leaky esl63's

[graeme uk]

Ive got my 63's working and they sound great.
No bad noises either, just lovely music.
No arcing or sparks.

However, the neons flash quickly, maybe 2 time a second.

As there seems to be no other problems i guess its the diaphram coating breaking down?

Can i isolate each panel and see what the neon does to find out if all panels are a bit bad or if one or two are to blame?

Then what, new diaphrams/coating?

These are my first esl's, what kind of effect would the leakyness have on the music?

[arend-jan]

Yes you can isolate each panel and check the neon. Though a neon flashing two times a second isn't perfect, it's not a real problem either. It just means charge is leaking away, either to the stators or to the frame. What's the air humidity? If it's anywhere near 60% or higher then two flashes a second is perfectly OK.

[hafp]

Originally Posted by graeme uk

Ive got my 63's working and they sound great.
No bad noises either, just lovely music.
No arcing or sparks.

However, the neons flash quickly, maybe 2 time a second.

As there seems to be no other problems i guess its the diaphram coating breaking down?

Can i isolate each panel and see what the neon does to find out if all panels are a bit bad or if one or two are to blame?

Then what, new diaphrams/coating?

These are my first esl's, what kind of effect would the leakyness have on the music?

Does this apply to both of your speakers, or only to the bad one you were referring to in your other post.
If both speakers have similar flash rates, and produce equal sound levels, then it could just be a humidity thing that arend-jan notes.

You can disconnect the orange EHT power wire from one panel at a time and see if the flash rate decreases; if it does, than you can isolate the bad panel(s).
If the speakers are more than 10-12 years old, it may be a good idea to at least disassemble the panels and inspect the diaphrams for burns or loose due to glue failure; don't forget to check the stators attached to the matrix, which glue failure is a cause of the majority of panel problems.

Cheers

[graeme uk]

Yes, i plan to open and inspect them soon.

They both flash at the same rate. Only one panel in one speaker makes any bad noise at all.

I have no idea what the humidity may be but its probably reasonably high. Its snowing outside, we have double glazing, windows shut and the heating on. Plenty of condensation on the insides of the windows!

[graeme uk]

I think the speakers are 1987, thats whats on the audio TX's.

It seemes like they have never had the cloths off, let alone been opened before so i guess there completely untouched.

I havent measured EHT yet as i need to make a HV probe, but the boards have all new caps and diodes so hopefully its about right.