Considering Buting Vintage Russian VFD Tube

[Dman777]

I was thinking about buying one of these.... I thought before I pull the trigger, any comments on them? There isn't  much I know about VFD other than I like the way they look. Do they last as long as Nixie Tubes?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARUSYA-16x-IV-26-Matrix-Desk-Clock-with-Vintage-Russian-VFD-Tube-Nixie-Era/321716239642?

_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3D82da78b28bb8472382e98140718797e4%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D221586572417&rt=nc

[Terry Kennedy]

On Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 1:03:44 AM UTC-4, Dman777 wrote:

I was thinking about buying one of these.... I thought before I pull the trigger, any comments on them? There isn't  much I know about VFD other than I like the way they look. Do they last as long as Nixie Tubes?

In the clocks these tubes were originally designed for (Elektronika 7), there is a substantial loss of brightness after a few hundred hours of operation, after which the rate of dimming decreases. Eventually some or all of the dot will not illuminate. Here is a picture comparing brand-new tubes (left) with tubes with many 10's of thousands of hours (right): http://www.tmk.com/blog/6F5S8704-s.jpg

The tubes are inexpensive (I paid under $1 each, but that was for over 1000 tubes) - the problem is that they are a bit of a pain to solder in and align properly:

http://www.tmk.com/blog/6F5S8773-s.jpg Also, when purchasing replacement tubes, be aware that there are 3 types - 1, 2, and 3. You want Type 1, as Types 2 and 3 have some of the dots connected together internally.

At least the clock you're looking at uses a sensible number of tubes - the Elektronika 7-06K uses 48 of them!

[Dman777]

Wow, this is good information...thanks! I can't find much info on these tubes. Are they made brand new still or are they like Nixie tubes....old stock never used? If I had that clock and I ran it 8 hours a day...how much brightness would diminish percentage wise in a year would you say? 

Thanks,

-Darin

[Alex]

Seconded on watching out for the type. I bought 60 tubes that turned out to be type 2 iirc, they can thus only be used as part of a seven segment display.

I do like them as a tube type though, very quirky.

[Nicholas Stock]

I put mine in a case. I like it, it's a really interesting clock. You can toggle the brightness of the tubes or leave it on 'automatic'. This is the first generation...the second one comes with an IR remote control.

On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 1:07 PM, Alex <ajlg...@gmail.com> wrote:

Seconded on watching out for the type. I bought 60 tubes that turned out to be type 2 iirc, they can thus only be used as part of a seven segment display.

I do like them as a tube type though, very quirky.

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[Dman777]

That looks really nice. Curious...which VFD Nixie tube type looks the best? Type I, II, or II? Also, how much brightness can I anticipate to loose in a year or operation? 

Thanks,

-Darin

On Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 12:03:44 AM UTC-5, Dman777 wrote:

[Terry Kennedy]

On Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 1:54:34 PM UTC-4, Dman777 wrote:

Wow, this is good information...thanks! I can't find much info on these tubes. Are they made brand new still or are they like Nixie tubes....old stock never used? If I had that clock and I ran it 8 hours a day...how much brightness would diminish percentage wise in a year would you say? 

They are new old stock. The newest datecodes I've seen are mid-90s. Type 1 tubes have individually-addressable dots. Type 2 are for forming digits on 12 (or 11) tubes mounted horizontally. Type 3 are for forming digits on 4 tubes mounted vertically.

The only application I have ever seen these tubes used for are Elektronika 7 clocks from the Reflector factory in Saratov. It is odd, since Reflector made some VFD types, but all of the IV-26 I have seen were from the Orzep factory and shipped to Reflector for installation in clocks. A company still makes these clocks in Russia, but using LEDs.

Since the IV-26 tubes have no grids, they can't be multiplexed. Dot "wear" seems to happen on the dots that are on the most.

There is lots of information about the clocks that used these tubes on my blog: https://www.tmk.com/blog/?s=elektronika

[Dman777]

Did you make that case yourself or did you buy it somewhere? Can't stop thinking about it :)

[Nicholas Stock]

I have a good friend who has his own acrylic fabrication business. I design, he fabricates for me. They're not very complicated yet, but they're effective.

Sent from my iPhone

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