Alright. So I'm just going to have to wait for my tubes to arrive? Is there any way to know the tube sustaining voltage before hand? I'm just failing to grasp the "mechanics" of these things for now...
On Jan 20, 11:43 am, David Forbes <dfor...@dakotacom.net> wrote: > On 1/20/11 10:30 AM, will wrote: > > > Wait... sphere's nixie page says 170V and 33k. Is 180V 10k really > > reasonable? Also, is the purpose of the anode resistor not to > > decrease the voltage across the tube? Does the resistance of the tube > > decrease significantly when you energize it or something? > > > What is a reasonable tube sustaining voltage for IN-14s? Reasonable > > current? > > Sorry for all the questions, this is just confusing to me. > > A nixie tube is a constant voltage device, which means that the voltage > across it is nearly the same over a wide range of current values. The > current is controlled by the anode resistor. The sustaining voltage is > not something you choose. The current is, and a reasonable value is > specified in the data sheet for the tube. > > http://download.elektronicastynus.be/57/in-14_datasheet.pdf > > says that the maximum cathode current is 2.5 milliamperes. So you choose > a resistor that produces a 2.5 milliampere current through it when > driven by your power supply. > > Also, we typically do not measure the current directly, as it is more > difficult since the meter must become part of the circuit. Instead, we > measure the voltage and we know the resistance, then divide voltage by > resistance to get current. > > -- > David Forbes, Tucson AZhttp://www.cathodecorner.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/neonixie-l?hl=en-GB.