RE: [neonixie-l] Re: B7971from PolyPaks in Lynwood, MA

2020-12-04 Thread Jeff Walton 
Don’t try to clear a mechanical short electrically.  The areas that generally 
short are the ends of the diagonal and vertical cathodes.  They are 
significantly heavier than the wire welds that attach to the pin and you will 
either destroy that part of the tube or possibly the backplane wires/traces 
that feed the cathode.  If you search the forum, there are good explanations 
and photos of how to mechanically separate the cathode ends that occasionally 
get shorted in shipping or from a mechanical shock.  You have a lot to lose if 
you permanently damage a valuable and salvageable tube.  If you can’t find the 
information, send me a message and I have photos and have successfully cleared 
mechanical shorts in the B7971.

 

Jeff

 

 

From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Alan Woodman
Sent: Friday, December 4, 2020 10:41 PM
To: neonixie-l 
Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] Re: B7971from PolyPaks in Lynwood, MA

 

Yes, I bought some 7971 tubes from PolyPaks right after they were surplused 
from the NY stock exchange displays. I don't recall the price but it was likely 
3 orders of magnitude cheaper. I have 4 in use presently in one of Ray 
Weisling's FLW displays. Was fortunate to get one of his boards from him in his 
island location after pestering him at length. Too bad he cheated so many other 
buyers. Probably because I knew Ray from my ham radio hobby when he was still 
living in Milwaukee, WI. btw;  one of my spare tubes has a short between 2 
segments and I've read it might be curable by dumping a charged cap to clear 
the short. I'm not too keen on trying this but suppose I have nothing to lose. 
Has anyone had any success with this approach? Just recently did notice that a 
lower right corner segment on one of the FLW tubes may also be shorting but 
it's not bothersome yet. Hope it's not in the FLW circuitry. ;=(

It's been running nonstop for more than 5 years and still surprises me at times.

 

I've got a long history working with Nixies having lived in Japan for years 
during the 70s. Back then I could buy NEC CD-83P 1/2" tubes new for 10 cents 
each in Akahibara. Bought many hundreds and sold then at hamfests for a few 
years  Also supplied them to a ham radio maker on the west coast for awhile, I 
think it was SBE but can't find them now. Would like to get one of those radios 
just for the nostalgia. I used to be a member of this board before it changed 
over. Just rejoined today and notice they use my unmonitored Google email 
address so any replies should be directed to me thru this group. It's nice to 
see it's so active once again.  btw; I'm looking to see if Dave Forbes of his 
CRT clock fame is around here. I'm told he may habit this board..  

 

On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 3:45:50 PM UTC-6 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.

 

Just curious how some of you acquired a large stash.

On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 11:15:03 AM UTC-8 Pramanicin wrote:

They're currently going for anywhere from 160 to 200 dollars on eBay. Pictures 
of them being tested will help. Too rich for my blood at the moment, but I have 
enough of them already :)

 

Best of luck selling them!

 

Cheers

 

Nick

Sent from my iPhone





On Dec 3, 2020, at 10:32, Wo Tu mailto:wtu...@gmail.com> > 
wrote:

I‘ve built 2 clocks using B7971. But now I dont have space for more. 

 

gregebert schrieb am Donnerstag, 3. Dezember 2020 um 19:26:41 UTC+1:

If you dont already have a clock or other device with 7971's, I suggest you 
make one. Even though these tubes are a bit ugly, they are so enormous and 
versatile that you will be pleased with it. And keep a few spares. I built an 
8-tube clock with 7971's a few years ago and I still like it, and wish I had 
time to add more features via software (it's RasPi based, so I'm limited only 
by time and creativity).

 

If you decide to sell, I've seen a lot of these being sold on Ebay for well 
over 100 USD, especially if you can show they are tested. You probably already 
have several messages from other neonixie members who want to buy some.

 

On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 10:11:26 AM UTC-8 Wo Tu wrote:

I sorted out my collection of tubes and was surprised , how much B7971 I own.

Would like to sell some of these tubes. What do you think is a fair price for 
one tube , or for six tubes ?

 

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: B7971from PolyPaks in Lynwood, MA

2020-12-04 Thread Alan Woodman 
Yes, I bought some 7971 tubes from PolyPaks right after they were surplused 
from the NY stock exchange displays. I don't recall the price but it was 
likely 3 orders of magnitude cheaper. I have 4 in use presently in one of 
Ray Weisling's FLW displays. Was fortunate to get one of his boards from 
him in his island location after pestering him at length. Too bad he 
cheated so many other buyers. Probably because I knew Ray from my ham radio 
hobby when he was still living in Milwaukee, WI. btw;  one of my spare 
tubes has a short between 2 segments and I've read it might be curable by 
dumping a charged cap to clear the short. I'm not too keen on trying this 
but suppose I have nothing to lose. Has anyone had any success with this 
approach? Just recently did notice that a lower right corner segment on one 
of the FLW tubes may also be shorting but it's not bothersome yet. Hope 
it's not in the FLW circuitry. ;=(
It's been running nonstop for more than 5 years and still surprises me at 
times.

I've got a long history working with Nixies having lived in Japan for years 
during the 70s. Back then I could buy NEC CD-83P 1/2" tubes new for 10 
cents each in Akahibara. Bought many hundreds and sold then at hamfests for 
a few years  Also supplied them to a ham radio maker on the west coast for 
awhile, I think it was SBE but can't find them now. Would like to get one 
of those radios just for the nostalgia. I used to be a member of this board 
before it changed over. Just rejoined today and notice they use my 
unmonitored Google email address so any replies should be directed to me 
thru this group. It's nice to see it's so active once again.  btw; I'm 
looking to see if Dave Forbes of his CRT clock fame is around here. I'm 
told he may habit this board..  

On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 3:45:50 PM UTC-6 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.
>
> Just curious how some of you acquired a large stash.
>
> On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 11:15:03 AM UTC-8 Pramanicin wrote:
>
>> They're currently going for anywhere from 160 to 200 dollars on eBay. 
>> Pictures of them being tested will help. Too rich for my blood at the 
>> moment, but I have enough of them already :)
>>
>> Best of luck selling them!
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Dec 3, 2020, at 10:32, Wo Tu  wrote:
>>
>> I‘ve built 2 clocks using B7971. But now I dont have space for more. 
>>
>>
>>
>> gregebert schrieb am Donnerstag, 3. Dezember 2020 um 19:26:41 UTC+1:
>>
>>> If you dont already have a clock or other device with 7971's, I suggest 
>>> you make one. Even though these tubes are a bit ugly, they are so enormous 
>>> and versatile that you will be pleased with it. And keep a few spares. I 
>>> built an 8-tube clock with 7971's a few years ago and I still like it, and 
>>> wish I had time to add more features via software (it's RasPi based, so I'm 
>>> limited only by time and creativity).
>>>
>>> If you decide to sell, I've seen a lot of these being sold on Ebay for 
>>> well over 100 USD, especially if you can show they are tested. You probably 
>>> already have several messages from other neonixie members who want to buy 
>>> some.
>>>
>>> On Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 10:11:26 AM UTC-8 Wo Tu wrote:
>>>
 I sorted out my collection of tubes and was surprised , how much B7971 
 I own.
 Would like to sell some of these tubes. What do you think is a fair 
 price for one tube , or for six tubes ?

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>>  
>> 
>> .
>>
>>

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