Re: [neonixie-l] Bedroom Decor

2024-10-08 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have several of those clocks without backlight or remote that I picked up 
for under USD$30 each four or so years ago (just before COVID in 2019). I 
am using ZM1022's with them. One of them has a problem now where the 2 in 
the one's hour position glows faintly continuously until the clock is 
turned off. No schematic but I am thinking a Zener has failed on that 
digit. It lights fine at 12:xx but at any other time the 2 is dim.

On Monday, October 7, 2024 at 5:24:52 PM UTC-4 Senk Ju wrote:

> I'm reasonably sure the round tubes are QS30-1s. There are a lot of 
> Chinese boards like this designed for them.
>
> Nick Andrews  schrieb am Mo., 7. Okt. 2024, 21:15:
>
>> Seems crazy for IN-12 tubes clock.  I have one sitting on my desk that 
>> was a kit I had to solder, but much cheaper.  No remote control, but who 
>> needs that anyway?  The one they show in pictures with round tubes looks 
>> interesting but not sure what tubes those are.
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2024 at 1:21 PM Mac Doktor  wrote:
>>
>>> "Bedroom Decoration USB Cable Nixie Tube Clock Bedroom Decor Digital 
>>> Clock":
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/226388655112
>>>
>>>
>>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>>
>>> https://www.astarcloseup.com
>>>
>>> "Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it 
>>> out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and 
>>> enthusiasm for science intact."—Carl Sagan, *Psychology Today*, 1996
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/4731A7DA-B498-465A-B503-267867FDA591%40gmail.com
>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAJD4P-hv%3D_AP1HpCB%2BpXSgjw02exJtocHQPeAF4nXYHe2KdP4Q%40mail.gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/bcad5eff-d106-4769-ac23-6213546c6616n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: 1N17 finally complete!

2024-09-17 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
While I prefer the bare bulbs as well (ZM1022 vs ZM1020 for example), I 
understand the desire to filter out the blue tint that comes from the 
mercury in some tubes in order to get a relatively pure red digit.

On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 10:18:38 AM UTC-4 Nick Andrews wrote:

T-molding like on arcade game cabinets?

I've never understood the fascination with red windows over displays or 
coatings on tubes.  I think they look much better with clear or nothing 
over them.


-- 
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/ed9376d8-90f1-46b7-9be8-dd7ba367cf52n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] B-7971 on ebay for $140

2024-02-10 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I would be in the same situation myself. As I have noted before, back in 
1979 when I was still in High School, I had built a six-digit clock based 
on an MM5311 clock chip (still works though many components upgraded by me 
over the years). The tubes and sockets came from three of the stock ticker 
boards that were still plentiful back then. I decided at the time that I 
wanted six spare tubes so that someday I could replace any tubes that 
stopped working (they still work). The company I bought the boards from, 
Meshna Electronics in Lynn, Massachusetts, also sold tubes individually. At 
that time, he was selling used pulls for $4/each and what were claimed to 
be NOS tubes for $5/each. I opted to purchase six of the NOS which came to 
$30 plus shipping. They came individually wrapped in bubble wrap in a small 
plain carton along with an original Burroughs datasheet on the tubes. I 
still have them in that little carton and the original datasheet (plus I 
had put in a seventh Burroughs branded, not Ultronics, B-7971 that I have 
long since forgotten where I got it from but I assume is used). Of course, 
if I were to sell them (not planning on it), I have no real way to prove 
the six are NOS. It is possible I paid $6 for used tubes but I have to 
assume the seller was honest in that regard. It is possible the original 
purchaser of these tubes was in the same boat. Acquired them from a seller 
claiming they were NOS back in the 70's.

Regardless, I doubt there would be much price difference these days between 
used and NOS. The prices are already quite high and the tubes last a long 
time.

On Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 12:31:05 PM UTC-5 Michail Wilson wrote:

Absolutely not.

New were shipped in Styrofoam containers holding about 25 of them.  There 
were stored in old boxes of six according to the pictures.

These were in paper bags with handwriting on them.  Also, new was never 
sold with sockets which you can tell also had their ends soldered.

 

The date appears to be Jan 2nd, 2000 So, although they may have been in 
storage since 2000, they were not new.

 

Michail Wilson

206-920-6312

 

*From:* xxx> *On Behalf Of *Robert
*Sent:* Thursday, February 8, 2024 4:35 AM
*To:* xxx
*Subject:* Re: [neonixie-l] B-7971 on ebay for $140

 

Do you think they were N.O.S.?

 

Rob

-- 
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/d5901e95-a9fa-4dea-b8a3-a8373346c8cfn%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Happy New Year and a request..

2024-01-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
A quick Google search shows some for sale. Running around USD$20. I myself 
have MM5311N for a clock a built in 1979. Picked up spares in 2004. 

On Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 12:58:18 PM UTC-5 Nicholas Stock wrote:

> Fellow nixie nuts, a Happy New Year to you all, let's hope 2024 brings 
> good fortune to all, and more importantly, cheaper nixies (ha ha ha).
>
> I'm on the hunt for some MM5314N chips if anyone has any?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nick
>

-- 
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/35971499-ff7d-4bec-89b5-444b82630a60n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Helping Nixie Tubes Fire in a Darkened Room

2023-12-01 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
It would an interesting idea but the glass would block the ionizing 
radiation (alpha and probably most beta particles from daughter elements in 
the ore).

I have the same issue with B-7971's in a dark room. Unless I shine a 
flashlight at them, it takes them a bit of time to turn on from a cold 
start.

On Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 4:43:52 PM UTC-5 Nicholas Stock wrote:

May I suggest a small piece of uranium ore placed next to the clock?

LOL.

-- 
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/db8b598a-c6ec-45a5-b1a4-71ca4f89dedbn%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Shameless eBay listing plug

2023-11-23 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Memories! I have two of those Archer Nixie tubes still in the same 
packaging. I got them in the closeout bin when RadioShack stopped carrying 
them. The store crossed out the $2.29 in pen and wrote $.99. Back around 
1975 that was still a lot of money for a kid with a paper route but I got 
the last two.

On Monday, November 20, 2023 at 8:54:54 PM UTC-5 Nicholas Stock wrote:

> My listing..
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/276027909780
>
> Would sell to a member of the forum if interested for a lower cost 
> (reasonable offers please, these are at market already).
>
> Free shipping domestically. All the tubes have gas, most look NOS, 
> very clean, some in new boxes. Only selling as a complete lot I'm afraid.
>
> Send me an email if interested.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nick
>

-- 
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/ca72936a-6464-4695-92ac-8704305eb025n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: An Introduction,

2023-09-12 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 


On Tuesday, 12 September 2023 at 00:07:04 UTC+1 gregebert wrote:

I'm not a fan of multiplexing nixies because of the additional current that 
can lead to shorter lifespan.

 
Me neither as I can hear the whine of the vibrating segments in my old 
B-7971 clock I built in 1979 that is multiplexed. As for shortened life, I 
do not know what other manufacturers did but the Rodan GR-111pa tubes I 
have were designed to be multiplexed. The "a" variant were for multiplexed 
use and the non-"a" direct drive from what I understand from the spec 
sheet. The board I pulled my GR-111pa's from was definitely designed for 
multiplex operation as all the tube segments were wired in parallel with 
the anodes separate. They do work fine as direct drive tubes. I assume they 
have a more robust design to stand up to the demands of multiplexing.

-- 
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/3d910540-02b4-4875-a3ca-2f40139d4733n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Original Tube Prices

2023-09-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
In 1979, Meshna was selling used pulls, without sockets, for $4 (inflation in 
the 1970’s was horrible then too). For $5, you could buy what they described as 
new unused tubes. I opted to spend $6 more for the six new ones. They are also 
branded Ultronics and still nicely individually wrapped in bubble wrap.

If I had to guess, they cleaned out an Ultronics repair depot of their stock. 
Somewhere there would have had to be replacement tubes on hand to service the 
displays. 


Яoßəят

> On Sep 3, 2023, at 12:58 PM, jf0303...@gmail.com wrote:
> 
> Based on an ad in the May 1`973 Radio-Electronics, Meshna was selling them 
> for $2.50 for a pair of tubes with sockets and driver board with HV 
> transistors, or $1.25 per tube/socket/ckt board combo.  These were clearly 
> pulls from the recently decommissioned NYSE stock tickers, so they probably 
> had already seen over 10k hours of service instead of being NOS.
> 
> On Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 6:12:57 AM UTC-7 Robert G. Schaffrath wrote:
> When B-7971's appear on eBay, they tend to sell for around $175-$200 each. 
> Not that big a markup over the original price when inflation is taken into 
> account. Of course most of the tubes being sold are used but still, factoring 
> in 53 years of time for something no longer made, the markup is not that big. 
> I am guessing that Ultronics was paying the $9.50/each ($76.83 - 2023) price 
> for the quantities they were working with.
> 
> -- 
> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google 
> Groups "neonixie-l" group.
> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/neonixie-l/daJQjXu81S0/unsubscribe.
> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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/26ec5606-ab7d-4aee-a72b-ddf56f80b358n%40googlegroups.com.

-- 
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/A79BEF55-2360-46E5-BB0A-9CC77484B062%40gmail.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Original Tube Prices

2023-09-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The only reasons that I can think of are 1) the B-8971 is tinier and might 
have been more complicated to manufacture. 2) Ultronics having ordered 
thousands of the B-7971's resulted in efficiency improvements in 
manufacturing the B-7971 such that the price came down.

Off the top of my head I am aware of three variants of the B-7971 
internals. Most likely those changes came about from making so many of them 
they found ways to improve the manufacturing process. It is possible that 
B-8971's never benefited from any manufacturing improvements or design 
changes due to the small number of them that appear to have been made.

Robert

On Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 11:58:32 AM UTC-4 Robert wrote:

Interesting that the B 8971 is much more expensive than the B7971, was this 
used in any commercial products ?

Thanks
Rob

On 2 Sep 2023, at 14:13, Robert G. Schaffrath <> wrote:

The B-7971 is an interesting study. It is listed at $15.85 in single 
quantities, which is still worse than the $5/each I paid for NOS surplus 
from Meshna in 1979. However, running that number through the inflation 
calculator for January 1970 to July 2023 and I get $128.18 (which is 
shocking to see how much our money has been devalued all these years).


When B-7971's appear on eBay, they tend to sell for around $175-$200 each. 
Not that big a markup over the original price when inflation is taken into 
account. Of course most of the tubes being sold are used but still, 
factoring in 53 years of time for something no longer made, the markup is 
not that big. I am guessing that Ultronics was paying the $9.50/each 
($76.83 - 2023) price for the quantities they were working with.

On Friday, September 1, 2023 at 3:45:14 AM UTC-4 Audrey wrote:

Oh. It didn't attach.

On Thu, Aug 31, 2023, 10:13 PM Audrey <> wrote:

My understanding is that the prices dropped a lot as time went on, here's 
another price catalog from 1970 that mentions most of the same tubes for 
much cheaper, with B-5750 types just $4@1000pcs - roughly $25/pc now.

On Thu, Aug 31, 2023, 10:02 PM LB <> wrote:

Hi all,

Out of curiosity, I took a look at some old Burroughs nixie tube price 
lists, and took the prices (1-99 pcs) to an inflation calculator 
(1963->2023). Here are some highlights:

B-4991 (Miniature, $68.00) -> $677.10
B-7094 (Jumbo, $45.00) -> $448.08
B-4032 (Miniature, $33.00) -> $328.59
B-5971 (13 Segments, $16.75) -> $166.79
6844-A (Standard, $11.00) -> $109.53
B-9012 (Pixie, $5.00) -> $49.79

I know that these tubes were made pretty much exclusively for 
military/non-consumer applications, but it's still interesting to see just 
how expensive nixies were in reasonable quantities.

-- 
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+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/b904ba4c-c1a0-4fdc-8e79-91019281564dn%40googlegroups.com
 
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/b904ba4c-c1a0-4fdc-8e79-91019281564dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.

-- 
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+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/e4c4e38d-714b-4d3e-b675-38a236e07e1en%40googlegroups.com
 
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/e4c4e38d-714b-4d3e-b675-38a236e07e1en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.

-- 
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+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/f201df98-74c5-455e-9eaa-35f8138f9d33n%40googlegroups.com
 
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/f201df98-74c5-455e-9eaa-35f8138f9d33n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.

-- 
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/5362200c-a0a2-4c63-bc15-66d145aec7e1n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Original Tube Prices

2023-09-02 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The B-7971 is an interesting study. It is listed at $15.85 in single 
quantities, which is still worse than the $5/each I paid for NOS surplus 
from Meshna in 1979. However, running that number through the inflation 
calculator for January 1970 to July 2023 and I get $128.18 (which is 
shocking to see how much our money has been devalued all these years).

When B-7971's appear on eBay, they tend to sell for around $175-$200 each. 
Not that big a markup over the original price when inflation is taken into 
account. Of course most of the tubes being sold are used but still, 
factoring in 53 years of time for something no longer made, the markup is 
not that big. I am guessing that Ultronics was paying the $9.50/each 
($76.83 - 2023) price for the quantities they were working with.

On Friday, September 1, 2023 at 3:45:14 AM UTC-4 Audrey wrote:

> Oh. It didn't attach.
>
> On Thu, Aug 31, 2023, 10:13 PM Audrey  wrote:
>
>> My understanding is that the prices dropped a lot as time went on, here's 
>> another price catalog from 1970 that mentions most of the same tubes for 
>> much cheaper, with B-5750 types just $4@1000pcs - roughly $25/pc now.
>>
>> On Thu, Aug 31, 2023, 10:02 PM LB  wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Out of curiosity, I took a look at some old Burroughs nixie tube price 
>>> lists, and took the prices (1-99 pcs) to an inflation calculator 
>>> (1963->2023). Here are some highlights:
>>>
>>> B-4991 (Miniature, $68.00) -> $677.10
>>> B-7094 (Jumbo, $45.00) -> $448.08
>>> B-4032 (Miniature, $33.00) -> $328.59
>>> B-5971 (13 Segments, $16.75) -> $166.79
>>> 6844-A (Standard, $11.00) -> $109.53
>>> B-9012 (Pixie, $5.00) -> $49.79
>>>
>>> I know that these tubes were made pretty much exclusively for 
>>> military/non-consumer applications, but it's still interesting to see just 
>>> how expensive nixies were in reasonable quantities.
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/b904ba4c-c1a0-4fdc-8e79-91019281564dn%40googlegroups.com
>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>>

-- 
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/e4c4e38d-714b-4d3e-b675-38a236e07e1en%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] B7971 - better contrast

2023-07-06 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have one of the pin top tubes 
(https://n2jtx.com/NixieClock/Used%20Burroughs%20B-7971.jpg). Unlike most 
of my other tubes, it is a Burroughs branded tube and not Ultronics. The 
only thing I ever noticed different about it was it seemed to have a deeper 
red glow than the Ultronics tubes which are more orange. Perhaps a 
different amount of mercury in it. Someday when I think about it I'll test 
it again.

On Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at 3:50:55 AM UTC-4 Jeff Walton wrote:

> I have a number of these "rare pin-top" B-7971's and do not find any 
> significant difference in contrast with the Ultronics versions of the 7971s 
> .  The pin-topped or "antenna top" construction is an early format that 
> uses a wired backplane instead of the PCB style interconnect.  It's a nice 
> tube that looks good as a group in any clock.  There is no practical 
> difference in operation  or appearance and there are certainly some MOD-6 
> clock owners that have full sets of these tubes in operation will tell you 
> that they are equally reliable.   They will have date codes in the 
> mid-1960s. 
>
> It is uncommon to see a group like this available.   $250 to $275 each per 
> tube seems to be the going price on ebay these days.  Overpriced but worth 
> whatever someone is willing to pay.  
>
> My first tubes were $8/pair from Buckbee-Mears and Polypaks back in the 
> early 1970's and included the boards with each pair.  
>
> Jeff 
>
>  Original message 
> From: Robert  
> Date: 7/5/23 2:11 AM (GMT-06:00) 
> To: neoni...@googlegroups.com 
> Subject: [neonixie-l] B7971 - better contrast 
>
> Not my auction but I saw this 
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266322565516?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=v3sg3SvYRJa&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=U1YeAcPgQ5y&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
>
> In the description it says “This sale is for lots of "Pin-Top" version of 
> the B-7971. The rare "Pin-Top" versions are made with a darker background 
> on the segments that provide better contrast.”
>
> I have some of these but have never noticed this
>
>
> Rob
>
> -- 
> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/A272F92E-A09A-48E8-A051-2C15C292A57F%40gmail.com
>  
> 
> .
>

-- 
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/7e3257e3-e81f-4f76-b97e-9d564641af74n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Spark arrestors?

2023-06-27 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
When I saw this subject I was thinking of the Visoglow Neon Lightning 
Arrester that I bought NIB from Fair Radio Sales over 40 years ago. Never 
used it and only bought it for the novelty of a three terminal neon bulb in 
it. Found a picture of it online 
at 
https://www.picclickimg.com/DGgAAOSwC2ZkNzwb/RARE-Vtg-Neon-Gas-Radio-Lightning-Arrestor-Brach.webp.

On Monday, June 26, 2023 at 4:56:06 PM UTC-4 Nick Andrews wrote:

> Am I reading that right, <5.5MBq in each tube?  I have a couple of old 
> spark gap tubes with Cs-137 in them used to calibrate isotope identifiers I 
> have but being WWII vintage, likely not a uniform amount in each tube was 
> used.  A pint spot on inside of the glass, but gas is likely easier to fill 
> more uniformly piece to piece.
>
> On Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 11:56 PM Mac Doktor  wrote:
>
>>
>> On Jun 25, 2023, at 12:21 AM, Nick Andrews  wrote:
>>
>> Interesting.   Bigger ones used in what?  I have a box somewhere with old 
>> railroad lightning assessors.  
>>
>>
>> I was looking at these: 
>> https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804108987619.html
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> https://www.astarcloseup.com
>>
>> "Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it 
>> out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and 
>> enthusiasm for science intact."—Carl Sagan, *Psychology Today*, 1996
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/3520BABE-5435-4817-A431-8E5188741A4B%40gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/d2c5368e-c6e6-4b60-934b-3e09153cc46fn%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Seriously? This is out of control on ebay

2023-05-19 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
If this sells then I have a defective B7971 I would put up too. At least 
mine still lights up. A few segments do not work but at least it does not 
have a hole in the glass LOL.

On Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 10:34:41 AM UTC-4 Nick Andrews wrote:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185902284039?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=b10ab9f3379946c388664ea9b51afe3c&bu=43189870757&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20230518011652&segname=11021

-- 
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/b60d89be-c0e2-45ad-a17f-644016eadf94n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Neonixie Spam Messages

2023-04-08 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I don't think it is just Group but with Google overall. I use Gmail and I 
noticed a large uptick in legitimate messages appearing in the SPAM folder. 
I used to have to check it once every two days or so but now it is flagging 
many things I consider innocuous. As some others posts have noted, there is 
an election coming up...

On Friday, April 7, 2023 at 4:16:28 AM UTC-4 Grahame wrote:

> Hi
>
> Just the one pending this morning..
>
> No overly eager moderator - my memory is that we have deleted 4 posts in 
> the last couple of years - two from a Russian tube seller seeking to bypass 
> sanctions and two from someone advertising gold.
>
> As Nick said, there doesn't appear to be any moderator controls on spam 
> delete/pending so we are just going to have to live with this problem for 
> now. I appears there are two levels of control by google - one is they 
> delete the message outright - the second is it goes into a pending folder 
> for the moderators to approve.
>
> I will watch the post contents more closely and see if there is a reason 
> why posts are being moved to pending.
>
> Grahame (and Nick and Nick)
> On 07/04/2023 04:52, Terry S wrote:
>
> Welcome to Google's new AI system. But don't worry, AI is harmless.
>
> On Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 1:08:53 PM UTC-5 Moses wrote:
>
>> Grahame, 
>>
>> Last several months some of my posts are just deleted.. I started the 
>> habit of copy pasting them to notepad before posting because of this. You 
>> can see this in several threads.. a message is replaced by "Message has 
>> been deleted"
>> It's not just me either, as I've had folks sent me an email direct about 
>> a topic and stating that their posted messages were deleted as well.
>>
>> I can't figure it out, as I have reposted the same message the next day 
>> and it is fine. I just figured it was an overly active moderator, computer 
>> or otherwise. Either way, a bit annoying, especially when you don't know 
>> what triggered it.
>>
>> Regards,
>> -Moses
>>
>> On Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 6:49:42 AM UTC-7 Grahame wrote:
>>
>>> Hi All 
>>>
>>> For some reason Google is identifying a lot more messages as spam and 
>>> putting them in the moderator's pending folder. We might have one or two 
>>> a month but more recently it can be several a day. I just released three 
>>> messages from yesterday. Another odd thing, is that at least one message 
>>> that had been pending came through by email to me, the selection I have 
>>> set for myself, but then it doesn't appear in the thread on the group 
>>> webpage. 
>>>
>>> I am trying to remember to look at the pending folder everyday to 
>>> release held messages. Please PM me if you are seeing a problem with any 
>>> particular posting. 
>>>
>>> Grahame (and Nick and Nick) 
>>>
>>> Moderators 
>>>
>>> -- 
> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/9c3acc0e-3aa6-4322-a585-df8ab00787f1n%40googlegroups.com
>  
> 
> .
>
>

-- 
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/ec70905d-a823-4e5d-9e61-2bb229893c7an%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Expensive?

2023-02-05 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
That is the exact same thing amateur radio operators need to their wives as 
well!

On Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 12:07:43 AM UTC-5 petehand wrote:

> I've told my wife, when I'm gone, under no circumstances sell my nixie 
> junk for what I told you I paid for it!
>
>
>

-- 
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/884205b0-c28f-4d25-babb-89008a867e43n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: nixie sighting - On soviet IL76 aircraft

2023-01-28 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Several years ago when I got back into Nixie clocks, I took a few to church 
with me to show a friend. A few of our members are either still active or 
retired from the airlines (Pan Am, Delta, Jet Blue). One member who worked 
for Pan Am and retired from Delta on the ground crew at JFK saw my IN-12 
clock and mentioned he saw those often on the Russian planes. Even 
remembered the inverted  "2".

On Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 9:55:12 AM UTC-5 coggs wrote:

> [image: sovietnixiegps.png]
> From this youtube video https://youtu.be/yInZQ3z8H1s?t=212
>

-- 
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/1b0e371f-ae63-4ab8-af3e-765e1758ba81n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Expensive?

2023-01-23 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Wow! I still have one of those boards, with sockets, and can populate it 
with two NOS tubes. To think those complete assemblies used to sell for 
USD$5 or less in the 1970's. Of course 10 years from now, this might look 
like a bargain. I am amazed that B7971's are now in the $200 range (and 
climbing). In my box of NOS spares, I have left a note to whomever may find 
it someday, if I should suddenly depart, to verify the value of them before 
deciding to toss the box. At the time I wrote the note they were going for 
around USD$175.

Robert

On Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 5:36:33 AM UTC-5 Robert wrote:

> Not my listing
>
> [image: s-l400.jpg]
>
> RARE Pair of Vintage Burroughs B-7971 B7971 Nixie Tubes w/ Lectrascan 
> Driver PCB 
> 
> ebay.co.uk 
> 
>
> 
>
>
>
> Rob
>

-- 
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/9c429f58-1d1c-4d62-be05-40e9bf4b14bfn%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Green Nixie tube?

2022-12-25 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
My late father was a Professor of Chemistry. He had a collection of spectra 
tubes of the various elemental gases. I added chlorine and mercury to that 
collection many years later after he had passed when I found a good deal 
online for those tubes. At one time, I took pictures of those tubes 
operating and posted the pictures at http://www.schaffrath.net/Spectra/ 
(the two bottom photos are different because I added those later when I got 
the last two tubes). From the pictures, mercury seems to be the closest in 
color to that tube. The only problem though is, in my experience, the 
mercury tends to condense when the tube is not in use and it takes a short 
period of time for it to heat up, vaporize and reach full intensity. If you 
ever see videos of mercury arc rectifiers, there is a warmup period before 
they get going. Same with the old mercury vapor street lights from decades 
ago before sodium became prevalent.

On Saturday, December 24, 2022 at 5:27:06 PM UTC-5 LB wrote:

> It’s hard to tell, I’ve never seen a gas that emits that color. Maybe it’s 
> a mix of argon and mercury?
>
> On Dec 24, 2022, at 3:17 AM, Audrey  wrote:
>
> 
>
> I don't think there is.
>
> On Sat, Dec 24, 2022, 6:04 AM Tidak Ada  wrote:
>
>> There is clearly a green filter visible over the tube
>>
>>  
>>
>> eric
>>
>>  
>>
>> *Van:* neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] *Namens 
>> *Audrey
>> *Verzonden:* zaterdag 24 december 2022 7:49
>> *Aan:* neoni...@googlegroups.com
>> *Onderwerp:* Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Green Nixie tube?
>>
>>  
>>
>> https://youtu.be/gDcF8hJdrpw
>>
>>  
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 23, 2022, 11:14 PM Jasper nagle  wrote:
>>
>> the closet to a green nixie tube is a *thyratron display tube * 
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/224938767987?hash=item345f653673:g:lXEAAOSwDzFiWSpa&amdata=enc%3AAQAHkCbHe5IVLZ3Ws2LeT1cVeZzER6Yq6CfrxU9OsDZwyzv%2FvdaWvmJyeSMXJ%2FBsd%2BWzNW1uc7wIKWatEQ2nzRTf6D0nt148FB6riCPXb5BM4C0EYcCirsBmZ6nPZ7Q1OLIOyi96ZOqw7cs%2F4lvNle6ojUGesmCCeHc0mcqolEIgZDcitYCA38vT%2BiON4maGcDqpnQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5TKrKWoYQ
>>
>> On Saturday, December 24, 2022 at 3:53:48 AM UTC milesan...@gmail.com 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Good day, everyone.
>>
>>  
>>
>> I'm wondering, do green Nixie digital display tubes exist? From what I 
>> understand, the color of the discharge depends on the vacuum and type of 
>> gas but I've not seen any images showcasing one with a green color. Is 
>> there such a thing?
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1fc39874-13a3-4174-8622-553ee94be819n%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAPDJQ6Bt9RvNBYaXHOn4e-qON0syAtieK-idNBD3pAQaY0xnjw%40mail.gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/!%26!AAAYAPDddShx705MuX20yCpp0vvCgAAAEGn5rVfWryxMkIQaUikvmyMBAA%3D%3D%40zeelandnet.nl
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
> -- 
> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAPDJQ6BgystLxfrBkBufXg2sRwCzvDmhRaJ%3DM3eJgOi92W3JFg%40mail.gmail.com
>  
> 
> .
>
>

-- 
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

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Anyone purchased one of these clocks?

2022-12-23 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The battery backs up the time, not the settings. If you lose power you have to 
reset the 12/24 hour display mode, auto shutoff and background color settings.


Яoßəят

> On Dec 23, 2022, at 2:58 PM, Terry S  wrote:
> 
> 
> Robert -- I haven't installed a battery yet. Does the battery back up the 
> time and settings? 
> Yes setting the time and backlight is rather twisted.
> 
>> On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 10:17:04 AM UTC-6 Robert G. Schaffrath 
>> wrote:
>> I have one of those that I bought two years ago. Relatively easy to assemble 
>> I believe socket pins were included. Setting the clock is annoying though.
>> 
>>> On Monday, December 12, 2022 at 10:15:01 PM UTC-5 Terry S wrote:
>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/314168311777
>>> 
>>> Many sellers on ebay.
>>> 
>>> Does it come with pins for the tubes?
>>> 
>>> Terry
> 
> -- 
> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google 
> Groups "neonixie-l" group.
> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/neonixie-l/yMoQoBcnyPA/unsubscribe.
> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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/b965c4e7-6bbd-46e4-97a2-cc1baff60440n%40googlegroups.com.

-- 
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/AA464D45-E654-4886-9905-98D183046C98%40gmail.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Anyone purchased one of these clocks?

2022-12-15 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have one of those that I bought two years ago. Relatively easy to 
assemble I believe socket pins were included. Setting the clock is annoying 
though.

On Monday, December 12, 2022 at 10:15:01 PM UTC-5 Terry S wrote:

> https://www.ebay.com/itm/314168311777
>
> Many sellers on ebay.
>
> Does it come with pins for the tubes?
>
> Terry
>

-- 
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/1c1a3004-b669-450a-9c3e-150cc3864d17n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: IN-17 Direct Drive Clock

2022-12-12 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I agree. For me my favorites come down to the ZM1020/ZM1022's, Rodan 
GR-111Pa's and IN-17's. I picked up a bunch of NOS IN-17's a few years ago 
just before COVID hit and prices went off the rails. Have not done anything 
with them yet though I would like to make a tiny 6-digit clock. I like 
their small size AND the fact they have a real "5" rather than the inverted 
"5" found in IN-12's and IN-14's.

On Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 10:31:52 AM UTC-5 Keith Moore wrote:

> IN-17's are possibly my favorite nixies. Tough, small, pretty (and can 
> even look okay with LED backlight sometimes!). I love this build. Thanks 
> for sharing! 
>
>>
>>

-- 
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/9062f92b-a242-45b1-90de-86b8b31e04a7n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] lot of 34 B7971s on ebay..

2022-08-18 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
It's funny, I have Geiger counters too as well as other interesting hobby 
things, well to me anyhow, that no one else in the family shares any 
interest in (ham radio, stamps & coins, electronic tools, classic glass 
insulators, minerals, etc.). I wish it was possible to have them go to 
several charities I work with so they could monetarily benefit, instead of 
disinterested people, but that would be an extremely heavy lift for them. 
The one bright spot is one of my nephews is entering university in the fall 
planning to study Nuclear Chemistry. If he does complete that course of 
study then the Geiger counters and other related items would probably be of 
interest to him.

Asset tags are an interesting idea. I used to work for a major corporation 
where we had asset tags on all of our valuable equipment (PC's, monitors, 
printers, coffee makers, etc.). Meanwhile, as the company was shedding 
divisions and downsizing people, moral was horrible and people just stopped 
caring (kind of hard when you do not know if you will have a job the 
following week). Of course HR always tried different motivational posters 
including "Employees are our most valuable asset" to try and cheer people 
up. Several of those posters wound up with messages attached that said "Our 
most valuable assets have tags on them".

On Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 12:07:59 PM UTC-4 nickja...@gmail.com wrote:

> After seeing estate sales and ebay stuff, I started an inventory of my 
> Geiger counters, isotope identifiers, other stuff that is worth something 
> on ebay vs thrift store crap.  I got 'permanent' ID labels and printed them 
> with a unique serial number to key to an Excel spreadsheet, and was going 
> to add a photo of the item.  Then, I moved and well, need to start over 
> again.  I mean, ll be dead and not caring any more, but it would be a shame 
> for so much money to be lost for my brothers or nieces...
>
> On Thu, Aug 18, 2022 at 10:37 AM Robert G. Schaffrath <
> robert.s...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I see they sold but no idea what the offer was.
>>
>> I agree that selling them as a lot rather than individually is not that 
>> great an idea. I have six NOS, and a seventh used, bubble wrapped and in a 
>> box with a detailed note about them for whichever family member stumbles 
>> across them someday (assuming I do not get a chance to do anything with 
>> them). I advise whomever to investigate selling them individually and that 
>> tossing them would be very stupid.
>>
>> On Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 8:08:25 PM UTC-4 Kevin A. wrote:
>>
>>> If they were tested and guaranteed that would be one thing, but throwing 
>>> a bunch of these in a box as-is and charging top dollar probably won't get 
>>> them moving any time soon... 
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 7:24 PM gregebert  wrote:
>>>
>>>> Seller is probably testing the waters to see if anyone take a BIG bite. 
>>>> Next step is to break-up into smaller lots.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 3:48:27 PM UTC-7 Jeff Walton wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Remembering some older surplus places prior to the internet.
>>>>>
>>>>> Polypaks was one of them that had a printed flyer or ads in the back 
>>>>> of electronics magazines. They often displayed this disclaimer with some 
>>>>> of 
>>>>> their products,  "... No time to test 'em!" 
>>>>>
>>>>> Of course,  B-7971's were two for $8 with the Ultronics board...
>>>>> Not $200 each.   😁
>>>>>
>>>>> Jeff 
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  Original message 
>>>>> From: Audrey  
>>>>> Date: 8/17/22 5:37 PM (GMT-06:00) 
>>>>> To: neoni...@googlegroups.com 
>>>>> Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] lot of 34 B7971s on ebay.. 
>>>>>
>>>>> Yeah. It's silly to sell them all as one lot, and even sillier to not 
>>>>> figuring out how to test them for that pricepoint...
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 6:30 PM Michail Wilson  wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Quite the number of tubes.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Since he is asking retail for them all, and not likely too many 
>>>>>> people want or can afford that many, I asked if there was a guarantee 
>>>>>> since 
>>>>>> if even 1 could be bad, it would make almost the entire order 
>>>>>>

Re: [neonixie-l] lot of 34 B7971s on ebay..

2022-08-18 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I see they sold but no idea what the offer was.

I agree that selling them as a lot rather than individually is not that 
great an idea. I have six NOS, and a seventh used, bubble wrapped and in a 
box with a detailed note about them for whichever family member stumbles 
across them someday (assuming I do not get a chance to do anything with 
them). I advise whomever to investigate selling them individually and that 
tossing them would be very stupid.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 8:08:25 PM UTC-4 Kevin A. wrote:

> If they were tested and guaranteed that would be one thing, but throwing a 
> bunch of these in a box as-is and charging top dollar probably won't get 
> them moving any time soon... 
>
> On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 7:24 PM gregebert  wrote:
>
>> Seller is probably testing the waters to see if anyone take a BIG bite. 
>> Next step is to break-up into smaller lots.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 3:48:27 PM UTC-7 Jeff Walton wrote:
>>
>>> Remembering some older surplus places prior to the internet.
>>>
>>> Polypaks was one of them that had a printed flyer or ads in the back of 
>>> electronics magazines. They often displayed this disclaimer with some of 
>>> their products,  "... No time to test 'em!" 
>>>
>>> Of course,  B-7971's were two for $8 with the Ultronics board...Not 
>>> $200 each.   😁
>>>
>>> Jeff 
>>>
>>>
>>>  Original message 
>>> From: Audrey  
>>> Date: 8/17/22 5:37 PM (GMT-06:00) 
>>> To: neoni...@googlegroups.com 
>>> Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] lot of 34 B7971s on ebay.. 
>>>
>>> Yeah. It's silly to sell them all as one lot, and even sillier to not 
>>> figuring out how to test them for that pricepoint...
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 6:30 PM Michail Wilson  wrote:
>>>
 Quite the number of tubes.

 Since he is asking retail for them all, and not likely too many people 
 want or can afford that many, I asked if there was a guarantee since if 
 even 1 could be bad, it would make almost the entire order non-profitable. 
  
 Awaiting a response.

  

  

 Michail 

  

 *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com  *On 
 Behalf Of *Audrey
 *Sent:* Wednesday, August 17, 2022 10:30 AM
 *To:* neonixie-l 
 *Subject:* [neonixie-l] lot of 34 B7971s on ebay..

  

 not my listing obviously..

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/354229991047

 -- 
 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+...@googlegroups.com.
 To view this discussion on the web, visit 
 https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/173decbc-6613-44f0-8659-ab2b94434986n%40googlegroups.com
  
 
 .

 -- 
 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+...@googlegroups.com.
 To view this discussion on the web, visit 
 https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/MW2PR0102MB3435C94BB110012D051C36F6826A9%40MW2PR0102MB3435.prod.exchangelabs.com
  
 
 .

>>> -- 
>>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAPDJQ6BUPWU%3DtzmqBL33dbsu4sXHXBiMb5a1-PP-XErjsnq84A%40mail.gmail.com
>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/5c1226ea-7b33-4d77-bc7d-0d1297120c5bn%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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.co

[neonixie-l] Re: B7971 tubes for sale - $150 each

2022-05-06 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Poly Paks, Meshna, et al. By 1979 used tubes were $4/each and NOS were 
$5/each at Meshna. I bought a few NOS that I still have but looking back, 
yes I wish I had bought more. But, honestly, what to do with all of them 
back then? They were still pretty common.

On Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 7:01:41 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:

> I'm still kicking myself for not buying a bunch of these from PolyPaks 
> back in the 1970's
>
> On Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 1:35:25 PM UTC-7 Pramanicin wrote:
>
>> Tubes have sold.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> On Wed, May 4, 2022 at 6:54 AM Nicholas Stock  wrote:
>>
>>> Hi folks, I have a contact looking to sell 4 B7971 tubes. They are 
>>> untested, but look to be in good shape from the attached photos. $150 each 
>>> per tube (which is significantly less than what they're selling for on eBay 
>>> at the moment, believe it or not!).
>>>
>>> [image: unnamed.jpg]
>>> [image: unnamed-2.jpg]
>>>
>>> If anyone is interested, then please contact Jeff directly at 
>>> k3dua...@gmail.com
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Nick
>>>
>>

-- 
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/3a259497-0dfd-494b-8cf7-8e156eb1f806n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Noon to be dekatron spinner owner

2022-04-25 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
"Magic Eye" tubes are some of my earliest memories of interesting displays 
when I was a child. My maternal grandparents had a Dumont TV (didn't 
everyone LOL?) that used a 6AL7 eye tube for tuning the built in AM 
receiver. My father had a Fisher AM/FM receiver (with add-on stereo MPX 
demodulator) that used a very rare 6GE12 eye tube with one side for AM and 
the other FM. Then of course there were more common round 6E5, 6U5 tubes I 
recall on some vintage receivers of various family members. By the time I 
was a teen in the 1970's, radio used tuning meters.

On Monday, April 25, 2022 at 3:13:24 AM UTC-4 Dekatron42 wrote:

> You could mount the regulator & mosfet on the underside of the circuit 
> board and perhaps get more space for a heat sink there. Just bend the legs 
> upwards and use a spacer between the tab and the circuit board when 
> screwing it in place so you don't stress the tab and bend it.
>
> /Martin
>
> On Monday, 25 April 2022 at 02:57:59 UTC+2 Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>>
>> On Apr 24, 2022, at 5:25 PM, Aisha Love  wrote:
>>
>> My interest started with Nixie tubes and expanded from there. I hope to 
>> one day have a large collection of unique vintage display devices.
>>
>>
>> Magic eyes. Here are some really inexpensive boards that are a good 
>> starting point. They have a 12V jack, 3.5mm audio jack and a power switch 
>> out 
>> of the way in the back. This first one includes a Chinese EM84:
>>
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/193443031569
>>
>>
>> The second is almost identical. It uses three different sockets for three 
>> different pinouts: EM80/81, EM800/EM84 or a Soviet 6E5S:
>>
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/191011269169
>>
>>
>> The seller has all three sockets. I bought six boards and two sets of 
>> sockets. I also scored two or three each of the tubes listed above. The 
>> only caveat with these particular boards is that the 6V regulator and the 
>> power MOSFET don't have heatsinks and I haven't been able to find any small 
>> enough to fit (there's almost no room). The first board has an LM317 and it 
>> gets hotter than the LM7806.
>>
>> The 6E5S really heats things up. My eternal thanks to anyone who can find 
>> an affordable TO-220 heatsink that's barely larger than the horizontal TTR 
>> itself.
>>
>>
>> My apologies if I've already talked about this before. I'm very happy 
>> with what I ended up with and like to share. 8D
>>
>> I really do need to post this info to my blog but I haven't had time to 
>> take pictures and shoot video. Sound familiar?
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> "If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes."—Roy Batty, *Blade 
>> Runner*
>>
>>

-- 
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/9a2aefc5-4a23-4b9b-bfe3-7f1f18d91b18n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Neons for all!

2022-04-13 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Wow, I have not seen those ".22 caliber" Neon bulbs (A1H) since I was a kid 
back in the 1970's. Somewhere I think I have a few. A friends father was an 
EE and had a bunch of them from work. The friend gave me a few to play 
with. I recall that even though they physically looked the same, some were 
redder and some were bluer than others. Guessing some had mercury and the 
others did not.

On Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 2:57:40 PM UTC-4 nei...@gmail.com wrote:

> Memotronics 
>  
> is a good source for the hi-brite C2A and A3C bare lamps.  They come with 
> 2" (50 mm) leads.  (US company)

-- 
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/102b6cb0-0ecc-455b-8fcf-fd679cc454a0n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] eBay Paranoia

2022-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
My biggest issues with eBay in the past were not receiving and item though 
it was a rare occurrence. I would contact eBay and they would tell me to 
contact PayPal. Contacted PayPal and they would tell me to contact eBay. 
One big circle j__k. Since the amounts had been under USD$10, I just wrote 
it off. But it has always made me very leery of buying anything on eBay 
though I have not had any issues for many years. When I first opened my 
PayPal account, I too worried about them having my checking account. In the 
end, I opened a second checking account at a different bank right near me 
where I already had a savings account. I keep very little money in the 
account as I can easily transfer money from savings to checking as needed 
(I think back to when I was kid in the 1960's and my father would drive to 
the savings bank, take out money and then drive to the commercial bank to 
put it in the checking account - glad that is a thing of the past). As 
such, there is very little PayPal, or now eBay, can take from me if they 
are hacked or just decide they want some money for some reason.

On Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 12:10:32 PM UTC-4 SWISSNIXIE - Jonathan F. 
wrote:

> I've never had problems with payments on ebay so far, but i have to admit 
> that i think ebay is getting worse and worse every day.
> My biggest issue is that ebay is actively hiding items that can't be 
> delivered to your address. I have multiple addresses for shipping, but only 
> the primary one is considered valid at searches. Its a pain switching 
> between 3 addresses to see "all" items for a specific search.  Not to 
> mention the ridiculous forced translations they do since a while ago...
>
> On Saturday, 2 April 2022 at 00:39:29 UTC+2 Jim KO5V wrote:
>
>> Thanks to everyone who responded. I am very frustrated with eBay, since I 
>> get an email every couple of weeks telling me that "action is required to 
>> put my account back in good standing". It sounds like I am a deadbeat, 
>> rather than a paying customer.
>>
>> I had considered opening a 'for internet use only' bank account, but 
>> giving out my social security number is probably always going to be the 
>> real problem. It might already have been compromised, but I guess I just 
>> don't want to volunteer any more information than is necessary.
>>
>> As I get older, I am wanting to simplify. eBay is convenient, but there 
>> are ham radio sites, etc where I can sell my treasures, so except for the 
>> occasional purchase, I'm  probably done with eBay - after almost 25 years.
>>
>>  Best regards, Jim
>>
>>
>>
>> On Friday, April 1, 2022 at 7:24:15 AM UTC-6 Paul Andrews wrote:
>>
>>> @threeneurons, that is very sensible. As someone who had their identity 
>>> stolen I am very wary about any of this. BTW 'stolen identity' does not 
>>> mean they got my credit card info. It means they got my identity and went 
>>> around opening their own credit cards in my name, using my address and my 
>>> social security number. This year we found out that my son also got his 
>>> identity stolen - someone filed their taxes using his information (I still 
>>> don't see the benefit of that).
>>>
>>> Anyway, I stopped selling online after paypal sent me a 1099. The extra 
>>> hassle filing taxes isn't worth it for the small amount of money I get from 
>>> selling.
>>>
>>> On Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 6:29:12 PM UTC-4 threeneurons wrote:
>>>
 eBay has been doing this now, for about a year and a half. I've had no 
 problems, so far. Initially, I didn't understand why they did this, only a 
 few years after selling off Paypal. So It seemed kinda stupid. But I think 
 it has to do with some legal changes both in the US and in Europe. In the 
 US, all online transactions need to include the sales tax of the buyer's 
 state. In Europe, they want the VAT collected at time of purchase. When 
 eBay took over handling the payments, they take care of both of those. 
 Sales tax and VAT get routed directly from the buyer to eBay, and (I 
 assume) to the respective government agency. I only get the item's price, 
 shipping (that I established), less eBay's fees (~10%). They deposit that 
 amount to my bank account, either daily, or weekly, dependent on the 
 sellers preference.

 I Long ago set up a different bank account, at a whole different bank, 
 just for online stuff. That way if either eBay or Paypal get hacked, only 
 this "online use" account is exposed. Your SSN is needed, if and when they 
 issue 1099s.

 Of course, all banks now, have an on line presents, so with my luck, my 
 main bank gets breached, while the small sum, at the "online use" bank 
 stays unaffected.

 On Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 1:45:37 PM UTC-7 Pramanicin wrote:

> Etsy sellers have nixies etc on themI quite liked that platform in 
> the beginning, but slowly their commissions grew higher and I gave up 
> usi

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Tube Storage

2022-03-25 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Ammo boxes are good for protecting from typical crushing and water but will 
not protect from fire. If you ever examine a real fireproof box sold for 
important papers (I have one I bought at Staples years ago), they have very 
thick sides and are quite heavy. And they have a rating on how long they 
will stand up to an intense fire.

My late grandfather stored his stamp and coin collection in very large ammo 
boxes solely to protect from water and smoke damage in the event of a fire 
in my grandparents apartment. He realized that fireproof storage was way to 
prohibitive (and heavy) to have in their residence. Plus in most fires, the 
actual fire damage is localized with the majority of damage being from the 
hundreds, if not thousands, of gallon of water and smoke.

On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 12:43:47 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:

> Metal ammo boxes. Very unlikely they will get crushed, and might even 
> survive a fire.
>
> On Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 8:40:37 AM UTC-7 Richard Scales wrote:
>
>> I was fortunate to pick up an old plan chest which is basically lots of 
>> deep and wide draws but the draws are not that tall.
>> Each shelf is lined with polystyrene and tubes push in to the polystyrene 
>> - or lay flat - or in boxes. Lots of tubes in a single footprint.
>>  - Richard
>>
>>
>> On Thursday, 24 March 2022 at 01:15:15 UTC LB wrote:
>>
>>> For smaller tubes, I use standard 7/9 pin miniature tube boxes, and for 
>>> the larger ones, I have both found cardboard boxes, and modified boxes to 
>>> better fit the tubes. I keep all of the boxes inside an ikea cardboard box, 
>>> but it’s pretty unorganized.
>>>
>>> On Mar 23, 2022, at 2:45 PM, Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>>
>>> That's essentially what I use, and a dymo or brother labeler, except 
>>> for the big ones, and they stay in boxes on a shelf with the contents 
>>> written on them in sharpie on all sides.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 4:51:28 PM UTC-4 Terry Bowman wrote:
>>>
 This is a "how do you guys do it?" question...

 I need a way to organize and safely store the odds and ends of tubes 
 that I have. Nixies, Dekatrons, bargraphs, Magic Eyes etc. as well as 
 a lot of the weird things from the WWII era.

 Half of this stuff is loose except for some bubble wrap. Most of the 
 Soviet surplus items are still in the box sent from Ukraine, all different 
 shapes and sizes. It makes finding a particular tube a real hassle and 
 handling a box like this can lead to disaster.

 Then there's cabinets. You can't find anything decent anymore. 
 Everything is overpriced flimsy crap. The drawers all fall out if you tip 
 it 30°. Standing cabinets are only four feet high and can't take more than 
 five pounds of stuff on top.

 I did manage to find this:

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P2UOCO


 From the video it appears that at least the drawers don't slide all of 
 the way out.


 I also need boxes for my bubble lights and bubble tubes. If I had a a 
 18 x 26 laser cutter I'd make custom boxes and inserts out of heavy C1S 
 stock but I don't have a place to set one up. Can't afford one that size 
 right now, anyway.


 Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
 "The Mac Doctor"

 https://www.astarcloseup.com

 Edward R. Murrow: “Who owns the patent on this vaccine?”
 Dr. Jonas Salk: “Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. 
 Could you patent the sun?”—*See It Now*, 12 April 1955

 -- 
>>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/914a2fb9-a7f3-4811-a4e4-060ce4750ec5n%40googlegroups.com
>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>>>

-- 
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/4407e7c5-ed9f-4c60-9d39-b9c8094b94e9n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] New find!

2022-02-26 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have an old US Navy scope but I have no idea of the USM model. I bought 
it at a hamfest back in the mid-1970's when I was a kid for $5. It was made 
by Dumont no less! The thing weighs a ton. The 5JP1 tube was bad and it 
needed to be recapped. My maternal grandfather gifted me a new tube that he 
got at Liberty Electronics in New York City. The capacitors I had to 
special order at Lafayette Radio and they came in in drips and drabs 
(thankfully - I did not have a lot of money). I also managed to blow the 
991 neon regulator bulb and a good friend of my fathers who worked as a 
transmitter technician for WVIT-TV in Hartford sent me a replacement. I 
also managed to track down a user manual at the time as it turned out that 
Fairchild had bought out what remained of Dumont and had their intellectual 
property. The original Dumont manual has a Fairchild cover stapled to it. 
Funny how one could get information and parts without the Internet back 
then.

I still have it though I have not turned it on in probably 20 years. I 
would have to hook it up to my variac and slowly power it up again to allow 
the capacitors to reform. I have not had much use for a scope these days 
and if I did, I would get a device that interfaced to my PC.


On Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 4:31:09 PM UTC-5 gregebert wrote:

> What's even more interesting is that a lot of these old dinosaurs still 
> work. A friend at work gave me a US Navy scope (USM-117) from the early 
> 1960's, and at first it was having some problems generating high-enough 
> anode voltage for the CRT, but letting it run a few hours apparently coaxed 
> the capacitors into working again. The other neat thing about this scope is 
> that the only vacuum tube is the CRT; everything else is transistors which 
> was quite a feat for 1963.
>
> Many of our beloved nixies and CRTs are approaching, and even exceeding, 
> 60 years old and I am in awe of the fact the vacuum seals apparently are 
> still holding.
>
> On Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 11:38:28 AM UTC-8 nice...@optonline.net 
> wrote:
>
>> When RCA was in its heyday, they promoted their "RCA Institutes” 
>> correspondence courses in electronics. As part of the course in
>>
>> TV/radio servicing, the students had to assemble their own test gear. 
>> This was one of those items. It is actually a rebranded Eico
>>
>> model 430 oscilloscope from the late ‘60s. I know this since I have the 
>> model 435 which appears similar but has better bandwidth.
>>
>> I have always liked the looks of this series of test equipment that Eico 
>> made during this period compared to their earlier designs.
>>
>> They are simple to use and relatively easy to fix since they don’t have 
>> sophisticated features like triggered/delayed sweep. It looks
>>
>> like you’ve scored a nice one. Good luck and enjoy!
>>
>> Rich
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Feb 22, 2022, at 9:45 AM, martin martin  wrote:
>>
>> Since we are on the subject of CRTs...  I was asked to pickup all kinds 
>> of vintage items from an "Estate Giveaway"
>>
>> Here's the first one!  More on the way, Heathkit VTVMs too..
>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/586a03e4-6f55-4216-a715-6fc80e515c7en%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>> 
>>
>>
>>

-- 
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/bfb3541f-bf9d-45f8-8f47-1d5a505c20cbn%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Is it just me?

2022-02-05 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
>>> Saturn during their Kickstarter where they raised over 4M.  I'm hoping I 
>>>> can make some larger nixie tube cases and also other stuff like missing 
>>>> feet for test gear etc.  The resolution is legit.  Unlike many 3D printers 
>>>> you really can't see the layers and it's finally something you can afford 
>>>> to buy.
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> There was a time when eBay was just too many things to consider but it 
>>>> seems these days it's look and see if anything neat comes up.
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> I bought a couple Heathkit GC-1005's with a couple spare sets of SP-352 
>>>> this week.  That's my buys this week.  I thought $100 each was great price 
>>>> for the clocks in mint condition?  The Babcock Beckman were 60$ for set of 
>>>> 3 working.  The clocks aren't flickering either.
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> Bill
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> Bill
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Jan 30, 2022, 7:08 AM Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I feel there should be a pinned thread titled “I can’t believe the 
>>>> price of tubes these days”. Don’t get me wrong, I also gasp at some of the 
>>>> asking prices I see!
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> Love those IN-18s. I would love to have a set, but I’m not sure I could 
>>>> justify the asking price, and I really need to make clocks for all the 
>>>> tubes I already have.
>>>>
>>>> On Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 8:18:36 AM UTC-5 Robert G. Schaffrath 
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I paid $125 for 25 NOS  Philips ZM1022's back in 2002. Kicking myself I 
>>>> did not buy 50 at the time as I had the money and they are one of my 
>>>> favorite style tubes. They sat packed away for years until 2019 when I got 
>>>> several of the four digit Chinese clocks that use them.
>>>>
>>>> On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 7:26:46 PM UTC-5 J Forbes wrote:
>>>>
>>>> A screen shot of part of David's Cathode Corner page twenty years ago. 
>>>> I remember when he paid $800 for a box of 100 ZM1040s. Man that was a lot 
>>>> of money! :)
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 4:28:37 PM UTC-7 Terry Bowman wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 24, 2022, at 2:39 PM, Nick Andrews  wrote:
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> That's just crazy talk.  Glad I picked up some IN-9 and IN-13 a while 
>>>> back, but wish I'd bought a lot more.  I think IN-9 should be about $5-6ea 
>>>> and the 13s what, $10?  I wish, not any more!  I think it's awesome that 
>>>> some folks are being inventive and making things, but it really sucks when 
>>>> it ruins the market for specific items which haven't been made in decades.
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> It's been a little over four years since I got into this hobby. In 
>>>> April of 2018 I made some large purchases on eBay; a variety of cold 
>>>> cathode goodies, all NOS. The Nixies were all symbolic, no numerics. 
>>>> Here's 
>>>> a sampling of the prices (not including very reasonable combined 
>>>> shipping). 
>>>> :
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> vannadiy:
>>>>
>>>> OG-4 - @$5
>>>>
>>>> 2  each of IN-19A/B/V - $11 = @$1.84
>>>>
>>>> 10  IN-7 - $11.50 = @$1.15
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> uralspirit:
>>>>
>>>> IN-15A/B - @$1.50
>>>>
>>>> IN-5A-1/IN-5B-1 - @$2.50
>>>>
>>>> IN-7A - @$2.00
>>>>
>>>> IN-7B - @$1.90
>>>>
>>>> *IN-13 - @$6.50*  [only $6 a week earlier]
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> Another seller listed 12 IN-9s for $32 and accepted my offer of $28. 
>>>> That's $2.34 apiece less than four years ago.
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>> Sadly, I only purchased five of the IN-13s. Even worse, I could have 
>>>> gotten six or eight argon-filled IN-9s for $36 + shipping and pas

Re: [neonixie-l] Is it just me?

2022-01-30 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I paid $125 for 25 NOS  Philips ZM1022's back in 2002. Kicking myself I did 
not buy 50 at the time as I had the money and they are one of my favorite 
style tubes. They sat packed away for years until 2019 when I got several 
of the four digit Chinese clocks that use them.

On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 7:26:46 PM UTC-5 J Forbes wrote:

> A screen shot of part of David's Cathode Corner page twenty years ago. I 
> remember when he paid $800 for a box of 100 ZM1040s. Man that was a lot of 
> money! :)
>
>
>
> On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 4:28:37 PM UTC-7 Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>> On Jan 24, 2022, at 2:39 PM, Nick Andrews  wrote:
>>
>> That's just crazy talk.  Glad I picked up some IN-9 and IN-13 a while 
>> back, but wish I'd bought a lot more.  I think IN-9 should be about $5-6ea 
>> and the 13s what, $10?  I wish, not any more!  I think it's awesome that 
>> some folks are being inventive and making things, but it really sucks when 
>> it ruins the market for specific items which haven't been made in decades.
>>
>>
>> It's been a little over four years since I got into this hobby. In April 
>> of 2018 I made some large purchases on eBay; a variety of cold cathode 
>> goodies, all NOS. The Nixies were all symbolic, no numerics. Here's a 
>> sampling of the prices (not including very reasonable combined shipping). :
>>
>> vannadiy:
>> OG-4 - @$5
>> 2  each of IN-19A/B/V - $11 = @$1.84
>> 10  IN-7 - $11.50 = @$1.15
>>
>> uralspirit:
>> IN-15A/B - @$1.50
>> IN-5A-1/IN-5B-1 - @$2.50
>> IN-7A - @$2.00
>> IN-7B - @$1.90
>> *IN-13 - @$6.50*  [only $6 a week earlier]
>>
>> Another seller listed 12 IN-9s for $32 and accepted my offer of $28. 
>> That's $2.34 apiece less than four years ago.
>>
>> Sadly, I only purchased five of the IN-13s. Even worse, I could have 
>> gotten six or eight argon-filled IN-9s for $36 + shipping and passed on it. 
>> I haven't seen any since. o_O
>>
>>
>> Right now I possess thirteen IN-9s and ten IN-13s. You know that some of 
>> these won't work well enough to be used. I have a use for seven of the 
>> IN-13s right now.
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> "There is no Main Street anymore except at Disneyland—and try and buy a 
>> gun there"—Hank Hill
>>
>>

-- 
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/552bbedd-93e1-4196-818c-95b67c972729n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Some terrible luck...

2022-01-13 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
At this rate, in a few years, they may catch up to Rodan CD47's.

On Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 9:03:00 AM UTC-5 Richard Katezansky wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have 3 with sockets.  Given the odd number they will probably just sit 
> around forever.  I'm located in Montreal, Canada.  Make me an offer.
>
> Richard
>
> On Wednesday, 12 January 2022 at 13:01:47 UTC-5 Jim KO5V wrote:
>
>> Well, This may be the dumbest question of the year - and it's still very 
>> early.
>>
>> I packed my MOD-SIX_7971 clock and it's tubes away so I can do some 
>> extensive remodeling. The tubes were carefully packaged in a separate 
>> box.Unfortunately, my help dropped a large, heavy box on the tube box, and 
>> broke 5 of the 7 tubes (good thing I had a spare...). It was a legitimate 
>> accident, but I am not sure if my insurance will cover this.
>>
>> So, I need to find four tubes. Apparently, most have now been added to 
>> hoards. During a purge of surplus "treasures" a couple of years ago, I sold 
>> some spares, thinking that the money would be more useful than tubes (and 
>> ham radio stuff, etc, etc)stored in a closet. Oh well...
>>
>> Does anyone have any tubes for sale?
>>
>> Thanks. Jim
>>
>

-- 
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/72b9137d-5d45-4e2b-a6b5-19f9cb227d7en%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] A pair of Rodan Okaya CD47 / GR414 on eBay (used with green corrosion on one pin).....

2021-11-24 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Which is why I am sitting on my NOS B7971 tubes. Someday I think my heirs 
will be pleasantly surprised at the value of the bubble wrapped tubes in 
the carton they are stored in. I already have a note in the box to the 
attention of whomever to do research before they just toss them out and 
some recent eBay auction printouts.

On Monday, November 22, 2021 at 2:54:20 PM UTC-5 LB wrote:

> Who knows, they might be the ones laughing in 5 years when a single tube 
> goes for $10,000 
>

-- 
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/51fd9b24-a85e-455c-a952-f4068c562762n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: Need scan of "Base" in Burroughs typeface (was Re: [neonixie-l] Burroughs 70910)

2021-10-06 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I checked some of the old Burroughs documentation and I cannot find an "e" 
either. They only seemed to use the alternate font to spell "Burroughs 
Corporation". I have a PDF scan of catalog 616 (available on the Internet 
and it has no other examples.

Then for fun, I made an image of the logo and uploaded it to several font 
identifiers. Nothing matched 100%. The lowercase "g" appears to be key to 
identifying the font. The tail at the top is unique amongst all the partial 
matches I was able to find. If you are able to match the "g", I think you 
will find the rest of the characters will line up.

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 2:55:46 AM UTC-4 Dekatron42 wrote:

> @Terry Bowman: Please send me a direct email and explain in more detail 
> what you are looking for so I can have a look at my Burroughs material to 
> see if I can find what you are looking for.
>
> /Martin
>
> On Wednesday, 6 October 2021 at 00:16:32 UTC+2 Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>> The "Burroughs 70910" topic has me excited because of this picture...
>>
>>
>> Short version:
>>
>> I need the word "Base" set in the Burroughs typeface. The problem is that 
>> the words "Burroughs Corporation" don't contain the lowercase letter "e". 
>> I've searched everywhere online for text containing the "e" and until now 
>> I've come up empty. This box has exactly the sort of text I need except for 
>> one thing: it's too bold.
>>
>> Does anyone else have printed material from Burroughs containing an "e"? 
>> And hopefully a lighter weight? Not that I'd turn down anything in 
>> bold—I'll take everything I can get.
>>
>> I need a hi-res scan in a lossless format such as TIFF so that I can 
>> trace the letters in Illustrator. The original needs to be as large and 
>> clear as possible. Most of the scans of documents and boxes that I already 
>> have are too small and/or the ink bled too far into the paper.
>>
>>
>> More info:
>>
>> Part of corporate branding is selecting a typeface that will be used for 
>> letterheads, documents, packaging etc. Burroughs used a version of the 
>> typeface Clarendon. I've been to all of the font search sites and while 
>> there are lots of Clarendons available none of them have the unique flavor 
>> of the Burroughs version. While I'm well versed in font editing, management 
>> etc. I don't have the artistic chops to properly alter letters.
>>
>> Burroughs used multiple variants of the Clarendon over the years: 
>> different weights, different serifs and so on. I need all four letters in 
>> exactly the same font.
>>
>>
>> I love the lowercase "s" because it's almost perfectly symmetrical 
>> vertically. Help me Nixie collectors, you're my only hope.
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> Edward R. Murrow: “Who owns the patent on this vaccine?”
>> Dr. Jonas Salk: “Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could 
>> you patent the sun?”—*See It Now*, 12 April 1955
>>
>>

-- 
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/7c3c3db5-2dfa-46e9-b433-bd1ead052c8en%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Nixie Nirvana

2021-08-26 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
$1 for a B-7971?!?! Incredible. The best price I ever saw was late 
1970's/early 1980's when they were still common. As I mentioned in the 
past, I got six NOS B-7971's around that time from Meshna Electronics for 
$5/each IIRC. The used ones were $1 cheaper and I decided to splurge. The 
first eight tubes I got came in pairs on the old stock ticker boards. One 
tube was defective leaving me with seven good ones. I believe I paid 
something like $8/each for the boards. Some from Poly Paks and some from 
Meshna. It has been so long many of the details escape me. I still have 
that "defective" tube that I have been debating about selling. It had 
shorted segments and various attempts at fixing it over they years before 
learning about the "wooden dowel" method that worked resulted in some 
segments getting damaged. Tube still intact and several segments still 
light up so it is useful as a novelty but it will not display all possible 
segments that a good B-7971 will. It is wrapped in bubble wrap sitting in 
an odds-and-ends box which is why I am thinking of parting with it. I am 
not using it.

Robert


On Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 6:36:35 AM UTC-4 Bill Notfaded wrote:

> Jeffrey-
>
> Where there any big Borroughs or NL tubes vertical or round?
>
> Bill
> On Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 1:46:02 PM UTC-7 Jeffry P wrote:
>
>> Hi Nick,
>>
>> I've been lurking in this group since its creation.  Most of the 
>> discussion is a bit beyond me but interesting nonetheless.  Some members 
>> were asking where the pictures were- I was referring to the pictures listed 
>> on the Facebook group. I have not posted any pictures anywhere. I'm about 
>> halfway through sorting tubes into bins, so that all alike types are 
>> together. Burroughs has the lead as far as variety with National right 
>> behind.Valvo and Amperex are well represented. This coming weekend I should 
>> be able to finish sorting. I'll post some pictures when the sorting is 
>> finished. Thank you to all who have sent encouraging words. I was concerned 
>> that some folks would be out of joint because I went in and got everything. 
>> If you were planning on going to Huntsville for nixies this weekend I 
>> apologize. There were some meters left that someone might be interested in. 
>> I'm referring to the photos on the Facebook page (Harpers Home Estate 
>> Sales). The collection came from Michael Seaton. He had a few posts here 
>> and his name was in his email address.
>>
>> Jeffry
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 24, 2021 at 10:30 PM Nicholas Stock  
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Jeffry, welcome to the group!!!
>>>
>>> As a long time Nixie fan, clock builder, collector etc, I applaud you 
>>> for keeping the treasure trove together. I noted a lot of highly sought 
>>> after goodies in the photos (including a rather *excessive* number of 
>>> old Axiris VU meters!). As a fellow nixie/neon nutcase and one of the 
>>> moderators of the group, let me know if there's anything I(we) can do to 
>>> help you with info, pricing etcthere are a lot of really knowledgeable 
>>> and thoughtful folks on this list and whilst a lot of us are probably 
>>> *agog* at the collection, deep-down we're happy that it is all in one 
>>> place and with someone who knows its value (not just monetarily).
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Nick
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 6:16 PM Audrey  wrote:
>>>
 You should give them to me :)

 On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:14 PM Jeffry Portell  
 wrote:

> Yes he and I are the same age. I need to think about where all this 
> should go in the event of my demise.
>
> On Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 3:27 PM Jeff Walton  wrote:
>
>> Nice to hear that someone from the group was able to make the trip.  
>> You are fortunate to have your hands on such a treasure trove of 
>> antiquities!  Looking forward to seeing photos of the collection.  
>> Eventually we all have collections that will change hands, some sooner 
>> than 
>> others... 
>>
>>
>> *Jeff *
>>
>>
>>  Original message 
>> From: Jeffry P  
>> Date: 8/23/21 11:15 AM (GMT-06:00) 
>> To: neonixie-l  
>> Subject: [neonixie-l] Nixie Nirvana 
>>
>> Good morning to all!
>>
>>
>> I joined the original Neonixie-l group on Yahoo many years ago when 
>> Raymond W. was moderator. I had the privilege of paying him $100+ for a 
>> ‘Four Letter Word’ kit that never arrived. Raymond was good at making 
>> excuses ( waiting for parts, illness, earthquakes, no reliable help, 
>> etc.) 
>> and always promised that no matter what I would get a kit. Meanwhile, 
>> the 
>> time had run out for a refund. The (4) B7971’s were gathering dust while 
>> waiting to broadcast their message as tame, colorful, or indecent per 
>> your 
>> preferences! I think there was something in there about nuns blushing as 
>> well. I still get a twinge while checking my postal mai

Re: [neonixie-l] Red Coated Burroughs B-5092 - looking for some info

2021-07-07 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
It looks something like this Philips ZM1020 on eBay right now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/402975545372

On Tuesday, July 6, 2021 at 9:35:31 PM UTC-4 Pramanicin wrote:

> I've seen a few of the Z560 series tubes and ZM1020's with this kind of 
> half-assed coating, so I wonder if you have a lab sample or similar??
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nick
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 6, 2021, at 15:43, Jeff Walton  wrote:
>
> 
>
> I'd say homemade.  Burroughs didn't do anything half-way...
>
> Jeff 
>
>  Original message 
> From: Bartek Ogryz  
> Date: 7/6/21 5:02 PM (GMT-06:00) 
> To: neonixie-l  
> Subject: [neonixie-l] Red Coated Burroughs B-5092 - looking for some info 
>
> Hi!
> I'm new here and this is my first post. My name is Bartek and I'm in love 
> in Nixie's. I'm collecting Nixie/Pixie/Numitron tubes, my small collection 
> counts around 90 different models of tubes. Today I would like to ask a 
> question.
>
> I recently got a Burroughs B-5092 tube. What is strange in it, that it's 
> red coated! The coating looks very nice (except the scratches), I believe 
> it's not homemade. The printing is also (partially) covered with paint. You 
> can see details on the foto (blue reflections are from my monitor).
>
> I had no idea, that B5092 was also made in red coated version. I can't 
> find any info about them on the internet. I'm wondering, if theese tubes 
> were in mass production, or is it a lab sample. I'll be thankfull for any 
> info.
>
> <20210706_220354.jpg>
> <20210706_220426.jpg>
> <20210706_220527.jpg>
>
> -- 
> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/0b587078-2837-480b-99ec-141235468fb0n%40googlegroups.com
>  
> 
> .
>
> -- 
> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/60e4dc74.1c69fb81.43515.88dd%40mx.google.com
>  
> 
> .
>
>

-- 
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/f3982f7b-e02e-4e02-be57-2b3e67e204f5n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] B-7971 Smart Socket - Round Version

2021-06-27 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Is there a link about this socket? I have enough spare B-7971's to complete 
one.

On Sunday, June 27, 2021 at 1:54:50 AM UTC-4 tntm...@gmail.com wrote:

> Very nice
>
> On Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 1:53 AM Richard Scales  
> wrote:
>
>> [image: IMG_20210627_064608.jpg]
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/f78adf7e-4b03-4f87-87bf-b702254e55c7n%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/46982970-e1ae-4b27-968e-6ac56289b817n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Prices, seriously?

2021-06-12 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I noticed the upward trend in early fall of 2019. I had just gotten back 
into Nixie's so I figured I had better jump and I went out and got a batch 
of NOS IN-12B, IN-17 and IN-15A/B's. The IN-15's are really just a 
curiosity item for their symbols.

As people have noted, they are not making them anymore and the supply is 
drying up. Unless someone stumbles across a hoard of a million 
IN-12's/IN-14's/IN-18's, etc. in an abandoned warehouse in Ukraine, and 
word leaks out, they will not get any cheaper. Just like B7971's. It is 
shocking to see used tubes selling for more than NOS were selling for less 
than two years ago.

On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 2:07:37 AM UTC-4 nickja...@gmail.com wrote:

> Damn,  I guess I'd only gotten 18 IN-12.  6ea 15a and 15b.  Just put this 
> kit together tonight.  Not bad for around $20 plus tubes. 
>
> On Fri, Jun 11, 2021, 9:29 PM tntmod54321  wrote:
>
>> Yeah, they're going up too, I picked up 20 something to brace for the 
>> inevitable price hike
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 11, 2021, 10:28 PM Mac Doktor  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> On Jun 11, 2021, at 3:54 PM, tntmod54321  wrote:
>>>
>>> There are still deals to ve found :) maybe it's time to try VFDs haha
>>>
>>>
>>> Precisely why I've been keeping an eye on IV-4s and IV-17s. Hell, they 
>>> have more segments than a 7971.
>>>
>>> More segments than the IN-23. The collectors can have those.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jun 11, 2021, at 4:30 PM, Nick Andrews  wrote:
>>>
>>> I actually bought some of those 16-segment ones for that very reason!  
>>>
>>>
>>> 18 segments. The "decimal points" are descenders. They make it possible 
>>> to do most of the capital letters in the Cyrillic alphabet.
>>>
>>>
>>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>>
>>> https://www.astarcloseup.com
>>>
>>> “...the book said something astonishing, a very big thought. The stars, 
>>> it said, were suns but very far away. The Sun was a star but close 
>>> up.”—Carl Sagan, "The Backbone Of Night", *Cosmos*, 1980
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/32566C3C-201A-47B4-930C-FA1198C7824E%40gmail.com
>>>  
>>> 
>>> .
>>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAPDJQ6DD4SQ4gh3jskYS6cqnF18BYBXqUx48Kowtt84r2R2b4w%40mail.gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/3e082ae4-0810-4a2b-88e2-b0b5f0ce4b25n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] OT: How to convert composite video into TTL?

2021-04-13 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Back in the 1990's I purchased new surplus CRT based viewfinder module 
designed for a camcorder from a surplus electronics vendor. Was rather 
inexpensive. It has a tiny 1" B&W CRT and takes composite NTSC video. The 
only issue with it was the image was mirrored due to it being designed to 
be viewed indirectly via a mirror that would cause the image to display 
correctly. It was a simple matter to swap two wires to make it work 
correctly for direct view. IIRC, it would run on a common 9V battery. This 
post now has me wondering where I put it. I know I never sold it or threw 
it out. Big problem these days is where to get an NTSC video source. The 
only things I currently have left are an old 8mm camcorder and a digital to 
NTSC converter box that were common when the US went all digital.

On Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 8:41:58 AM UTC-4 jrehwin wrote:

> Small monochrome monitors used to be really common as viewfinders, 
> security monitors, etc. They're less so today, but they're still out there. 
> Let me know if you have a need for one. 
>
> - John 
>
>

-- 
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/d57772d7-9308-4cb0-aa98-f5c9ffc275c1n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] OT: How to convert composite video into TTL?

2021-04-12 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Yes the work done to get color into the 3.58MHz (well something 
like 3.579545MHz) was incredible. The math involved in transmitting the RGB 
info is truly amazing. And it was all decoded through analog circuitry! No 
digital processing involved. Quite a feat for its day. In fact, NTSC TV's 
were pretty much Analog Computers that received a complex signal and 
processed it with discrete components into a viewable picture. The real 
complexity of the system was in the TV transmitter that had to provide a 
perfectly timed and on frequency signal that the TV would receive. When 
turned on, the TV had to be somewhere in the ballpark in order to latch on 
to the signal. But upon receiving that broadcast signal, the circuitry 
would lock its oscillators onto the horizontal and vertical timing pulses 
and be in sync (of course you had to adjust the horizontal and vertical 
hold to give the TV a fighting chance of locking on). NTSC (Never Twice the 
Same Color) was a bit of an issue with needing Color and Hue controls that 
adjusted the TV's reception of the 3.58MHz color carrier. PAL eliminated 
the need for those controls.

Of course now with digital TV, the idea of a vertical and horizontal hold 
controls, along with hue and color, seems so quaint!

On Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 9:26:36 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:

> At least it's just monochrome. NTSC composite video with color is rather 
> complex, though I must say it is also ingenious in that it is 
> backward-compatible to monochrome and packs so much video information into 
> a 3.58Mhz bandwidth. Similar for PAL, though higher bandwidth.

-- 
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/de3f0f7f-7270-45be-bb16-5686cea27bb8n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Now, here's a bargain

2021-04-07 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I haven't sold on eBay in ages but I bought some items from time-to-time 
that are often "Out of Stock" but still have their history going back a 
year or more. Didn't realize it was possible to keep the entry live while 
the item was unavailable. Crazy thing is an eBay search does not show them 
in the out-of-stock state and if not for having them on my watchlist, I 
would not be able to find them.

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 3:05:40 PM UTC-4 Alex wrote:

> eBay makes it hard to pause a listing, though you can set qty to zero in 
> reality, though people don't know that (you need to set up zero qty persist 
> in settings, else the listing vanishes forever and you loose the valuable 
> sheep heading sales history... There is a lot of subtlety to eBay selling 
> and banging an extra zero on to reserve something is a common practice...
>

 

-- 
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/870af1a9-8e6c-4a4d-af18-6d9e9b07b279n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Assembled PCB Nixie Clock - Not from China

2021-02-06 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
On Friday, February 5, 2021 at 6:26:36 AM UTC-5 Ian Sparkes wrote:

> So, it started like this: I liked the Zirffa style Chinese boards - I 
> thought the hardware was pretty good, but the firmware was really 
> primitive. I was going to set about re-writing the firmware for these 
> boards, but them came up with the idea of simply taking the hardware 
> approach and using my existing firmware on it.
>
 
I have two Zirffa style boards. One for IN-12's and the other for IN-14's. 
I agree that while the hardware is pretty good (more details follow) the 
firmware is really primitive.

The IN-12 hardware is wonky in that if a digit is blanked, or the whole 
clock is off in night mode, there is a parasitic glow from various 
elements. As such, I have to leave all digits powered at all times. Also, I 
find it will drift a second or two over a week.

Meanwhile I have an IN-14 board that I use with Rodan Gr-111Pa tubes. I 
replaced the anode resistors with 18K to give the tubes the needed 2mA to 
drive them properly. That board firmware is also primitive but I am stunned 
at the accuracy of the clock chip. It runs for weeks and stays on the 
second. No idea why that board should be so accurate. When the clock turns 
itself off at 10 PM, there is no parasitic glow.

It is a shame the firmware on those boards is locked down. The hardware had 
such potential.
 

-- 
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/8b4c0bdb-c30c-4271-827c-eae998d94a7cn%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: B7971's on the bay....

2021-01-26 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I wish the B7971 kits that pop up from time to time were not so expensive. 
I have enough of the very expensive parts (the tubes) but I missed out on 
the boards years ago. I do not fire up my old MM5311 based clock much, 
built in 1979/1980, as the multiplexing whine bothers me now. The six tubes 
are of course the most valuable parts on it. I do have plenty of ZM1022 and 
IN-12B clocks to keep me busy as well as plans to utilize some more of my 
Rodan Gr-111Pa tubes at some point. They are pin compatible with IN-14's 
but require a lower value anode resistor.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 10:19:39 AM UTC-5 gregebert wrote:

> Despite it's "ugliness", the 7971 does support alphanumeric characters 
> whereas the 568m does not. That, along with their massive size, is why I 
> made a clock out of them a few years ago, thankfully when those tubes were 
> cheaper.
>
> As far as beauty is concerned though, the 568m tubes are stellar. The 
> other thing I found out is that despite being only 10mm taller than a 
> much-cheaper IN-18, the 568m tubes appear much larger as well because the 
> numerals are wider than the IN-18. I hope to have my 6-tube R|Z568m clock 
> finished in a few months; the handmade wooden case is a lot of work, and 
> I'm killing myself with all of the nostalgic junkbox parts I'm stuffing 
> into it, such as illuminated pushbuttons from a vacuum-column tape drive 
> and a 13-character/9-segment display.
>
> On Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 1:55:49 AM UTC-8 w...@kitsunegari.net 
> wrote:
>
>> If I had to spend $150 on a single tube I'd choose the R|Z568M from 
>> Dalibor.
>> Way more aesthetically pleasing than these B7971 tubes in my opinion.
>> On Monday, January 25, 2021 at 6:10:49 PM UTC+1 Paul Andrews wrote:
>>
>>> That is a very nice clock. If only I had that kind of disposable income. 
>>> I probably would have if I didn't fritter it away on smaller things.
>>>
>>> On Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 1:37:20 PM UTC-4 Pramanicin wrote:
>>>


 Antenna MOD:)

 Sent from my iPhone

 On Apr 5, 2020, at 10:16, Michail Wilson  wrote:

  

 The first link shows a little poisoning on the underscore.

  

 The second link is mine.  They went for $220 a tube.

 I only posted for those people that really really really need one. (Did 
 expect a purchase of more than 1 at a time.)

  

 I will post more, but again, only meant for people that don’t want to 
 wait for a good/fair price.  In fact, I recommend people NOT buy from me 
 and should wait as better deals always show up, but they have to fear the 
 ‘untested’ ‘asis’ auctions.

  

 Another note is that I provide a video of each tube working in a clock 
 and do a segment test to prove each are perfectly working.  And, I write 
 on 
 the tube in video and seal each box with my version of a seal so they know 
 what they see is what they get.  Example…

 “The following two videos are of your tubes.
 First video shows testing of all six tubes and markings...
 https://youtu.be/outZRHTZBao

 Second video shows packaging of the six tubes and my form of seal
 https://youtu.be/kL83gfLtJro”

  

  

 Yes, I have a couple of clocks with the antenna tubes.  

  

 Michail Wilson

 206-920-6312 <(206)%20920-6312>

  

 *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] *On 
 Behalf Of *fax_awd
 *Sent:* Sunday, April 5, 2020 8:57 AM
 *To:* neonixie-l
 *Subject:* [neonixie-l] Re: B7971's on the bay

  

 another b7971 on ebay todayfirst day already over 180USD per tube...


 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-Giant-15-segment-Burroughs-B-7971-Nixie-Tubes-with-sockets/303531498958?hash=item46abe31dce:g:n~0AAOSw7MNeh~rG


 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Burroughs-B7971-B-7971-15-Segment-Alphanumeric-Nixie-Tube-TESTED-USA-Stock/123727599571?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 someone bought six recently too..i believe the price should be over 
 USD200 per tube...

  

 people gone crazy...


 Pramanicin於 2019年11月22日星期五 UTC+8上午7時04分16秒寫道：

 For those still in the *hunt*...

  


 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Burroughs-B-7971-Nixie-Alphanumeric-15-segment-Display-Tubes-3-/352860696487?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276


 https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Burroughs-Ultronic-Systems-B-7971-Nixie-Alphanumeric-15-segment-Display-Tubes/174101582334?hash=item28894351fe:g:Q9UAAOSwzwBd1Oxw


 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Burroughs-B-7971-Nixie-Alphanumeric-15-segment-Display-Tubes-3/352860696487?hash=item522822efa7:g:m3YAAOSwBi5d1PAw

  

 As usual, not my listing etc.

  

 Cheers,

  

 Nick

 -- 
 You received

[neonixie-l] Re: INS-1 neons

2021-01-15 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I was able to buy a box of 100 for $15.99 back in 2019. I noticed that the 
glass color tended to vary from almost clear to dark. in the lot I tested a 
few for a period of time and found, oddly enough, the dark colored glass 
ones seemed to fare better. I only tested about 10 bulbs in total but that 
was a casual observation. I find IN-3's to be much flakier. Sometimes they 
display to the rear. Sometimes the leads below glow.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 4:18:03 PM UTC-5 Pramanicin wrote:

> Anyone had any issues with INS-1 neons showing moving ionization in the 
> bulb (similar to the same problems you can sometimes see with INS-3 neons)? 
> If so, any pointers on how to mitigate this behaviour?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nick
>

-- 
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/552d19db-603e-4620-93f2-a968ea2bc081n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Fascinating film about 1960s colour CRT manufacturing

2021-01-12 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have a 15" Micron branded Trinitron monitor that I purchased back in 1999 
for around $130. Used it for many years. I eventually switched to an LCD 
and brought the monitor to the office for safe keeping. We eventually 
ditched all of the CRT based monitors at the office except for one on a 
rarely used server and my Trinitron. Boss keeps suggesting I toss the 
Trinitron but I still like to use it with certain old computers. Was always 
a fan of the Trinitron technology as the picture always appeared to be more 
vivid and clear to me. Had a Sony KV-1710 and later a Sony KV-1972R TV. 
Kept the KV-1972R going for years. Speaker blew in the late 1980's and I 
got a new one from Sony. In December 1994, the combination power 
supply/audio amplifier module partially blew reducing the high voltage 
supply so the picture shrank. A local electronics dealer had a Sylvania 
branded plug compatible replacement module that fixed it. Then in mid-2008, 
the flyback transformer blew in a cloud of smoke. I already had a flat 
screen TV but I liked the Sony as a backup. Found a cheap replacement 
transformer and got it working again. However, around late 2011, the TV 
started having odd power problems and I suspected bad caps. At that point I 
had owned it 26 years and decided its time was up.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at 3:50:44 AM UTC-5 Alex wrote:

> Crt monitors are getting very collectable, especially Sony Trinitrons. I 
> used to pick pvm monitors up for free from a recycling place and made a 
> wall of them at the back of my workshop. Cleared most of them on eBay last 
> few years, most for over 200gbp each... Even good Trinitron pc monitors are 
> getting good 3 figures now. It's mainly the retro gaming community, SNES 
> and megadrives just don't work well on LCD / digitising monitors due to 
> their habit of skipping every other scanline for processing, plus the lag 
> is noticeable...
> The high end bvm crt monitors are always over 1k now! 
>
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, 12 January 2021 at 04:13:05 UTC Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>>
>> On Jan 11, 2021, at 10:14 PM, J Forbes  wrote:
>>
>> Of course I dohopefully for only a short time. I have 4 of them, plus 
>> 3 monitors. All in the garage waiting for the big moving sale.
>>
>>
>> I'll take any monitors 19" or bigger as long as the shipping is free.  8D
>>
>> My 19" Trinitron isn't going anywhere. I need it for legacy machines. 
>>  lt's too heavy to lift right at the moment, anyway. I strained my shoulder 
>> manhandling a 14" earlier today.  8/
>>
>> It's not the years, it's the mileage. I keep telling myself.  o_O
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor”
>>
>> "Never install version point-zero of anything"
>>
>>

-- 
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/0aee74af-8ddd-46bb-94e4-ea2d9c53959bn%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Old Post Office Clock

2021-01-04 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I recall that back in the late 1990's, my local post office had a giant 
USPS logo'ed LED clock on the wall behind the counter that counted down to 
the millennium. I was very impressed with it and wondered what they would 
do with it after the count hit zero on January 1, 2000. Well it turns out 
that after the countdown ended, it became a regular clock. I was hoping it 
would basically be the end of the program and that they would appear for 
sale. Never did find out what happened to it as my post office moved about 
a 1/2 mile away to a larger facility as my community kept growing and the 
clock was not at the new location.

On Sunday, January 3, 2021 at 4:10:11 AM UTC-5 Alex wrote:

> I would suggest that these were never actually used as clocks, due to 
> their somewhat homebrew look. I suggest they were weighbridge / scale 
> displays which may of been constructed to give a large readout, driven from 
> the aux port on a scale unit. Would make sense for a postal service to have 
> many of those for vans loading up rather than lots of clocks...
>
> On Saturday, 2 January 2021 at 15:35:06 UTC Jeffry P wrote:
>
>> I can find lots of clock circuits that are for lower voltage LEDs, but 
>> these LEDs are 12v.
>>
>> On Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 4:19:22 PM UTC-6 Bill Stanley wrote:
>>
>>> Correct, these are a differential receiver to receive the serial (BCD) 
>>> information, 2x8 shift registers to convert to parallel BCD and 4 BCD to 
>>> seven segment LED drivers.
>>>
>>> With a bit of sleuthing, the schematic can be reverse engineered, 
>>> reverse engineer the serial format and build or use a COTS CPU like Pi to 
>>> display anything you wish.
>>> The power supply connector also probably has the serial data (look for 
>>> wires going to the AM26LS32). Somewhere there will be a connection to 
>>> inject that serial stream.
>>>
>>>
>>>   -Bill-
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 1:30:17 PM UTC-8 bani wrote:
>>>
 These are not standalone clock displays. They are driven by an external 
 controller over serial. If the controller is not integrated into the 
 PSU, 
 then you are missing the external controller module. 

 Personally I would just design a completely new clock using the LEDs. 

 -Dan 

 On Thu, 31 Dec 2020, Jeffry P wrote: 

 > I purchased a clock display system from a USPS auction about 20 years 
 ago 
 > and recently rediscovered it in my storeroom. There are 20 displays 
 and a 
 > power supply. The displays were housed in a metal enclosure that has 
 a 
 > window cutout for the LEDs. The window had a piece of red colored 
 film and 
 > the LEDs were behind. When I plug the power supply in it will light 
 all 0's 
 > and a decimal point (as seen in photos), but will not start keeping 
 time. 
 > I'm willing to send one of these boards( at my expense) to someone 
 who can 
 > help me get the thing keeping time again. I've attached a few photos 
 with 
 > descriptions of chips that are on the board and voltages measured at 
 the 
 > power supply connector. 
 > 
 > Thank you, Jeffry 
 > 
 > 
 > -- 
 > 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+...@googlegroups.com. 
 > To view this discussion on the web, visit 
 https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/85636c40-6036-40b9-9426-24310206c979n%40googlegroups.com.
  

 > 

>>>

-- 
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/da2c17c5-fb5d-4fdd-94c3-63aec8f4bc93n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Counterfeit RTC modules

2021-01-02 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Over a year ago I purchased three of the four-digit Chinese IN-12 clocks 
with the LED background lights. Of those, two of them were complete junk 
and AliExpress refunded my money so I only paid USD$20 for the one good 
clock (I offered to return the bad ones but they did not want them - 
surprise). One of the bad ones just stopped working (appears to be a CPU 
issue though one tube lights up so the tiny quarter sized HV power supply 
is good and salvageable) and the other loses around 10 minutes every few 
hours. It cannot keep accurate time at all. Unlike another Chinese board I 
have for IN-14's that is rock solid and does not lose any time at all over 
several weeks of operation. I figure the clock that cannot keep time can 
eventually be fixed by replacing the DS3231M chip. I picked one up on eBay 
for the day when I can find someone who has an SMD rework setup to that I 
can remove the old chip and install the new one. But this is definitely a 
case of a worthless DS3231M being used in products. I assume the 
manufacturer wound up with a bunch of counterfeit or salvaged DS3231M chips 
and just passed them off. Lucky for me, one of the chips does work properly.

On Friday, January 1, 2021 at 11:52:30 AM UTC-5 gregebert wrote:

> Happy New Year, everyone. If you built a new clock last year with a used 
> or cheap DS3231, check the date to make sure it's correct.
>
> I posted about this 2 years ago when I found another fake clock chip.
>
> On Friday, January 25, 2019 at 3:35:06 PM UTC-8 Tony Adams wrote:
>
>> There are indeed some strange 'counterfeits' around. Maybe they were a 
>> deliberate attempt to confuse reverse engineering of some product, but 
>> never used? or it could have been a simple mistake. 
>>
>> I have a few thousand MPSA92 which have been remarked from MPSA42, 
>> with the 4 and 9 superimposed. They work perfectly as PNP HV 
>> transistors so it's possible somebody just forgot to change the 
>> engraver text and the mistake wasn't noticed until they had a large 
>> pile of mismarked PNP MPSA42s. 
>>
>> Tony. 
>>
>> On Fri, 25 Jan 2019 22:38:43 +, you wrote: 
>>
>> >Hi Bill, 
>> > 
>> >Indeed, it seems bonkers. I assume it's because someone has a huge stash 
>> >of open collector output 74 series shift registers, and either thinks 
>> >they're the same, or that most people won't notice the difference. 
>> > 
>> >I bought two batches of 500 of them, from two different chinese 
>> suppliers, 
>> >and they are all exactly the same, having the same laser engraved batch 
>> >number even. To be fair, the prices were suspiciously good, but I wasn't 
>> >banking on fake shift register ICs 
>> > 
>> >They are badged as TI SN74HC595N, and batch GM1807FSF. 
>> > 
>> >I have some 'normal' SN74HC595N, and swapping these out for the real 
>> ones 
>> >generates the expected behaviour ( and yes, inv G is indeed pulled low). 
>> > 
>> >With the 'fake' ones, they will appear to work OK with a pull up 
>> resistor 
>> >present (as you'd expect with an open collector output), but are unable 
>> to 
>> >source any current. 
>> > 
>> >I thought it was just me, but then I googled GM1807FSF and found someone 
>> >else (in German) having the same problem! 
>> > 
>> >https://www.mikrocontroller.net/topic/463936 
>> > 
>> >David 
>> > 
>> >On Fri, 25 Jan 2019 at 22:24, Bill van Dijk  
>> wrote: 
>> > 
>> >> That is really weird. Please understand I am not questioning what you 
>> are 
>> >> saying, but perhaps there is another explanation. The 74LS596 (I have 
>> never 
>> >> seen an HC version) is indeed an open collector chip similar to the 
>> >> 74HC595, which is a tri-state device. On the 74HC595 the inv G (pin 
>> 13) 
>> >> should be held low for normal operation. If it goes high for any 
>> reason, 
>> >> the output will float in tri-state mode, similar to what an open 
>> collector 
>> >> would look like. As you say, I can’t for the life of me not figure why 
>> >> anyone would bother to rebadge those chips especially since there does 
>> not 
>> >> seem to be an economic one (which is usually the motivation). 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> Bill 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] 
>> *On 
>> >> Behalf Of *David Pye 
>> >> *Sent:* Friday, January 25, 2019 4:12 PM 
>> >> *To:* neoni...@googlegroups.com 
>> >> *Subject:* Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Counterfeit RTC modules 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> It seems even things barely worth faking are being faked also. 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> I have a bag of 500 74HC595 shift registers, that are actually 
>> rebadged 
>> >> 74HC596s (as in, open collector, SINK, not SOURCE-capable). 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> Which are useless for my application :-( 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> -- 
>> >> 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 
>> >> ema

Re: [neonixie-l] JP47

2020-12-25 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I thought the JP47 project was abandoned. I was very impressed by the 
craftmanship but was not a fan of the anode style. It looks exactly like 
the wire clothe I buy at Home Depot for 
outdoors: 
https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/8f6223ef-a065-4e7e-866a-c52ad73aaec2/svn/everbilt-hardware-cloth-fencing-308221eb-64_1000.jpg.

I will be interested to see how Dalibor's rumored CD47 project comes out. I 
would definitely choose a newly manufactured tube with warranty over a 
USD$1000+ tube manufactured 50-60 years ago.

On Thursday, December 24, 2020 at 7:06:08 PM UTC-5 nickja...@gmail.com 
wrote:

> I kinda like the tall narrow numbers. 
>
> On Thu, Dec 24, 2020, 11:09 AM Robert  wrote:
>
>> No keen on the look of this one
>>
>> http://www.nixieproducer.com/index.php/digitrony-jp47
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1BCED711-0FA4-4365-91F5-283391D07EC2%40gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/2f4ec759-9cbc-42de-9a5c-982a28dc2397n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: B7971

2020-12-04 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I got my first board from Poly Paks sometime in the late 1970’s. Probably 
paid about $4 if I recall. One tube had shorted segments. I was about 15. 
Then in 1979 I decided  to build a clock and bought three boards from 
Meshna Electronics. After I assembled that, I decided I would get spare 
tubes that were sold as NOS from Meshna. Bought six of them which I still 
have wrapped in bubble wrap. I have a total of seven in a carton along with 
the six in the clock. Also I still have the defective one that still lights 
up but has problem segments. Thinking of selling it as a novelty as it is 
not really useful for a clock. 

On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 11:46:10 PM UTC-5 nickja...@gmail.com 
wrote:

> Yeah,  that too.  And register a whole lot of machine guns before May 
> 1986, and file mining claims,  then patent claims to get the land 
> transferred to me before then too. And get someone to buy me a few B-17 and 
> B-29s right after the war.  And a few 62 Corvettes, and a Ferrari 250 or 
> two...
>
> On Thu, Dec 3, 2020, 6:33 PM Charles MacDonald  wrote:
>
>> On 2020-12-03 4:45 p.m., gregebert wrote:
>> > Did anyone in this forum get their 7971's from PolyPaks a long time ago 
>> > (1970s/1980s) ? I recall they were inexpensive, and many were sold in 
>> > pairs along with the socket/driver board after being scrapped from 
>> > Lectrascan units.
>>
>> Good Old ETCO Electronics 464 McGill St. In Montreal.  (store is long 
>> gone)   Only got a couple of boards, which had the fingers broken off. 
>> and a bunch of the tubes, Forget the price but proably a couple of bucks 
>> (CDN) each.  If I could send a message back in time, I would tell my 
>> former self to buy a few more, as well as some surplus 2A3, 6L6 and 6V6 
>> tubes.
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Charles MacDonald  VA3CPY   Stittsville Ontario
>> cm...@zeusprune.ca  Just Beyond the Fringe
>> No Microsoft Products were used in sending this e-mail.
>>
>> -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/a614dcee-c540-e0f5-ca12-270f3c32a7d2%40zeusprune.ca
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/d5e2626f-f325-447c-89a9-df2ee9578449n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Safe handling of tubes containing Krypton 85

2020-11-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Also there are alot of tubes listed there, that contained radioactive 
>>> sources only for a certain period, special type or manufacturer. For 
>>> example 12AT7 is listed there, but only very few of them contain actually 
>>> the isotopes.
>>> Leonardo Lisa schrieb am Samstag, 31. Oktober 2020 um 19:51:27 UTC+1:
>>>
>>>> Please show us some pictures of the tubes!
>>>>
>>>> Il giorno sabato 31 ottobre 2020 alle 15:39:36 UTC+1 SWISSNIXIE - 
>>>> Jonathan F. ha scritto:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm also owing a few radioactive tube, specifically purchased because 
>>>>> they are! ;)
>>>>> Don't worry about Co-60 and Kr-85 most of them had very few amounts of 
>>>>> isotopes in them, and most of them are long gone. For example the  346C 
>>>>> Tube nick mentioned, had 4.5uCi of Kr-85 in them when manufactured, this 
>>>>> would, if new (manufactured today), be inside a shipping restriction 
>>>>> indeed. You can only ship 0.27uCi Kr-85 international. But since Kr-85 
>>>>> has 
>>>>> a half life of around 11years most of it will be gone today if the tubes 
>>>>> are old. There are also some nixies with Kr-85, but these had lower 
>>>>> amounts 
>>>>> in them.  Sure there are some "Bad-Boys" out there that still contain 
>>>>> significant amounts of isotopes even if they are old. For example usually 
>>>>> spark-gap tubes. For example there are some 0B2WA Regulator tubes that 
>>>>> have 
>>>>> 6uCi of Ra-226. Even if they are around 50 years old, the amount has not 
>>>>> dropped significally, since Ra-226 has 1600years of half-life. 
>>>>> Technically, 
>>>>> they would also be forbidden to ship without proper declaration. But 
>>>>> usually everything gets trough just fine, i have purchased a few of them
>>>>>
>>>>> Also there is nothing to worry about the tubes as long as they are 
>>>>> intact and do not break. Actually a very save way to collect radioactive 
>>>>> items. Rocks for example are more "dangerous" since small bits and powder 
>>>>> can come off.
>>>>>
>>>>> If someone interested i can show pictures a few tubes ;) 
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> nickja...@gmail.com schrieb am Dienstag, 27. Oktober 2020 um 16:43:46 
>>>>> UTC+1:
>>>>>
>>>>>> " A scintillator? Wow! That's serious stuff! :)"
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Haha, you just don't have the addiction going strong (yet).  I'm 
>>>>>> pretty sure I am up over 20 scint probes or parts to make them now, and 
>>>>>> let's just say quite a few G-M detectors.  And the different types of 
>>>>>> scint 
>>>>>> detectors.  You have plastic, NaI, CsI, CZT, BGO, etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 10:05 AM GastonP  wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The source I use to test my Geiger counters (actually just one, and 
>>>>>>> I switch the GM tubes) is a plastic bag with 3 NOS gas lamp mantles. 
>>>>>>> They 
>>>>>>> are quite hot.
>>>>>>> I haven't had any luck (or perhaps that was actual luck) trying to 
>>>>>>> detect natural radioactivity at the places I have access to, so every 
>>>>>>> time 
>>>>>>> I take my Geiger counter somewhere, I have to take the mantles too just 
>>>>>>> to 
>>>>>>> show that the counter works.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> > What kind of GM tube is in it? My entry-level scintillator gives 
>>>>>>> me a background of ~1150CPM at 900V.
>>>>>>> A scintillator? Wow! That's serious stuff! :)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 11:24:11 AM UTC-3 Robert G. 
>>>>>>> Schaffrath wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Back in the late 1970's, I purchased an old ARC-44 radio that came 
>>>>>>>> with a warning about Cobalt-60. Seems the 5829/WA and 5787/WA tubes 
>>>>>>>> contained Cobalt-60. However, with a half life of 5.3 years, the tubes 
>>>>>>>> showed no activity on a Geiger coun

Re: [neonixie-l] Safe handling of tubes containing Krypton 85

2020-10-27 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Back in the late 1970's, I purchased an old ARC-44 radio that came with a 
warning about Cobalt-60. Seems the 5829/WA and 5787/WA tubes contained 
Cobalt-60. However, with a half life of 5.3 years, the tubes showed no 
activity on a Geiger counter. By the time I got the radio as surplus, three 
half-lives had already passed.

On Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:53:14 PM UTC-4 Pramanicin wrote:

> I received a box of dekatrons a couple years ago where some of them had 
> radioactive labels on the boxes. Just standard GC10B's, so not sure what 
> the label was warning me of, alas I don't have a geiger counter, but maybe 
> I should get hold of one!
>
> On Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 3:35 PM Paul Andrews  wrote:
>
>> Mine is a GK Mini with a SBM20 tube. Background with it is about 20 CPM.
>>
>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 6:12 PM, Mac Doktor  wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 5:35 PM, Nick Andrews  wrote:
>>
>> Haha, the radium is the one that makes me nervous.  Tritium, Kr, etc not 
>> so much!  Just watched Radioactive on Amazon (I think) about Marie Curie.  
>> A little slow but not bad.
>>
>>
>> I read somewhere that the Curies would go out to their workshop after 
>> dark and just stand there watching the entire room glow. There were glowing 
>> rings on the shelves where bottles had been sitting at some time in the 
>> past, who knows how long ago.
>>
>>
>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 6:00 PM, Paul Andrews  wrote:
>>
>> I have a couple of old alarm clocks with radium dials. My Geiger counter 
>> goes crazy when it’s next to them.
>>
>> I also have some Uranium glass glasses and was surprised to get about 
>> 20-30 times background off of them.
>>
>>
>> What kind of GM tube is in it? My entry-level scintillator gives me a 
>> background of ~1150CPM at 900V.
>>
>>
>> My dad had prostate cancer a while back. They implanted something with a 
>> half-life of two or three weeks. I checked him every half-life to confirm 
>> that the count had in fact decreased exactly 50%.  8D
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> Q: Should car stereo speakers be pointed to the rear for more thrust or 
>> up for more traction?
>>
>> A. On long trips, the 20- to 30% improvement in gas mileage you might get 
>> with speakers pointing to the rear is certainly worthwhile. On the other 
>> hand, if you drive on snow or ice, the extra traction of speakers pointing 
>> upward gives you added control.
>>
>> Don Lancaster
>>
>> -- 
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the 
>> Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/neonixie-l/BL83MEnFSbA/unsubscribe.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to 
>> neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/A1A1E624-DE2B-4946-942D-58D48D37EA53%40gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>> -- 
>>
> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/9269EE17-C181-47C9-BAED-EFEAE9ACAA5F%40gmail.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/00a5beaa-e143-4820-8c9d-a81f6ff25712n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] 6300HV Kickstarter launching in 11 days

2020-10-27 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I always found inductors to be the bane of electronics projects. Resistors, 
capacitors and other discrete components were always readily available in 
standard values but inductors were that odd item that you often wound up 
having wind yourself on a core that itself was difficult to obtain. 
Something along the lines of "wind 10 turns of #18 Teflon coated wire on an 
Acme T128 core, spacing the turns 2mm apart" or something just as annoying.

Back in the early 1980's my Electrical Engineering class took a field trip 
to the Ferroxcube plant in Saugerties, NY to see how inductors were made. 
It was fascinating to watch and they were of course very pro-inductor. 
Their catalog had a wide variety of components. But they were definitely an 
item you could not easily buy in single quantities off the shelf from 
RadioShack or other vendors of that era.

On Monday, October 26, 2020 at 7:20:39 PM UTC-4 gregebert wrote:

> Theoretically, there's no reason why switched capacitors cant be used 
> instead of inductors for voltage multiplication. Charge-pumps were used on 
> a lot of IC's back in the 1980's before everything went to CMOS, notably 
> DRAMs, that operated from a single supply-voltage. Some of you may remember 
> the 4116 had three supply voltages, but the next-generation 4164 was 
> 5V-only. Those were exciting times when DRAMs went from 16Kx1 to 
> 64Kx1...
>
> Boosting 12V to 200V for a nixie supply without an inductor is certainly 
> possible, but it's not very practical.
>
> On Monday, October 26, 2020 at 2:12:48 PM UTC-7 Dekatron42 wrote:
>
>> Soon you might not see them anymore: 
>> https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02721-7 , just kidding - it 
>> will require some more breakthroughs before they have a practical 
>> component, but it would be nice if they could get smaller.. 
>>
>> /Martin
>>
>> On Monday, 26 October 2020 15:35:36 UTC+1, Paul Andrews wrote:
>>>
>>> Yep. Its all about the transformer, until it isn't. That's the hardest 
>>> part about rolling your own power supply.
>>>
>>>

-- 
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/ff97ee78-b5fe-46cd-97d5-bda73037a1a2n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Clean car power

2020-10-09 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have a 1st generation Honda Insight hybrid made in 2000. It has a DC-DC 
converter that produces very clean power (it takes the 144 VDC and down 
converts it to high amperage 12-14 VDC). The voltage does swing between 
approximately 12.1 VDC to 14.1 VDC which is the normal range for an 
automobile and has never been an issue with any device I have used. Cars I 
see now include at least one or more USB power jacks so you can also get 
decent 5 VDC too in those cases. My sister's Hyundai has front and rear 
seat USB jacks (and there never seem to be enough of them LOL).

On Friday, October 9, 2020 at 9:41:52 AM UTC-4 David Pye wrote:

> Interestingly, my electric vehicle has pretty decently clean power, as 
> there's a 12V lead acid battery, which is float-charged by a DC-DC 
> converter from the HV traction battery.
>
> David
>
>>
>>

-- 
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/b8be4881-ec4b-4b16-9a85-b125fa5170dcn%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] NIMO

2020-10-04 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Had the same thing with a NOS IN-12B though they do not compare to a NIMO 
outgassing. I was refunded the cost of the IN-12B and they are readily 
replaceable. But those metal to glass bonds are not always tenacious. 
Outgassing has been an issue with vacuum tubes since the dawn of their 
existence. Tubes were still popular when I was young in the 60's and 70's 
and I recall my father and grandfather removing tubes occasionally with a 
milky white top from their TV's (grandfather had a Dumont!).

On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 8:57:19 AM UTC-4 jörg wrote:

>
> So, sadly, the tube has sucked air and is cracked somewhere at the pins.

-- 
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/b9bdc57d-23e7-42cd-af8d-e05a1b31a662n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] NIMO

2020-10-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
"Those nimo look like tiny CRTs!  If anyone can make them it’s Dalibor!"

Talk about a niche market. Not only are they infinitely more complex to 
construct than a Nixie tube, the market for them would be even smaller than 
for his Nixie tubes.

I had commented on the short YouTube video that it would have been 
interesting if the manufacturer has made NIMO's available in other colors 
besides green. Red especially for critical indicators. Consistent anode 
voltages might have been problematic as different phosphors have different 
requirements. I have still seen some tiny 1" round CRT's up for sale from 
time to time. Might have an easier time getting and using those with custom 
logic to draw numerals.

On Friday, October 2, 2020 at 3:10:56 PM UTC-4 martin martin wrote:

> Those nimo look like tiny CRTs!  If anyone can make them it’s Dalibor!
>
> * Are you following this ?
>
> On Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 10:25 gregebert  wrote:
>
>> Jorg - Regarding the dead tube, have you compared the filament resistance 
>> of the bad tube to the others ?
>>
>> NIMO tubes have 2 parallel filaments, so if one is open, the resistance 
>> will be TWICE the value of a good tube.
>> I think the cold resistance is around 3 ohms.
>>
>> If 1 filament is out, you can still get 5 numerals to work.
>>
>> I would be surprised if both filaments are burned-out, unless someone put 
>> way too much voltage on it, or the tube is cracked around the pins.
>>
>> If the filaments are OK, power-up the tube and make sure you get around 
>> 180mA of current.
>> Then try varying the voltage between the filament and the logic driving 
>> the grids. If a grid is about 6 V more positive than the filament, you 
>> should get a numeral to turn on.
>>
>> On Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 1:44:20 PM UTC-7 jörg wrote:
>>
>>> Short update of my nimo project.
>>> I've got 5 tubes running. The sixt is unfortunately DOA.
>>> The tubes filaments are driven with three power supplies, with soft 
>>> start IC (load switch).
>>> So the filament gets started very smooth.
>>> I've made some experiments with multiplexing the tubes. 
>>> Which work nice, using the method described in the manual. The bias 
>>> voltage is changed for every tube, that should be on/off.
>>> In the actual approch, I'm using direct driving the tubes via 74HC595 
>>> shift registers. Got a plenty of problems at the beginning.
>>> The power and signal lines for the 595 were messed with switching noise. 
>>> Some caps did the trick.
>>> Really nice to view the working tubes.
>>>
>>> Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbwfZhYhnlo
>>>
>>> jörg schrieb am Mittwoch, 15. Juli 2020 um 18:01:18 UTC+2:
>>>
 I‘m using Eagle to layout. 
 It takes time for me to feel comfortable with it. 
 And Fusion360. 

 -- 
>> 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+...@googlegroups.com.
>>
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2ad71412-6a32-4a5f-91b4-5eb597c9e3ffn%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
> -- 
> mcve...@gmail.com
>

-- 
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/56e3905a-c6fc-42d4-8fd2-4620377b762fn%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Nixie anode types

2020-09-06 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Just theorizing but it would appear to be for legibility. The anode has to 
cover the the surface area of every digit for uniform lighting and firing 
current. At the same time, too much anode material blocks the light. Of the 
various tubes I have, Rodan GR-111Pa’s use a very fine spiral type wire. 
B7971’s use something akin to window screen. My Philips ZM-1022’s use a 
honeycomb type anode. IN-12’s use a square hole anode. Some small Burroughs 
Nixies I have use a microdot type screen. Really seems to be a trade off 
between surface coverage and legibility. 

On Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 10:19:13 PM UTC-4 Terry Bowman wrote:

> I've noticed that Nixies have different kinds of anodes. Some have a fine, 
> rectangular mesh, others a more coarse mesh, and some a honeycomb design. 
> What's the reason? Performance vs. legibility?
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor"
>
> https://www.astarcloseup.com/
>
> “The book said something astonishing, a very big thought.
> It said that the stars were suns, only very far away.
> The Sun was a star, but close up.”—Carl Sagan, *Cosmos*, 1980
>
>
>

-- 
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/077f4f0a-7780-4304-a588-96bcc3f149a7n%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Does cathode poisoning matter?

2020-08-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have had two cases of cathode poisoning. The first is with Rodan GR-111Pa 
tubes that are installed on an IN-14 board. I had noticed issues early on 
and the tubes were a bit dim. It was recommended either here or on the FB 
Nixie Clock page to replace the anode resistors with a lower value as the 
GR-111Pa's require a bit more current than IN-14's. I wound up going with 
18K and the tubes are now bright. However, the poisoning issue is present 
on the 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 digits of the 10's of hours, the 6, 7, 8 and 9 
digits of the 10's of minutes and 6, 7, 8 and 9 digits on the 10's of 
seconds. There is a primitive anti-poisoning routine that runs every minute 
but it does not do the job as it only cycles once through the digits. As 
the tubes are soldered in, there isn't much I can do with them unless I 
were to unsolder and remove them which I am not keen on doing. The 
poisoning problem is only noticeable when the anti-poisoning routine runs. 
Otherwise the tubes look fine.

The other case was with ZM1022's installed in a 4 digit Chinese clock. The 
10's of hours had issues with the 3 and 8 digits and 10's of seconds had 
issues with the 8. First thing I did was change the anti-poisoning routine 
from 10 minute intervals to 1 minute intervals. Then I swapped the tubes 
around so the problematic tubes got more use in the 1's position. The 10's 
of hours tube healed up rather quickly and the 3 and 8 digits cleaned up 
fine. For the 10's of seconds, the 8 is taking a bit longer to heal but it 
is getting there.The darkened area has shrunk quite a bit with use and only 
a tiny spot remains that is gradually fading. The tubes that had not 
suffered from poisoning and are in the 10's positions are still good and I 
am hoping the more aggressive anti-poisoning routine is helping. It is 
possible I will have to perform tube rotation every six months or so if I 
notice the problem returning.

On Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 11:03:31 AM UTC-4, celzey11 wrote:
>
> In a clock I mean. If it's only the never used cathodes that stop working 
> (like 6-9 on a clock 10's place) but all the other segments work fine in 
> normal use, is it an issue? Or will it start to effect the other segments 
> as well?

-- 
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/d3b3e2cc-d3a8-422b-8573-4b505a0e194do%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Mercury not all it’s cracked up to be?

2020-07-18 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
In terms of longevity provided by mercury one just need look at the Chinese 
QS27-1 and QS30-1 tubes that contain no mercury. They are known to have 
very short lives. I also understand that Russian tubes prior to the IN-7, 
which does contain mercury, also have very short lifespans. I see a lot of 
the IN-1, IN-2 and IN-4 tubes on eBay at relatively low prices compared to 
the higher numbered tubes. I am guessing the demand is not there because of 
their failure rate or they have to discount them because they will fail.

On Friday, July 17, 2020 at 1:27:39 PM UTC-4, Paul Andrews wrote:
>
> I recently saw a post that suggested that the addition of a mercury dopant 
> to Nixie tubes does not confer the protection that we have all been led to 
> believe - apparently the Russians made a study suggesting this to be the 
> case. 
>
> Regardless of whether this is true or not, I was wondering if there is a 
> way to determine the presence of mercury in tubes experimentally in a 
> non-destructive way, for example by using a spectrometer. If so, it might 
> be interesting to test a sample of tubes, including some that were 
> developed later, to see if they really do contain mercury. The presence of 
> mercury wouldn’t be conclusive evidence of its effectiveness, but the 
> absence could lend credence to the argument. It would be interesting 
> information either way. 
>
> I know that some of you will say that you can see a tell-tail blue glow, 
> but I have quite a few nixies, including later examples, that do not show 
> this. I wouldn’t take this as proof that those tubes don’t contain mercury, 
> it could just be smaller amounts. 
>
> This also got me thinking; if it isn’t mercury that confers a longer life, 
> then could it be something else? Could it be fine-tuning the cathode 
> material? Could it be fine tuning of the gas mixture and/or pressure? Which 
> got me wondering if there would also be a way to determine the pressure in 
> the tube? For example by examining the width of spectral emission lines?

-- 
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/8ae0f641-420d-4ac5-8648-fb90403ac2aao%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: ZM1003 - Sine Minus 1 Spiral

2020-07-17 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I do not have those. Early this year I purchased 10 NOS IN-15A's and 10 NOS 
IN-15B's as the prices were quite cheap since there really is no demand for 
them. Have been trying to decide about what to do with them. Using IN-12's 
for the letter I and O, there are a few words that can be spelled out. Also 
the idea of an oddball slot machine where you see if three identical 
symbols come up. Too many ideas and not enough time.


On Monday, May 25, 2020 at 11:41:45 PM UTC-4, Terry Bowman wrote:
>
> Got mine, looks great (no association with the seller):
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/NIXIE-ZM-1003-RARE-Special-Symbol-Nixie-from-bulk-pack-case-NOS-Spiral-Sine-Dash/174272617965
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor"
>
> https://www.astarcloseup.com/
>
> “The book said something astonishing, a very big thought.
> It said that the stars were suns, only very far away.
> The Sun was a star, but close up.”—Carl Sagan, *Cosmos*, 1980
>
>
>

-- 
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/a2d21eba-8795-4ef8-8b05-b5dde0f790dco%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: $20 IN-12 clock...anyone have one of these?

2020-07-10 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Interesting article. I did not know there was a big issue with the Chinese 
DS3231's but I had my suspicions. Back in November 2019 I ordered three 
4-tube IN-12 clocks for about $25/each from AliExpress (looks like this one 
on eBay: 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/IN-12A-B-Nixie-Magic-Eye-Clock-4-Bit-Glow-Tube-Clock-DS3231-W-Colorful-LED/352836421129).
 
They are similar to some 4-tube ZM102x clocks I have. I was going to give 
two to friends for Christmas.

I fired them all up with new tubes and discovered issues with them. First 
off, the quality of the construction was lousy. The worst I have ever seen 
for one of these prebuilt clocks. Unlike the photo in the eBay auction 
above, the back plexiglass panel has no spacers and is bent over the rear 
of the main board. Also, one of the brass spacers on the front has stripped 
threads and the screw falls out. But that is just the physical appearance. 
One clock was very accurate and I am using that one myself now. The other 
two were lousy at keeping time. One was losing about 2 minutes a day and 
the other was losing 15 minutes or more a day. I was appalled and went into 
the dispute system on AliExpress. After sending many videos of the 
defective clocks, and back and forth on trying different things, we reached 
an agreement where I would pay USD$20 for the one functional clock and keep 
the defective clocks (I offered to send the defective ones back but they 
said to keep them). I did try seeing if I could get the second clock, that 
lost 2 minutes a day, to function better but very quickly it stopped 
working and only displays one digit that does not change (the function 
buttons do not work either). The other tubes are dark. I am guessing the 
CPU blew out. The HV module works so I can scavenge that if I need one. As 
for the third module, I never bothered to do anything more with it and it 
is still in the box. At least that one I can use for testing IN-12's as it 
does count. Just not very accurately. Between the three I at least was able 
to create one good clock from the parts.

So after all that, I noticed very quickly these clocks disappeared from 
AliExpress from the various vendors that were selling time. I guess I was 
not the only person who had problems with them. A few did reappear in the 
new year at a prices similar or higher to this one on eBay. It is possible 
they might be manufactured by a more reliable (by China standards) 
manufacturer and work correctly. At least the pictures look nice. At least 
eBay and AliExpress have good customer service and if you wind up with a 
piece of junk they will work to fix the problem

On Thursday, July 9, 2020 at 1:29:49 PM UTC-4, celzey11 wrote:
>
>
> https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectronics/comments/bj3sbf/how_to_identify_counterfeit_rtc/
>
> Interesting thread about cheap DS3231 chips
>
> On Thu, Jul 9, 2020, 1:04 PM gregebert > 
> wrote:
>
>> There are also counterfeit devices, easily found on the dirt-cheap cards. 
>> See what yours does at midnite on New Year's Eve..
>>
>> -- 
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the 
>> Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/neonixie-l/lrwNNw59f1k/unsubscribe.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to 
>> neoni...@googlegroups.com .
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/bfdc59e3-5286-424e-bf39-3bd4dd042f18o%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>

-- 
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/b63dace5-8f83-47be-8e8d-6ae87c72ea90o%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: $20 IN-12 clock...anyone have one of these?

2020-07-09 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 

On Thursday, July 9, 2020 at 11:07:09 AM UTC-4, H. Carl Ott wrote:
>
>
> They use a lot of hc595 shift registers and uln2003s to drive the tube,  
> Dirt cheap, but there is a DS3231 TCXO RTC on the pcb  :).  
>
>
> carl
> 
> Henry Carl Ott   N2RVQhcar...@gmail.com  
>

There are different type of DS3231's and I have not looked too closely at 
this one. I have seen two different versions used on the Chinese boards I 
have. One is the DS3231M that uses a MEMS resonator for accuracy and the 
other is the DS3231/DS3231S/DS3231SN that uses a TCXO for accuracy. 
Articles say the MEMS have better stability and reliability than TCXO.

-- 
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/d683ba0d-7f53-4fb3-820a-5ef8516089b6o%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Another newly-manufactured nixie tube

2020-06-02 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
This was posted on the Facebook Nixie group too. It was noted the "8" looks 
a bit funky. I'd like to see the digits as well but I have not seen any 
screenshots of the other digits. Granted "funky" coming from those of us 
who use IN-12's and IN-14's with the inverted "2" LOL.

On Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 2:32:29 PM UTC-4, gregebert wrote:
>
> Just saw this newly manufactured nixie posted on Ebay (I have no 
> affiliation with the seller):
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/MX572-Nixie-Tube-21st-Century-Handmade-Display-Tube-50mm-High-Quality/324183942594?hash=item4b7ade65c2:g:nCQAAOSwH69e09m-
>
>
> In the photos, some of the assembly looks similar to Dalibor's (horizontal 
> crimp for all 11 wires, PC board to connect to pins, stainless steel 
> collar).
>
> Price is more than 2X higher.
>

-- 
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/1c28945a-dd1f-41d1-a504-a7948ceff65b%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Another newly-manufactured nixie tube

2020-06-01 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The price is crazy. Especially for a new manufacturer on the scene with no 
history. Dalibor is definitely a better value and I like his anode design 
too. if it was a CD47 clone it might be worth the risk but for $300 you 
might as well get two new DF tubes or some B-7971's.

On Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 3:01:12 PM UTC-4, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> Pricing is way off.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 31, 2020, at 11:38, Kevin A.  > wrote:
>
> 
> Very cool. I wonder if anyone here is brave enough to purchase and 
> evaluate it! 
>
> On Sun, May 31, 2020, 2:32 PM gregebert > 
> wrote:
>
>> Just saw this newly manufactured nixie posted on Ebay (I have no 
>> affiliation with the seller):
>>
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/MX572-Nixie-Tube-21st-Century-Handmade-Display-Tube-50mm-High-Quality/324183942594?hash=item4b7ade65c2:g:nCQAAOSwH69e09m-
>>
>>
>> In the photos, some of the assembly looks similar to Dalibor's 
>> (horizontal crimp for all 11 wires, PC board to connect to pins, stainless 
>> steel collar).
>>
>> Price is more than 2X higher.
>>
>> -- 
>> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com .
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/9f0d7fe1-16d3-4b1e-9c92-9432627b74b5%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
> -- 
> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com .
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CALcVLKKCxTdNnMoADbZ6EyKmCXwhBOzZ0HuaSTN%2B7SnPfgon2Q%40mail.gmail.com
>  
> 
> .
>
>

-- 
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/38232fce-4b7e-4943-81aa-16fc55895465%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Shipment delays from Ukraine

2020-05-30 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
This past week I received three packets from China. Two were stuck in China 
waiting for air transport around April 7th (a third was last seen at a sorting 
center in Harlem when USPS accidentally entered the tracking number for a “U” 
untracked id and I saw it before they corrected the mistake). The third packet 
I received was sent to air transport on May 8th.

It looks like backlog is clearing. 

-- 
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/a5c6ccc4-e4d9-4447-a1fb-552c4eac5f53%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] 1961 Heathkit Catalog

2020-05-28 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
My late father was a Professor of Chemistry and we often had "interesting" 
chemicals at home (Benzene, Diethyl Ether, Pentane, Carbon Tetrachloride 
(CCL), Butyl Acetate, Lab Alcohol, Toluene, Xylene and Sodium Hydroxide 
right off the top of my head). He also collected elements and I still have 
a 1lb bottle of mercury safely stored as well as a very nice Honeywell 
mercury switch from a furnace (a substantial blob of mercury and being in a 
sealed tube, the mercury is bright and shiny without any oxidation).

I do recall back in the early 1970's when OSHA came into existence and 
started promulgating rules, how perturbed my father was at all the changes 
the university had to make in the chemical storeroom. CCL and Benzene were 
classified as carcinogens and moved into a newly built store room for such 
chemicals as well as requiring new handling procedures (no more just using 
it out on an open lab table). Sadly, approximately 25 years later in 1997 
at age 75, he passed from bladder cancer most likely caused by exposure to 
the many organic chemicals like Benzene and CCL over the many decades. I 
recall reviewing my health history with my primary care physician and 
discussing parents health history with him. He recalled being in medical 
school and drawing lines on his skin with Benzene along with the other med 
students. Who knew?

Robert

On Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 11:20:15 AM UTC-4, Frank-KC2TKD wrote:
>
> You must have attended the same H.S. I did!  Your description fits 
> everything I remember except we had a face shield with no goggles only when 
> handling chemicals.  I wonder what happened to the barrel of waste that was 
> in the back of the room?  
>
>  
>
> Our teacher once put some mercury in a dish and we all used silver 
> quarters to show how the mercury would attract to the silver.  Then go and 
> spend the quarters in the lunch room.
>
>  
>
> Frank
>
>  
>

-- 
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/17679bce-ccb1-46fa-8f1d-cdada04b%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Anyone with a ton of money? NL7094 and B7095 on eBay.....

2020-05-22 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Ooh, I have been out of the loop lately. I had not heard that. I have an 
odd fondness for front facing tubes like the ZM102x's and IN-12's. Maybe 
because the first Nixie tubes I ever saw (and captivated me) were front 
facing ones back around 1972 IIRC. Large tubes like that B-7095 that have 
appeared on eBay really impress me. I would find the money to assemble a 
six digit front facing Nixie tube clock with ~1.5" digits which I believe 
the largest of the large Burroughs/National tubes had.

On Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 12:09:02 PM UTC-4, alex nolan wrote:
>
> I really love that Dalibor is creating new tubes, and his expansion into 
> the large front-facing tubes are quite exciting. The one downside in my 
> mind is the aesthetic of the pins, however. I really enjoy nixie pins 
> arranged in a circle as they can be used as mounting points. Dalibor tubes 
> tend to be taller/longer due to needed a circuit board interface to turn 
> the small flexible wires into pins arranged in a circle. That arrangement 
> also adds a mandatory non-glass portion on the bottom of the tube.
>
> That tends to be one reason, or my reason at least, for continuing to 
> purchase order tubes like the Z5680M and such.
>
> On Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 11:53:37 AM UTC-4, Pramanicin wrote:
>>
>> Pushing the limits of credulity. I keep my eyes on the bay and have done 
>> now for about 20 yrsfor about the last 5 years the same two ZM1030 
>> tubes have been listed at the same pricei would have taken that as a 
>> hint personally to lower the price maybe?
>>
>> The 7095 is very rare indeedI’ve never seen one listed before, so 
>> that one may be worth the asking price for the collectors, but the 7094 
>> isn’t worth $2K (I get it, things are worth what someone is willing to pay 
>> for)...but as Martin said, given Dalibor’s recent posts, looks like ultra 
>> large end view tubes may be on their way!
>>
>> What I find a little disappointing is the paucity of tubes being offered 
>> nowbut inevitable at some point I suppose..
>>
>> Hope everyone is safe and healthy and enjoying indoor neon!!
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Pharma Nick 
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On May 21, 2020, at 08:45, fax_awd  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/114230145538 same seller 
>>
>> alex nolan於 2020年5月21日星期四 UTC+8下午11時32分25秒寫道：
>>>
>>> For what it's worth, this CD-27 popped back up on ebay recently too, 
>>> it's a steal compared to that NL7094: 
>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/RODAN-CD27-NIXIE-tube-OKAYA-CD-27-geant-numeric-indicator-tube/114230143560
>>>  
>>> (not my listing)
>>>
>> -- 
>> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2ad31ac6-f2b7-4486-9e78-f1c392276b01%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>>

-- 
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/46b7e26b-b3ab-47f2-b2d0-014d032571e0%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Shipment delays from Ukraine

2020-05-18 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I have several items ordered through AliExpress languishing in shipment 
since mid April. Some items ordered a week or two earlier actually made it 
through but everything else from early April is listed as delivered to air 
transport (or shipping) in mid-April and there are no further updates. My 
guess is that with so many flights curtailed, there are thousands and 
thousands of shipping containers stacked at various airports around the 
world waiting for flights to resume. I need some repair parts for a FitBit 
surge but at this point it makes no sense ordering since they will gladly 
take my money now but I may not see actual delivery until July/August.

Standard/economy international shipping seems to basically be on hold at 
this point.

-- 
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/c34aa779-dd91-436a-b7b6-7fee5826e671%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Is it possible to identify a single nixie?

2020-05-16 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I had only one tube that had shorted segments: 4 & 5. I was able to fix 
them last fall with the banging method but due to having played with the 
tube over the last 40 years, there were other issues with it. Plus, after 
banging it to remove the short, I noted that segment 2 is now flaky and not 
always lighting up. I have debated putting it up on eBay as it still glows, 
I do not use it and it would be a less expensive way for someone to have a 
B-7971 to play with that is not fully functional with segments 2, 4 and 5 
essentially being non-functional. I would then buy myself an IN-18 to play 
with.

Robert

On Friday, May 15, 2020 at 11:33:07 PM UTC-4, Richard Scales wrote:
>
> For what it's worth I successfully 'repaired' a B-7971 that had two 
> segments shorted together following helpful advice on this forum. It 
> process seems dramatic but if it means a valuable tube gets back in to 
> service then you're up on the deal!
> Search on this forum for details but essentially it involved exerting 
> forces on a tube that you would perhaps otherwise view as crazy - lots of 
> banging it it about - though fortunately, in my situation, a couple of 
> short taps on to a moderately soft surface did the trick and I was very 
> pleased. 
> YMMV
> Richard
>
>
> On Friday, 15 May 2020 11:08:16 UTC+1, newxito wrote:
>>
>> Is it possible to identify a single nixie tube by some unique 
>> characteristics?
>> Is it possible to detect a nixie tube change in the clock?
>> I ask because I would like to add some statistic functions to my nixie 
>> clocks. The first thing I would like to add is the total “up-time” of the 
>> clock and the total up-time of the nixies (different because of PIR and 
>> software defined down times). It would be nice to do that for every single 
>> nixie, but I think there is no easy way to do that.
>> I also want to add an up-time counter to my ZM1350 und B-7971 sockets. 
>> Maybe my favorite nixie manufacturer could add a 30-cent microcontroller 
>> to the base of his great tubes with the serial number, production date and 
>> up-time counter :-)
>>
>>

-- 
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/f341e7fe-7fed-4e24-92b5-65b9a4d9fc0b%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: B7971's on the bay....

2020-04-05 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
There was a post a little while ago about two Nixie's that appeared on eBay 
that are now priced $360 for two. The post was deleted so I cannot reply to 
it. I was wondering what is the test module that is powering the tubes 
demonstrating that all segments are functional? I tried a bit of Google 
searching and did not see anything. I have attached a picture from eBay and 
it is the tube on the left:



On Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 6:04:16 PM UTC-5, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> For those still in the *hunt*...
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Burroughs-B-7971-Nixie-Alphanumeric-15-segment-Display-Tubes-3-/352860696487?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Burroughs-Ultronic-Systems-B-7971-Nixie-Alphanumeric-15-segment-Display-Tubes/174101582334?hash=item28894351fe:g:Q9UAAOSwzwBd1Oxw
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Burroughs-B-7971-Nixie-Alphanumeric-15-segment-Display-Tubes-3/352860696487?hash=item522822efa7:g:m3YAAOSwBi5d1PAw
>
> As usual, not my listing etc.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nick
>

-- 
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/53743254-bfed-4532-9e87-5f868af2c97e%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Discovered an old advertisment

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The first time I ever saw an Ultronics board was at a hamfest here on Long 
Island. It was either 1975 or 1976 making me either 13 or 14. I had no idea 
exactly what it was but I could tell it was some kind of display tube. The 
seller wanted $5, which looking back the price Burstein Applebee wanted was 
about the going rate. I had $10 on me which was a lot of money back then 
from delivering papers. I wound up spending that $10 on a Navy surplus 
Dumont oscilloscope. I could not get both. Still have that old scope though 
in hindsight, the tubes would have been the better investment. But who was 
thinking any of that stuff would have value in the future? When I saw the 
exact same board from Poly Paks, then I knew exactly what it was and I had 
more money saved up to buy a board.

On Friday, April 3, 2020 at 6:29:32 PM UTC-4, Terry Bowman wrote:
 

> I do have a couple of core planes I found at hamfests.
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor”
>
> "Never install version point-zero of anything"
>
>

-- 
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/3b75a213-2ae6-4e30-9300-f729c5ea5791%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Discovered an old advertisment

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
“BTW, was Ultronics the only manufacturer to use B7971's in their products?”

No. On eBay right now there is a commercial scoreboard device for sale the that 
uses 15 B-7971’s. No tubes included. 

-- 
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/183801b3-8988-439c-9dde-ab151c165ba2%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Discovered an old advertisment

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
At the time I bought, ~1980, I had to take them on their word. The ad 
offered used/pulls for $4 or NOS for $5 that were supposedly from a repair 
depot. The pins have no scratch marks and another good indicator is they 
are all Burroughs branded. Except for boards that may have had tubes 
replaced, all used tubes that were pulled from ticker boards I have seen 
are Ultronics branded.My first board had one Burroughs and one Ultronics 
tube. Someone repaired the board to display a dummy zero as there was an 
internal short in Ultronics tube between two segments. Not sure what caused 
the board to be a problem in the first place but it is possible it was 
subjected to some kind of mechanical damage that broke one tube and caused 
the segment short in the other. They replaced the broken tube with an 
"antenna" variety Burroughs tube and modified the board for the dummy zero. 
Really weird but it was almost 50 years ago now and who knows?

On Friday, April 3, 2020 at 11:05:21 AM UTC-4, jf...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> How could you tell they were NOS?  I have this religious belief that 
> everything on the surplus market consisted of NYSE pulls, as suggested by 
> the words "removed from operational equipment".  Did your NOS actually come 
> in Burroughs boxes marked with the tube type, or were they just covered in 
> bubble wrap?  Did they look any different than the ones you got with the 
> boards?
>
> On Friday, April 3, 2020 at 7:44:07 AM UTC-7, Robert G. Schaffrath wrote:
>>
>> Yes, Meshna is where I got three boards from in 1979 and later on my 
>> seven NOS tubes. By 1980, the prices had almost doubled (used tubes were 
>> USD$4 and NOS were USD$5) which is understandable 
>>
>

-- 
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/507d3392-d0cc-4f74-aa12-fbd16c7eeb8f%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Discovered an old advertisment

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Yes, Meshna is where I got three boards from in 1979 and later on my seven 
NOS tubes. By 1980, the prices had almost doubled (used tubes were USD$4 
and NOS were USD$5) which is understandable considering the massive 
inflation in the 1970's. I do not recall what I paid for the 3 boards in 
1979. Definitely needed the HV transistors from those boards. I still have 
one complete ticker board left with sockets but without the tubes. The 
clock schematic provided by (I think) Poly Paks, that I built, had several 
serious flaws. Most notable was they used the wrong transistors for the 
anodes. Each board had two anode transistors (the two transistors on the 
far right in the picture) and the other 30 were cathode transistors. They 
mislabeled the transistors on the schematic indicating to use the cathode 
transistors for the anodes. When I discovered the error, because my clock 
did not work, I changed them out. I needed three boards to supply the six 
anode transistors for my clock. As I already had a board purchased earlier, 
I was able to keep one complete board as a spare.

On Friday, April 3, 2020 at 10:27:25 AM UTC-4, jf...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> Back in those days, the GBP was about US$2, so they were much more 
> expensive in the UK.
>
> The tubes were even cheaper from Meshna
>
> I think they were $1/tube with sockets but without the circuit board, 
> which is the deal I went for since I was a cheapskate and did not realize 
> that the boards had the hard-to-find HV transistors.
>
>

-- 
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/088f7b63-d1d9-436e-991f-98266a6f9d01%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Have you seen these neons on Amazon?

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I too have similar NE-2G bulbs that are white colored and glow green when 
powered. I bought a pack of 20 a while back from China. They are about half 
the size of what a traditional NE-2 measured. However, I have about 10 or 
so NE-2G's that I purchased from Radio Shack back in the 1970's. Those have 
a very bright glow and no hint of orange.

I tried some NE-2G's with one clock as the colons. I had the tube LED's lit 
green and thought it might look "different". However, it looked better with 
straight NE-2's (or IN-3's) rather than green. I am rather used to the 
green/amber motif as that was something of a common color scheme for 
electronic devices around 2000 (had a Motorola cell phone with that color 
scheme in the display) and even my 2000 Honda Insight has an amber/green 
digital dash.

On Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 1:36:28 PM UTC-4, martin martin wrote:
>
> Check this out
>
>
> https://www.amazon.com/NIXIE-ORANGE-LUMINOPHORE-TLO-3-2-LIGHT/dp/B074V9TWM5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=b074v9twm5&qid=1585848919&sr=8-1
>
>
>

-- 
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/0bd221bd-5b4f-4286-9d70-787edf464447%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Discovered an old advertisment

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I found a link to that old ad: http://www.nixiebunny.com/b7971ad.jpg

<http://www.nixiebunny.com/b7971ad.jpg>

It was a complete board for USD$4.95/each (paid that for my first board 
from Poly Paks that had one defective tube). So basically you got a tube 
and a socket for USD$2.50/each. Could have had FOUR for $8.88!

On Friday, April 3, 2020 at 6:26:28 AM UTC-4, Robert G. Schaffrath wrote:
>
> I am not sure what the exchange rate was then but I recall seeing an old 
> Burstein Applebee ad not too long ago from around that time where they were 
> around USD$2.50 each IIRC. By 1980, they were USD$4 each for pulls or USD$5 
> each for the seven NOS I purchased. 

-- 
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/ba760968-3f58-4edb-893e-c8bfbc99e878%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Discovered an old advertisment

2020-04-03 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I am not sure what the exchange rate was then but I recall seeing an old 
Burstein Applebee ad not too long ago from around that time where they were 
around USD$2.50 each IIRC. By 1980, they were USD$4 each for pulls or USD$5 
each for the seven NOS I purchased. 

-- 
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/e836bf66-5353-4fff-98ef-4c7842b040cb%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: B7971's on the bay....

2020-03-30 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I saw them when they first appeared. I didn't need them and thought the 
price was actually pretty good compared to prices in the USD$175 range only 
a few weeks ago. There are various multi-tube devices for sale now and they 
are priced around USD$120 or so per tube.

It is hard to believe those prices. I have noticed other eBay prices have 
gone up too. IN-12's are suddenly rather "expensive" compared to last fall. 
Of course, if this stimulus bill does not work too well and a lot of people 
are looking for cash, there may be a lot of fire sales on stuff like this.

On Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 11:16:54 AM UTC-4, gregebert wrote:
>
> There were two b7971's available last night on Ebay at 150USD each, used 
> and  *untested*. They are already gone.
> This is crazy.
>

-- 
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/b1a695e0-b202-4c53-87f9-7cee53c3ebad%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] NL-7094 Price Craziness

2020-02-27 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
That is the position I am coming from. I already have a six tube B-7971 
clock that I built in 1979-1980 so at the moment I do not need another of 
that design.  And I have been playing ZM1022's, IN-12's and GR-111p's so 
already have more clocks than I know what to do with at the moment LOL. I 
purchased the six NOS tubes in 1980 as spares for the clock I had built 
assuming eventually the Ultronics tubes might have to be replaced. I have 
been toying with the idea of building a more modern B-7971 clock, most 
likely from a kit if I can find one, but that is just something in the back 
of my mind. If I do, I will most likely cannibalize the tubes from my old 
clock and I will still have spares. I do not use the old clock much as the 
whine from the multiplexing bothers me now. It didn't when I was younger 
but now I find it annoying.

On Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 3:49:21 PM UTC-5, Jens Boos wrote:
>
> Maybe some people (including myself) want to preserve them for the future? 
> I know there are many opinions about this, but I don't get all this recent 
> activities along the lines of "people should not sell Nixie tubes for high 
> prices" and "people should not put Nixie tubes in boxes."
>
> I personally think that people should enjoy their Nixie tubes, and that 
> comes in many facets. Build a clock? Go for it! Want to preserve and 
> document them? Sure thing! Just let everybody choose their own way :)
>
> Jens
>
> On 2020-02-27 1:44 p.m., gregebert wrote:
>
> orbuild a clock so you can *enjoy* them. What good is a bunch of 
> 50+ year old tubes sitting in the box ? 
>
>
> -- 
> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com .
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6607c6d5-49f0-4d03-b48d-225b0bd525a5%40googlegroups.com
>  
> 
> .
>
>
>

-- 
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/eb3f3ebf-e062-4b96-b7ed-5896d7ff8d63%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] NL-7094 Price Craziness

2020-02-27 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
As of a few minutes ago there were 16 bids and the price was up to USD$356. 
Absolutely crazy but realistically there is nothing comparable being made 
currently and the Russians did not produce them either.

I am going to have to look at putting the six NOS Burroughs branded tubes 
that I posted pictures of here a while back and my used "antenna" variety 
B-7971's in a safe deposit box. At the current bid price, that is over 
USD$1200 sitting in a box on the shelf, each individually wrapped in bubble 
wrap. Late last year I put a Post-It note on the box indicating there were 
valuable electronic parts in the box in the event something happened to me. 
No one would have a clue what they were sitting on. At least now my sisters 
would hopefully take a pause instead of tossing the box out.

On Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 5:13:53 PM UTC-5, fax_awd wrote:
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-Giant-15-segment-Burroughs-B-7971-Nixie-Tubes-with-sockets/143539942152?hash=item216ba5b308:g:QZ0AAOSwDyReUvTC
> two used B-7971 266USD for now..  interested?
>
> SWISSNIXIE - Jonathan F.於 2020年2月27日星期四 UTC+8上午2時49分32秒寫道：
>>
>> At all this price crazyness, ive seen and missed (because of 
>> unavailability to bid) some super cheap tubes. Recently a very old etl tube 
>> sold for 16£, a Rodan CD11 for like 30$, and a Pandicon ZM1200 for 150€, so 
>> the cheap ones are still seen you just have to wait
>
>

-- 
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/2ea83cef-de64-4aa2-a032-d2ca94fc8f38%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: More Chinese Nixies show up, website updated.

2020-02-26 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
There is an error on the page that I noticed. The ZM1020 label is incorrect 
based on the tube shown. It should be ZM1210. ZM1020's (and ZM1022's) are 
round end-view tubes that are the same as the QS30-1 (except the ZM's have 
mercury in them).

Robert

On Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 1:41:08 PM UTC-5, 严泽远 wrote:
>
> Hi Guys, nixieclock.org has been updated, I took hundreds of pictures and 
> edit the website during last ten days because I can't go outside since the 
> virus outbreak.
> The NIXIE MUSEUM  shows 17 kinds 
> of QS30-1 Chinese end view Nixie tubes I collected, QS30-1, SZ-8, SZ1-1, 
> SZ3-1 are all same pin definition compatible with B13B socket, If you need 
> high-resolution original photos or you need tubes just let me know.
> Thanks.
> Yan.
>

-- 
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/7d3f04db-5fae-47cc-aaef-c0166a21112c%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] P12 Phosphor CRT

2020-02-12 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I recall an article I read years ago about the old RADAR tubes and 
phosphors used. There was a RADAR scope tube that had a mix of two 
phosphors. One phosphor produced a short persistence bright blue light from 
the target and the other was the longer persistence P12 type orange 
phosphor that was excited by the blue phosphor hung around after the blue 
faded and was refreshed by another "ping" of blue light from the target. An 
orange filter was placed in front of the tube face to filter out the blue 
flash which would have been very distracting to the operator.

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 7:28:40 PM UTC-5, charles wrote:
>
> On 2020-02-10 11:05 a.m., Nicholas Stock wrote: 
> > Other tubes with P12 phosphor are 3JP12’s as far as I can tell. Some of 
> the datasheets for others say they were available as P12, but I rarely find 
> them for sale anywhere 
>
> the description from JEDEC says P12 was intended for radar. see attched) 
>
> some REGISTERED at P12 include 5CP12,5AJP12,7LP12,16AFP12, 7AGP12, 
> 3ACP12A, 19Wp12, 3BMP12, 17QCP12, 12AWP12, 5EKP12, 19DXP12. 
>
> the larger sizes are consistent with Radar use. 
>
> Sylvania or Dumont in Particular advertised that they would build ANY 
> CRT with any available phosphor given a suitable sized order, so 
> presumably any scope tube could have existed as a P12 - (or P7) version. 
>
> -- 
> Charles MacDonald  VA3CPY   Stittsville Ontario 
> cm...@zeusprune.ca   Just Beyond the Fringe 
> No Microsoft Products were used in sending this e-mail. 
>

-- 
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/3a6cfcb8-da93-4970-99e9-15e7d915008a%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Expensive NIMOs with mounting parts!

2020-02-10 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 


On Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at 4:52:19 AM UTC-5, Oscilloclock wrote:
>
> Sounds like a good investment! Unless someone starts to produce new NIMOs..
>
> - Aaron
>

While I think they are very interesting, I cannot imagine someone making 
new ones or even that big a demand for them beyond a die-hard hobbyist. 
Nixie's were hard enough to power at 170V using low voltage power supplies 
but the NIMO's require over 1 kV IIRC. Plus all of the used ones I have 
seen had burned phosphor so the tubes would definitely require something 
like anti-poisoning or a "screen saver" to keep them from burning in as 
well. I do not see the phosphor having the same longevity as mercury doped 
Nixie tubes.

-- 
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/40d11e82-0ab7-404f-8d0c-0968e155ba68%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] 1971 Nixie in a catalog

2020-02-10 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 


On Sunday, February 2, 2020 at 2:46:55 PM UTC-5, gregebert wrote:
>
> I'll take a dozen NL7037..
>
> I do remember getting one of these catalogs from Radio Shack back in the 
> 70's; pages and pages really neat stuff.
>

I had a catalog too from Radio Shack as they were also owned by Tandy. The 
prices from Allied even then were not the greatest. They were really aimed 
at businesses that could simply write off the cost as a business expense. 
The only thing I ever bought from Allied were some special Chicago 
Miniature light bulbs that I could not find anywhere else.

Looking at the price of the NL-8422, which is basically the same as an 
IN-12, that $15.75 was about a days pay at minimum wage. I would have had 
to deliver a lot of newspapers to afford just one. Of course even now I 
would spring for an NL-7037 if I could find one. Two inch character height 
- wow!

-- 
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/e18ac7d5-861e-4d58-ad68-f53debc2cd7a%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: noisey clock

2020-01-08 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
That is the problem with my MM5311 based B7971 clock that I built 40 
(ugh) years ago. The multiplexing causes the tubes to whine. It did not 
bother me much when I was younger but as I got older and was not sleeping 
as soundly, the noise became bothersome. I tried changing the frequency but 
its stable operating frequency range is smack dab in the middle of human 
hearing. I leave it off most of the time now except for special occasions. 
I have debated looking for a direct drive B7971 clock kit and using the 
tubes with it. The six tubes I have installed on it are far more valuable 
than the rest of the clock.

Robert

On Wednesday, January 8, 2020 at 1:55:42 PM UTC-5, philthepill wrote:
>
> Some people are very sensitive to humming and ticking sounds especially at 
> night. Back in the 1070's I bought an Accutron wrist watch with the tuning 
> fork time base.  At night the humming was loud enough that I put it in 
> drawer on the far side of my bedroom.   My first LED clock has always been 
> my favourite  ( from a Radio Shack ad fir the boards. ) - totaly silent  it 
> still works great today.
>
> Pharma Phil.
>
> -- Original Message -- 
> From: gregebert > 
> Date: January 8, 2020 at 12:13 PM 
>
> Our bedroom clock has 8 tubes (b7971), and is PIR activated. Needless to 
> say, it's very bright when on. I set the timeout to 100 seconds, and I dont 
> ever recall being awakened by the display turning-on. A future project is 
> to modify the code so it reports how many times the PIR sensor was 
> triggered during the night. I dont use any kind of dimming, mainly because 
> people have reported audible noise from tubes that use PWM dimming. 
>
> Both of our kids (now grown and moved-out) built 6-tube clocks with b5092 
> tubes, and they never complained about the seconds ticking-away at night; 
> they actually liked it, sort of like counting sheep, etc. 
>
> I think flip-dots would drive me crazy.even the mechanical flip-style 
> clocks that were prevalent in the 1970's were a bit annoying. 
>
>
>  
> -- 
> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com . 
> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/bde66e6a-11c2-43a4-850f-0c85ca3faffb%40googlegroups.com
>  
> .
>  
>
>
>
>  
>

-- 
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/84b17e15-e83e-47cf-bf68-33eec64fa886%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Nixie sighting

2020-01-02 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Funny, I do not recall that. I had a TI-57 in high school that was a gift 
from my parents. Quite useful for pre-calculus in 12th grade. When I was in 
college, I saved up and bought a TI-59 that used magnetic cards to save 
programs on. Still have it though the battery module is long dead. Probably 
have the TI-57 somewhere too. I retired it when I got the TI-59.

On Wednesday, January 1, 2020 at 3:53:39 PM UTC-5, Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>
> On Jan 1, 2020, at 8:45 AM, Robert G. Schaffrath  > wrote:
>
> There were ways to send ASCII symbols to the ASR33 punch that caused 
> characters to be formed by the punched dots. My favorite was "DOES NOT 
> COMPUTE!".
>
>
> That's what we did with my TI 57 programmable calculator. It had to be 
> held upside-down while the numerals "4377" slowly appeared.
>
> There was an ASR33 in the Guidance Dept. when I was in High School. I was 
> allowed to sit down and play with it for a few minutes in my senior year. I 
> don't think they actually used it very much.
>
>
> Sometimes, I miss that old tech though I really would not want to have to 
> make a living now working with it.
>
>
> I wouldn't mind to make some money off of old tech. Specifically, my 
> ASR33. It comes with a stand. Local pickup only. I hate to give it up but...
>
>
> Much prefer Linux/Windows/MacOS and C, C#, Node.js and a few other 
> languages I picked up over the last 40 years.
>
>
> 6502 Assembler, FORTH, 6811 Assembler, and...HyperCard!
>
> My beloved HyperCard is gone but it has been superseded by LiveCode (free 
> uncrippled version available).
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor"
>
> "I've seen things you *people* wouldn't believe: attack ships on fire off 
> the shoulder of Orion... beams...in the dark in the Tannhauser Gate. All 
> those moments will be lost in time...like tears in the rain." — Roy Batty, 
> *Blade 
> Runner*
>
>

-- 
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/efcbf50b-e4d4-4703-9502-69e66c9789e2%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Nixie sighting

2020-01-01 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
For me it was a timeshared PDP/11-70 which was located several miles from 
my high school. We had two "fast" DecWriter II's running at 300 baud that 
were used for normal interactive programming and two ASR33 teletypes that 
we could punch our assignments on offline and then upload later when an 
LA36 line was available (had to set the acoustic coupler line speed to 110 
before we swapped the DB25 connectors between the LA36 and ASR33). I still 
have some old punched tapes and yes they still have the smell of the oil! 
Fun thing I used to do was punch actual readable messages into the tape. 
There were ways to send ASCII symbols to the ASR33 punch that caused 
characters to be formed by the punched dots. My favorite was "DOES NOT 
COMPUTE!".

Sometimes, I miss that old tech though I really would not want to have to 
make a living now working with it. Much prefer Linux/Windows/MacOS and C, 
C#, Node.js and a few other languages I picked up over the last 40 years.

On Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at 8:21:32 AM UTC-5, joenixie wrote:
>
> The first computer I ever got to 'play' with was a PDP8/E in high school. 
> 3 teletypes and a dec writer for terminals. I loved the smell of paper tape 
> in the morning! 
>
> -joe 
>
> On Monday, December 30, 2019 12:25:58 PM CST Nick wrote: 
> > Ooh. At 20:21 there's what looks suspiciously like a DEC PDP 8/E on the 
> far 
> > left... 
> > 
> > On Sunday, 29 December 2019 22:53:32 UTC, Terry Bowman wrote: 
> > > 
> > > *What the Future Sounded Like* (twelve seconds in): 
> > > 
> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkW8Ul7Q1I 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Terry Bowman, KA4HJH 
> > > "The Mac Doctor" 
> > > 
> > > "For 30 years I have been trying to set the story straight about the 
> name 
> > > HAL coming from IBM with one letter added to each. That was 
> > > pure coincidence. HAL stands for Heuristic Algorithmic 
> computer."—Arthur C. 
> > > Clarke, 2001 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > 
> > 
>
>
>

-- 
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/34f8795a-ac12-4033-871d-405ff08c60cb%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Argon Piranha

2019-12-20 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I always found Argon have an interesting color. My late father was a 
Professor of Chemistry and I still have all of his elemental gas discharge 
tubes that I fire up occasionally. Years ago I posted a simple website 
demonstrating them all at http://schaffrath.net/Spectra.  The Argon tube is 
at http://schaffrath.net/Spectra/Argon.jpg. Years after he passed, I added 
Chlorine and Mercury Vapor tubes to the collection which is why their 
pictures are different. It interesting to see the different colors that are 
possible if other gases were used. Of course as someone posted on the Nixie 
Clock Facebook page, a lot of research went into making Neon work right and 
simply swapping in one of these other gases would not have been so simple.

Somewhere I still have some fluorescent lamp starters (remember those?) 
that used Argon instead of the traditional Neon. You would see a bluish 
purple glow through the little hole in the end of the starter instead of 
red. I would take them apart and light them up using a small hand crank 
magneto but they do not provide continuous light as they momentarily short 
in order to provide the starting function.

-- 
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/a0fb77fb-a5fe-4e36-8349-10c2cf0e20cf%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: More eBay craziness...

2019-12-05 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Looking at the bids, the winner has a feedback of "1":

https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/264542801859?item=264542801859&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565

And the second and third highest bidders have feedback's of 30 and 31. 
Either shill bidders or someone really really dumb. The sanest bid looks 
like $22.53 from a 2000+ bidder.

Of course that top bid will be what B-7971's are selling for individually 
in five years LOL.

On Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 10:28:16 AM UTC-5, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>
> I don't get it either... crazy!
>
> On Monday, December 2, 2019 at 11:40:06 AM UTC-7, Pramanicin wrote:
>>
>> Well, they must be blind as the pictures were pretty clear! :)
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Dec 2, 2019, at 10:32, alex nolan  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Maybe people thought that the NL-9XX series was for large tubes e.g. the 
>> NL-934?
>>
>> On Friday, November 29, 2019 at 5:19:43 PM UTC-5, Pramanicin wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-National-NL-900-Nixie-Numeric-Display-Tubes-Clean-Used-L-K-like-NL-841/264542801859
>>>
>>> Currently at $396...
>>>
>>> ...I will have to update my spreadsheet...;-)
>>>
>> -- 
>> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web, visit 
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/da7d7b8e-f262-47ef-807d-8fd35080f27d%40googlegroups.com
>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>>

-- 
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/33c29826-3872-4a81-a2af-3060a83c79b2%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Huge (and expensive) panaplex clock on ebay

2019-11-15 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The numbers are bit too fancy for my taste. I actually write my 7's with a 
line through them (a habit I picked up decades ago doing all-hands-on-deck 
warehouse serial number inventory and we were told to do that to prevent 
confusion with the number 1 as well as write S's as $ to avoid confusing 
with the number 5 and zeroes as Ø to avoid confusing with O). But I prefer 
my number displays to be in the more common format.

B-7971's would work nicely in this setup too.

On Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 9:46:22 PM UTC-5, Kevin A. wrote:
>
> Not my listing
>
> The price will give you indigestion
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-Ferrari-ZM1350-Monjibox-Nixie-Clock-Scrolling-Text-WiFi-NTP-Sync/223739615195?hash=item3417eb97db:g:cesAAOSwqNxdxEYy
>

-- 
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/e7561865-838d-472a-8ed5-9dbcad9493fa%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Finished A 6-Digit IN-12 Clock Kit

2019-11-11 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I know. With the 11/11 "Singles" sale on AliExpress today, they have gotten 
even cheaper. I ordered up two QS30-1 units for ~USD$26 each for my 
ZM1022's. I already have two of that model and I really like them so I will 
have a few more to possibly give as gifts (I still have 17 NOS ZM1022's on 
hand). I also ordered three four-tube IN-12 clocks at ~USD$25 each. One I 
am already giving to a non-techie friend as a Christmas gift who has been 
very interested in them since I showed him a few clocks recently. He is not 
up to the point of soldering or kit building so I will put a 4 digit one 
together for him. I still have a USD$21 IN-14 board I just received that I 
am going to use with Rodan GR-111p's. The pinout is different but I have 
already mapped out the differences. They should work fine and they have 
real 5's.

On Monday, November 11, 2019 at 11:11:28 AM UTC-5, M1 wrote:
>
> It’s amazing how cheap these kits are now.
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Michail 
>
>  
>
>  
>

-- 
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/d15ff741-cccd-4677-995d-57d13e205fd1%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: New CD47 sized tubes?!

2019-10-31 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The anode being used looks kind of funky compared to the one used on the 
CD47. It reminds me of the metal cloth fencing I buy at Home Depot to keep 
the rabbits out of my garden:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-4-in-x-2-ft-x-100-ft-Hardware-Cloth-308245EB/205960853

On Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 9:43:59 PM UTC-4, Kevin A. wrote:
>
> Looks like there is a new player in the Czech Republic making some big 
> tubes, apparently inspired by the CD47:
>
> http://nixieproducer.com/index.php/nixie-tube-jp47rodan-cd47gr-414
>
>  
>

-- 
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/b7d3dd8c-b6cd-4616-8129-7b4d5947519a%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] How dangerous is 150V - 170V DC?

2019-10-30 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Indeed. In the earlier days of me being licensed, my HF rig zapped me a few 
times due to problematic grounding issues. Seemed to have the most problems 
on 75m and 10m.

On Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at 6:30:01 PM UTC-4, Terry Bowman wrote:
>
>
> RF burns are the worst. Tesla put thimbles on his fingers.
>
>

-- 
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/125b451e-8db3-4be4-a1ee-c19136c2fa4f%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Heads Up: IN-12 Sale on eBay (20% off)

2019-10-29 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I received my first batch of IN-12 Nixie's yesterday. It was an order I 
placed before I found this now ended sale from which I ordered 12 more. The 
tubes were made in February 1981 if I am reading the date code correctly. 
First time I have ever seen that type in person. I have a 6-tube Chinese 
"assembly required" board on order that I will assemble as soon as it 
arrives. As I was not sure if the board required soldering the tubes to the 
board (some do), I have 100 gold plated pins on order too as I prefer to 
have them removable. Also, eBay had added a $10 off coupon to my account 
for using an AMEX card so I decided to order 18 NOS IN-17 tubes too as I 
think I may have some future use for those very tiny ones (and they have a 
real "5"). If not, I doubt they will lose any value.

On Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 9:18:24 AM UTC-4, Robert G. Schaffrath 
wrote:
>
> I know and I have also come to realize the prices now will look like 
> bargains in 10 years since they are not making any more. I still recall 
> when B-7971's were quite common and could be had for, adjusted for 
> inflation, about USD$15/each and they were plentiful (paid USD$5/each in 
> 1979/1980 for the 6 NOS B-7971's I have). Then the 25 NOS ZM1022's for 
> USD$4.81/each including sockets back in 2002. I plan to use 4 of the 
> IN-12's with one of the cheap Chinese clock kits (some assembly required 
> LOL). If I like it I might make some additional one for interested friends.
>
> The sad fact is that except for Dalibor Farby, they are not making Nixie's 
> any longer and when the supply dries up, that is it. At least the quality 
> of the Russian tubes is good. The Chinese ones will probably be around for 
> a while longer but with tubes like the QS30's lacking mercury, they wear 
> out pretty fast according to reports. I suspect many will probably get used 
> up as replacements for prematurely burned out tubes. I am amazed that the 
> ZM1022's are rated 200,000 hours and QS30's can wear out in weeks.
>
> On Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 11:32:53 PM UTC-4, GastonP wrote:
>>
>> It's really crazy to think that about 10 years ago I could buy a box of 
>> 50 IN-12B for 48 USD or so... "free" shipping and all.
>> Well, the crazy part is that at that time IN-18s were already expensive, 
>> 7971s were as always, unobtanium and IN-12s were the nearest thing to dirt 
>> cheap. Prices for the IN-14 were starting to rise steeply.
>> At that time I bought several IN-8s and sockets at a barely reasonable 
>> price and the mentioned box of IN-12Bs. I should have bought IN-18s too 
>> when I still could and they were just expensive at USD 15-20 a pop... 
>> sigh...
>>
>> On Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 2:47:12 PM UTC-3, Robert G. Schaffrath 
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I just picked up a lot of 12 (2 x 6) NOS IN-12 Nixie's on eBay that are 
>>> temporarily price reduced 20% to USD$8.80. Total came to USD$30.00 + my 
>>> local tax. I am really not crazy about the inverted "2" but as they are not 
>>> making these any more, having some on hand for possible future use seemed 
>>> like a good idea. I dug back in my records and found out I paid a little 
>>> less than USD$5/each back in June 2002 for my 25 NOS ZM1022's with included 
>>> sockets. Looking at the prices of those tubes now it looked like a good buy 
>>> so I figure these IN-12's are probably worth getting too.
>>>
>>

-- 
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/4ec6781e-ccce-487b-ab83-8ad576215c7c%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: How dangerous is 150V - 170V DC?

2019-10-28 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I am 57 now and during my younger years I have been shocked by 
approximately 600 VDC from a charged filter capacitor in an old tube 
amplifier. I had just powered off the unit and had my hand on the metal 
chassis. My needle nose pliers hit the positive on the capacitor and the 
jolt was so strong my chest muscles contracted and I wound up throwing the 
pliers across the basement with quite a bit of force. Still have the 750 
VAC transformer from that beast. On the AC side, I have been shocked by 
10,000 VAC from an oil burner transformer and 15,000 VAC from a large neon 
sign transformer. All basically lucky situations where I was thrown clear 
from the source.

As for isolation transformers, when I need quick 120 VAC isolation source I 
take two old 12.6 VAC 2 A transformers that I have and run them 
back-to-back. First transformers steps down to 12.6 VAC and the second one 
run backwards takes the 12.6 VAC and outputs 120 VAC. Obviously for more 
power I would have to go with a true isolation transformer but this works 
in a jiffy for the low power draw circuits I play with.

On Friday, February 1, 2019 at 3:19:42 AM UTC-5, Thomas Kummer wrote:
>
> I’m very reckless when it comes to my Nixie projects. I’ve shocked myself 
> with 150 - 170V DC more times than I care to admit, and every time I’ve 
> done it, the shock isn’t that bad. However, every time I’ve done it, my 
> hands have been dry, and there’s been a series resistor somewhere in the 
> circuit. I’ve been tazed before, and the Nixie 150-170V is no where near as 
> bad. Is it the resistors that have saved me, and I should thank my lucky 
> stars that they were there? Or, is it the fact that 150-170V DC isn’t as 
> dangerous as everyone makes it out to be? I mean either way I know I should 
> be more careful. I guess what I’m getting at is what are the chances of me 
> accidentally doing any significant  harm to myself from a Nixie project? 

-- 
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/9d8b8ef2-112b-44fe-a87d-5381cfe16fd8%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Heads Up: IN-12 Sale on eBay (20% off)

2019-10-17 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I know and I have also come to realize the prices now will look like 
bargains in 10 years since they are not making any more. I still recall 
when B-7971's were quite common and could be had for, adjusted for 
inflation, about USD$15/each and they were plentiful (paid USD$5/each in 
1979/1980 for the 6 NOS B-7971's I have). Then the 25 NOS ZM1022's for 
USD$4.81/each including sockets back in 2002. I plan to use 4 for the 
IN-12's with one of the cheap Chinese clock kits (some assembly required 
LOL). If I like it I might make some additional one for interested friends.

The sad fact is that except for Dalibor Farby, they are not making Nixie's 
any longer and when the supply dries up, that is it. At least the quality 
of the Russian tubes is good. The Chinese ones will probably be around for 
a while longer but with tubes like the QS30's lacking mercury, they wear 
out pretty fast according to reports. I suspect many will probably get used 
up as replacements for prematurely burned out tubes. I am amazed that the 
ZM1022's are rated 200,000 hours and QS30's can wear out in weeks.

On Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 11:32:53 PM UTC-4, GastonP wrote:
>
> It's really crazy to think that about 10 years ago I could buy a box of 50 
> IN-12B for 48 USD or so... "free" shipping and all.
> Well, the crazy part is that at that time IN-18s were already expensive, 
> 7971s were as always, unobtanium and IN-12s were the nearest thing to dirt 
> cheap. Prices for the IN-14 were starting to rise steeply.
> At that time I bought several IN-8s and sockets at a barely reasonable 
> price and the mentioned box of IN-12Bs. I should have bought IN-18s too 
> when I still could and they were just expensive at USD 15-20 a pop... 
> sigh...
>
> On Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 2:47:12 PM UTC-3, Robert G. Schaffrath 
> wrote:
>>
>> I just picked up a lot of 12 (2 x 6) NOS IN-12 Nixie's on eBay that are 
>> temporarily price reduced 20% to USD$8.80. Total came to USD$30.00 + my 
>> local tax. I am really not crazy about the inverted "2" but as they are not 
>> making these any more, having some on hand for possible future use seemed 
>> like a good idea. I dug back in my records and found out I paid a little 
>> less than USD$5/each back in June 2002 for my 25 NOS ZM1022's with included 
>> sockets. Looking at the prices of those tubes now it looked like a good buy 
>> so I figure these IN-12's are probably worth getting too.
>>
>

-- 
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/c6746f3e-c8ec-4744-829a-f2c7fa7648bc%40googlegroups.com.

RE: [neonixie-l] Heads Up: IN-12 Sale on eBay (20% off)

2019-10-16 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
The link is:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F273821219802

Being new I wasn’t sure of policy on posting links to sales. I have no 
connection to seller. 

-- 
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/11fe0a28-706c-4ae8-8b26-db197480937f%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Heads Up: IN-12 Sale on eBay (20% off)

2019-10-16 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I just picked up a lot of 12 (2 x 6) NOS IN-12 Nixie's on eBay that are 
temporarily price reduced 20% to USD$8.80. Total came to USD$30.00 + my 
local tax. I am really not crazy about the inverted "2" but as they are not 
making these any more, having some on hand for possible future use seemed 
like a good idea. I dug back in my records and found out I paid a little 
less than USD$5/each back in June 2002 for my 25 NOS ZM1022's with included 
sockets. Looking at the prices of those tubes now it looked like a good buy 
so I figure these IN-12's are probably worth getting too.

-- 
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/a3c7ab31-47d3-4b82-8854-71ff17653d92%40googlegroups.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Check out these!

2019-10-16 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I may have to get one or two. I have seen some Chinese boards that use them 
as VU meters. Very interesting to watch and I love the shade of green they 
produce.

The "Magic Eye" tubes are some of my earliest memories of electronics. My 
parents ancient Fisher stereo uses a very rare 6GE12 tube (the receiver 
still works though the tube has faded with age). My grandparents had an old 
Dumont TV that used a 6AL7 for the built-in AM/FM tuner and I still have 
one of my grandfathers NOS spares. I also have a NOS 6E5 that I bought back 
in the late 1970's that I wanted to do something with but never did. I 
always thought it would have been very cool if the 6E5 could have the 
entire indicator disc swept from light to dark rather than just the 
"wedge". It would have made an incredible seconds display for a 
clock.Slowly going from dark to light over a period of sixty seconds, like 
a second hand sweeping around, and then resetting to dark. I suppose have 
the "wedge" close and open once a second might make an interesting display 
too. 

On Monday, October 14, 2019 at 9:39:22 PM UTC-4, martin martin wrote:
>
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/6E1P-EM80-6BR5-Magic-eye-Vintage-USSR-tube-NOS/111981191950?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D57921%26meid%3Da0239843364746c6b1a439f25fb30a42%26pid%3D15%26rk%3D11%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D123727599571%26itm%3D111981191950%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c15.m1851
>
>
>

-- 
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/6d2fa0d6-3e73-4d84-a723-4ebb081897c5%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: I'm Back: ZM1022 and B-7971

2019-10-13 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
Until now, I have never tried to fix the tube. I was the one who cut the 
pin off many years ago but also realize that when I did cut it, I could 
have purchased another tube for around USD$8 at the time (~25 years ago). 
As I already had 6 Ultronics tubes in my clock, 6 NOS Burroughs spares 
(which came with an original copy of the Burroughs data sheet that is 
packed with the tubes) and 1 used Burroughs tube (has the "antenna" in it), 
I did not see the need to go out and buy another. Of course fast forward 25 
years and that tube could now command USD$100 if it can be fixed. I suspect 
a lot of damaged ones got thrown out in the past because they were cheap to 
replace. I just happen to be a pack rat and keep stuff like that LOL.

I do not have any spare sockets to try M1's suggestion. I have a large 
wooden dowel that I can duct tape the tube to or even a 2x4 if necessary. 
Soldering a small extension to pin #17 would not be an issue though I have 
thought that I might swap it for one of the tubes on my clock since it does 
not use segment #13 and if segment #4 is repaired then it should work fine 
leaving me a fully intact Ultronics tube.

I may make the attempt today to see if I can free it. Definitely a scary 
prospect of shattering the tube.

On Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 6:20:25 PM UTC-4, Bill Notfaded wrote:
>
> I have never had a failure with a working B-7971 tube.  They are, if 
> working, rock solid.  Unless you start with a messed up tube I would say 
> they are some of the most stable neon tubes ever made.  Big, bad@55, rock 
> solid tubes.  I'm sure cutting off pins or a rare overlapped cathode might 
> be an issue.  I'd say if you had an overlapped cathode issue then 
> definitely try the taped broomstick method and try to knock it loose 
> because these tubes run and run and run as long as they don't have physical 
> defects inside.  Ironically they are some is the best tubes ever made as 
> far as I'm concerned.  They are bright and just work great.  Yeah... 
> they're expensive these days but dang they're awesome!!!  I'm sure Michail 
> and Michael will both concur... B-7971 tubes are some of the most awesome 
> Nixie tubes ever made period.  They're really priceless now because no one 
> makes them anymore.  Even the new age Nixie tube manufacturers aren't even 
> trying alphanumerics.  These are it... and they're awesome!   Still running 
> strong... Big... Beautiful!
>
> Bill
>
> On Sat, Oct 12, 2019, 10:51 AM Michail Wilson  > wrote:
>
>> Robert, you
>>
>>  
>>
>> I have come across a lot of tubes with this issue (not the cut off leg).
>>
>> Although I have broken more than my share of tubes by dropping them, I 
>> have never broke a tube with a short.
>>
>>  
>>
>> I have over the years been able to smack the short out of them.  I 
>> believe you will find it is easier than you think it might be.  Of course 
>> you will see dollar signs flash in front of you each time you smack it.
>>
>>  
>>
>> Trying to look closely at your short, my suggestion would be to put the 
>> tube in a socket and smack the tube in a downward fashion on a table.  The 
>> socket being used to protect the pins and the nipple.  Also try smacking 
>> the face of the tube into your hand.
>>
>>  
>>
>> Michail Wilson
>>
>> 206-920-6312
>>
>>  
>>
>> *From:* neoni...@googlegroups.com  [mailto:
>> neoni...@googlegroups.com ] *On Behalf Of *Robert G. 
>> Schaffrath
>> *Sent:* Saturday, October 12, 2019 10:17 AM
>> *To:* neonixie-l
>> *Subject:* Re: [neonixie-l] Re: I'm Back: ZM1022 and B-7971
>>
>>  
>>
>> It took some digging around to find it, but I did locate the Ultronics 
>> B-7971 with the shorted segments. This is a closeup picture of the short:
>>
>>  
>>
>> [image: B-7971 Shorted.jpg]
>>
>>  
>>
>> Then for some reason around 30 years ago, I decided to cut the #17 pin 
>> off which is connected to the #13 slanted segment that is shorted. Not sure 
>> why I did that or what I was thinking back then. If I can resurrect the 
>> tube, it would not be that big a problem to attach an extension to the 
>> remaining stub and make #13 usable again:
>>
>>  
>>
>> [image: B-7971 Cut Pin.jpg]
>>
>>  
>>
>> Finally, my 40 year old 6 tube clock in operation. I had not powered it 
>> up in a while. Still works! Mind boggling to think the tubes in this clock 
>> could be worth close to USD$900 now (It is covered in plastic due to the 
>> dust issues. I got tired of cleaning off the tubes when I wasn't

[neonixie-l] Re: The rest of my Nixie tube collection (Part 2)

2019-10-11 Thread Robert G. Schaffrath 
I will definitely post the results when I make the change. I am going to 
wait until the warranty return period is over before I make any changes. I 
put a short 30 second video of the clock in operation at 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC2LtsPWbPc. The tubes are the ZM1022's.

This morning I decided to finally find out what the 16 Nixie tubes are in 
that 16-digit display I have had for at least 35 years. I never took it 
apart to look tube type. They are Rodan GR-111P's.  Nice silvery printing 
on the back. I have to examine the pinout on the spec sheet and see what 
would be involved in using them with one of the Chinese boards. If the pins 
are close to IN-14 layout they should be easy enough to install on one of 
those common boards without having to move wires all over the place.

On Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 4:24:33 PM UTC-4, Tyler Bourne wrote:
>
> I've used an INS1 as a colon in one of my clocks.  They tend to flicker 
> sometimes.  I've been running one for a while and it was fine for several 
> days.  It flickered occasionally for a few more days and has since 
> stabilized.  They look nice so hopefully they just take some time to 
> settle.  Let me know how they work for you when you get around to using 
> them.
>

-- 
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/eac9f287-a535-463c-aa3f-cb861781d355%40googlegroups.com.

  1   2   >