Re: [neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

When I built a new clock 3 years ago, I didn't keep the tubes in the same positions. However, there was one that was showing signs of poisoning and I swapped it with the left most tube at the time. Otherwise, they haven't moved for 3 years. Kiran On Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 5:47:29 PM

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

The '4' in the unit-hours position I saw in the video should not have been poisoned during normal operation, because all 10 cathodes will get exercised. Could this tube have been in a different position, such as the 'tens hours', and been poisoned that way ? What I'm wondering is if this is

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

Oh btw, the tubes had about 16K hours on them 3 years ago. In the new clock they're on for 15 hours a day, for 3 years.. is another 16K hours, so they have about 32K hours on them. Kiran On Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 1:58:51 PM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote: > > While I don't mind the

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

While I don't mind the slot-machine effect, I don't know how effective it is. My tubes only had slight poisoning when I built the Spectrum 18 clock 3 years ago, and now several have developed problems. Here's a video . I slowed it

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

I agree Keith, it’s eye candy so I quite like the slot machine effects and similar. You don’t need it every other minute, once every ten minutes or so seems fine to me. Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 8, 2018, at 09:50, 'Spirit' via neonixie-l > wrote: > > I wanted

[neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

I wanted to design a clock that would sit under my main monitor, and so I didn't want it to be distracting while still maintaining good tube life. I prefer my neon to be calm :) The slot machine effect is still perfectly valid for those that don't mind having the clock flash obnoxiously every

[neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

Am I the only one who thinks the slot machine effect is much nicer to see than this alternative? However, I am on-board if this actually helps longevity. The slot machine effect is usually what gets non-nixie folks excited about the display. It's the "blinky-lights gets the attention" effect.

[neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

Well, my current setup does not allow to vary the drive current, as that would require a custom HV supply capable of rapidly switching between regular operation(say, 170V), and "extreme" mode, at maybe 220-260V. By all means, try it out. It could work, but I have no predictions on the outcome

RE: [neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

Still wondering if the CPP process can also be used to clean a contaminated tube over time as opposed to just trying to prevent poisoning. I’m wondering about applying a higher power pulse for a short duty cycle so that the CPP goes a little beyond normal operation. A cathode can poison even

[neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

@Jeff The heating should only be enough to prevent cathode poisoning starting with a healthy(ideally new) tube. I seriously doubt it would do anything to fix already existing cathode poisoning. It's driven using the same, standard current(4-6mA for an IN-18) for normal operation. To fix

[neonixie-l] Re: An investigation into better ways to do cathode poisoning prevention - 1000 fps slow motion included

The high speed cycling makes a lot of sense when the "slot machine" effect isn't desired. I guess the harder question is how much a rapid cycling is enough. >From the standpoint of creating a look and feel for the clock, I would implement 20ms of cycling (10 x 2ms) done every second when