[neonixie-l] Re: Nocrotec Blue Dream Nixie Transformer Nixtra-18.????

[GastonP]

I agree with Paul. 
Also, you will probably be able to do with a power supply module like the 
NCH6100HV and not populating the parts that correspond to the HV power 
supply in the kit.

On Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 6:53:36 PM UTC-3 Paul Andrews wrote:

> I think that only Dieter can answer that.
>
> On Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 4:24:56 PM UTC-5 Tim Goldsmith wrote:
>
>> Hi 
>>
>>  Recently unpacked my IN-18 Blue Dream Nixie Clock with the belly to 
>> assemble it (after 6 years) and noticed a few components are missing. 
>> Dieter nicely told me they were way past that project..
>>
>>  Most of what is missing I think I can source (column (colun) tubes, 
>> buzzer, leds)  but I need information on part:
>>
>> TR-1 Nixie Transformer, type Nixtra-18.
>>
>>  In googling Nixie Transformers, none of the results look like the gold 
>> square with the red dot. Is this similar to the photo on page 2 of the 
>> instructions.
>>
>> http://www.clausurbach.de/nixieclocks/english/downloads/AI_BD_English.pdf
>> What can I use without much modification?
>>
>> Am I looking for something that functions like NCH6100HV ?? 
>>  At least I got all the nixies! 
>>
>>   Any help is appreciated! 
>>   Thanks 
>>   Tim  
>>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Safe handling of tubes containing Krypton 85

[GastonP]

An old gas lamp mantle is good enough for the purpose, as its main emission 
is alpha particles. It must be an old one because those ones use thorium 
oxide to get its distinctive bright, while new ones don't use thorium. I 
keep 3 of them, which I got from a local auction site, in a small ziploc 
bag that saves me from touching the mantles themselves.


On Friday, November 27, 2020 at 8:10:19 AM UTC-3 Sgitheach wrote:

> Would just a chunk of granite (or a granite kitchen worktop if you have 
> one) be good as a cheap starting point?
> On 27/11/2020 10:56, SWISSNIXIE - Jonathan F. wrote:
>
> I advise against using smoke detectors. To detect heir alpha radiation, 
> you would have to disassemble the source until you get to the radioactive 
> isotope plated strip - or button - element. This is sort of not allowed, 
> and also can be very dangerous if you scratch off radioactive material. 
> From outside the detector you can only detect the Gammas from the Am-241 
> Also Quantities are sort of really high in these devices, depending on make 
> and model (1-100 uCi Am-241). If you really want to have alpha radiation, i 
> would purchase a Po-210 source from here:
>
> https://www.spectrumtechniques.com/products/sources/disk-sources-and-source-sets/
>
> They are like 60$, safe and legal to handle. Only disadvantage is short 
> half life of 138 days. 
> You also can find high power Po-210 sources here: 
> https://www.imagesco.com/geiger/radioactive-sources.html
>
> Paul Andrews schrieb am Donnerstag, 26. November 2020 um 17:00:06 UTC+1:
>
>> And by 'alpha', I meant 'beta'. I actually did mean alpha, but I was 
>> wrong. Still my old Geiger/Muller tube couldn't detect anything from these 
>> nixies, so at least I can now detect beta particles. Now I need to find an 
>> alpha source! Smoke detectors apparently.
>>
>> On Thursday, November 26, 2020 at 10:27:17 AM UTC-5 Pramanicin wrote:
>>
>>> Still a bit of juice left!
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Nov 26, 2020, at 07:25, Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>>
>>> Finally got an alpha detector for my GK-Mini geiger counter. First 
>>> picture is a regular nixie tube. Second is one doped with Kr85 
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>> On Friday, November 6, 2020 at 9:20:54 AM UTC-5 SWISSNIXIE - Jonathan F. 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Could also be Ra-226 on the 6140

 gregebert schrieb am Mittwoch, 4. November 2020 um 16:32:02 UTC+1:

> Maybe it's Thorium, used in the filaments.
>
> On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:13:16 AM UTC-8 Paolo Cravero wrote:
>
>> Hi.
>> Let me add two pictures and a story.
>>
>> Lately I picked up locally a bunch of small CRTs (2BP1, that also fit 
>> in the vintage tuner currently on eBay, plus a Marantz) and the guy had 
>> a 
>> few NIB tubes too. I was looking for gas-filled ones and that resulted 
>> in a 
>> W.E. 6167 dekatron, some 0B2WA and some W.E. 6140/423A. Of particular 
>> interest was the 6140 shown in the picture whose box mentions Kr85, but 
>> no 
>> symbol on the glass.
>> When I came home I checked with a Geiger counter and SBM-20 probe 
>> (hard beta and gamma particles) these tubes and the 6140 from 11/61 
>> shows 
>> no action. Same goes for other 6140 except for one, much older from 
>> 12/52 
>> marked 423A. Neither the box nor the glass carry any warning sign, but 
>> this 
>> tube hits >600 CPM vs 40 CPM background when put close to the SBM-20 
>> probe 
>> (it's not the right way to measure radiation, but it's cool :) ). There 
>> is 
>> definitely something else than Kr-85 in there! I have blurred pics of it 
>> and it has been stored away from home.
>>
>> As already mentioned, Nixies did contain Kr-85 and I knew I had one 
>> clearly marked. It's a Burroughs Self-Scan display that probably needed 
>> some "doping" to handle the almost 1 MHz scan rate. BTW, it contains gas 
>> and I might never use it, so if someone wants to experiment with 
>> self-scan 
>> contact me off the list.
>>
>> One question for the knowledgeable people in here. I have some 
>> Mullard Nixies marked "Kr-0A": has it got something to do with Kr-85? I 
>> can't check with the Geiger since my probe does not detect Kr-85 
>> leftovers.
>>
>> So, if you are on the hunt for active tubes, better look for unmarked 
>> pre-1960 editions and carry a Geiger counter with you ;)
>>
>> Paolo
>>
> -- 
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>>>  
>>> 

Re: [neonixie-l] SP-101 Clock, finshed at last!

[GastonP]

Beautiful clock and that case is gorgeous!

On Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 11:01:32 AM UTC-3 dixter wrote:

> Very nice...  would be nice if a kit was to come available...  :-)
>
> On Wednesday, November 11, 2020 at 5:13:14 PM UTC-6 peter@gmail.com 
> wrote:
>
>> Well done!  Looks great!
>>
>> On Wednesday, November 11, 2020 at 2:20:02 PM UTC-5 M1 wrote:
>>
>>> No,
>>>
>>> I don’t want it for a clock.   
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> www.VoltageGoat.com
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Michail 
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com  *On 
>>> Behalf Of *martin martin
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 11, 2020 7:17 AM
>>> *To:* neonixie-l 
>>> *Subject:* Re: [neonixie-l] SP-101 Clock, finshed at last!
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Michail, you want to display milliseconds?
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> ~
>>>
>>> *mcve...@gmail.com*
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 6:14 AM Michail Wilson  wrote:
>>>
>>> I’m interested.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Also, would it possibly be adaptable to a 3x display?  (9 digits)
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Michail Wilson
>>>
>>> 206-920-6312 <(206)%20920-6312>
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com  *On 
>>> Behalf Of *Richard Scales
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 11, 2020 2:18 AM
>>> *To:* neonixie-l 
>>> *Subject:* Re: [neonixie-l] SP-101 Clock, finshed at last!
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Would anyone with SP-353's or even SP-352's be interested in a direct 
>>> drive version of this clock using HV6522 drivers and driven from a Wemos 
>>> micro?
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> I'm hatching a cunning plan
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> This is a display board for SP-353's, behind this would be a board with 
>>> HV5622's then behind that the controller and power supplies etc.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> should I carry on or give up now?
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> - Richard
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, 11 November 2020 03:18:32 UTC, Richard Scales wrote:
>>>
>>> I'd be interested in that - please keep me posted.
>>>
>>> Richard
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, 10 November 2020 16:34:52 UTC, Bill Stanley wrote:
>>>
>>> It might be a bit premature but I am working on a MK5017 emulator. It is 
>>> a 2 board stack the size of the Mostek chip that (hopefully) plugs into the 
>>> socket to replace the original chip.
>>>
>>> The top board holds an 8051 chip (SiLabs C8051F381-GQR) and a DS3231S 
>>> clock chip. The lower board has the 15V to 3.3V power supply and the 
>>> 3.3-15V translators to look like PMOS logic. I also have a development 
>>> board with power supplies, drivers, switches and 7 segment LEDs to simulate 
>>> the main clock for code development. There is also a connection to allow 
>>> GPS + PPS synchronization.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> The PCBs are in and as soon as I can work with a microscope, I will 
>>> assemble and work on the construction.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> I will make everything available including OrCad schematics, Allegro 
>>> layouts, bare PCB, code etc for anyone interested.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>   -Bill-
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 8:20:19 AM UTC-8 Richard Scales wrote:
>>>
>>> Thank you, that signal is present in all its glory. I got a circuit 
>>> diagram and could see that it was rectifying AC from the transformer so 
>>> that was the first place I looked. The signal was good. Given that the 
>>> clock chip is multiplexing the displays nicely I'd be surprised if it had 
>>> failed.
>>>
>>> I've also checked that all the various switch contacts are good and they 
>>> do seem to be. 
>>>
>>> I don't think that replacement clock ICs are going to be that easy to 
>>> locate!
>>>
>>> Richard
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Tue, 10 Nov 2020, 16:08 Bill Stanley,  wrote:
>>>
>>> A possible cause of the failure to count is the 60Hz signal the clock 
>>> uses for a time base. Look at pin 23 of the MK5017 with a scope for a half 
>>> wave 60 (or 50) Hz signal.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>   -Bill-
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 7:10:26 AM UTC-8 Richard Scales wrote:
>>>
>>> Thank you. I have a Heathkit clock that needs some assistance. It does 
>>> everything it should do apart from increment the time. The clock chip is 
>>> driving the displays so I'm thinking it's OK but it just won't count time.
>>>
>>> I wasn't thinking of offering a kit but if anyone has a set of SP-101's 
>>> then I can help out with Pcb's for this version as well as another one that 
>>> I hope to have ready soon. 
>>>
>>> Richard
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Tue, 10 Nov 2020, 14:11 martin martin,  wrote:
>>>
>>> Your clock looks great!  I'm currently fixing this 1970s Heathkit with 
>>> an overheating power transformer.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> And yes!  I would be interested in a kit
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> ~
>>>
>>> *mcve...@gmail.com*
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 10, 2020 at 6:04 AM Richard Scales  
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I could make plans available, or all hinges on having the displays.
>>>
>>> The rest of just smart sockets albeit ones I made work 

[neonixie-l] Re: Ignition delays

[GastonP]

Probably IR would work better as normal glass and borosilicate are opaque 
to UV light. In the normal case, the UV LEDs emit near-UV so they have a 
reasonable content of blue /violet light to pass through the nixie walls 
and help ionization. IIRC some sleepy Nixies took several seconds to 
trigger and light in complete darkness. Natural beta and gamma rays help 
too, and that is the reason to put Kr-85 into some of them that needed 
certain operation.
Regarding to the incomplete lighting of the digit, it is a totally 
unrelated issue, that has to do with low anode voltage. 

On Friday, November 6, 2020 at 4:03:51 PM UTC-3 flata...@gmail.com wrote:

> I had the same issues with ignition delays of B5870, but only in complete 
> darkness and not all the times. It would present itself only if dark and 
> the tube had been off for a while, if dark but the nixie had just been on a 
> few seconds to a minute before, than no issue. After a brief search online, 
> I guessed that it must have been a small issue with ionisation and I read 
> that some people add a small UV LED to help with that. I opted for 
> background blue LEDs. After adding the LEDs, I realised that the top of 
> digit 2 and 5 wouldn't completely ignite when both decimal points on the 
> digit where on. I increased the voltage of the power supply so slightly by 
> changing the bottom resistor of the resistive divider to compensate for the 
> voltage drop from the LEDs (added in series on the anode of the nixie) and 
> it works perfectly now. Perhaps slightly different issue than yours but the 
> idea of adding a small UV LED may be worth thinking about (I wonder whether 
> an infrared LED hidden somewhere works as well).
>
> Il giorno giovedì 29 ottobre 2020 alle 15:41:07 UTC newxito ha scritto:
>
>> It’s direct drive, 5 x HV5622.
>> According to the datasheet, for 200V the resistor should be 18k. I don’t 
>> want to change the 14 anode resistors because I don’t want to play around 
>> the tubes with the hot air gun if not absolutely necessary.  
>> I can try to increment the voltage to 175V, I think that should be still 
>> ok with the used 8.2k resistors.
>>
>>  
>>
>>> When and why did we all settle on 170V?
>>>
>> Good question.. not my fault, I only started playing with nixies 4 years 
>> ago :-)
>>
>>  
>>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Safe handling of tubes containing Krypton 85

[GastonP]

nterested i can show pictures a few tubes ;) 
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> nickja...@gmail.com schrieb am Dienstag, 27. Oktober 2020 um 16:43:46 
>>> UTC+1:
>>>
>>>> " A scintillator? Wow! That's serious stuff! :)"
>>>>
>>>> Haha, you just don't have the addiction going strong (yet).  I'm pretty 
>>>> sure I am up over 20 scint probes or parts to make them now, and let's 
>>>> just 
>>>> say quite a few G-M detectors.  And the different types of scint 
>>>> detectors.  You have plastic, NaI, CsI, CZT, BGO, etc.
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 10:05 AM GastonP  wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The source I use to test my Geiger counters (actually just one, and I 
>>>>> switch the GM tubes) is a plastic bag with 3 NOS gas lamp mantles. They 
>>>>> are 
>>>>> quite hot.
>>>>> I haven't had any luck (or perhaps that was actual luck) trying to 
>>>>> detect natural radioactivity at the places I have access to, so every 
>>>>> time 
>>>>> I take my Geiger counter somewhere, I have to take the mantles too just 
>>>>> to 
>>>>> show that the counter works.
>>>>>
>>>>> > What kind of GM tube is in it? My entry-level scintillator gives me 
>>>>> a background of ~1150CPM at 900V.
>>>>> A scintillator? Wow! That's serious stuff! :)
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 11:24:11 AM UTC-3 Robert G. Schaffrath 
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Back in the late 1970's, I purchased an old ARC-44 radio that came 
>>>>>> with a warning about Cobalt-60. Seems the 5829/WA and 5787/WA tubes 
>>>>>> contained Cobalt-60. However, with a half life of 5.3 years, the tubes 
>>>>>> showed no activity on a Geiger counter. By the time I got the radio as 
>>>>>> surplus, three half-lives had already passed.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:53:14 PM UTC-4 Pramanicin wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I received a box of dekatrons a couple years ago where some of them 
>>>>>>> had radioactive labels on the boxes. Just standard GC10B's, so not sure 
>>>>>>> what the label was warning me of, alas I don't have a geiger counter, 
>>>>>>> but 
>>>>>>> maybe I should get hold of one!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 3:35 PM Paul Andrews  
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Mine is a GK Mini with a SBM20 tube. Background with it is about 20 
>>>>>>>> CPM.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 6:12 PM, Mac Doktor  
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 5:35 PM, Nick Andrews  
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Haha, the radium is the one that makes me nervous.  Tritium, Kr, 
>>>>>>>> etc not so much!  Just watched Radioactive on Amazon (I think) about 
>>>>>>>> Marie 
>>>>>>>> Curie.  A little slow but not bad.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I read somewhere that the Curies would go out to their workshop 
>>>>>>>> after dark and just stand there watching the entire room glow. There 
>>>>>>>> were 
>>>>>>>> glowing rings on the shelves where bottles had been sitting at some 
>>>>>>>> time in 
>>>>>>>> the past, who knows how long ago.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 6:00 PM, Paul Andrews  
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have a couple of old alarm clocks with radium dials. My Geiger 
>>>>>>>> counter goes crazy when it’s next to them.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I also have some Uranium glass glasses and was surprised to get 
>>>>>>>> about 20-30 times background off of them.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> 

Re: [neonixie-l] Safe handling of tubes containing Krypton 85

[GastonP]

The source I use to test my Geiger counters (actually just one, and I 
switch the GM tubes) is a plastic bag with 3 NOS gas lamp mantles. They are 
quite hot.
I haven't had any luck (or perhaps that was actual luck) trying to detect 
natural radioactivity at the places I have access to, so every time I take 
my Geiger counter somewhere, I have to take the mantles too just to show 
that the counter works.

> What kind of GM tube is in it? My entry-level scintillator gives me a 
background of ~1150CPM at 900V.
A scintillator? Wow! That's serious stuff! :)

On Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 11:24:11 AM UTC-3 Robert G. Schaffrath 
wrote:

> Back in the late 1970's, I purchased an old ARC-44 radio that came with a 
> warning about Cobalt-60. Seems the 5829/WA and 5787/WA tubes contained 
> Cobalt-60. However, with a half life of 5.3 years, the tubes showed no 
> activity on a Geiger counter. By the time I got the radio as surplus, three 
> half-lives had already passed.
>
> On Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:53:14 PM UTC-4 Pramanicin wrote:
>
>> I received a box of dekatrons a couple years ago where some of them had 
>> radioactive labels on the boxes. Just standard GC10B's, so not sure what 
>> the label was warning me of, alas I don't have a geiger counter, but maybe 
>> I should get hold of one!
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 3:35 PM Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>
>>> Mine is a GK Mini with a SBM20 tube. Background with it is about 20 CPM.
>>>
>>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 6:12 PM, Mac Doktor  wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 5:35 PM, Nick Andrews  wrote:
>>>
>>> Haha, the radium is the one that makes me nervous.  Tritium, Kr, etc not 
>>> so much!  Just watched Radioactive on Amazon (I think) about Marie Curie.  
>>> A little slow but not bad.
>>>
>>>
>>> I read somewhere that the Curies would go out to their workshop after 
>>> dark and just stand there watching the entire room glow. There were glowing 
>>> rings on the shelves where bottles had been sitting at some time in the 
>>> past, who knows how long ago.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 6:00 PM, Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>>
>>> I have a couple of old alarm clocks with radium dials. My Geiger counter 
>>> goes crazy when it’s next to them.
>>>
>>> I also have some Uranium glass glasses and was surprised to get about 
>>> 20-30 times background off of them.
>>>
>>>
>>> What kind of GM tube is in it? My entry-level scintillator gives me a 
>>> background of ~1150CPM at 900V.
>>>
>>>
>>> My dad had prostate cancer a while back. They implanted something with a 
>>> half-life of two or three weeks. I checked him every half-life to confirm 
>>> that the count had in fact decreased exactly 50%.  8D
>>>
>>>
>>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>>
>>> Q: Should car stereo speakers be pointed to the rear for more thrust or 
>>> up for more traction?
>>>
>>> A. On long trips, the 20- to 30% improvement in gas mileage you might 
>>> get with speakers pointing to the rear is certainly worthwhile. On the 
>>> other hand, if you drive on snow or ice, the extra traction of 
>>> speakers pointing upward gives you added control.
>>>
>>> Don Lancaster
>>>
>>> -- 
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>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>>> -- 
>>>
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>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Interesting eBay find...

[GastonP]

It looks that it is an IN-12 with its lower half masked with heat shrink 
tube. I imagine that in that way, lighting the "8" one can have a small "o" 
to work as the colon for the clock.
Definitely, who built it was a resourceful DIYer.

On Saturday, October 10, 2020 at 12:00:18 PM UTC-3 martin martin wrote:

> That's definitely a "rainy day project"!
> What is that tiny tube in the center ?
>
>
>
> ~
> *mcve...@gmail.com*
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 10, 2020 at 7:57 AM Alex  wrote:
>
>> "New from old stock"!!!
>>
>> This looks very much like a hobbyist effort, specifically as the pcb 
>> which is clearly a perminent marker and etch job...
>>
>> I am sure the original maker of it though would be astounded of the price 
>> being asked for it!
>>
>> -- 
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>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: A Nixie clock for the historically inclined collector!

[GastonP]

Interesting to see that it was not exactly fit-for-purpose. At leas if he 
lived in Germany. 110V / 60 Hz as built vs. 220V / 50 Hz as it should have 
been. The 220V to 110V conversion could be easily managed through the 
ubiquitous autoformer, but if the clock used the line frequency for time 
keeping, well...

On Monday, September 28, 2020 at 9:35:02 AM UTC-3 dixter wrote:

> I could tell you so so many stories about Bucy...   he changed the 
> computer history without even planning it or knowing how far reaching his 
> decisions where at the time...  the time frame was when computers where 
> being invented and microsoft inventing DOS and Apple still in the garage 
> stages...  
>
> On Monday, September 28, 2020 at 7:03:44 AM UTC-5 Alex wrote:
>
>> For the somewhat wealthy historically minded collector...
>> On Monday, 28 September 2020 at 06:17:33 UTC+1 Dekatron42 wrote:
>>
>>> Check out this auction:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Texas-Instruments-Nixie-Tube-Clock-TID-Dedication-1970-Deutschland-GMBH/114432471767?hash=item1aa4b4f2d7:g:ouEAAOSwg6JfcSRY
>>>
>>> /Martin
>>>
>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Lens end neon bulb

[GastonP]

Those do look nice! Good find. If they are more stable than  INS-1s, which 
sometimes develop kind of a flickering, I envision the supply will dry 
pretty soon.

On Friday, September 11, 2020 at 10:23:19 PM UTC-3 bdu...@gmail.com wrote:

> Not sure if anyone else is interested, but I bought some of the bulbs at 
> the Electronics Surplus site, and they do have the lens end.  They are 
> $0.45 each.  Attached is a picture of the purchased bulbs.
> - Bill
>
>
>
> On Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 12:37:44 PM UTC-4, Bill Duane wrote:
>>
>> Hi Gaston,
>> Those look exactly like the ones I have!  Great find.
>>
>> I did locate another possible source, but it is a little hard to see from 
>> the picture if there is a lens on the top of the bulb or not.  
>> Interestingly, the bulbs you located are NE-1M, and these are NE-1P.
>>
>>
>> https://www.electronicsurplus.com/inter-market-inc-ne-1p-lamps-lights-neon-miniature
>>
>> Good news is the NE-1Ps are a less expensive - guess I will have to buy a 
>> few to see if there is a lens.
>>
>> Thanks for helping out.
>>
>> - Bill
>>
>> On Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 10:25:55 AM UTC-4, GastonP wrote:
>>>
>>> I just found this ones in the auction site we all love (tongue in 
>>> cheek). Usual disclaimers apply (not my auction, don't know the seller, 
>>> etc.)
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/NE-1M-Neon-Light-Bulbs-with-magnifier-focus-lens-For-turntable-speed-strobes/172514011732
>>>
>>> Pretty expensive priced, but it gives a hint on the name (NE-1M) and one 
>>> possible application (turntable strobe light) which explains the price.
>>>
>>> Gastón
>>>
>>>
>>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Lens end neon bulb

[GastonP]

I just found this ones in the auction site we all love (tongue in cheek). 
Usual disclaimers apply (not my auction, don't know the seller, etc.)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NE-1M-Neon-Light-Bulbs-with-magnifier-focus-lens-For-turntable-speed-strobes/172514011732

Pretty expensive priced, but it gives a hint on the name (NE-1M) and one 
possible application (turntable strobe light) which explains the price.

Gastón

On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 7:33:29 PM UTC-3 bdu...@gmail.com wrote:

> Mike, Terry,
> Thanks for the suggestions.  I have a number of INS-1 neon tubes.  They 
> are rather large, but usable.  I was hoping to find a smaller bulb with a 
> lens end.
>
> I have seen thyratrons before, but have not found explanations on how to 
> drive them.  If you have any pointers that would be appreciated.
>
> - Bill
>
> On Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 4:33:40 PM UTC-4 Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>>
>> On Sep 3, 2020, at 6:50 AM, Mike Mitchell  wrote:
>>
>> I've used the Russian INS-1 for a colon separator.  
>> https://tubehobby.com/show_det.php?det=9 or 
>> https://www.ebay.com/p/707429259
>> See also 
>> https://hackaday.io/project/1940-modular-nixie-display/log/29161-ins-1
>>
>>
>> There are a number of Soviet indicator lamps with a form factor similar 
>> to the INS-1. The big difference is that they're all thyratrons. The IN-6 
>> is the most common. I haven't studied the datasheets closely but you may be 
>> able to trigger them with something like 5V. 
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> https://www.astarcloseup.com/
>>
>> “The book said something astonishing, a very big thought.
>> It said that the stars were suns, only very far away.
>> The Sun was a star, but close up.”—Carl Sagan, *Cosmos*, 1980
>>
>>
>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] OT - mystery machine

[GastonP]

It looks like that, and the tubes are the gas generators. The port for 
loading the silicon carbide could be on the opposite side, and the water 
was to be loaded through the bronze pipes with copper-color stoppers.

On Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 1:29:32 PM UTC-3 Tony Adams wrote:

> Acetylene lighthouse lamp?.
>
> On Tue, 18 Aug 2020 17:18:17 +0100, you wrote:
>
> >I know many of you like the steampunk look and so might forgive the 
> >off-topic picture.
> >
> >This item was in use every day between 1914 and 1988. Can you guess what 
> >it is? I bet some clever clogs here knows.
> >
> >John S
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Different color VFD tubes?

[GastonP]

Yes. It looks like those Russian tubes that are neon based with a phosphor 
screen in front, to glow green. 

On Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:02:55 PM UTC-3, J Forbes wrote:
>
> this is a different type of tube. Look close.
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Nixie's in a bizarre cafe!

[GastonP]

At 7:18 too!

On Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5:07:05 PM UTC-3, martin martin wrote:
>
> Check out this odd video.  I think it's from Japan.
> At 1:35 you will see Nixie in a vending machine
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j677PxZWifM=youtu.be
>
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Restore or scrap for parts?

[GastonP]

I love those weird 8-segment digits!

On Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 4:13:37 PM UTC-3, DaveE wrote:
>
> I’ve picked up a few of these over the last while - they’re quite 
> ubiquitous so I tend to leave the pristine ones alone and have made one 
> clock already from a damaged one in poor condition - some pics attached. 
> Given the case here I’d say scrap it, but that just my opinion!
>
> On Wed, 1 Apr 2020 at 19:27, martin martin  > wrote:
>
>> Hello all.
>> I was cleaning the office with all my "spare time" and found this!
>>
>> Date code 1974!
>>
>> Should I restore or scrap for a tiny VFD clock?
>>
>> The VFD tubes are 1" tall by 0.25" wide.
>>
>> Your thoughts?
>>
>> -martin 
>>
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>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/553d3b11-8583-43aa-a089-f04852823ce6%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Raytheon Monoscope - badly corroded pins

[GastonP]

Fortunately, on mine there was only a reticulated circle instead of indians 
or little girls.
But I remember using it a lot to calibrate linearity of TVs image by that 
time,

On Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 11:55:22 AM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> Me too Paul. Creepy picture. 
>
> Sent from my iPhone 
>
> > On Feb 16, 2020, at 04:24, Paul Andrews > 
> wrote: 
> > 
> > Different country, but yes I’m old enough to remember seeing this a 
> lot: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_Card_F 
> > 
> > -- 
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google 
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> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/bc7b9b39-1c99-4fa5-b849-df24a7a0ab2a%40googlegroups.com.
>  
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 14-digit nixie calculator project with clock function

[GastonP]

Very nice!!!

On Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 10:45:06 AM UTC-3, newxito wrote:
>
> Here is the finished IN-17 calculator. I thought programming a calculator 
> would be a 2 hour job. I was wrong...
>
> For this project I switched to VS Code, PlatformIO and Git. I think it was 
> worth the effort, the editor is great with the IntelliSense thing, really 
> helpful.
>
> I will now make an IN-16 version, I already have the boards. 
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Someone else who is clearly smoking something very strong....

[GastonP]

The title of the auction says it all. It aims to otakus, specifically to 
fanatics of Stains Gate. Now after buying this tubes they will need the 
rest of the hardware of the Divergence Meter which I suspect will 
miraculously materialize as an auction with a bizarre price tag as soon as 
this tubes are sold. And not, I don't expect it to be a new one but another 
"thoroughly tested" specimen.

On Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 1:47:31 AM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-PCS-NL5441A-nixie-tube-rare-nixie-clock-divergence-meter-stains-gate-/324064890662?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
>
> Really? Over $100 a tube?
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Someone else who is clearly smoking something very strong....

[GastonP]

Thoroughly tested? ;)

On Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 2:21:40 AM UTC-3, Jeff Walton wrote:
>
> Well used, too!  Check out the silvering. 
>
> Jeff 
>
>
>  Original message 
> From: Nicholas Stock > 
> Date: 2/5/20 10:47 PM (GMT-06:00) 
> To: 'Greg P' via neonixie-l > 
> Subject: [neonixie-l] Someone else who is clearly smoking something very 
> strong 
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-PCS-NL5441A-nixie-tube-rare-nixie-clock-divergence-meter-stains-gate-/324064890662?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
>
> Really? Over $100 a tube?
>
> -- 
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>  
> 
> .
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Circuit help...it's in a clock.....

[GastonP]

As we are talking of an event that took days to happen, on a solenoid coil 
that can take up to 5 amps and in an automotive environment I wouldn't 
discount that repetitive effects of seemingly negligible effects and 
perhaps marginal components and unexpected power surges could fry a MOSFET 
that drives a relay that uses an 1N4007 as freewheeling diode.

We also know nothing about the car itself and we cannot assume that we have 
the old watch in a new car. Actually I think it is reasonable to assume 
that the situation is quite the opposite: an old car with extreme power 
transients all over it at crank up time. One of this cranks, or a failing 
alternator or dynamo regulator plus a weak (high internal resistance) 
battery can send even hundreds of volts transients through the power line, 
zap the MOSFET and then burn the coil.

On Monday, January 13, 2020 at 4:33:33 PM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:

>
> If the MOSFET turns off very fast, it's possible the free-wheeling diode 
> will not turn-on sufficiently fast to clamp the spike to a safe level; 
> given the currents involved in this circuit, I doubt this would happen. But 
> if this was an electric vehicle, engineers will be spending a lot of time 
> optimizing the design tradeoffs and probing around with a scope. 
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] My latest project...

[GastonP]

Well, you would really need two of those in perfect sync at start time to 
do the time-dilation measurement. If you want to implement the second one 
you will need a method to compensate for the communication delay when you 
do the measurement in real time. And a really good back support.
However I can volunteer for the first one if someone provides the 
wristwatch and the plane tickets. And I get to keep the wristwacth as a 
memento :D

On Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 3:45:34 AM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> Definitely a must-have if you want to measure your time-dilation on a long 
> airplane flight, or perhaps when climbing a very tall mountain ?
>

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[neonixie-l] Circuit help...it's in a clock.....

[GastonP]

What are the specifications of the flywheel diode? A common mistake is to use a 
common rectifier in there, which is not useful at all for the intended purpose.

Gaston

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Re: [neonixie-l] Lamptron Controller - ID these nixies?

[GastonP]

I remember reading that this Chinese nixies contain no mercury so they have 
low life expectancy. Perhaps you should consider dimming a little that 
display, or making it light only when someone is around, etc.

On Monday, January 6, 2020 at 12:37:32 AM UTC-3, Alvin wrote:
>
> Thanks Martin!  I went through my box of nixies looking for B-5092's and 
> looks like that I answered my own question.   No 5092s but I did have some 
> QS30-1.  Turns out the number was illegible on the one that I pulled.  I 
> was reading the wrong number.  These are QS30-1 which I believe can be 
> swapped with Z560M, ZM1020 or SZ-8.  Thanks again for the help.
>
> On Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 7:54:03 PM UTC-6, martin martin wrote:
>>
>> Welcome Alvin!
>> Those should be the same pin out as the Burroughs B-5092
>> http://www.swissnixie.com/tubes/B5092ABURROUGHS/ 
>>
>> They will be almost 0.75" and bright!
>>
>> martin 
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ~
>> *mcve...@gmail.com*
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 5:12 PM Alvin  wrote:
>>
>>> Back in 2102, Lamptron made a fan controller for a PC case.  They were 
>>> notorious for burning out quickly.  I'm looking for an ID on these nixies 
>>> and if possible, a datasheet.  The end goal is hopefully a drop-in 
>>> replacement.  Any help is appreciated.
>>>
>>> From the brand ID, I'm assuming that they're Zhishiguan but can't find 
>>> anything online about the model.  I believe it reads 87 IV.  The diameter 
>>> is a little over 29mm and the height is 28.7mm (32.75mm with pins)
>>>
>>> [image: i-45N9zH8-L[1].jpg]
>>>
>>> [image: i-pMjG65H-M[1].jpg]
>>>
>>> [image: i-xp2gp9C-L[1].jpg]
>>>
>>> [image: i-KjNrW34-M[1].jpg]
>>>
>>> 
>>> Neonixie post from 2012 
>>> 
>>>
>>> -- 
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>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Nixie sighting

[GastonP]

At 15:31 there is a view of the system setup that contained those nixies 
playing a "concert.
At 16:27 another different set (or the same but in a different setup)

BTW after 18:00 the vid starts being NSFW.

On Sunday, December 29, 2019 at 7:53:32 PM UTC-3, Terry Bowman wrote:
>
> *What the Future Sounded Like* (twelve seconds in):
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkW8Ul7Q1I
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor"
>
> "For 30 years I have been trying to set the story straight about the name 
> HAL coming from IBM with one letter added to each. That was 
> pure coincidence. HAL stands for Heuristic Algorithmic computer."—Arthur C. 
> Clarke, 2001
>
>
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Argon Piranha

[GastonP]

Is it a one-tube clock or just a static/non-clock display?
That argon purple is really beautiful and I don't want to think how nice it 
would look in complete darkness...
Purple Yay!!!

On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 4:35:34 PM UTC-3, Mahdi Al Husseini wrote:
>
> A collaboration project with an old friend, using welding, 3d printing, 
> and PCB design and manufacturing. One of Dalibor’s experimental tubes!
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Clocks! Picture sharing....

[GastonP]

Very Nice! IN-14s, right?

On Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at 5:10:47 PM UTC-3, Jean-Pierre G wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
> [image: JG_nixie_clock.jpg]
> Here is mine  :
>
>
>- 6 tubes
>- 6 leds
>- a CNC milled wooden base
>
>
> no button, nothing visible, just tubes and wood !
>
> smartphone controlled via Bluetooth Low Energy
>
> [image: App.jpg]
>
>
> JP
>
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Free giant tube! CX1140LE Thyraton

[GastonP]

It is a compliment... plus a dash of pure envy :D
I also have my "office/workshop" crammed full of books, test gear, 
computers, 3D Printer plus the odd bit of wood. So... hoarder!!! :D

On Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 5:32:29 PM UTC-3, Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>
> > On Dec 15, 2019, at 3:26 PM, GastonP > 
> wrote: 
> > 
> > Hoarder... :) 
>
> I'll take that as a complement (if it was referring to me). All of it has 
> been stored in a smoke free, climate controlled environment. An environment 
> that's crammed full. The heart of my Nixie collection is test gear that a 
> friend (who's even more of a hoarder and has better stuff) reluctantly gave 
> to me before he had to pack up and move to a smaller house. 
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH 
> "The Mac Doctor" 
>
> Q: Should car stereo speakers be pointed to the rear for more thrust or up 
> for more traction? 
>
> A. On long trips, the 20- to 30% improvement in gas mileage you might get 
> with speakers pointing to the rear is certainly worthwhile. On the other 
> hand, if you drive on snow or ice, the extra traction of speakers pointing 
> upward gives you added control. 
>
> Don Lancaster 
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Magtrol Hysteresis Dynamometer HD-400-2 RPM and Torque Tested working euc

[GastonP]

I am 100% sure that one of the outputs from the yoke is just a pulse either 
going out from a sensor coil or a simple mechanical microswitch.
A simple reverse engineering of the input connectors to the dekatron box 
should lead you to the right one. I can lend a hand if you can get hold of 
simple schematics or a description of what you see.
Regards
   Gastón

On Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 7:02:23 PM UTC-3, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>
> That's helps a lot X you explained it well.  I was trying to imagine how 
> the disc enabled adjusting the test somehow because it's obviously 
> graduated.  I wish it had a test mode... I don't see anything like that on 
> it... I was thinking to simulate turning the magnetic field so you could 
> get the dekatrons going without having to spin the axis potentially fast or 
> with force.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bill
>
> On Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 7:38 AM GastonP > 
> wrote:
>
>> It is a dynamometer, and as such, it measures force. In this case, 
>> torque. It is based in the electromagnetic brake principle and dynamic 
>> balance and all of this is done to measure the force of a motor or other 
>> rotating device in a dynamical way.
>> Probably there is an electromagnet either in the box behind the dial or 
>> within the thick axis. The axis rotates at a speed imposed by the DUT 
>> (Device Under Test), which we cannot know what it was but we can assume it 
>> was some kind of motor/engine.
>> The electromagnet generates a field that is induced in the axis/disc, 
>> which in turn generates a counterfield that attracts the axis to the 
>> electromagnet. This results in a braking effect. Changing the current 
>> through the electromagnet changes in turn the amount of force. The disc 
>> must have some kind of spring behind which is calibrated in force units. 
>> When the disc is in the "0" position, the force imposed by the rotating 
>> axis equals the one in the disc, thus balancing the system. One reads the 
>> force as a proportion to the magnetic field / current through the 
>> electromagnet.
>> I hope I could explain it well, but the principle is really simple. The 
>> idea of using a magnetic brake is that there are few losses in the system 
>> (no friction as in a mechanical brake) and the calibration is easier and 
>> last a lot longer.
>>
>> On Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 2:51:31 AM UTC-3, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>>>
>>> Maybe it's not the wheel but the post on the axis and the wheel has some 
>>> adjustment on it?
>>
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>> .
>>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Free giant tube! CX1140LE Thyraton

[GastonP]

Hoarder... :)

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[neonixie-l] Re: Magtrol Hysteresis Dynamometer HD-400-2 RPM and Torque Tested working euc

[GastonP]

It is a dynamometer, and as such, it measures force. In this case, torque. 
It is based in the electromagnetic brake principle and dynamic balance and 
all of this is done to measure the force of a motor or other rotating 
device in a dynamical way.
Probably there is an electromagnet either in the box behind the dial or 
within the thick axis. The axis rotates at a speed imposed by the DUT 
(Device Under Test), which we cannot know what it was but we can assume it 
was some kind of motor/engine.
The electromagnet generates a field that is induced in the axis/disc, which 
in turn generates a counterfield that attracts the axis to the 
electromagnet. This results in a braking effect. Changing the current 
through the electromagnet changes in turn the amount of force. The disc 
must have some kind of spring behind which is calibrated in force units. 
When the disc is in the "0" position, the force imposed by the rotating 
axis equals the one in the disc, thus balancing the system. One reads the 
force as a proportion to the magnetic field / current through the 
electromagnet.
I hope I could explain it well, but the principle is really simple. The 
idea of using a magnetic brake is that there are few losses in the system 
(no friction as in a mechanical brake) and the calibration is easier and 
last a lot longer.

On Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 2:51:31 AM UTC-3, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>
> Maybe it's not the wheel but the post on the axis and the wheel has some 
> adjustment on it?

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[neonixie-l] Re: WOT, transistor radio question....

[GastonP]

L3 is as described by the OP, a 10.7 MHz trap. It avoids feedback from the 
IF (10.7 MHz) to make the whole radio to oscillate at that frequency. It 
works by making the stage an "open circuit", then making gain 0 at the IF 
frequency.
The "one connection" is simply the way to use the interwinding capacitance 
as the "C" in the LC tuned tank. The resistor in there is just the emitter 
bias resistor for the common base stage, and is not a part of the IF trap.

On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 12:21:39 PM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> L3 is before the mixer, so it's still 88-108Mhz raw VHF (FM). My best 
> guess is that L3 and the resistor make up a crude high-pass filter, 
> especially if this is an AM/FM radio, to prevent AM (and other signals) 
> from interfering with the mixer. I dont understand why the other side of 
> the coil has only 1 connection. Perhaps it's a clever/bizarre way to 
> minimize noise.
>
> You are correct about the resistor; it provides a DC path for the bias 
> current of Q2.
>
> Do you have an RF oscillator and scope ? You could inject a 100Mhz signal 
> at the antenna terminals and use a scope to find out where things die.
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Homebrew high voltage nixie power supply

[GastonP]

Ugh... it seems you have become a TEA (test equipment addict). It's 
difficult if not impossible to get out of that place. If I weren't in a 
constant state of squalor (due to that addiction) my house would look like 
a lab.
My wife uses other words to describe it :D

On Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 11:28:32 PM UTC, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>
> Wow Kevin that's awesome that you sent it to Dave and he put it up on the 
> mailbag!  I love EEVBlog and spend a lot of time there.  I like trying to 
> converse with the voltnuts in the metrology forum even though some of those 
> guys are way out of my league.  They're nice still and tolerate me.  Now in 
> addition to Nixie tubes I've also got a vintage test gear habit!  I've even 
> merged my addictions and have a collection of Nixie counters, voltmeters, 
> and misc Nixie tube display devices made for things like X and Y in 
> machining and more!  My most recent test gear addiction has me fixing up a 
> Fluke 343A voltage reference and a set of L1 L2 GPS stations and I'm going 
> to mount the antenna on back yard roof I think.  I got the big L1 L2 survey 
> type antenna.  I figure if you want your volts stable and accurate gotta 
> have accurate time too right?  Voltnuttery X timenuttery!  I think I want a 
> rubidium oscilator now too... it's a lifestyle I guess??? 
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Bill
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Homebrew high voltage nixie power supply

[GastonP]

Hi Richard,
   What's the bandwidth of your scope? Is it a digital or an analog one? 
Did you check to not have bandwidth limit enabled when looking for noise in 
the lines?  
It could easily be that the scope is not up to snuff for the task of 
hunting for glitches.
Also, did you check whether the voltage in the data line (only one and no 
clock? Wierd...) is within specs?

Gaston

On Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 5:51:18 AM UTC, Richard Scales wrote:
>
> OK, here we go..
>
> 
>
I left it all running yesterday and the corruption was there on and off - 
> mostly on! All the time the HV and 5V 'looked' clean (according to my 
> scope) though there were clearly issues. It could perhaps be down to 
> something non related though when I switch the HV supply for the NCH module 
> - running only 6 tubes, order is restored (with the same wiring).
>
>
> All pointers gleefully received!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Alvin G PCA-003 VFD Display Modules

[GastonP]

Well, I just received my display boards.
 I will be lucky if I can make 2 out of the 4 boards I got. I must be 
fair and say that I ordered just 2 and the vendor sent me 4, but the 
packing was... inappropriate. All of the boards were piled up one on top of 
the other without any kind of separator, one layer of thin bubble wrap on 
the bottom of the box, 2 or 3 on the top and that was it. Only one board 
has both displays with vacuum in them (one of which was chipped in one of 
its ends), which is not the same as saying that they are both working. Of 
the remaining three, two had one of the displays without vacuum and the 
last of them had one of the displays totally mashed. There were glass 
pieces all over the place.
It makes me remind of the horror stories about the sale of NL7971s by 
Poly-Pack (IIRC).

I have a strong suspicion that a couple of the displays were already 
damaged before being packed. Besides, all boards show signs of attempted 
repairs (mostly around the electrolytic caps) and spewed electrolyte, but 
again to be fair the boards are being sold as untested and coming from an 
bulk warehouse stock buy. We all know how wide is the definition of 
untested.

Anyway, I plan to clean up the mess, apply 5Vcc to the TTL and HV power 
supply lines, tie a microcontroller kit and check the status of the logic 
and driver chips before deciding which boards become donors.

Regarding to which platform I would use... I have several NodeMCU ESP32 
sitting in a box which I think with a little struggling or worst case 
adding some glue logic can be used. WiFi configuration and NTP 
syncronization would be cool. If this plan does not work, then my fallback 
is Arduino nano as I also have several sitting in a box next to the 
NodeMCUs :).



On Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 2:05:15 AM UTC-3, Richard Scales wrote:
>
> That sounds promising - what would be your platform of choice? I can see 
> that something like Arduino Mega or a Teensy would have the required i/o.
> I have no experience of doing anything with a multiplexed display,  it all 
> seems like magic to me!
>
> On Tuesday, 24 September 2019 21:47:24 UTC+1, GastonP wrote:
>>
>> Actually, the 8255 and an LS273, both through HV buffers, drive the 
>> segments.Ports A and B of the 8255 drive the "upper" VFD anodes (+47V) 
>> while Port C and the LS273 drive the "lower" VFD anodes (+47V).
>> The TL5812 drives the digit grids (one per digit) through a separate 
>> serial shift register interface.
>>
>> It's a classic configuration for a multiplexed display, that can be 
>> easily controlled by any modern microcontroller with 16 free pins without 
>> recurring to specialized hardware. Just plain old parallel interface for 
>> the segments plus a little bit-banging for the digits. If one wants to use 
>> a processor with less free pins, it can be done too, but the complexity 
>> grows.
>>
>> I just ordered a couple of this boards and am crossing my fingers...
>>
>>
>> On Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 1:00:41 PM UTC-3, Keith Moore wrote:
>>>
>>> Richard, I have not yet done it, but I do plan to at some time. I got a 
>>> few of these for various reasons (demo/display, etc.). I assume you have 
>>> the detailed data / pinball instruction sheet like I do. If not, let me 
>>> know.  
>>>
>>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/bltgd4w4o9gonuy/Alvin_G_Display.zip?dl=0
>>>
>>>
>>> My chops aren't good enough to just whip out the electronics to drive 
>>> these, but I was planning on making a computer that does this eventually. 
>>> It is an IEEE 8255 interface. I should be able to do it with an arduino. 
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 11:11:26 PM UTC-4, Richard Scales 
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I was wondering whether anyone has had any success talking to the Alvin 
>>>> G PCA-003 boards that are available: 
>>>> https://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/electronics/displays/pca-003.html 
>>>> <https://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/electronics/displays/pca-003.html?fbclid=IwAR2epmNiBA7UkcB1H0XqUivyeQEMSmN1HWyIhaM-oZXsEYUmPsewaJ0FLSw>
>>>> I would be interested to hear from anyone that has managed to talk to 
>>>> one or who might be able to provide any insight into how their interface 
>>>> works.
>>>> I have a few coming my way and would like to see if I can make them 
>>>> talk somehow.
>>>> Any pointers to information about interfacing requirements and 
>>>> protocols etc would be most welcome.
>>>>
>>>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Heads Up: IN-12 Sale on eBay (20% off)

[GastonP]

It's really crazy to think that about 10 years ago I could buy a box of 50 
IN-12B for 48 USD or so... "free" shipping and all.
Well, the crazy part is that at that time IN-18s were already expensive, 
7971s were as always, unobtanium and IN-12s were the nearest thing to dirt 
cheap. Prices for the IN-14 were starting to rise steeply.
At that time I bought several IN-8s and sockets at a barely reasonable 
price and the mentioned box of IN-12Bs. I should have bought IN-18s too 
when I still could and they were just expensive at USD 15-20 a pop... 
sigh...

On Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 2:47:12 PM UTC-3, Robert G. Schaffrath 
wrote:
>
> I just picked up a lot of 12 (2 x 6) NOS IN-12 Nixie's on eBay that are 
> temporarily price reduced 20% to USD$8.80. Total came to USD$30.00 + my 
> local tax. I am really not crazy about the inverted "2" but as they are not 
> making these any more, having some on hand for possible future use seemed 
> like a good idea. I dug back in my records and found out I paid a little 
> less than USD$5/each back in June 2002 for my 25 NOS ZM1022's with included 
> sockets. Looking at the prices of those tubes now it looked like a good buy 
> so I figure these IN-12's are probably worth getting too.
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Newbie's powering issues

[GastonP]

The MPS8598 seems to be a good prospect, go ahead with it.
Now regarding to why use an MC 34063 instead of a 555, it's because it's 
specifically designed to be used as a switching power supply regulator, and 
us such it has short circuit protection and a wider range of control that a 
555 doesn't simply because it was designed as a general purpose timer. The 
power supply controller is just an example of its flexibility but having 
better alternatives at hand (and probably cheaper), I'd go with the 
specific ones. Then also 34063 are common as dirt, so it's quite probable 
you will find them easily in Chile too. There are of course better 
alternatives but they are difficult to be found and need circuit layout 
knowledge or they will fail. You will find good and tested examples on 
Mike's site too.

On Sunday, October 13, 2019 at 4:37:03 PM UTC-3, Zyraj wrote:
>
> Hey Gaston! Thanks for your input I really appreciate it, This week I'll 
> try and get the parts you mention, been investigating and learning a lot 
> about powering and Threeneuron's Pile o'Poo is definitely a great starting 
> point. How do you feel about the MPS8598? I think I can easily get some of 
> those tomorrow.
>
>
>
> El sábado, 12 de octubre de 2019, 1:20:37 (UTC-3), GastonP escribió:
>>
>> Q15 is the usual active current sink that us used in so many mosfet 
>> switching circuits to drain the gate of electrons when the voltage at the 
>> input goes from positive to zero. The part is not critical and as Paul 
>> already said, Mike's pile o'poo is a good reference on that respect.
>> I'm sure a BC327 will be a good substitute for the MPSA55 for this 
>> application, and you will find plenty of them in Chile. The same is valid 
>> for the MC34063. It's a very common part and really worth the effort to 
>> substitute the 555.
>>
>> On Friday, October 11, 2019 at 2:58:15 PM UTC-3, Zyraj wrote:
>>>
>>> Hey Paul! thanks for the link mate, it actually seems like the way to 
>>> go, the problem is to find the exact parts around here, I'm gonna give it a 
>>> try, as long as I can get 150v from it I'm good :D
>>>
>>> El viernes, 11 de octubre de 2019, 7:46:02 (UTC-3), Paul Andrews 
>>> escribió:
>>>>
>>>> Probably not what you want to hear, but I would try the design on this 
>>>> page: https://threeneurons.wordpress.com/nixie-power-supply/
>>>
>>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Newbie's powering issues

[GastonP]

Q15 is the usual active current sink that us used in so many mosfet 
switching circuits to drain the gate of electrons when the voltage at the 
input goes from positive to zero. The part is not critical and as Paul 
already said, Mike's pile o'poo is a good reference on that respect.
I'm sure a BC327 will be a good substitute for the MPSA55 for this 
application, and you will find plenty of them in Chile. The same is valid 
for the MC34063. It's a very common part and really worth the effort to 
substitute the 555.

On Friday, October 11, 2019 at 2:58:15 PM UTC-3, Zyraj wrote:
>
> Hey Paul! thanks for the link mate, it actually seems like the way to go, 
> the problem is to find the exact parts around here, I'm gonna give it a 
> try, as long as I can get 150v from it I'm good :D
>
> El viernes, 11 de octubre de 2019, 7:46:02 (UTC-3), Paul Andrews escribió:
>>
>> Probably not what you want to hear, but I would try the design on this 
>> page: https://threeneurons.wordpress.com/nixie-power-supply/
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: IN-9 problem

[GastonP]

A 5 Volts power supply is a big limitation regarding to a current source 
compliance. I'd do the following:

1 - Decouple the outputs of the filters from the rectifiers, so as to have 
an output voltage referenced to 0 and up to 5 volt. The rectifiers act as 
peak detectors and your signal moves from 0 to 5V before clipping.
2 - Build a current mirror sink to ground, knowing beforehand that close 
tracking of discrete devices is an utopia, per output tube (I support the 
IN-13 advice).
3 - Inject the minimum bias current and sum up with a variable current to 
swing the total needed by the tube. This, done with simple resistors to +5V 
and the output to unity gain buffers (LM324 will work fine).

I'd try to make a schematic when I get time, but the circuits are very 
simple.

Gastón

On Monday, October 7, 2019 at 7:09:38 AM UTC-3, Mateusz Dziuba wrote:
>
> Hi again!
>
>
> After abandoning the project for a long time I came back to my IN-9 tubes. 
> I replaced the PSU (NE555 based -> MC34063A based), replaced transistors 
> for MJE340 (which will be used in final design) and did a bit of burning of 
> each lamp separately. Finally I get to the top of the tubes (well 9,5 mm). 
> It seems lamps required to be burned with higher current which my previous 
> PSU, current mirror and potentiometer arrangement was not able to provide. 
> I am blaming poorly designed PSU. 
> I would like to thank all of You for your time and advices.
>
> Now I am facing another problem.
>
> I built set of band-pass filters using LM324 with single supply 0-5VDC. As 
> the 2.5VDC is feed to non-inverting input of op-amps, and audio signal is 
> feed on inverting input, the value is oscillating around 2.5V (middle of 
> nixie). I was planning to use microcontroller and map the output voltage to 
> 0-5V by software and then feed on MJE340. in the end I decided to not use 
> microcontroller, and now I am stuck at point "How to get a 0-max swing of 
> the bar on the nixie?"
>
>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Even further off-neon....

[GastonP]

Some of them already are...
I have several NOS TIL305 and they have already reached cult status, to the 
point of people trying to reproduce them as Dalibor does with nixies.

https://hackaday.io/project/161694-diytil305

On Sunday, October 6, 2019 at 7:07:49 PM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> Someday in the future, these might be as coveted as nixies. You never 
> know.
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: OT: Grundig AS-52

[GastonP]

The people at Radiomuseum requests you to be a member to download and have 
two ways to become a member: the first is the usual one, money. The second 
one is to contribute some new material, which could be even photos of your 
own radios/tubes/instruments/etc.
It's explained here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hilfe.cfm?hilfe_Id=900


On Friday, October 4, 2019 at 9:13:55 AM UTC-3, orange_glow_fan wrote:
>
> First apologies for an OT post. If not allowed it can be deleted...
>
> I need a schematic for a 1952 Mercedes (Grundig) AS-52 car radio. I have 
> located it on the Radiomuseum site, but can't figure how to download it, or 
> become a member for access?  In any case, any and all help appreciated...
>
> Kerry
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: NL7037 clock

[GastonP]

Really beautiful and well done!

What's the purpose of the LDR in front?

The writeup will make a very interesting read, I'm sure.

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[neonixie-l] Re: B-7971 Smart Sockets - Harwin Socket Pins Vs Original Sockets

[GastonP]

I bet that at that time, the "aproximately 30 transistors and over 100 
assorted diodes capacitors and resistors" had more net worth than the 
7971s...

On Monday, September 30, 2019 at 4:20:48 PM UTC-3, Terry Kennedy wrote:
>
> On Monday, September 30, 2019 at 10:08:48 AM UTC-4, Richard Scales wrote:
>>
>> $1 per tube - how things have changed!
>>
>
> Here's the ad (original scan by David Forbes):
>
> [image: b7971ad.jpg]
>  
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Alvin G PCA-003 VFD Display Modules

[GastonP]

Actually, the 8255 and an LS273, both through HV buffers, drive the 
segments.Ports A and B of the 8255 drive the "upper" VFD anodes (+47V) 
while Port C and the LS273 drive the "lower" VFD anodes (+47V).
The TL5812 drives the digit grids (one per digit) through a separate serial 
shift register interface.

It's a classic configuration for a multiplexed display, that can be easily 
controlled by any modern microcontroller with 16 free pins without 
recurring to specialized hardware. Just plain old parallel interface for 
the segments plus a little bit-banging for the digits. If one wants to use 
a processor with less free pins, it can be done too, but the complexity 
grows.

I just ordered a couple of this boards and am crossing my fingers...


On Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 1:00:41 PM UTC-3, Keith Moore wrote:
>
> Richard, I have not yet done it, but I do plan to at some time. I got a 
> few of these for various reasons (demo/display, etc.). I assume you have 
> the detailed data / pinball instruction sheet like I do. If not, let me 
> know.  
>
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/bltgd4w4o9gonuy/Alvin_G_Display.zip?dl=0
>
>
> My chops aren't good enough to just whip out the electronics to drive 
> these, but I was planning on making a computer that does this eventually. 
> It is an IEEE 8255 interface. I should be able to do it with an arduino. 
>
>
> On Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 11:11:26 PM UTC-4, Richard Scales wrote:
>>
>> I was wondering whether anyone has had any success talking to the Alvin G 
>> PCA-003 boards that are available: 
>> https://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/electronics/displays/pca-003.html 
>> 
>> I would be interested to hear from anyone that has managed to talk to one 
>> or who might be able to provide any insight into how their interface works.
>> I have a few coming my way and would like to see if I can make them talk 
>> somehow.
>> Any pointers to information about interfacing requirements and protocols 
>> etc would be most welcome.
>>
>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: OT : Natsemi clock module data wanted

[GastonP]

In this document (page 36) you will find references to the MA1020,23,25 and 
26...

https://www.datasheetarchive.com/pdf/download.php?id=9326ea4c9a6299c64664dd2312bd9801e69cc0=O=MA1002

You made me remember the old "catalog" time :)



On Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 3:46:15 AM UTC-3, Dave Brown wrote:
>
> Subject line sez all- I DO have the 1977 databook that covers some of 
> these 
> but not all.  It covers the following-  MA1002, MA1003, MA1010, MA1012, 
> MA1013. 
>  These modules are based on the MM5313, MM5314 etc  series of clock ICs 
> but 
> are a separate set of modules with added support circuitry  around the 
> clock 
> IC. 
>  So, I'm looking for data on MA modules NOT listed above. I understand 
> some MA modules include other functions beyond the basic clock 
> function. 
>  Thanks 
> DaveB, NZ 
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Can’t stop coloring tubes!

[GastonP]

They look really nice. IMO way better than without the filter.

On Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 7:22:06 PM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> DR2000’s. They actually look really good with a filter! 
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: IN-28 Subway clock i Metro Exodus DLC "The two Colonels"

[GastonP]

I was in London a couple weeks ago and some of the informational displays 
in the Tube looked like neon dot matrix ones. Unfortunately, a trip in 
another train showed me wrong... only neon-like color LED dot matrix ones :(

On Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 9:03:31 AM UTC-3, Dekatron42 wrote:
>
> Ahh, I guess not everyone is playing Metro Exodus then :) 
>
> Here’s a link to a photo of the real clock in the real Russian Metro. 
>
> https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5d1d1390a17d6c09ec209b85-480-360.jpg 
>
> The article says that it is an LED-clock though. 
>
> /Martin

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Re: [neonixie-l] Are those Numitrons?

[GastonP]

They look like Minitrons:

http://www.decadecounter.com/vta/articleview.php?item=218

https://www.davmar.org/minitron.html


On Sunday, August 18, 2019 at 10:27:28 PM UTC-3, Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>
> On Aug 18, 2019, at 8:49 PM, martin martin  > wrote:
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Three-Decade-Digital-Counter-Eduquip-Macalaster-Vintage-Movie-Prop/323886824076?hash=item4b6928ba8c:g:xiwAAOSwsV1dDuAW
>
>
> I wondered the same thing. They look like the planar type. Definitely not 
> tubular.
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor" 
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Gratuitous nixie porn....

[GastonP]

You said it. Gratuitous... but how nice!!!

On Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 7:29:56 PM UTC+1, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> PV’s new remote drive board... 
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Power for six (6) GR10G Nixies: 300VDC @ 40mA - small switching PSU?

[GastonP]

I had forgot your design. Excellent project page and thanks for reminding 
me of it!

On Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 4:23:50 AM UTC-3, Nick wrote:
>
> My MAX1771 design can probably be pushed to that. Yes, C4 & C6 would have 
> to be higher voltage and R2 changed - the PRC221 range have a working 
> voltage of 200V but are safe to 500V - it would be better to find a 2512 
> footprint resistor with a 300 or 350 volt working for long term reliability.
>
> D1 would need to be changed from an ES2F to an ES2G (same footprint, 400V 
> Vrrm) but it may be better to find one with the same footprint (SMB) which 
> has a higher RMS working voltage.
>
> A lower ESR FET would also be a good plan - see the web page for details - 
> https://nick.desmith.net/Electronics/NixiePSU.html 
>
> Nick
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Power for six (6) GR10G Nixies: 300VDC @ 40mA - small switching PSU?

[GastonP]

Mike's power supplies have a "pulse" output to where you can tie a 
mutiplier to get higher output voltage than what the board alone offers.

https://threeneurons.wordpress.com/nixie-power-supply/hv-supply-kit/

In one of the examples in that page you have one showing 310V, etc. From 
back of the envelope calculations one can get not more than 15 mA out of 
each module at 300V...

On Monday, July 15, 2019 at 4:01:33 PM UTC-3, Dekatron42 wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I've tried to find a small switching PSU module that can output 
> 300VDC@40mA to drive six (6) GR10G Nixies - their minimum voltage is 220VDC 
> but most work a lot better with closer to 300VDC (250-300VDC in the 
> datasheets).
>
> I've emailed the usual suspects, Tayloredge and Michael Moorrees, without 
> receiving an answer if their modules can be modified to output 300VDC but I 
> haven't received an answer from any of them.
>
> So, does anyone here have design of a power supply that can power six (6) 
> GR10G at 300VDC@40mA?
>
> I can use more than one module if power requirements are too much for just 
> one module, size is not that important and I might go with a small R-Core 
> 30VA transformer or a dual transformer design if no module exists.
>
> /Martin
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Hitachi tubes pricing

[GastonP]

Thanks, Bill.
   That's about what I was trying to get to... I can get this calculator 
with 12 nixies for around 90 USD, and probably it is a good price then (the 
60 USD auction is from 2015)...
Now how will I do to bring up the courage to actually disassemble a working 
calculator... that's another topic :D
Gaston

On Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 11:16:47 AM UTC-3, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>
> Many of them came from calculators so that might be another place to look.
>
> Bill
>

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[neonixie-l] Hitachi tubes pricing

[GastonP]

Hi all!
   Now that we are going all about prices... how much would you estimate a 
reasonable bid for a set of 12 used CD79s?
I haven't seen them yet so it could be they are CD71 or CD78 too... very 
small and difficult to say yet.

Thanks for the tips!
Gaston

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[neonixie-l] Re: Happy Father’s Day

[GastonP]

I don't know why but this one got under the radar...
A late Thanks! And the same to you if you are one of the mentioned group :)
   Gaston

On Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 2:32:06 PM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> To all you neon obsessed dads out there, Happy Father’s Day. 
>
> Nick 
>
> Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [neonixie-l] OT - 20 chr VFDs >blech

[GastonP]

Most Arduino kits but the smallest ones (i.e.: Mini) and Raspberry Pi have 
enough GPIO pins available to do it without need to resort to serial to 
parallel. Of course you can use any of the I2C chips available too. My 
philosophy is to adhere as much as possible to the KISS principle.

On Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 11:11:31 AM UTC-3, Keith Moore wrote:
>
> This is accurate and great detail. I believe it is simpler than you might 
> think. This is just a parallel interface (times two).
>
> The work is done with the shifters and the data is pumped via a parallel 
> interface from the processor as in the original design.
> I am just a software guy, but once I saw the trusty parallel chip, I 
> figured it was a parallel interface. 
>
> So how does one drive a parallel interface from Arduino/Raspberry?  
> Probably via a serial to parallel converter board with a variant of IEEE 
> 1284 output. I have not looked into this yet, but that's where I plan to 
> start.  
>
> Am I way off base? 
>
> On Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 4:47:46 AM UTC-4, andybiker wrote:
>>
>> Hi John,
>> The scans you posted answer all of the questions.
>> There is no "display controller" as you'd expect from the modern "fruit 
>> machine" displays.
>> All we have on the board is latches and level shifters.
>> pins 16,18,19 control a shift register (TL5812) to select the digit 
>> position to display (both displays selected at the same time)
>> there are then 4 latches - 2 for segments on top display, 2 for segments 
>> on bottom display
>> These latch the 8 bit data bus (pins 4 to 11) to each level shifter.
>> the first 3 latches are internal to an 8255 (antique i/o port that I last 
>> used in the early 80s) - selected with /A7 (pin3) low , /SEL4 (pin 13) low 
>> and /WR (pin1) low /RD (pin 2) HIGH
>> A0 and A1 (pins 14 + 15) select which one of the 3 latches to use (and 
>> initialise the 8255)
>> As this part only has 3 latches and we need 4, an extra latch has been 
>> bolted on in the form of IC2 (74ls273)
>> This is selected with /SEL4 (pin 13) low, /A7 (pin 3) HIGH, /WR (pin1) low
>> (I think reset should be kept high - need to check data sheets)
>> Supplies are 47v, 5v, 4.5vAC for the filament.
>>
>> Data sheets are available for all of these chips.
>> I suspect that driving one is "a full time job" for something like a 
>> simple arduino.
>>
>> I hope my ramblings help someone,
>> Cheers,
>> Andrew
>>
>>
>> On Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 9:52:24 AM UTC+1, Nixcited delighted wrote:
>>>
>>> I now have my displays and the schematic.
>>>
>>> I have scanned relevant manual pages, power supply, interconnect, 
>>> display board and component identification.
>>>
>>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/bltgd4w4o9gonuy/Alvin_G_Display.zip?dl=0
>>>
>>> John S
>>>
>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] OT - 20 chr VFDs >blech

[GastonP]

Hi guys,
   Did anyone receive any of those boards from Down Under? I feel 
tempted to buy but I'm afraid the VFDs could be outgassed.
The customs regulations in my country let me buy only one at a time so my 
success probabilities should be high for me to take the plunge... 86 USD 
for a board with two duds would be a very big hit down in my wallet...

Regards
   Gaston

On Thursday, May 23, 2019 at 2:17:20 AM UTC-3, Nixcited delighted wrote:
>
>
> On 22 May 2019, at 18:13, Jon Jackson > 
> wrote:
>
> John,
>
> I have a couple of these 20-digit VFD displays.  The label says it's a 
> Noritake itran model FG2013A1 display which is listed as discontinued on 
> the Noritake web site.
>
> A search has not come up with a datasheet.  Do you have a copy of the 
> datasheet you could share?
>
> Jon D.
>
>
> Noritake itran will be Noritake itron, Jon.
>
> The old kiss-off came from pinballspareparts.com, they are not playing 
> ball as it were. I know they sell the manuals. I was hoping they’d offer 
> to scan the page for me as I'd bought 10 boards. I may rattle their cage 
> again - what have I to lose?
>
> Just thought of someone else to ask… a walking encyclopaedia of all things 
> pinball. All is not yet lost.
>
> Incidentally, anyone visiting London into pinball, with all its neon and 
> flashing light loveliness, should visit http://www.flipoutlondon.com/ but 
> check opening times. Over 50 machines to play, in a permanent location run 
> by collectors and enthusiasts.
>
> John S
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Pricing Insanity

[GastonP]

Nobody can say that his pricing of the lot is not beyond rare :)

On Thursday, May 9, 2019 at 9:30:12 PM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> Beyond rare eh? What a load of nonsense
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 9, 2019, at 17:17, martin martin > 
> wrote:
>
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] B-54364 NIXIE display tube

[GastonP]

I find strange that they don't have a omega symbol and an A and a V too in the 
right position.
As it is, is useful only in frequecy counters/period meters, while if it had an 
omega (ohm symbol), and a capital A and V, its market could have been much 
bigger.

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[neonixie-l] Nice pic of several working HP instruments with nixies

[GastonP]

Ditto... just that.
I saw them and couldn't believe how well cared for they are.

http://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2334354/#msg2334354

Cheers!

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[neonixie-l] Re: Another Tube Hobby Failure

[GastonP]

A measurement of ripple levels and frequency would help a lot in diagnosing 
what's happening.
Also, electrolytics have a maximum rated current, and the higher the one 
that passes through them, the higher the internal temperature, and in 
consequence a shorter life. I don't know if multilayer ceramic capacitors 
have this value specified, but it will affect them for sure.

On Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 9:15:57 PM UTC-3, MichaelB wrote:
>
> This makes 4 times now this clock has failed over the past 10 years or so. 
> This is a stock clock with IN-18's. I have another set of these electronics 
> that has never failed, but then again, I had changed the tube board to 
> accommodate the Z566M tube. Different current demands? It has worked like a 
> charm for years now. The failure with the IN-8 clock this time was a leaky 
> C6. In the past the inductor has failed, but usually its one of the 
> electrolytics in the Pwr supply stage. It's become kind of a ritual where 
> every 2-3 years I have to pull the clock apart and play detective and 
> figure out what's wrong after its starts blowing fuses. Kind of fun now, 
> actually! 
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: 2 Nixie Tubes Burroughs B-7971 Alphanumeric 15-segment retro

[GastonP]

Nice but... you know that's cheating, right? :D

On Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 9:29:50 AM UTC-3, Tony Adams wrote:
>
> Did that back in 2015 for a project tht would use a lot of 7971s. I've 
> attempted to attach a photo but as it's the first time I've tried here 
> it may not work. 
>
> This was a proof of concept, I had a few PCBs with bases for the pins 
> made up but didn't have the time to do anything more. 
>
> There are short 'half-length' strips available now that would make the 
> centre segments much easier. 
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: 32 kHz output of Maxim DS3231* RTC

[GastonP]

Well, a possible use might be as backup clock generator in dirt cheap 
clocks that use the line frequency as reference.
You can make millions of those, and no one is very fussy with it. I know 
because my wife used to have an alarm clock that was horrid when line 
operated (not the clock's guilt) but way worse whenever we turned off the 
power for electrical repairs in the house.


On Monday, February 11, 2019 at 7:17:10 PM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
>
> What amazes me is how many of these fake RTCs seem to be out there, and 
> who the customers are that are putting these into their products and 
> selling them.
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: MPSA42 troubles

[GastonP]

Did you verify that you verified that the layout is E-B-C? Or is it B-C-E?

On Friday, February 8, 2019 at 9:35:14 PM UTC-3, Thomas Kummer wrote:
>
> My understanding is that a MPSA42 is an NPN transistor and the MPSA92 is a 
> PNP. My understanding of how an NPN transistor works is that when the base 
> “P” is turned on the circuit from collector to emitter is shorted. When the 
> base is off the circuit is open. I’m trying to use the decimal point on a 
> Nixie tube rather than an LED for the alarm. So, I have the collector 
> hooked to the tube the emitter hooked to the ground, and the base hooked to 
> 5V signal, I also have a 10K resistor between base and 5V. However, no 
> matter what the decimal point stays lit!! Even when the signal is off. The 
> only time it isn’t lit is if the base is open, if I even touch the base the 
> decimal point lights up!! The transistor has the the imprint A42 B331. It 
> appears to be a knock off and that could be where my problems are coming 
> from. I’ve tried looking for a datasheet, but to no avail. Any help would 
> be appreciated. 

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[neonixie-l] Re: Dummy load

[GastonP]

I think that, as David says, an OTA is the ideal solution for you... a 
small opamp, plus a MOSFET or a bipolar transistor, with a reasonable 
heatsink will do fine.

On Thursday, November 22, 2018 at 2:44:01 PM UTC-3, Paul Andrews wrote:
>
> Hi 
>
> I’ve been looking for an electronic dummy load for a while, but I can’t 
> justify spending money on a piece of lab equipment. There are several cheap 
> dummy loads around, but most of them can’t tolerate the sorts of voltages 
> that a nixie power supply needs to produce. 
>
> A few days ago I came across this one: 
> http://www.voltlog.com/voltlog-119-new-150w-dummy-load-review/ which 
> looked perfect, until I read the granularity of the current settings - way 
> too coarse. So I was wondering if it might be possible to take one of these 
> and modify it to provide loads more in the range of those needed to test 
> nixie power supplies - e.g. a few mA to a few hundred mA in 1mA increments. 
>
> If it’s a possibility, I might just get one and then start trying to 
> figure it out.

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[neonixie-l] Re: Single inductor supplies and heat issues

[GastonP]

The usual auction site is your friend... ;)

40-50 USD each, depending on the state of disassembly of the original part, 
with free shipping.

On Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 8:40:34 PM UTC-3, orange_glow_fan wrote:
>
>
> Wow, that video is amazing!  Any idea as to what these new Nixies sell 
> for?   An arm?, leg? first born??
>
>
>
>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Filament transfomer current for driving six NIMOs?

[GastonP]

H... a transformer short circuit current, which is the maximum current 
that it can supply, is not the design or specified one, which in this case 
would be 1.2A and which is the current it can supply indefinitely while 
maintaining all of the design parameters.
The ideal transformer has, of course, infinite output current, but as the 
real transformers coils are made of copper, impure, there is its resistance 
that limits the current output (and of course heats the transformer). I'm 
dismissing losses due to the iron core as we are talking of the transition 
start up, which is likable to a short circuit.

One can calculate the short circuit current as the transformer secondary 
design voltage divided by the secondary total DC resistance, that would be 
the secondary DC resistance plus the primary resistance reflected on the 
secondary (the primary DC resistance divide by the transformer ratio).

In this case, the transformer resistance is Rsec + Rpri * Vsec/Vpri, and 
the short circuit current would be Vsec/(Rsec + Rpri *Vsec/Vpri).

The tube startup current without limiters of any kind (assuming there is 
only one being fed by the transformer) would be then Vsec/(Rsec + 
Rpri*Vsec/Vpri+Rfilament)

So, the transformer actually supplies several times the specified current 
at startup, given the very low cold resistance of the filament. This 
accounts for the "flash" one sees in some receiving/transmitting tubes.

The moral is: one needs to put some limiting element when feeding delicate 
tubes.

Gastón

On Monday, October 22, 2018 at 2:58:54 PM UTC-3, jrehwin wrote:
>
> > I need help with how much current a regular mains transformer would need 
> for the center tapped filament winding for six NIMOs. 
> > 
> > The filament for a NIMO is specified at 1.1V AC or DC +/-0.15V at some 
> 0.2A. The cold resistance of the filament is some 2.1 Ohm. 
> > 
> > Do I need to specify some overhead for the heater transformer to be able 
> to power six NIMOs or do I just need 1.2A current capability (6*0.2A)? 
>
> 1.2A should be sufficient.  The cold filaments will attempt to draw more, 
> but the transformer will be unable to supply it, so the voltage will drop 
> initially, which is what you want:  this will give a gentler warmup than 
> smacking them with full voltage would.  It is, of course, possible to add 
> more circuitry for an even softer start, but a transformer sized for the 
> equilibrium load is pretty simple and works well. 
>
> - John 
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Filament transfomer current for driving six NIMOs?

[GastonP]

You don't need to put all of the tubes if you use limiting resistors (or 
some other protection device) in series with the filaments. Just the one 
you calculated for normal use will do.

This case (very expensive, unobtanium tubes that will be gone forever if 
zapped) fully justifies a slow turn on regulated DC power supply instead of 
an "economical" solution.

Gastón

On Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 9:02:11 AM UTC-3, Dekatron42 wrote:
>
> @jrehwin: If I order a transformer with 1.1V center tapped transformer 
> with 1.2A rating for driving six NIMOs, do I have to load it with 5 ”NIMOs” 
> if I want to test just one NIMO?

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[neonixie-l] Re: USSR Nixie Neon indicator of symbols IN-5A-1 ИН5А-1 NEW NOS TESTED 1pc.

[GastonP]

The one I have seen on the manuals and was curious to know is the IV-5. 
Same as the IV-4 and IV-17 (14 segments) but front view...
Also never seen one in eBay and I have several alerts enabled.

On Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 9:38:08 AM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> One for the collection!! I haven’t seen these before and i’ve been 
> checking eBay for years...
>
>
> Look at this on eBay
> USSR Nixie Neon indicator of symbols IN-5A-1 ИН5А-1 NEW NOS TESTED 1pc. 
> 
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 12 digit Japanese panaplex-like tube 1972

[GastonP]

An uber-Divergence Meter, perhaps?

Something like this... http://www.mindspring.com/~tomtitor/

(edited and added the link, sorry for the double post)

On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 11:40:25 PM UTC-3, J Forbes wrote:
>
> I was cleaning up some stuff in my shop and came across a Unitrex 1200 
> calculator, which has been hiding there for quite a while. google it to see 
> images of similar ones. It appears to have been made in 1972, and I don't 
> have the power cord for it, although I could with a little effort make 
> something work. 
>
> it has a 12 digit neon 7 segment display. 
>
> There must be something fun I can do with thisany ideas?
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 12 digit Japanese panaplex-like tube 1972

[GastonP]

An uber-Divergence Meter perhaps?

On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 11:40:25 PM UTC-3, J Forbes wrote:
>
> I was cleaning up some stuff in my shop and came across a Unitrex 1200 
> calculator, which has been hiding there for quite a while. google it to see 
> images of similar ones. It appears to have been made in 1972, and I don't 
> have the power cord for it, although I could with a little effort make 
> something work. 
>
> it has a 12 digit neon 7 segment display. 
>
> There must be something fun I can do with thisany ideas?
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Interesting find on eBay - beam switching tubes (probably)

[GastonP]

Actually, tubes used in binary counters have a problem known as "cathode 
poisoning" that is unrelated to the one of the nixie tubes. Apparently a 
resistive layer is formed on the cathode when the tube is kept long periods 
of time turned on but in "off" state, which renders the tubes useless for 
any kind of linear usage afterwards.
So the amount of money to be had from then is actually pennies :) . At 
least for the discerning buyers.

On Monday, October 8, 2018 at 4:54:57 AM UTC-3, Tomasz Kowalczyk wrote:
>
> During my routine search for interesting auctions I found this auction:
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Burroughs-6844A-Nixie-Tubes-on-PCB-Sockets-Leads-w-Counters-6703-5814a/192682396566?epid=1825418631=item2cdcc40b96:g:Pf8AAOSw8U9burg8
>
> The counter modules seemed suspiciously large, so I thought they might be 
> non-semiconductor. And it seems it isn't a triode based digital system - in 
> those large metal cylinders there are some unknown tubes. I think they 
> might be beam switching tubes, as those required external magnet to work. 
> The modules go by name CP-468/U, but I can't find any information about 
> them.
> This auction isn't mine and if I hadn't already spent lots of money on 
> interesting and unnecessary stuff lately, I would probably buy it out of 
> curiosity.
> Also, the double triodes seen there (5814 tubes) might be worth a penny, 
> as they seem to be a replacement for 12AU7/ECC82, popular tube in high-end 
> amplifiers.
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Still need these tubes for my drug store tube tester. UPDATED LIST

[GastonP]

What was that eight shaped socket intended for?

On Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 9:03:22 PM UTC-3, Terry S wrote:
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/32165280@N02/albums/72157674341385913
>
> Sorry about my feet in one picture. 
>
> Terry
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 1:55:19 PM UTC-5, John Snow wrote:
>>
>> Congratulations! Looking forward to the finished picture!
>>
>> On Monday, 3 September 2018 21:01:56 UTC+1, Terry S wrote:
>>>
>>> Mission accomplished! The tester slots are full, and no further tubes 
>>> are needed. Thanks to all of you who helped me fill the tester drawers!
>>>
>>> Terry
>>>
>>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Would anyone mind looking over my schematic?

[GastonP]

I would also add some zener or transzorb, and would be wary of the engine 
start-up transient. There are several high value inductors being disengaged 
abruptly that can send a mighty pulse back. Depending on the age and state 
of the battery that pulse could be dangerous.

On Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 8:49:07 PM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> OK, schematic looks right now
>
> Large filter caps (> 100uF) by themselves wont solve the spike problem. 
> You will need some series inductance (try 100uH), and some lower-value caps 
> (0.1uF) in parallel because larger caps dont filter high-frequency noise 
> very well. Also be sure to have a series diode from the +12V automobile 
> power to protect against reverse-polarity. I recommend a fuse as well. As 
> far as what L & C values to use for the filter, the values I guessed at get 
> you a corner frequency of a few kHz. You might want to put a scope on your 
> car and see what noise you get during engine-idle while the battery is 
> charging; I'm guessing the alternator is the biggest source of 
> low-frequency noise, but it could also be the ignition system. I've never 
> looked; always been curious.
>
> Plan on noisy signals from your sensors; there's all sorts of electrical 
> noise under the hood. There's a lot of clever automotive engineers with 
> many years of experience who have solved this problem, and hopefully 
> published some technical papers.
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Divergent Nixie clock designs

[GastonP]

Nice design, Mike
   What was the function of the microphone in the lower part of the 
shcematic? It goes to the connector and to a pin called X+ but I couldn't 
find what's after that.
Gastón

On Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 2:15:41 AM UTC-3, threeneurons wrote:
>
> I've made a clock using a CPLD, the little brother of the FPGA:
>
> https://threeneurons.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/mach210_clk.pdf
>
> AMD MACH210. It was made quite a while ago. I guess MACH210 chips are 
> vintage now.
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] NL-50944 Infos?

[GastonP]

Actually, in most if not all of the voltage regulator/voltage reference 
tubes, at least a pair of the pins are used as security feature. This is 
just a short circuit between two pins that are used to disconnect the 
output of the power supply when the regulator is not in the socket to avoid 
unregulated high voltage going into the load when the regulator/reference 
is not in.
It is interesting to see that very few of the new circuits that use this 
voltage regulators do not make use of this security feature.

On Friday, May 18, 2018 at 3:02:32 AM UTC-3, Tomasz Kowalczyk wrote:
>
>
>
> Voltage stabilizers use extra pins just for rigidness of internal 
> structure - they are essentially neon tubes, like nixies, but have larger 
> working areas to support currents varying between 5mA and 30-40mA. So their 
> model has only two electrodes, but as there are more present in the 
> envelope, then why not use them as extra mechanical support.
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Small analog meters needed for National Union Videotron tube checker turned into a Nixie tube tester

[GastonP]

This one

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PANASONIC-SA-700-RECEIVER-PARTS-meter-tuning/311953913575

does not look extremely hi-fi and it is not extremely expensive either...

On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 4:47:23 PM UTC-3, Jens Boos wrote:
>
> Hi folks, 
>
> I have recently stumbled upon a National Union Videotron tube checker [ 
> https://www.ebay.ca/itm/232720201826 ] and I am thinking of converting 
> it into a Nixie tube tester. It comes with a convenient little 
> compartment (see the pictures in the auction) that I can use to store 
> cables and adapters, and it is not too big in itself so it is easy to 
> carry around. 
>
> Here is my question: I want to include vintage meters that display the 
> current (anything in the range 0-10mA should be just fine) and also the 
> voltage (range 0-300V I think makes sense). The problem: any old meters 
> I could find on Ebay are just way too big. The tube tester measures some 
> 15x20cm (~ 6x8in). 
>
> Does anyone know of a nice series of analog panel meters that are not 
> too big, but also keep uo the vintage look? I am trying to avoid the 
> 70's HiFi look. 
>
> Thanks, your help is much appreciated! 
>
> Best wishes 
> Jens 
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 4 digit nimo clock so far

[GastonP]

Thanks for bringing back the Nimo specifications, Mike.
Did anyone ever see the "4 decade" ones, or even the blue and red phosphor 
models?
The "6 decade" didn't even have a part number so it probably was in the 
product line roadmap but never made it.

Gastón

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 3:53:01 PM UTC-3, threeneurons wrote:
>
> On Monday, April 23, 2018 at 10:34:29 AM UTC-7, gregebert wrote:
>  
>
>> ... I'm unsure about the orientation of the display vs the tube pins.
>>
>>
> Go to page 4 of the following document:
>
>  https://threeneurons.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/iee_nimo808.pdf 
> 
>
> The anode "nib", is 18 degrees off of pin 12, making pin 11 roughly 9.7 
> degrees off of dead top center. The "Compactron" base has 27.7 degree 
> spacing between pins, according to all documents that I could find.
>
> From the tubes I have, the "nib" is top dead center. See the following 
> photo:
>
> 
>
> Look at the internal structure. The nib seems centered within it. But the 
> digits seem offset laterally:
>
> 
>
>  
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 4 digit nimo clock so far

[GastonP]

Ah! I didn't remember that specifications document... thanks for bringing 
it back, Mike.
Did anyone ever see any of those "four decade" tubes, or even the blue or 
red phosphor ones in the wild?
Not that I have the money to afford even one of this "more common" ones, 
but it's nice to daydream. :)
The six decade didn't even have a part number so we can safely assume was 
on the roadmap but never made it.

Gastón

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 3:53:01 PM UTC-3, threeneurons wrote:
>
> On Monday, April 23, 2018 at 10:34:29 AM UTC-7, gregebert wrote:
>  
>
>> ... I'm unsure about the orientation of the display vs the tube pins.
>>
>>
> Go to page 4 of the following document:
>
>  https://threeneurons.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/iee_nimo808.pdf 
> 
>
> The anode "nib", is 18 degrees off of pin 12, making pin 11 roughly 9.7 
> degrees off of dead top center. The "Compactron" base has 27.7 degree 
> spacing between pins, according to all documents that I could find.
>
> From the tubes I have, the "nib" is top dead center. See the following 
> photo:
>
> 
>
> Look at the internal structure. The nib seems centered within it. But the 
> digits seem offset laterally:
>
> 
>
>  
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 4 digit nimo clock so far

[GastonP]

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 5:15:13 PM UTC-3, westdave wrote:
>
> Using a all spectrum electronics 4 digit clock chip  outputting BCD 
> running from a lm7805 off a 12 vdc 3a Wall wart using cd4028 BCD counters 
> (also running at 12 volts ) a 1700 vdc high voltage power supply from three 
> neurons ebay site And transistor level shifters 12 v to 5 v Each high 
> voltage number output has a 1.2 meg resistor between the cd4028 output & 
> the tube pin per number, I am now Working now to reduce the heat from the 
> two 27 ohm resistors 2W across the 12 vdc 
> To give 1.1 filament voltage with a 6 volt bias 
> Mikes power supply is wicked good and works with a nimo tube 
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Digi-Vista Nixie Clock From 1970

[GastonP]

I could think of using a higher frequency PLL and synching based on 10Hz. 
This would allow the circuit work on 50Hz mains countries too, and as this 
kind of clocks are appreciated mostly based on long-term accuracy, it would 
not be very difficult to implement too. Kind of overkill, yes, and I don't 
know if they would implement such kind of solutions for a clock back in the 
70's.

On Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at 1:19:20 PM UTC-3, Terry S wrote:
>
> Interesting. Based on the 60 HZ AC line, so the last two digits show 
> 60th's of a second, not 100th's. I can't decide if I like that. I know I 
> don't like the frantic counting in general. I really am not even fond of 
> seconds on some clocks.
>
> Mitch, does your clock actually show 100th's? If so, how is derived?
>
> Terry
>
> On Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 1:03:00 PM UTC-5, Mitch wrote:
>>
>> I don't remember how I got it. This is the same clock.
>>
>>
>> http://shadowtron.com/2017/03/11/a-hand-built-nixie-tube-clock-based-on-the-digivista-design/
>>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] IN-8 lab model

[GastonP]

IN-8's have the normal 5 and not the upside down 2. This ones seem to also 
have the normal 5, but the red coating makes difficult to see clearly.
I have several (production run) of them, with the thick beehive grid from 
different recent (80's) datecodes and they were all made by Melz too.

On Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 8:17:32 PM UTC-3, Jens Boos wrote:
>
> Also I think these have the upside-down 2 as a 5, contrary to what the 
> auction description says. Jens
>
> On 3/8/2018 4:14 PM, Jeff Walton wrote:
>
> I have a number of fine grid IN-8 tubes but the ebay models look crude by 
> comparison.  If memory serves correctly, mine are 1969 and 1970 date codes. 
>
>
>
>
>  Original message 
> From: jb-electronics   
> Date: 3/8/18 4:34 PM (GMT-06:00) 
> To: neoni...@googlegroups.com  
> Subject: [neonixie-l] IN-8 lab model 
>
> Has anyone ever seen these before? http://www.ebay.com/itm/183111928799
>
> Cheers
> Jens
>
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[neonixie-l] Re: Odd clock chip....

[GastonP]

A bespoke could be very expensive... I believe that could be a Russian 
chip, but by that time is sounds complicated, in spite of that we know that 
Russian tubes made their way to the European market... really a mystery.

On Sunday, February 25, 2018 at 4:56:07 AM UTC-3, Nick wrote:
>
> Perhaps a bespoke chip? Russian?
>
> The nixies are Rodan GR-116D, which are Japanese.Not that means a lot.
>
>
> http://worldphaco.com/uploads/THE_1972_DIGEEC_NIXIE_CLOCK_FROM_EUROPEAN_ELECTRIC_COUNTING_AND_THE_MYSTERY_28_PIN_CMOS_LSI_CHIP.pdf
>
> Cheers
>
> Nick
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Numitron clock driving question

[GastonP]

Just one correction: inrush current of a filament lamp (or heater) is a 
physical characteristic of the component and not something one designs to 
happen. Every filament or heater be it huge or tiny has an inrush current, 
and the amount of it and the time that takes between this maximum current 
and the nominal one is a function of many physical characteristics.

The suggestion of using a current source is to limit this inrush current 
and thus avoid the possible damage caused by it.

On Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 3:45:30 PM UTC-3, Tomasz Kowalczyk wrote:
>
>
> I think the inrush current is needed for bigger filaments and/or faster 
> switching - small bulbs (and, I hope, numitrons) have short pieces of wire 
> with low thermal capacity. 
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: M.A.R.C. Winter Meet, WANG 320SE

[GastonP]

As it seems nobody cared to explain you the house rules in detail, I will 
do that...

Photos or it didn't happen :D

I wouldn't mind reading on your radio related finds. If they have glowing 
bugs inside, it's better, you know... but stick strictly to the basic rule 
above ;)

Cheers!

On Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 3:58:38 PM UTC-3, TLaing wrote:
>
> I spent Saturday at The Michigan Antique Radio Club winter meet. The first 
> item I bought was a Sylvania Dekatron for $2. A good start. Well among 
> other goodies I found a Wang Labs 320SE calculator! The electronics unit 3 
> of the terminals and the innards of a fourth terminal. 11 Nixies per 
> terminal. This uses core memory in the electronics. Out of all the ham 
> fests, swap meets and electronics stores I have been to this is the first 
> one I have ever seen for sale. The seller wanted $100. I offered $75, Sold! 
> ( When I was a kid we played with the Wang Calculators in the science 
> building at ONU where my dad was a professor) 
> I also bought a very large Weston power station meter (this is cast iron 
> with a back lit milk glass dial) and 2 smaller brass cased Weston mA meters 
> from him. It was a very good meet. I won’t bore the group with the radio 
> related finds. I didn’t take very much cash as I was trying to not spend 
> too much.  Thank god for the check book and the kindness of My wife Maria 
> for saying go for it! Tim Laing 
>
> Sent from my iPhone 
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Nixie driver chips

[GastonP]

Hi Andrew...
   Here is a link to a place where a piece of the datasheet is.

http://radiocom.dn.ua/image/data/pdf/SN755870.pdf

Be patient as it takes some time to load it.
Regards
   Gaston

On Monday, January 22, 2018 at 8:14:08 AM UTC-3, andybiker wrote:
>
>
> Does anyone have any data on SN755870 and sn755881 ?
> I can find a pinout and that's it.
> These chips seen cheap and readily available new or from old TVs
> Cheers,
> Andrew
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: MMBTA92 & MMBTA42 anode switching circuit problem

[GastonP]

Hi Tomasz,
   to me it looks like there is some kind of either capacitive coupling or 
leakage between the different drivers. You can see this from the different 
levels of the voltages at anode.
Besides what has been suggested to you, I would strongly advise to add a 
bleeder resistor between the base of the A42 (Q18) and ground. If the 
control voltage is 5V, then 2.2K would do.
Another option (just to help troubleshooting but involves no soldering) is 
to change the driving sequence to avoid adjacent tubes to be driven one 
after the other. For example if you are driving the tubes in 1-2-3-4 
sequence, you can try with 1-3-2-4, which should produce ghosting only 
between tubes 2 and 3.

Hope this helps.
Gaston

On Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at 3:58:39 PM UTC-3, Tomasz Kowalczyk 
wrote:Hi, I've been testing the popular anode switching circuit with one 
NPN and one PNP transistor. The circuit with my values is shown below:
>
>
> 
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: HV power supply for a project I am thinking of doing.

[GastonP]

IIRC the metal cage had more to do with X-Ray protection from the (tube) 
diode rectifier than the noise, to which the tube electronics was quite 
impervious.
It also dealt well with the corona effect on all the parts where as you say 
the isolation had gone away or cracked.
I still remember the smell of ozone of the aged TV sets...

On Sunday, January 14, 2018 at 3:47:06 AM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> TV flybacks of yesteryear are an entirely different animal. 
>
.No wonder they were always entombed inside a metal cage
> In the early 1970's, silicone-based insulation was used in flybacks and I 
> dont recall any failures in my TVs thereafter. And they became cage-free.
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: other uses for nixies

[GastonP]

Out of the top of my head and focusing on domestic use only :

Weight scales.
Thermometers (seen before around here).
Tuner frequency indicators (need good shielding).
Home meteorological station indicators.
Digital key indicators.
Caller ID indicators

Gaston

On Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 2:33:52 PM UTC-3, christopher helps 
wrote:
>
> Hello...My first post,I was wondering what other uses apart from clocks 
> that nixies would be good for in todays enviroment.All i can think of are 
> lift indicators or cash tills.
>
> A few years ago I made a wall mounted nixie with 568m tubes(when they were 
> cheap! will post pic
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Global Shipping Program disaster, need help

[GastonP]

Heh, if they just had known that old radios had tubes inside, that would 
have been the fate of this one.

On Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at 7:03:39 AM UTC-3, Oscilloclock wrote:
>
> At least GSP shipped the radio and did not deliberately “safely dispose” 
> of it because it contained old tubes! (See other posts about these woes 
> when shipping CRTs) 
>
> I now request US sellers to send directly to me by USPS Priority Mail 
> International (or Express) with insurance and tracking, and so far it seems 
> okay. 
>
> Glad that you got the beautiful radio and all the best for restoration!

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[neonixie-l] Re: Another simple Passive IR clock control alternative...

[GastonP]

Pleasae be careful with the operating limits of the MOSFET... the part you 
are using has a Gate-Source maximum voltage (Vgss) of 8 volts and in spite 
of being zener protected, you should not routinely use that protection as a 
design feature.
I'd say that this part is safe for this circuit when the input voltages are 
lower than 7 volts. Other MOSFETS have higher Vgss that can be used to your 
advantage. I.e. the BSS84 is also a PMOS but with a Vgss of 20 Volts.

Gastón 

On Monday, October 2, 2017 at 11:02:40 PM UTC-3, Robert L wrote:
>
>
> A few nice things about this circuit... 
>
> 1) It will work to slow start most any 5 - 12 V load (though possibly with 
> component value changes).
>
 




Onward...
Bob

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[neonixie-l] Re: how to protect a MOSFET

[GastonP]

Yes, that's right but as this circuit does not have a constant connection, 
there are cables and connectors which can be open, have false contacts, and 
even can have high impedance ground connections, it's better to integrate 
the protection into it. And I didn't tell I invented it :) ; this circuit 
is repeated ad nauseam in every CMOS semiconductor manual of the 70's-80's, 
that's why I love it.
Zeners are a good alternative when one does not have a VCC reference or 
when the input voltage can be higher than the highest available power 
source (which can happen too with an un-energized circuit whose input must 
not be shorted in that situation). I don't use them much because they are 
more expensive and are slower to start conducting, besides having a higher 
capacity. But for this kind of hobby applications most of the times is just 
a matter of taste :).

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 11:11:28 AM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> That's basically the same method used on ICs for input devices. I 
> typically use a zener diode.
>
> As long as there is another device driving the MOSFET, such as an IC, you 
> dont need to add that form of protection because the driving IC will 
> already have that onchip.
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: how to protect a MOSFET

[GastonP]

This circuit is the one I always use and I have yet to see a zapped MOSFET 
;).
Diodes can be 1N4148 or almost any fast signal diode (never a rectifier 
such as 1N400x) and a resistor of 1K-10K is enough.
IIRC SMD BAV99 has this exact configuration for the purpose of being used 
as input protection devices.

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 3:48:08 PM UTC-3, newxito wrote:
>
> I agree 100%, it must be an ESD problem, these things are really fragile, 
> even on a breadboard circuit just touching 2 or 3 times the gate kills the 
> 2n7000. I think I will not be able to solve the problem in a reasonable 
> amount of time, so for now, I will patch the boards with transistors and 
> continue with the tests. Just finished to solder one of each type of driver 
> boards…
>
>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: A Finished Clock

[GastonP]

Really gorgeous clock! Congratulations, Nick!

On Wednesday, August 23, 2017 at 1:43:14 AM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> Some of you have seen this case design from me before, but I've made a few 
> improvements and this one turned out so nice I thought I'd shareany 
> questions then please ask. I have sold a few of these, but be warned they 
> are not cheap...there's a lot of labour, materials and they're made in 1's 
> and 2's not batch made as I just don't have the cash to make them in bulk...
>
> This one is clear anodized aluminum and the zig-zag in the acrylic 
> sandwich gives a nice pattern to the illumination that the camera doesn't 
> really do justice to. The clock is a PV Electronics ZM1040 with De-coated 
> Tesla ZM1040 tubes (the red coating was in bad shape).
>
> Cheers,
>
> (Pharma) Nick
>
> [image: Inline image 6][image: Inline image 10][image: Inline image 7][image: 
> Inline image 8][image: Inline image 9]
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Latest scope clock rendering

[GastonP]

Ah! IMO this one has a much better appeal :)
Nice piece of design!

Gastón

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 1:20:27 AM UTC-3, nixiebunny wrote:
>
> Folks, 
>
> I have been working on getting my latest scope clock packaging idea into 
> Inventor, so that I can see if it's going to work. 
>
> http://www.cathodecorner.com/scda/SCTV1.png 
>
> It looks like something Olivetti might have made in 1969. 
>
> The plastic cover is all 1/8" laser cut acrylic with living hinges at 
> the radiused edges. It's hard to model those, so I will make a prototype 
> or two to see if the idea works. The base is 1/4" thick and has nearly 
> all the screws in it. Thus, it's much more sleek than the previous 
> version seen here... 
>
> http://www.cathodecorner.com/scda/scda-plex-obl.jpg 
>
> The cup at the rear hides a steel clamp (not shown) around the tube 
> base, in addition to the socket. 
>
> -- 
> David Forbes, Tucson AZ 
>
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Oscilloscope clock...

[GastonP]

Hi David
 It is not a piece of art as your previous design is, yes, but it is 
beautiful in a different way. Extremely industrial.
What in my opinion subtracts from the beauty of the previous one is the 
front board instead of a horizontal one. It blocks vision and also makes 
the rest of the box feel too empty. Even with SMD components instead of PTH 
ones, a horizontal one with the CRT "hovering" over it would (again IMO) 
look a lot nicer.

Gaston

On Thursday, July 6, 2017 at 7:33:09 PM UTC-3, nixiebunny wrote:
>
> Funny you should ask that. I've been working on the package design of the 
> new 
> scope clock this week. 
> 
> But the simple laser-cut box was too chunky for my taste. I want it to 
> look 
> beautiful, and it wasn't there. 
> http://www.cathodecorner.com/scda/scda-plex-obl.jpg 
> 
>  
> 
>
> On 7/6/2017 2:52 PM, 'orange_glow_fan' via neonixie-l wrote: 
> > I wonder 
> > 
> > Will we ever see the next generation of the Forbes Oscilloscope Clock? 
> > 
> >Hope springs eternal.. 
> > 
>
> -- 
> David Forbes, Tucson, AZ 
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Weird spot on XN-11 Anode

[GastonP]

If the mesh glows (as this one seems to be doing) then suspect that there 
is AC instead of DV applied.
The mesh can't glow when the right potentials are applied, whichever the 
value of the current through it is.

Gastón

On Friday, June 30, 2017 at 8:11:55 PM UTC-3, Roddy Scott wrote:
>
> I don't have a power supply but the spot occurs on the mesh and with a 
> different digit  there is a a different spot. The tubes were NOS and I have 
> had them lying about for over a year in a box. I have a couple of QTC 
> boards so I am going to try them on those boards to see if they are the 
> same.
>
> I have never seen anything appear on the Anode mesh with any tubes that I 
> have used so far so this is totally new to me.
>
>
> On Friday, June 30, 2017 at 9:50:36 PM UTC+1, gregebert wrote:
>>
>> How do things look when you bench-test the tube on a DC supply ?
>>
>> Is the spot actually on the anode mesh itself ? Ionization occurs at the 
>> cathode, so this is indeed strange.
>>
>>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Dolam LC-7

[GastonP]

Just don't forget to add the disclaimer "Human and Nixie images might have 
been digitally enhanced" :D

On Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 7:47:20 PM UTC-3, Jens Boos wrote:
>
> . Perhaps it is also possible to enhance the quality by some 
> light post-production. Jens 
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: 6x Multiplexing Nixie Current

[GastonP]

OK you don't need to shout to be heard in this list. :)

1 - You can safely assume that "Pulse Voltage" is the one supplied by your 
Power Supply. It is higher than the one needed for non-multiplexed 
operation to guarantee a faster strike.

2 - Both modes A and B are safe from an operational standpoint and are 
given as indicators of how far you can go with current for the target time 
and duty cycle (that's how PWM translates in this case).
What it means is that for each 0.1ms a tube is on at 10mA you must wait 
0.9ms before turning it on again or you will burn its life away quite 
quickly. The same is valid for mode B with 1ms and 5mA: you must wait 9ms 
before turning that tube again on. There is a turn-on delay and also a 
turn-off delay so not all of this wait-time is really so. As a reference 
you can read this , 
from Mike Moorrees "Pile of poo" which is an extremely good guide to 
multiplexing nixie tubes and quite the opposite to his name choice :)

You need to be careful and stick to what the specifications say regarding 
to maximum voltage and currents, specially when multiplexing, or as I said 
before, you risk to burn your tubes lifetime quite quickly.

On Monday, June 5, 2017 at 11:09:55 AM UTC-3, scotth wrote:
>
> The tubes I'm using for two different clocks are IN-4s and IN-8s. I found 
> the pulse specs you referenced on the IN-8 datasheet, but not the IN-4. On 
> the IN-8 datasheet, it lists two different modes, A and B. For mode A, 
> which is a pulse duration of 0.1ms, it gives a pulse Voltage of 200V and 
> current of 10mA. It also lists a PMW of 10%, what does that mean?
>
> For mode B, which has a pulse duration of 1-2ms, it recommends 200V at 5mA 
> and the same PMW.  Which mode should I use?
>
> Is the pulse Voltage the same as my input voltage before my transistors?
>
> I will try to measure what current I am at later today.
>
> Thanks!
>
> On Monday, June 5, 2017 at 7:13:04 AM UTC-4, Tomasz Kowalczyk wrote:
>>
>> With most DC voltmeters you can safely assume that it measures the 
>> average. So having average voltage drop on anode resistor and resistance 
>> you can calculate average current, and then multiply it by 6 (if there is a 
>> dimming/anti-ghosting dead time between tubes, you might want to take it 
>> into account) to get the pulse current. 
>> Nixie tubes can operate in multiplexed mode with pulses of current higher 
>> than nominal current - as long as you aren't pushing average current over 
>> the nominal current, it should be OK.
>> In IN-18 datasheet I found information, that the average current in pulse 
>> operation should be a bit lower than during DC operation.
>>
>> Anyway, if your tube is specified for 2mA and you multiplex 6 tubes, I 
>> think you can safely use 5-6mA pulses (~1mA average current) without 
>> damaging the tube. But it would be less guessing and more solid information 
>> if you would specify which tubes are you using.
>>
>> W dniu poniedziałek, 5 czerwca 2017 04:06:15 UTC+2 użytkownik scotth 
>> napisał:
>>>
>>> First of all, thanks for accepting me to the group!
>>>
>>> I've built a functioning nixie clock that uses a nixie driver to 
>>> multiplex all six numbers.  Due to my inexperience, I just figured out the 
>>> resistor that I needed to drive a single nixie tube at the correct voltage 
>>> an current, which landed me at 22kOhms.  However, as I'm sure you all know, 
>>> my numbers were much dimmer once i got the multiplexed clock working with 
>>> the same 22k resistors.  Because of this, I decided to check the voltage 
>>> drop and current of my nixies and got some numbers that can't be correct, 
>>> as it is below the operating specs of the tube.  Is it some sort of average 
>>> or something?
>>>
>>> I've seen another thread on here where this is mentioned and I learned 
>>> that I could get a more accurate reading of voltage and current using a 
>>> scope (which I don't have). What I'm wondering is, is there a way to 
>>> calculate what the current should be without measuring it?  I'm not 
>>> horribly dissapointed that the numbers are dimmer than driving a single 
>>> tube, but I'd like to make sure I'm operating at the nominal current in 
>>> order to maximize my brightness without significantly decreasing the 
>>> expected life of the tubes.  Any help is greatly appreciated!
>>>
>>> Below is a picture of my anode driving transistor circuit (?) not sure 
>>> what the best way to word that is.
>>>
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>

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[neonixie-l] Re: EEV blog on Nixies

[GastonP]

Hey! 
"Our" Mike got some air time!
Get ready for a surge on requests :)

On Monday, May 8, 2017 at 11:25:19 PM UTC-3, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> For those of you who haven't seen this, the crazy Ozzie has a 5 part video 
> blog on his channel about an 8 digit IN12 nixie tube project that I'm 
> currently watchinggood stuff (as usual)..
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?ev=7uogKucrPks 
> 
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nick (the Pharma one..)
>

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Rare tubes on eBay..

[GastonP]

Well, I could think that money (or more precisely lack of it) is a good 
enough reason but there is space for disagreement there :-)

On Friday, April 7, 2017 at 8:58:56 AM UTC-3, Alic wrote:
>
> Yeah, it's really beyond me why anyone would pay money for anything else 
> than the famous trio (zm1042/z5660m, IN-18 and Dalibor's RZ568M) when 
> everyone knows that size is all that matters and these 3 tubes is all you 
> need - ever! :-)

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[neonixie-l] Re: Constant current source design

[GastonP]

Yes... JFETs are extremely variable on their parameters so circuits using 
them need trimming of the external components if one needs a certain degree 
of precision. That, or negative feedback.


On Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 12:02:25 AM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> My concern with current limiters that rely heavily upon the datasheet 
> specs (Vgs  for Depletion-mode regulator; Vbe for current-mirror)  is that 
> variations due to process & temperature will have significant impact on the 
> actual current. Using a slightly more complex+costly design will mitigate 
> this; well-worth it in my opinion when you consider the value of the tubes 
> you are protecting. 
>
>
>

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[neonixie-l] Re: Raspberry PI controlled Nixie display

[GastonP]

On Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 4:02:13 AM UTC-3, gregebert wrote:
>
> UPDATE: I have my RasPi Zero W running nicely as a headless system w/ 
> Raspian.
>
> I'm satisfied to the point I wont pursue Arduino anymore.
> Having a $10 Linux-based platform that I can log into wirelessly & 
> remotely is really incredible.
>


Just be aware that Linux is not a real time operating system, so anything 
that is time-sensitive has high risk of those timings eventually not being 
respected.
I use one of the multiple Pi lookalikes just out of cost considerations 
(OrangePi).
For tasks that do not require much processing grunt I go for the Texas 
Instruments family of mixed signal processors, and having AVR being 
recently acquired by Microchip gives me the sense that Arduino's final day 
is coming soon.

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