Nixie Newbie

Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 9:21:34 AM6/14/16

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Hey folks. I wanted to introduce myself and ask a question. My name is Mike and I'm very new to Nixie tubes. I have purchased a few kits from PV and I'm excited about building them. One of the kits is the Spectrum 18 and I need to find some IN-18 tubes. I almost pulled the trigger on some on eBay. Is that the best place to find those? I'm also thinking of getting their Spectrum 1040 kit too...so I'd be looking for some 1040 tubes too.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Mike

gregebert

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Jun 14, 2016, 11:48:29 AM6/14/16

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Welcome to the hobby. Be warned, though, it's addictive....

I've purchased a total of sixteen IN-18 tubes over the past year from Ebay, and the pricing has gone up substantially in that time, from roughly $35US to $50US per tube. They are the most affordable 'large' nixie tubes you will find.

Make sure the seller on Ebay has solid recent feedback, and the tubes are 'New, old stock' or 'NOS'. I've read that some IN-18 tubes manufactured in 1982 are not as reliable (date code 82xx); confirm with the seller. I was fortunate to get tubes manufactured in 1991/1992, and they appear to be in excellent condition after several months of usage.

Be very careful with the IN-18 pins. Most tubes have very soft pins that bend easily; no idea if they break easily, but I would assume they will. Don't be alarmed if the pins appear oxidized, and a few ohms of resistance makes no difference in operation. I wouldn't attempt to clean them, either. However, I have one oddball manufactured in 1977 that has rigid pins with a non-oxidized surface.

Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 12:40:04 PM6/14/16

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gregebert...thanks for the response. Great information! I believe it's too late...it's already become an addiction. I'm new and I've already bought three kits right off the bat! 😆

So, 18s are cheaper than 1040s?

Nicholas Stock

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Jun 14, 2016, 12:43:02 PM6/14/16

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18's are a little bit more expensive that 1040's at the moment on the Bay if you're patient enough. Although, the price for IN18's may be softening a little as I've seen a few listings come down 10 to 20 dollars...they're still too expensive in my opinion..;-)

Welcome to the madhouse Mike.

Cheers,

Nick

On Tue, Jun 14, 2016 at 9:40 AM, Mike Allen <madlab...@gmail.com> wrote:

gregebert...thanks for the response. Great information! I believe it's too late...it's already become an addiction. I'm new and I've already bought three kits right off the bat! 😆

So, 18s are cheaper than 1040s?

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Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 12:48:49 PM6/14/16

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Thanks Nick! I haven't found any 1040s on eBay currently.

gregebert

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Jun 14, 2016, 12:54:26 PM6/14/16

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On the other end of the spectrum, IN-1's are very cheap and are great for experimenting, especially when you start designing your own clocks. No hard feelings if you damage one, etc.

Several years ago I bought 25 of them, many have since died and ended up in the microwave oven a few nights ago.

Nicholas Stock

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Jun 14, 2016, 12:54:39 PM6/14/16

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-Z566M-NIXIE-RFT-Germany-TUBE-Z566-ZM1040-Z5660-TESTED-Z5660M-Z522M-RARE-/301873160821?hash=item46490ae275:g:rzsAAOSwEeFVCVe~

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-NIXIE-RFT-Z5660-TUBE-NOS-WITH-SOCKET-/111975081735?hash=item1a123c2707:g:sIgAAOSw3KFWeCSD

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z566M-GERMAN-RFT-100-TESTED-NUMERALS-INDICATING-LARGE-NIXIE-TUBE-/281839739147?hash=item419ef5210b:g:7uYAAOSwkNZUccbL

The tube numbers you want to search for are : ZM1040, ZM1042, Z566, Z5660 and similar....they're all pin compatible.

Nick

On Tue, Jun 14, 2016 at 9:48 AM, Mike Allen <madlab...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Nick! I haven't found any 1040s on eBay currently.

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Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 1:03:29 PM6/14/16

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Also...I have been told the 18s have a "blue dot" problem.

Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 1:09:10 PM6/14/16

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Thanks Nick!

Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 3:50:06 PM6/14/16

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Do you guys know about this blue dot problem?

Quixotic Nixotic

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Jun 14, 2016, 3:54:18 PM6/14/16

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On 14 Jun 2016, at 20:50, Mike Allen wrote:

> Do you guys know about this blue dot problem?

Yes but I think it is relatively rare. I never had it.

John S

Nicholas Stock

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Jun 14, 2016, 4:06:08 PM6/14/16

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Define problem...

I have a clock where I put in nothing but tubes that show the blue dot (it's a multiplexed design) and I quite like it....;-) Evidently, if the tubes are 'correctly' driven (direct drive) then the blue dot doesn't occur...but that's above my pay grade...

On Tue, Jun 14, 2016 at 12:50 PM, Mike Allen <madlab...@gmail.com> wrote:

Do you guys know about this blue dot problem?

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Mike Allen

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Jun 14, 2016, 5:17:20 PM6/14/16

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Problem is probably the wrong word. Paul at Bad Dog Designs had told me that some 18s develop this blue dot...as you say...when multiplexed.

threeneurons

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Jun 18, 2016, 6:31:42 PM6/18/16

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On Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 12:50:06 PM UTC-7, Mike Allen wrote:

Do you guys know about this blue dot problem?

The "blue dot", is only a minor aesthetic issue. It occurs on IN-18s when they are displaying a "1".

I've replicated the problem. It has nothing to do with being multiplexed, or direct drive. It can occur in both drive modes. It has to do with stray currents, and current density. This anomaly can be reproduced by having all the "off" cathodes (0, 2-9) clamped at some voltage lower than ~90V. If you allow "off" cathodes to float higher than 90V, then it will not happen. Drivers like the 74141 clamp the cathodes to ~60V max, and allow it to happen. Here are some test results:

Dekatron42

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Jun 19, 2016, 6:23:24 AM6/19/16

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Does it change if you use just one or both of the anodes?

Does it change if you use a cathode resistor for the "1" digit?

In the few Russian circuits that I have seen they use at least 200V supply voltage, usually 250V, and either direct drive with a transistor in each of the cathode circuit or clamp the voltage of the cathodes with diodes and a voltage divider if the KM155ID1 is used. Sometimes they use a resistor on each emitter of the cathode driver transistors but since I haven't seen the rest of that circuit I can't say if it is there for current limiting or what.