On Monday, 26 November 2012 19:59:12 UTC, bryan wrote: > > Just curious to see if anyone from this group knows if there are any low > power nixie tubes like IV-9 Numitron tubes that only needs 1V-12V? Not more > than 100V? > > Hi - IV-9s are not nixies - they are numitrons which have incandescent filaments like old light bulbs - a completely different technology. They operate off 4.5V taking about 19mA per segment.
The technology in nixies requires the gas in the tube to ionise to get that orange glow round the shaped cathodes - there are basic constraints laid down by laws of physics that determine the energy required to do this, thus the voltage that is required to start ionisation. The voltage at which ionisation starts (the striking voltage) is typically around 160 to 180VDC; once struck, they maintain at a lower voltage (e.g. 120VDC) - the striking voltage for a given tube is determined by physical factors such as gas mix in the tube, pressure, presence of ionising radiation etc. All nixies work this way which is why we use step-up (boost) converters to change low voltages up to typically around 180VDC. Nick -- 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. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/U5j14Pcp5CUJ. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
