B17 sockets?

[Paul Parry]

Hi All,

I was lucky enough to bag some GR10K tubes http://www.tube-tester.com/sites/nixie/data/GR10K/gr10k.htm Very odd in that they have no Anode grid, so don't quite understand how they work if all other tubes seem to need one?

However any ideas where to get the B17 sockets from? I had a couple that came with some Dekatron tubes I had, but those have long since been turned into clocks. Can't find any on the Bay so a bit stuck..

cheers,

Paul

[gregebert]

It looks like there is a metal-ish shroud behind the cathodes, and maybe that is the anode.

You can confirm by applying reverse-polarity and see what glows; that's the anode.

Without the anode screen, do these tubes appear 'clearer' , and possibly brighter, when lit ?

[Jon]

Proper B17A sockets are rarer than hen's teeth I'm afraid. However, the outer circle of pins on B26A- and B27A-based tubes is the same, so you should be able to use these sockets too if you can find them. The B26A bases were used by most trochotrons / beam switching tubes, so those do come up from time to time. Can't see any on eBay at the moment though. Other than that, it's roll your own time.

Jon.

[gregebert]

FWIW, if you have access to a 3D printer, making your own sockets is pretty easy. I've made them for A101 dekatrons, and IN-18's.

I bought mine a few months ago for $350 US and I regularly use it to fabricate all sorts of hardware items that would be very difficult to build by hand. You just have to get used to the fact that printed objects are made from plastic, and they are riddled with line-patterns, rather than smooth.