Russian coulored neon lamps

[Tidak Ada]

Hi All,

 

I got al time ago a set of nixie bulbs about what I liked to know more data.

I was  in the mind that they were for 230V, but that resulted in a little ‘bang’ and a electric defective bulb.

I opened that bulb  en as you cansee at the second photo one of the electrodes is blown off.

 

Is there anyone who has the necessary data to run the bulbs properly?

Most important are the ignition voltage and the maximum operating current, but any more useful data is highly appreciated.

 

Kind regards,

                              eric

[Tidak Ada]

Sorry, I forgot to tell they are from ‘MELTZ’, former Soviet Union.

 

eric

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[gregebert]

If you have a high-voltage DC supply, you can put a series resistor and milliamp meter in series. The exact value of the resistor isn't critical because its only there to limit the current. 47K is a good starting point. Next, slowly increase the DC supply. Somewhere around 100 volts, the current will start to increase. The voltage at the supply is the ignition voltage. You should be able to get a visible glow well below 1mA. It's hard to say how much current is safe, but I would keep it below 2mA until you find any datasheet info. Nixie tubes have a plateau effect where increasing the current produces very little observable change in brightness, and from what I've measured, this effect is within the recommended operating current. I think you can infer that bulbs are similar.

Beware of the phosphor-coated bulbs. I have green ones in my NIMO clock used as colons, and they definitely wear-out over time. You might get a few thousand hours from them, but they gradually get dimmer and the phosphor changes from white to shades of grey. They are great if you have spares; I like the colors. But they wont last as long as regular neon bulbs.

[Mac Doktor]

On Oct 29, 2024, at 5:50 PM, gregebert <greg...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Beware of the phosphor-coated bulbs. I have green ones in my NIMO clock used as colons, and they definitely wear-out over time. You might get a few thousand hours from them, but they gradually get dimmer and the phosphor changes from white to shades of grey. They are great if you have spares; I like the colors. But they wont last as long as regular neon bulbs.

Sputtering deposits the dark stuff on the inside of the phosphor coating which prevents light from reaching it. 

Have you ever seen fluorescent Christmas lights? They have the same problem. Scroll down to the bottom section of this page:

http://oldchristmastreelights.com/war_years_2.htm

I have this set:

They came from the attic of a local store that sat idle for years. The box is beat but the lights inside are mint, never used. I have a number of loose bulbs that vary from bright to almost nothing. Blue goes first.

There's a Soviet set that has neon lamps on the tips of candles. Then there's my favorite kind of tube—bubble lights.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near Tannhäuser Gate. 

"All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain."— Roy Batty, Blade Runner