date:20231008

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread gregebert

My first nixie clock with 5092 tubes has been running since 2011. I use 
+340VDC for the anodes, and of course the anode resistors are appropriately 
increased to give the optimum 2.2mA of current.

So, why did I choose 340VDC when the mains here in the US are 120V RMS ? 
This clock has no transformer, so either I would use approx +170VDC from 
rectifying the line directly and risk being too close to the minimum 
voltage, or just use a voltage-doubler and deal with the slightly higher 
wasted energy.

On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 1:02:27 PM UTC-7 Audrey wrote:

> I thought I had heard/read that lower voltage was better, though a cursory 
> search suggests that the rate of sputtering is nearly directly proportional 
> to current, so that makes sense, the only reason aside from arcing that I 
> could think of would be making the internal wires glow
>
> On Sun, Oct 8, 2023, 3:52 PM liam bartosiewicz  
> wrote:
>
>> Another note about firing voltage is that in general, using higher 
>> voltages for nixies, ie. >200V increases lifespan, assuming the proper 
>> anode resistor is used.
>>
>> On Oct 8, 2023, at 11:13 AM, Nicholas Stock  wrote:
>>
>> I've noticed a few 7971's needing a couple of hours to fully illuminate 
>> after which they're apparently very happy in the long term if in operation. 
>> Is this sign of a very small leak or something else? I'm not sure what to 
>> make of the 'gassy' term to be honestwere 7971's doped with Hg?
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Oct 8, 2023, at 10:42, Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> I’ve had some of these tubes that require a higher than normal voltage to 
>> even trigger. Most people drive nixies at 170V, but this can be a marginal 
>> trigger voltage for some tubes and completely insufficient for others such 
>> as the GR10G https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/gr10g/
>>
>> Shining light on a tube ionizes the gas inside, the brighter the light, 
>> the more ions. Tubes used in dark environments can take longer to light up. 
>> Once they are lit, the number of free ions in the gas is usually enough to 
>> keep it going. Several approaches were used to circumvent this. Some tubes 
>> have an extra cathode driven with a very low current that is always on. 
>> Some tubes were doped with Krypton 85, a radioactive gas, e.g. 
>> https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/122p224/
>> On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 12:13:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:
>>
>>> Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a 
>>> bit more voltage ?
>>> I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check 
>>> them for aging effects.
>>>
>>> On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 guus.a...@wolmail.nl 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Hello Jim, 

 If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job. 
 Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick 

 BR/ 
 Guus 

 Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V : 

 I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some 
 segments will glow,  but none will illuminate along their entire length. I 
 have had tubes in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they 
 cleaned 
 up after running for a few minutes to a few hours. 

 So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran 
 it over night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or 
 so, I noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of 
 their lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock. 
 This state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime 
 after light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded 
 state.  

 This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as 
 soon as the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and 
 performed like it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 
 3-1/2 
 hours after the sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the 
 tube, and it recovered as long as the light was there.  

 I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of 
 education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but 
 it's cool! 

 I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that 
 on the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run 
 the tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover 
 completely, but I think this is a fun exercise. 

 Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but 
 I might actually learn something.  Thanks.  Jim 

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[neonixie-l] Re: Glowing Wires

2023-10-08 Thread Benoit Tourret

Fixed is a bit strong... let's say that you can try to de-unpoison, an 
other word for "poisonning" a tube.

Le dimanche 8 octobre 2023 à 19:45:25 UTC+2, Paul Andrews a écrit :

> And for some tubes, that’s all that lights up lol. I wasn’t aware this 
> could be fixed. Thanks Benoit and Dalibor. I might try this.
>
> On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 11:53:18 AM UTC-4 Greg P wrote:
>
>> Benoit and Dalibor,
>>
>> Thank you for your responses.  I will try your suggestions.
>>
>> On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 5:41:12 AM UTC-4 Dalibor wrote:
>>
>>> Exactly as Benoit said - just decrease the current through the digit so 
>>> the glow disappears. Keep it running for days in that configuration, and 
>>> make sure the glow on the lead doesn't come back. The sputtered metal from 
>>> the digit traps impurities from the gas and make a thin layer on the lead, 
>>> protecting it from glowing at rated current.
>>> It really takes time :-)
>>>
>>> On Friday, 6 October 2023 at 16:59:49 UTC+2 Benoit Tourret wrote:
>>>
 you can try to add a resistor on this cathode, this will reduce the 
 current, reduce the glow; if the unwanted glowing point disappears, the 
 internal oxydation will re-coat the lead. this will take time, but this is 
 the only way to isolate the lead without opening the tube...

 Le vendredi 6 octobre 2023 à 15:05:17 UTC+2, Greg P a écrit :

> I have a clock that has some glowing lead wires from the glass seal to 
> where it connects to the individual cathodes.  This doesn’t happen on 
> every 
> cathode in the tube. 
>
> I know this can happen if too much current is applied but these tubes 
> are running at the rated current or below when using PWM for dimming.
>
> So my question is; does anyone have an tricks to resolve this without 
> just changing out the tube?  Trying to avoid changing as these tubes 
> (Z570M) are hardwired to the PCB.
>
> Appreciate any help on this topic.
>
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread Audrey

I thought I had heard/read that lower voltage was better, though a cursory
search suggests that the rate of sputtering is nearly directly proportional
to current, so that makes sense, the only reason aside from arcing that I
could think of would be making the internal wires glow

On Sun, Oct 8, 2023, 3:52 PM liam bartosiewicz 
wrote:

> Another note about firing voltage is that in general, using higher
> voltages for nixies, ie. >200V increases lifespan, assuming the proper
> anode resistor is used.
>
> On Oct 8, 2023, at 11:13 AM, Nicholas Stock  wrote:
>
> I've noticed a few 7971's needing a couple of hours to fully illuminate
> after which they're apparently very happy in the long term if in operation.
> Is this sign of a very small leak or something else? I'm not sure what to
> make of the 'gassy' term to be honestwere 7971's doped with Hg?
>
> Nick
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Oct 8, 2023, at 10:42, Paul Andrews  wrote:
>
> 
> I’ve had some of these tubes that require a higher than normal voltage to
> even trigger. Most people drive nixies at 170V, but this can be a marginal
> trigger voltage for some tubes and completely insufficient for others such
> as the GR10G https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/gr10g/
>
> Shining light on a tube ionizes the gas inside, the brighter the light,
> the more ions. Tubes used in dark environments can take longer to light up.
> Once they are lit, the number of free ions in the gas is usually enough to
> keep it going. Several approaches were used to circumvent this. Some tubes
> have an extra cathode driven with a very low current that is always on.
> Some tubes were doped with Krypton 85, a radioactive gas, e.g.
> https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/122p224/
> On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 12:13:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:
>
>> Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a
>> bit more voltage ?
>> I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check
>> them for aging effects.
>>
>> On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 guus.a...@wolmail.nl
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Jim,
>>>
>>> If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job.
>>> Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick
>>>
>>> BR/
>>> Guus
>>>
>>> Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V :
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some segments
>>> will glow,  but none will illuminate along their entire length. I have had
>>> tubes in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they cleaned up after
>>> running for a few minutes to a few hours.
>>>
>>> So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran it
>>> over night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or so,
>>> I noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of
>>> their lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock.
>>> This state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime
>>> after light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded
>>> state.
>>>
>>> This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as
>>> soon as the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and
>>> performed like it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 3-1/2
>>> hours after the sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the
>>> tube, and it recovered as long as the light was there.
>>>
>>> I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of
>>> education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but
>>> it's cool!
>>>
>>> I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that
>>> on the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run
>>> the tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover
>>> completely, but I think this is a fun exercise.
>>>
>>> Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I
>>> might actually learn something.  Thanks.  Jim
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
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>>> Groups "neonixie-l" group.
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>>> .
>>>
>>>
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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread liam bartosiewicz

Another note about firing voltage is that in general, using higher voltages for nixies, ie. >200V increases lifespan, assuming the proper anode resistor is used.On Oct 8, 2023, at 11:13 AM, Nicholas Stock wrote:I've noticed a few 7971's needing a couple of hours to fully illuminate after which they're apparently very happy in the long term if in operation. Is this sign of a very small leak or something else? I'm not sure what to make of the 'gassy' term to be honestwere 7971's doped with Hg?NickSent from my iPhoneOn Oct 8, 2023, at 10:42, Paul Andrews wrote:I’ve had some of these tubes that require a higher than normal voltage to even trigger. Most people drive nixies at 170V, but this can be a marginal trigger voltage for some tubes and completely insufficient for others such as the GR10G https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/gr10g/Shining light on a tube ionizes the gas inside, the brighter the light, the more ions. Tubes used in dark environments can take longer to light up. Once they are lit, the number of free ions in the gas is usually enough to keep it going. Several approaches were used to circumvent this. Some tubes have an extra cathode driven with a very low current that is always on. Some tubes were doped with Krypton 85, a radioactive gas, e.g. https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/122p224/On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 12:13:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a bit more voltage ?I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check them for aging effects.On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 guus.a...@wolmail.nl wrote:

Hello Jim,

If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job.

Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick

BR/

Guus

Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V :

I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some segments will glow, but none will illuminate along their entire length. I have had tubes in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they cleaned up after running for a few minutes to a few hours.

So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran it over night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or so, I noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of their lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock. This state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime after light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded state.

This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as soon as the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and performed like it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 3-1/2 hours after the sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the tube, and it recovered as long as the light was there.

I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but it's cool!

I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that on the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run the tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover completely, but I think this is a fun exercise.

Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I might actually learn something. Thanks. Jim

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[neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread Jim Faulkner

Hi Nick and Ira, and guus, and gregebert and Paul and anyone else I have missed,

Thanks for the replies. The light affecting the ionization was what puzzled me,
but a couple of you explained that, and it makes sense. I have a way to test
the tube on the bench, so maybe I can bring it back that way.

I used the word "gassy" because that was the term we used working with big ion
lasers (40+ years ago). I don't mean a leak, because any leak should be fatal.

The laser tubes used getters that we heated with RF induction heaters to
evaporate barium. The barium would trap any leftover impurities, and this was
the last step in tube manufacturing. As the tube ran, material would sputter
off of the cathode, and maybe other parts (there was ionized Ar and/or Kr
inside of the tube, it was hot!). This would trap small amounts of gas. The
getter material also continued to find impurities to remove. All of this would
slightly lower the tube's pressure.

The laser had an automatic gas filling system to keep the tube's pressure
within a very narrow range, because a small deviation in the tube's pressure
would greatly affect the laser's power output.

If a tube that had been running long enough to have had some gas added was then
left unused for a long time, some of the trapped gas could escape as it sat.
This increased the tube's pressure very slightly - getting "gassy" - and that
would affect the laser's output power. Running it for a while could cause it to
again trap some gas, usually lowering the pressure enough to recover its
original power output.

That was how it was explained to me buy much smarter people, and it made sense.

Over the years, some NIXIE tubes that I've had in storage have shown weak
ionization. Running them for a while has cleaned some of them up, so when I
have had a weak, but working NIXIE, I assumed that it is the same issue that I
saw with the lasers many years ago. Maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks again for the help. Jim

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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread Nicholas Stock

I've noticed a few 7971's needing a couple of hours to fully illuminate after which they're apparently very happy in the long term if in operation. Is this sign of a very small leak or something else? I'm not sure what to make of the 'gassy' term to be honestwere 7971's doped with Hg?NickSent from my iPhoneOn Oct 8, 2023, at 10:42, Paul Andrews wrote:I’ve had some of these tubes that require a higher than normal voltage to even trigger. Most people drive nixies at 170V, but this can be a marginal trigger voltage for some tubes and completely insufficient for others such as the GR10G https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/gr10g/Shining light on a tube ionizes the gas inside, the brighter the light, the more ions. Tubes used in dark environments can take longer to light up. Once they are lit, the number of free ions in the gas is usually enough to keep it going. Several approaches were used to circumvent this. Some tubes have an extra cathode driven with a very low current that is always on. Some tubes were doped with Krypton 85, a radioactive gas, e.g. https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/122p224/On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 12:13:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a bit more voltage ?I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check them for aging effects.On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 guus.a...@wolmail.nl wrote:

Hello Jim,

If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job.

Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick

BR/

Guus

Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V :

I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but it's cool!

Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I might actually learn something. Thanks. Jim

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[neonixie-l] Re: Glowing Wires

2023-10-08 Thread Paul Andrews

And for some tubes, that’s all that lights up lol. I wasn’t aware this 
could be fixed. Thanks Benoit and Dalibor. I might try this.

On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 11:53:18 AM UTC-4 Greg P wrote:

> Benoit and Dalibor,
>
> Thank you for your responses.  I will try your suggestions.
>
> On Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 5:41:12 AM UTC-4 Dalibor wrote:
>
>> Exactly as Benoit said - just decrease the current through the digit so 
>> the glow disappears. Keep it running for days in that configuration, and 
>> make sure the glow on the lead doesn't come back. The sputtered metal from 
>> the digit traps impurities from the gas and make a thin layer on the lead, 
>> protecting it from glowing at rated current.
>> It really takes time :-)
>>
>> On Friday, 6 October 2023 at 16:59:49 UTC+2 Benoit Tourret wrote:
>>
>>> you can try to add a resistor on this cathode, this will reduce the 
>>> current, reduce the glow; if the unwanted glowing point disappears, the 
>>> internal oxydation will re-coat the lead. this will take time, but this is 
>>> the only way to isolate the lead without opening the tube...
>>>
>>> Le vendredi 6 octobre 2023 à 15:05:17 UTC+2, Greg P a écrit :
>>>
 I have a clock that has some glowing lead wires from the glass seal to 
 where it connects to the individual cathodes.  This doesn’t happen on 
 every 
 cathode in the tube. 

 I know this can happen if too much current is applied but these tubes 
 are running at the rated current or below when using PWM for dimming.

 So my question is; does anyone have an tricks to resolve this without 
 just changing out the tube?  Trying to avoid changing as these tubes 
 (Z570M) are hardwired to the PCB.

 Appreciate any help on this topic.




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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread Paul Andrews


I’ve had some of these tubes that require a higher than normal voltage to 
even trigger. Most people drive nixies at 170V, but this can be a marginal 
trigger voltage for some tubes and completely insufficient for others such 
as the GR10G https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/gr10g/

Shining light on a tube ionizes the gas inside, the brighter the light, the 
more ions. Tubes used in dark environments can take longer to light up. 
Once they are lit, the number of free ions in the gas is usually enough to 
keep it going. Several approaches were used to circumvent this. Some tubes 
have an extra cathode driven with a very low current that is always on. 
Some tubes were doped with Krypton 85, a radioactive gas, 
e.g. https://www.nixies.us/bwg_gallery/122p224/
On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 12:13:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:

> Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a 
> bit more voltage ?
> I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check 
> them for aging effects.
>
> On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 guus.a...@wolmail.nl wrote:
>
>> Hello Jim, 
>>   
>> If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job. 
>> Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick 
>>   
>> BR/ 
>> Guus 
>>
>> Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V : 
>>
>>   
>>   
>> I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some segments 
>> will glow,  but none will illuminate along their entire length. I have had 
>> tubes in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they cleaned up after 
>> running for a few minutes to a few hours. 
>>   
>> So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran it 
>> over night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or so, 
>> I noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of 
>> their lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock. 
>> This state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime 
>> after light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded 
>> state.  
>>   
>> This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as 
>> soon as the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and 
>> performed like it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 3-1/2 
>> hours after the sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the 
>> tube, and it recovered as long as the light was there.  
>>   
>> I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of 
>> education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but 
>> it's cool! 
>>   
>> I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that 
>> on the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run 
>> the tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover 
>> completely, but I think this is a fun exercise. 
>>   
>> Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I 
>> might actually learn something.  Thanks.  Jim 
>>
>>  
>>
>> -- 
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>> "neonixie-l" group. 
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>> email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com. 
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>>  
>> .
>>  
>>
>>
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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread gregebert

Can you do some bench-testing to see if the segments fully light with a bit 
more voltage ?
I collected current-voltage (I-V) data on all my 7971's so I can check them 
for aging effects.

On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:01:55 AM UTC-7 guus.assm...@wolmail.nl 
wrote:

> Hello Jim, 
>   
> If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job. 
> Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick 
>   
> BR/ 
> Guus 
>
> Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V : 
>
>   
>   
> I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some segments 
> will glow,  but none will illuminate along their entire length. I have had 
> tubes in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they cleaned up after 
> running for a few minutes to a few hours. 
>   
> So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran it 
> over night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or so, 
> I noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of 
> their lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock. 
> This state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime 
> after light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded 
> state.  
>   
> This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as soon 
> as the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and performed 
> like it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 3-1/2 hours 
> after the sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the tube, and 
> it recovered as long as the light was there.  
>   
> I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of 
> education in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but 
> it's cool! 
>   
> I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that on 
> the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run the 
> tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover completely, 
> but I think this is a fun exercise. 
>   
> Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I 
> might actually learn something.  Thanks.  Jim 
>
>  
>
> -- 
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>  
> .
>  
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] "supercap" battery in MOD 6 Lumina clock

2023-10-08 Thread Robert

How long does this last before needing to be changed?


Rob

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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

2023-10-08 Thread guus.assm...@wolmail.nl

Hello Jim,
 
If you have a source of UV-light, that will do a good job.
Maybe an UV-Led beneath the tube will do the trick
 
BR/
Guus

> Op 07-10-2023 19:26 CEST schreef Jim KO5V :
>  
>  
> I have a B7971 that doesn't want to light up - the ends of some segments will 
> glow,  but none will illuminate along their entire length. I have had tubes 
> in the past that were probably a bit gassy, and they cleaned up after running 
> for a few minutes to a few hours.
>  
> So, I put it into the "10 second" position of my Mod 6 clock, and ran it over 
> night with no improvement. However after I had been up an hour or so, I 
> noticed that the tube's segments were lighting up along about 3/4 of their 
> lengths, and also that the low morning sun was shining on the clock. This 
> state lasted for as long as the sunlight was on the tube - sometime after 
> light moved off of the clock, the tube went back to it's wounded state. 
>  
> This morning I watched as the sunlight moved toward the clock, and as soon as 
> the light hit the clock, the tube immediately recovered, and performed like 
> it did yesterday. However, that state lasted for about 3-1/2 hours after the 
> sunlight moved away. I then shined a flashlight on the tube, and it recovered 
> as long as the light was there. 
>  
> I guess this is some kind of photo-voltaic effect. I have a bit of education 
> in basic physics (for engineering), and this baffles me - but it's cool!
>  
> I have a reading lamp that puts out a full spectrum, so I will put that on 
> the clock today and see what happens. I may also set up a test to run the 
> tube at a bit higher voltage (180-ish V). It may never recover completely, 
> but I think this is a fun exercise.
>  
> Anyway, and ideas are welcome. I may not be able to save the tube, but I 
> might actually learn something.  Thanks.  Jim
> 
>  
> 
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Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

[neonixie-l] Re: Glowing Wires

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

[neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

[neonixie-l] Re: Glowing Wires

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

[neonixie-l] "supercap" battery in MOD 6 Lumina clock

Re: [neonixie-l] An odd, but interesting observation of a weak B7971 tube

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