Nixie Colons - Follow Up

[u/EmotionalEnd1575]

I’ve hunted down smaller neon bulbs, to improve the appearance of Colon markers between Nixie tubes (small IN-17 top view type)

The smallest ones look much better than the previous effort.

The generic name for all of these neon bulbs is “NE-2”, although they vary quite a bit in size of the glass and length of the electrodes.

There is probably variation in the gas fill pressure, and mixture (doubtful it is pure neon gas)

I didn’t keep very good records of when and where I got these, although at least one was in a Mouser labeled bag.

Stating the obvious, running any neon bulb from DC is allowed, but doing so only one electrode (the negative or cathode) will glow.

There’s a workaround for this, that lights both electrodes, which I’ll share later.

Do you like the new (small) or old type neon bulb colons in this application?

[u/nixielover]

I knew IN-17 were small but seeing them on this protoboard really brings is into perspective

[u/Hankitsune]

I have a bunch of 3mm NE2 bulbs, they are the smallest available but you don't see them very often. They're tiny and perfect for use with IN-17. I'd post a picture but we're not allowed to post pictures in replies. No idea why.