The one-and-only "antenna" version of the b7971 I had in my 8-tube clock failed as shorted segments after 2 years of usage. Not sure if others have seen reliability issues with a particular tube style, but that's my experience. I only use direct-drive, and the clock is well-protected from getting bumped-around so it's a real mystery to me how the cathode segment slipped up-against it's neighbor.
I dont have the balls to put my tube at the end of a stick and whack it; Michail Wilson published a photo and has had success. Photo makes me laugh and cry at the same time.... I got hooked on 7971's a few years ago, mainly because they are so frigging HUGE. They lack the artistic beauty of a traditional nixie., but are too versatile to be shunned. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/7c50120a-8a0a-4f81-889c-874e038f3289%40googlegroups.com.
