5 Mar
2007
5 Mar
'07
9:58 p.m.
On 5 Mar 2007 at 21:34, dwight elvey wrote:
It is not a good idea to multiplex Nixies. They
don't always strike
exactly when the voltage is applied. This means you can't go too
fast. Also, if the current is too high ( not just the average ), it
causes the gas to heat up too much and it changes the ionization.
This causes a more distructive violet glow that will eventually
cause the bulb to get contaminated by blasting the electrodes.
Unlike LED's, running them at too low a current doesn't just
make them glow less brightly, it tends to make them glow only
over part of the electrode.
Don't plasma displays use an ionizing current that essentially idles
the "off" pixels just below the glow point? (so-called "Dark
Current").
Could one perhaps build a multiplexed Nixie display that employed the
same principle?
Cheers,
Chuck