looking for Weston: Cold cathode glow discharge tubes

[Dalibor Farný]

Hello guys,

I am looking for the book from G.F. Weston, "Cold cathode glow discharge tubes", 1968, but it is (surprisingly) sold out everywhere ;-)

is there someone so kind to provide me a PDF or some other ebook?

Thank You!

Dalibor

[Dieter Waechter]

Hi!
I have the original book and a DVD with a scan of the book.
Contact me outside: in...@nocrotec.com
Please note that the original book is not cheap.
Dieter

[Vladimir Vucicevic]

Hi all!

I'm new member of this group. I'm currently working my way to set up a
home workshop for nixie tubes. Just planing for now. I researched a
lot and I found that many people mentions this book (G.F. Weston,
"Cold cathode glow discharge tubes") but of course I can't find it
anywhere.

Is there a way for me to get a PDF of this book (I'll return it, I
promise :) ). I would appreciate that a lot!

Thanks!

Vladimir

On 10 Apr, 15:12, Dieter Waechter <i...@nocrotec.com> wrote:
> Hi!
> I have the original book and a DVD with a scan of the book.

> Contact me outside: i...@nocrotec.com

> Please note that the original book is not cheap.
> Dieter
>
> Am 10.04.2012 14:46, schrieb Dalibor Farn :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hello guys,
>

> > I am looking for the book from G.F.Weston,"Cold cathode glow discharge

[Instrument Resources of America]

This may or may not be the one you are looking for. But it is an
excellent book on glow discharge lamps and devices, neon lamps.
http://www.tubebooks.org/tubedata/Glowlamp.pdf
Good luck Ira.

[Vladimir Vucicevic]

Thanks, this book is useful, I downloaded a lot of stuff from
tubebooks.org but I haven't notice this one.
I still need G.F. Weston "Cold cathode glow discharge tubes".

Vladimir

On 1 May, 17:45, Instrument Resources of America

>  IRACOSALES.vcf
> < 1KViewDownload

[AAKA (Daniil)]

Hello, I'm searching for the same book for the same purpose.

I want to make nixie tube by myself. I have all information about the glassblowing process and metal-glass seals,

but have no information about gas mixtures and pressures.

So I will appreciate if anyone can help.

Thanks,

Daniil.

[jb-electronics]

Hi,

it is a Penning mixture of 1% Argon in 99% Neon (of course), but you can just as easily work with Neon, only the ignition voltage will be a little higher. Typical pressures are around 20 Torr or 30 mbar.

Best regards,
Jens

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/useN_ayW-M0J.
To post to this group, send an email to neoni...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/neonixie-l?hl=en-GB.

[AAKA (Daniil)]

Hi Jens,

Thanks for fast answer, the second thing I'm looking for is information about metals used in cathodes and anode, and correlation between size of the electrodes and distances between them.

Thanks in advance,

Daniil.

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to neonixie-l+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[jb-electronics]

Hi Daniil,

some use iron, some use an iron-nickel alloy, I am trying stainless steel. I cannot answer your second question, but do you know Paschen curves? These will give you the ballpark.

Jens

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/2suGiJduEDIJ.

[AAKA (Daniil)]

Jens, thanks again.

I'm new here, but I feel that I'm in right place!
People trying to make nixies!!! Wow I'm exited like a child! :):):)
I don't know what is Pashen curves, but from the wiki first glance I understand what do you mean, is exactly the correlation formula, except that we do not use full sheets of metal.
...Iron nickel alloys maybe you know what kind of alloy and what is the best choice?

Dan.

[jb-electronics]

Hi Dan,

> People trying to make nixies!!! Wow I'm exited like a child! :):):)

yep, I hope I get something glowing soon.

> I don't know what is Pashen curves, but from the wiki first glance I
> understand what do you mean, is exactly the correlation formula,
> except that we do not use full sheets of metal.
> ...Iron nickel alloys maybe you know what kind of alloy and what is
> the best choice?

Nope, don't know the exact alloy, sorry. But I don't think that this is
the key aspect of making Nixie tubes at home. ;-)

Jens

[jb-electronics]

And yes, I forgot, Paschen curves are for homogeneous electric fields, which we do not have in Nixie tubes.

Jens

Jens, thanks again.

I'm new here, but I feel that I'm in right place!

People trying to make nixies!!!  Wow I'm exited like a child! :):):)

I don't know what is Pashen curves, but from the wiki first glance I understand what do you mean, is exactly the correlation formula, except that we do not use full sheets of metal.

...Iron nickel alloys maybe you know what kind of alloy and what is the best choice?

Dan. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/2suGiJduEDIJ.
To post to this group, send an email to neoni...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/neonixie-l?hl=en-GB.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/6tvygOeOZvYJ.

[AAKA (Daniil)]

yep, I hope I get something glowing soon. 

!!!! - I want to see the process and of course results, good luck!!!

I'm thinking now what kind of vacuum pump I need. Evacuation before filling gas what it must be? 10(-4) torr it's enough or I need more high vacuum?

What is the process steps to fill the gas mixture in to? I'm handy with all glassblowing but process of evacuation and filling with gases is new for me.

Sorry for noob questions.

Dan. 

[jb-electronics]

Hi Dan,

!!!! - I want to see the process and of course results, good luck!!!

thanks! I have a rotary pump here that goes down to 10^-2 mbar, which is not terribly low (a diffusion pump would sure be nice), but it is OK for a start. My current problem is leaks leaks leaks, my system gains .1 mbar per second when the pump is deactivated, I have to improve the setup.

But my "tube" is nothing special, only two parallel wires in a glass tube, so not even a symbol, it is a simple glow lamp.

What is the process steps to fill the gas mixture in to? I'm handy with all glassblowing but process of evacuation and filling with gases is new for me.

Actually, you need to pull down the tube to a good vacuum (better than 0.01 mbar) and hold it there. While there, you flash the tube, i.e. heat the cathode and anode, and basically every metal part inside the tube with an induction heater. This is how you get rid of all the contaminations inside the metal components.

After that you fill in the noble gas / gas mixture until the pressure reaches your desired value or the glow discharge ignites, and then you seal of the tube.

Another alternative is to bake out all impurities before: put the metal parts in a quartz glass tube and then put this tube in an oven at 800 degrees Celsius or so. This heats the metal very well and leaves the quarz glass unharmed because it has a very high deformation temperature. The Quarz glass tube needs to be pulled close to vacuum, of course.

Of couse, when cooling down etc. the metals pick up some impurities again, but it is not that much if you are careful.

Another idea is to include some kind of getter (Barium) inside your tube that binds impurities (not the noble gases, of course, they are called noble for a reason).

Jens

Sorry for noob questions.

Dan. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/OcNW7ql050IJ.

[Dalibor]

Hi all,

I finally find the book and scanned it, I am going to share it with You, but I have to first remove all signs of the library where I borrowed it ;-)
I should not be illegal, it so old book..

I am also preparing a workshop for making nixie tubes at home, I am at the same point as Dan, leaking system ;-) You can watch my progress on http://dalibor.farny.cz I try to share all info, even sometimes too briefly and delayed..

As for the other questions here:

- gas mixture
search for "Penning mixture" - it is called after its inventor Penning (and Addink). It is Neon and Argon 0.01 - 1%. More or less argon increases breakdown voltage.
- anode material
use stainless steel, 0.2mm thick, photo etching
- cathode material
Cathode material has big influence on breakdown voltage (the same gas mixture: Molybdenum cathode 150V, Fe cathode 240V)  I plan to use stainless steel 0.1mm thick (316L low carbon, vacuum casted). I disassembled a Z566M tube and did some tests on cathodes and I think it is stainless steel, Molybdenum would be much brittle and wouldn't melt in 1900C flame as this did..

- cathode distance
use the same distance as in commercial tubes, somewhere around 1.5-2mm should be OK. more in Weston.

- gas pressure
30-40 torr, higher is better, because it prevents cathode sputtering = longer lifetime, but higher pressure also means higher breakdown voltage and higher power consumption..

Vladimir, Dan, where are You from guys? I am from Czech Republic..

Dalibor
http://dalibor.farny.cz

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

Dne úterý, 10. dubna 2012 14:46:12 UTC+2 Dalibor napsal(a):

[Tidak Ada]

Hi Dalibour,

 

It would be nice to get a copy !

Please make the scans of each page separate. It's a munch's work to rework it trying to get double sided pages.

600ppi bitmap is fine for text only pages. For pages with photo's 300ppi gray scale is fine.

Markings from the library are easy to remove by PhotoShoping....

 

succes

---

From: neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Dalibor
Sent: donderdag 10 mei 2012 21:52
To: neoni...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: looking for Weston: Cold cathode glow discharge tubes

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/ReXTz41Aj2QJ.

[Vladimir Vucicevic]

Hi Dalibor,

I am from Belgrade, Serbia. Same as you I am trying to make some nixie
tubes, but my goal is to make tube as small as possible.
Thanks a lot for the book, I am looking forward for it!

About nixies, I am going to use molybdenum cathodes because I want to
try to avoid adding mercury. I saw some diagrams where molybdenum
cathodes were suggested instead of stainless steel. Although stainless
steel with mercury is the best solution for long life, molybdenum is
also good.
Also, I will try to cut cathodes with laser. Just need to compare
prices, if it is not too much I prefer laser.

About glass work, I am currently in contact with few companies which
produce glass stems. If you can fit in stems that they have in stock
it is around 5 euros per stem if you buy more than 100 pieces. Custom
made stems are expensive (more that 1500 euros for tooling).
Combination of borosilicate glass and kovar alloy can be ordered. I am
going with that one too.

Also if you need borosilicate glass for kovar welding go directly to
Schott company. Schott 8250 is glass made just for that. They said
that they make certain amount of this glass once in a year, but they
always have something in stock. Minimum quantities are not too big.

Regards,
Vladimir

On May 10, 10:23 pm, "Tidak Ada" <offl...@zeelandnet.nl> wrote:
> Hi Dalibour,
>
> It would be nice to get a copy !
> Please make the scans of each page separate. It's a munch's work to rework
> it trying to get double sided pages.
> 600ppi bitmap is fine for text only pages. For pages with photo's 300ppi
> gray scale is fine.
> Markings from the library are easy to remove by PhotoShoping....
>
> succes
>
>   _____
>

> From: neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Dalibor
> Sent: donderdag 10 mei 2012 21:52
> To: neoni...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: looking for Weston: Cold cathode glow discharge
> tubes
>
> Hi all,
>
> I finally find the book and scanned it, I am going to share it with You, but
> I have to first remove all signs of the library where I borrowed it ;-)
> I should not be illegal, it so old book..
>
> I am also preparing a workshop for making nixie tubes at home, I am at the

> same point as Dan, leaking system ;-) You can watch my progress onhttp://dalibor.farny.czI try to share all info, even sometimes too briefly

> and delayed..
>
> As for the other questions here:
>
> - gas mixture
> search for "Penning mixture" - it is called after its inventor Penning (and
> Addink). It is Neon and Argon 0.01 - 1%. More or less argon increases
> breakdown voltage.
> - anode material
> use stainless steel, 0.2mm thick, photo etching
> - cathode material
> Cathode material has big influence on breakdown voltage (the same gas
> mixture: Molybdenum cathode 150V, Fe cathode 240V)  I plan to use stainless
> steel 0.1mm thick (316L low carbon, vacuum casted). I disassembled a Z566M
> tube and did some tests on cathodes and I think it is stainless steel,
> Molybdenum would be much brittle and wouldn't melt in 1900C flame as this
> did..
>
> - cathode distance
> use the same distance as in commercial tubes, somewhere around 1.5-2mm
> should be OK. more in Weston.
>
> - gas pressure
> 30-40 torr, higher is better, because it prevents cathode sputtering =
> longer lifetime, but higher pressure also means higher breakdown voltage and
> higher power consumption..
>
> Vladimir, Dan, where are You from guys? I am from Czech Republic..
>

> Daliborhttp://dalibor.farny.cz

> To view this discussion on the web, visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/ReXTz41Aj2QJ.

[AAKA (Daniil)]

Hello, Dalibor and Vladimir.

I'm from Tel Aviv area, Israel.

Love vacuum tubes from both sides - electrical and aesthetic (i'm designer).

Thank you for the information, and of course for the hard scanning work!

You have beautiful blog with good pictures!
As Vladimir said Kovar (Rodar) alloys work the best with the borosilicate glass.
You can try to make the kovar glass metal seal by yourself, but it's little bit problematic to get the material.
If you want to experiment I have some amount of kovar wire and I can share some for free.
Anyway, try to flatten the metal in the place of seal, it will release glass tension.

Daniil.

[AAKA (Daniil)]

[Dalibor Farný]

Hi Daniil,

that is great idea, I will try it. I could do quite reliable stem with 2-3 wires (like in light bulb), but it would be a nightmare to do 13 pin stem this way ;-) I will probably try to buy some stems from manufacturer as Vladimir wrote..

Thanks for sharing that.. Is it your drawing? ;-)

Dalibor


Dne 11.5.2012 14:18, AAKA (Daniil) napsal(a):

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/Zl7PxBfSogQJ.

[AAKA (Daniil)]

Hi Dalibor,

Yeah it's mine :) , if you want i can send you some amount of Kovar wire to experiment with (you don't need to flaten the Kovar) so it's easier. And you can weld other wires to it.

Dan.

[kay486]

Hi there, the idea of making as small tubes as possible is really interesting. Do you have some site where you post any info about your progress?

> neonixie-l+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Dalibor Farný]

Hi Danill,

You are genuine designer ;-)

i would be very grateful for a sample of Kovar wire! I could provide a role of stainless steel foil, 0.1mm thick, 316L type - low carbon. It could be used for making the cathodes by photo-etching. I am expecting a package from USA, I couldn't find a producer in Europe..

Do You have any pages showing experiments?

I will send a link to Weston's book tomorrow, I haven't finished the changes yet..

Tank You!

Dalibor

2012/5/11 AAKA (Daniil) <andra...@gmail.com>

Hi Dalibor,

Yeah it's mine :) , if you want i can send you some amount of Kovar wire to experiment with (you don't need to flaten the Kovar) so it's easier. And you can weld other wires to it.

Dan.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/oUo7puuGvC4J.

[Dalibor Farný]

Hi Vladimir,

thats nice to hear about small nixies, I am going to make nixies in size of ZM1040, and then I will go for much bigger tubes ;-)

The book will be tomorrow..

As for the cathode material - I think stainless steel in combination with mercury dispenser were used in latest nixies, so it will be better than molybdenum. I will work with mercury, it is toxic, but it is not so bad.. it doesnt change a DNA, it doesnt make a cancer and the "halflife" of it in human body is 50 days.. (50 days and a half of mercury in your body is away..).

I am curious about laser cut cathodes!

I tried to write to Moore company about stems, but no answer, what companies did You write to? I would also buy some borosilicate stems.. Do You know something about how the stems are made? You wrote something about tooling - I have no idea about tools to make it, probably some drilling machine..

As for the glass - I use Simax, local producer, it is also borosillicate (3.3) glass, good experience with it..

Thank You,

Dalibor

2012/5/11 Vladimir Vucicevic <vladimi...@gmail.com>

[John Rehwinkel]

> I tried to write to Moore company about stems, but no answer, what companies did You write to? I would also buy some borosilicate stems.. Do You know something about how the stems are made? You wrote something about tooling - I have no idea about tools to make it, probably some drilling machine..

I have some stems available, but they're large 9-pin affairs. Making nixies from them would either not have all ten digits,
or they'd have to be bi-quinary, which are harder to build.

http://www.vitriol.com/images/tech/nixies/stems.jpg

- John

[Dalibor Farný]

Nice, I would be interested, it is good for testing purposes..

Is it lead glass? Do You know what kind of glass was used for the tube envelope in combination with this stems?

Send me please pricing and shipping on email, I would take some..

Thank You,

Dalibor

2012/5/11 John Rehwinkel <jre...@mac.com>

[AAKA (Daniil)]

Thanks (about designer) :)

About Kovar, give me your adress and I will send you (to email of course)

About webpage I don't have, now I'm studying Master's degree so I completely have no time to make one. 

All my spare time goes to build my little home workshop and it goes very very slow...

Maybe in summer...

(Just an idea)

My first thought was when I came to this forum and saw that there are people here who are trying to make tubes, is that we need to create some sort of web page or Pdf document which brings together the information in a simple way about creating tubes and nixies, I know that is very big amount of information - but we can cover at least a very basic information to begin with, about, lets say - glass types some information about gas mixtures used in nixies glass metal seals basics, pressures and what sort of vacuum pump is needed and ... etc.

For instance I still don't know exactly what kind of vacuum pump I need to purchase... and searching for the information sometimes takes sooo long time...

So in the end it will simplify the process for those who are interested in creating lamps.

I can offer my skills in graphics, 3D and animation.

Dan.

[Vladimir Vucicevic]

Hi Dalibor,

Maybe you are right about stainless steel and mercury, I'll think
about it.
I mean, I know that it is the best solution, nixies can last over 10k
hours, but with molybdenum 3-5k hours are achievable I hope.

I work in company in embedded systems design so I know a few companies
that cut stainless steel for PCB stencils (for component assembly).
That is expensive, but it is possible that thinner sheets can be cut
in companies that cut plastics and glass with low power lasers and
with less precision. For 20 euros you can cut whatever you like.

I wrote to Moores company, and they were very kind to help me. Of
course, I said that I will need a few thousands pieces a year (maybe I
will :) ) and I got myself an offer. For a custom made stem i have to
pay 2000 euros, and every stem will cost 6 euros for minimum quantity
of 100 pieces. They have a lot of stems that you can by of the shelf
without having to pay for tooling (with 11 and more pins, borosilicate-
kovar combination) you just have to ask for a bigger quantity (>100).
It is a fair deal, if you ask me. They have big diameters too
(40-50mm) for your big tubes. For working with borosilicate glass you
need high temperatures (>1000 deg C), and multi-pin stem is not an
easy thing to make. You need to make tooling out of carbon, and to
figure out how to get it to 1200 degC. Furnace for that cost a lot (I
spoke with CEO of one glass company from Serbia, he said that I will
need more that 10k Euros for that, because for temperatures over 1000
degC it is a whole bunch of expansive materials, but I think it
shouldn't be that much). Another trouble is how to prepare kovar pins
for sealing. There is a lot of methods provided from a lot of authors
but it seams like too much experimenting.
I also wrote to Fredericscom company. I'm still waiting for offer, but
they answered quickly. You just have to say that you mean business,
and you will get sweet talk immediately :). One company even called me
on a phone right after my mail - world is in a crisis, every costumer
is important. :)

I know about Simax, every glass item in Serbia that goes in oven is
from Simax. :)

Don't forget about the book! You promised. ;-)

Regards,

Vladimir

On May 11, 8:36 pm, Dalibor Farný <dali...@farny.cz> wrote:
> Hi Vladimir,
>
> thats nice to hear about small nixies, I am going to make nixies in size of
> ZM1040, and then I will go for much bigger tubes ;-)
>
> The book will be tomorrow..
>
> As for the cathode material - I think stainless steel in combination with
> mercury dispenser were used in latest nixies, so it will be better than
> molybdenum. I will work with mercury, it is toxic, but it is not so bad..
> it doesnt change a DNA, it doesnt make a cancer and the "halflife" of it in
> human body is 50 days.. (50 days and a half of mercury in your body is
> away..).
>
> I am curious about laser cut cathodes!
>
> I tried to write to Moore company about stems, but no answer, what
> companies did You write to? I would also buy some borosilicate stems.. Do
> You know something about how the stems are made? You wrote something about
> tooling - I have no idea about tools to make it, probably some drilling
> machine..
>
> As for the glass - I use Simax, local producer, it is also borosillicate
> (3.3) glass, good experience with it..
>
> Thank You,
>
> Dalibor
>

> 2012/5/11 Vladimir Vucicevic <vladimir.cik...@gmail.com>

> > onhttp://dalibor.farny.czItry to share all info, even sometimes too briefly

[Vladimir Vucicevic]

Hi,

I didn't start making anything yet, detailed plans first. I think my
work will start by the end of summer, I need to get a lot of materials
and some new tools first, but I will show my progress when I start.

> > > From: neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com]
> > On
> > > Behalf Of Dalibor
> > > Sent: donderdag 10 mei 2012 21:52
> > > To: neoni...@googlegroups.com
> > > Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: looking for Weston: Cold cathode glow
> > discharge
> > > tubes
>
> > > Hi all,
>
> > > I finally find the book and scanned it, I am going to share it with You,
> > but
> > > I have to first remove all signs of the library where I borrowed it ;-)
> > > I should not be illegal, it so old book..
>
> > > I am also preparing a workshop for making nixie tubes at home, I am at
> > the
> > > same point as Dan, leaking system ;-) You can watch my progress

> > onhttp://dalibor.farny.czItry to share all info, even sometimes too

> > > neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.

[kay486]

Ah ok, i just cant wait to see any progress! I even like to browse through this tread and read about whats better to use and how you contact all the different manufacturers.

> > > neonixie-l+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Dalibor]

Hi all,

I finally finished the PDF with the book, it is black and white and slightly compressed, so that the size is 40Mb. If You want better quality, let me know, I will try to provide scans (JPGs)..

for the link to the book, write me an email..

[Dalibor Farný]

Hi Vladimir,

I found another solution, "mercury dispenser", it is prefabricated ring with some compound of mercury and something else (Titan), You can use it like a getter - heat and activate it..

As for the stems - it should be possible to make a simple form from graphite (one big hole, several small through - for pins, stem would be upside down here), place a wires inside, place some pieces of glass and cast it in microwave oven, watch this:

http://home.c2i.net/metaphor/mvpage.html

It will be probably the best to use a lead glass for the stems and soda-lime glass for the envelope - all nixies I saw use this combination.. Lead glass has much lower melting point, somewhere around 600C, and what is the killer feature - it has 100 times lower viscosity than soda glass, so it can flow in every hole in the form and join nicely the pin wires.. It has so low viscosity that all bubbles of air go out from the glass.. I think that is the reason why the lead glass is used in original nixies.. Lead glass should be used with dumet wire, easy to get - it is low oxygen copper borated.

You are great negotiator (with producers ;-) )

write me an email for the book..

Dalibor

2012/5/12 Vladimir Vucicevic <vladimi...@gmail.com>

[Vladimir Vucicevic]

Dalibor,

First of all, many thanks for the book!

"mercury dispenser" - That's a great solution!
Do you know maybe who is selling those?

About stems, lead glass - that is a good solution too. I didn't pay
attention on its viscosity - good to know, thanks.
So it should be easy to make an oven for melting the lead glass. I
have though about microwave oven, but I think there is a problem with
overheating the pins, I'm not sure that it will work. But for 600 degC
you can make a small size oven very easy, and cheap.
My reason for choosing boroilicate glass is because it is hard glass,
not an easy to break, and it doesn't need too much preheating. But of
course high temperature is a problem.

All about glass to metal seals you can find in Kohl 1960 book:
Materials and Techniques for Electron Tubes. I assume that you already
have it, but if you don't you can find it here:
http://www.tubebooks.org/technical_books_online.htm

Regards,
Vladimir

On May 12, 8:50 pm, Dalibor Farný <dali...@farny.cz> wrote:
> Hi Vladimir,
>

> I found another solution, "mercury dispenser", it is prefabricated ring
> with some compound of mercury and something else (Titan), You can use it
> like a getter - heat and activate it..
>
> As for the stems - it should be possible to make a simple form from
> graphite (one big hole, several small through - for pins, stem would be
> upside down here), place a wires inside, place some pieces of glass and
> cast it in microwave oven, watch this:
>
> http://home.c2i.net/metaphor/mvpage.html
>
> It will be probably the best to use a lead glass for the stems and
> soda-lime glass for the envelope - all nixies I saw use this combination..
> Lead glass has much lower melting point, somewhere around 600C, and what is
> the killer feature - it has 100 times lower viscosity than soda glass, so
> it can flow in every hole in the form and join nicely the pin wires.. It
> has so low viscosity that all bubbles of air go out from the glass.. I
> think that is the reason why the lead glass is used in original nixies..
> Lead glass should be used with dumet wire, easy to get - it is low oxygen
> copper borated.
>
> You are great negotiator (with producers ;-) )
>
> write me an email for the book..
>
> Dalibor
>

> 2012/5/12 Vladimir Vucicevic <vladimir.cik...@gmail.com>

> > > > onhttp://dalibor.farny.czItryto share all info, even sometimes too

> ...
>
> read more »