> > 
> > -- 
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[neonixie-l] GARGANTUAN Nixie

[Michail Wilson]

Can’t find that it was posted here or not.

Ron is at it again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6SUaZ8PLeI


Michail Wilson
206-920-6312
.

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