Hivac XN11 tubes

[Dagwood]

Hi all

Does any have a datasheet for a Hivac XN11 tube?

Cheers

 

[Matt BH]

If you are building a nixie clock like the one on Mikes electric stuff then you dont really need the datasheet. If you look in the tube you can see which pin is the Anode, its the one connected to the honeycomb grid structure. The other pins are 0-9. I used a 47K anode resistor with a 180V B+. I used the small switching supply here:


http://www.kosbo.com/index.php?page...category_id=9&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=18

you could build one but why bother for the price. It is much safer than the directly connected to the mains setup IMO.

Cheers Matt.

 

[Dagwood]

Thanks Matt
Yes I am planning to build one from Mike’s electric stuff, I just wanted to know a little more detail about the tube.
I have just built an inverter similar to this one, inspired by the very helpful Dr Andrew Smith

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://g4oep.atspace.com/efamp/efamp.2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://g4oep.atspace.com/efamp/efamp.htm&h=588&w=646&sz=35&tbnid=4S6H4DQ-h-vUGM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEF80&hl=en&usg=__BE08lbR0gN7UTyvGEV03X-mdHq0=&ei=AFSKS8CiK4380wT6w-nRCw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image&ved=0CCQQ9QEwBg


Nice little project but I might give one from Kosbo a go for the Nixie clock though?

Cheers
Ben

 

[Matt BH]

That little switcher board is absolutely perfect I have built a few nixie clocks because they make great pressies.

Mikes circuit is ok but I decided to leave out the 4013 as it seemed a waste and just used a simple two transistor buffer to get a nice 50Hz square wave. I also go for a 24Hr display with a leading zero because the 10s of hours nixie doesnt get enough of its cathodes used otherwise and this can lead to poisoning of the non-used cathodes. With the XN11 you will need this because they are wire ended and you cant just swap them around every month or so. This does involve a few mods to the circuit but its pretty logical funnily enough

Here are a couple of pics of a pair im building this year for christmas presants. The cases are Eddystone die-cast jobs pollished up and the colon indicators are 10mm test tubes cut with a diamond disk and epoxy glued to the ally with a spring ring from the standard Belling Lee TV aerial connector and standard NE2 bulbs stuffed up em. The driver transistors are soldered directly to the sockets of the Russian IN8 tubes.

 

[kevinkr]

Cool Matt..

 

[Dagwood]

Hi Matt

Very nice work, clean and simple.

When you say "10mm test tubes cut with a diamond disk ", how exactly did you go about that???

Very cool anyways.

Ben

 

[Matt BH]

Hi,
Sorry for not replying but I have been working away all week with no internet.

To cut the small 10mm test tubes I just used a small diamond disk like this:

Diamond Cut Off Disc for Dremel or Drill - 2" / 50mm on eBay (end time 10-Jul-10 18:42:19 BST)

I used it in a pillar drill but a dremel or other drill would do. Just cut a groove around the tube and it should be easy to snap it, wear gloves. You could also use a diamond needle file or normal needle file as long as you dont mind blunting it

Cheers Matt.

 

[Matt BH]

Thanks Kevinkr

 

[Dagwood]

Thanks Matt

I think I will give that a go on mine as looks very cool and a bit safer as well.

Cheers

 

[fooeywuffle]

Why all the bother with those switching supplies. Just wind a transformer for the Nixie Clock, or any other project neeeding one. Making Nixie Clock using GE SCS 3N83s. No ICs.

 

[Dagwood]

Hi Fooeywuffle

I guess it's because I can make the PCB and stuff the parts on one of these ( http://www.ledsales.com.au/kits/nixie_supply.pdf ) for less than half the cost and in far less time, But I guess I also have never made a transformer

Keep us posted on your progress

 

[fooeywuffle]

I have made a lot of switching power supplies from a few watts to 1200 watts, but I use the ICs made for that. Like Linear Technology Lt1172 for small loads and their more powerful ones if more current needed. National Semiconductor also makes a lot of them, Simple Switcher. They are cheap, and very easy to use, and have better regulation than these 555 timer ones, but they work the best if used with a flyback gapped core transformer to keep the waveform close to a square wave at operating voltage. I guess these must work since they are all over the web. For my clock, I was keeping everything old school, so no ICs allowed. I have been winding transformers for over 50 years, from audio to over 100 MHz.
_____________________________
If brute force doesn't work, you aren't using enough of it!

 

[fooeywuffle]

Clock is FINALLY finished! Uses GE 3N83s and a few transistors, no ICs. Nixies are IN-12A.

 

[kevinkr]

Wow, that is very cool..

 

[Matt BH]

That is very cool. Do you have a schematic?

Cheers Matt.

 

[Dagwood]

I'll third that....Very cool

Mine was shelved, must drag it out