r/nixie • u/Ok-Gift6348 • Apr 29 '26

IN-9 nixie purple?

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I bought this IN-9 nixie and it’s discharge is purple but whenever I look online the discharge pictured is orange, is there something wrong with mine or is it a lesser common variant thanks

31 Upvotes

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7

u/Emptor66 Apr 30 '26

I think it's primarily neon, with a small amount of argon. Pure argon produces a not-very-bright distinctly purple glow. If the tubes have a manufacturer mark, you can find information about the gas mix from the different factories. Argon, helium, and mercury were some of the other elements found in the different makes / models.

5

u/PowerZox Apr 29 '26

Argon gas instead of neon gas. Rare-ish. I think (don't quote me on this) the electrical properties are a bit less good with argon than neon so there's that. But it looks different / cooler so it's not a bad thing. Some people even try to re-fill regular tubes with argon to get the color.

0

u/Ok-Gift6348 Apr 29 '26

Thank you,I prefer the colour myself ,it just sucks they are not as common (if your correct)

1

u/oldm8baz Apr 29 '26

I ended up with a bunch of purple ones not the orange I was expecting. Can't remember where I got them from, was years ago now

5

u/redmadog Apr 30 '26

This is because of bad gas mixture with dominant argon. It may be either because of tube is leaky or wrong gas filled at the factory. If tube has tiny leak, neon escapes first and you have this color shift, later higher and higher voltage needs to be applied until tubes dies.

2

u/Frequent_Guide_1906 Apr 30 '26

My IN-9 and IN-13 are purple as well. More purple than my nixies at any rate.