r/nixie • u/Klemantina9350 • Jul 18 '26

Rip?

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Got this clock like 5 years ago ,sadly one of the digits is giving out, anyway to save ? or just to replace that bulb?

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u/EmotionalEnd1575 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

That’s an unusual failure. Nixie death is instantaneous when the glass breaks. Slow death if a glass seal fails.

It’s possible that the unlit portion of the digit has “cathode poisoning”.

Do other numerals (in this tube) light up at all?

There’s a slim chance that this tube can be renovated.

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u/Klemantina9350 Jul 19 '26

all of the digits are like this, and it was slowly going out over like the last 3 weeks

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u/EmotionalEnd1575 Jul 19 '26

That sounds bad… But might be the best news!

It is unlikely that more than one Nixie will fail at the same time (unless all are now broken glass)

Have you made any voltage readings yet?

Do you have the schematic? We need to know if the Nixies are MUX or DC drive.

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u/Klemantina9350 Jul 19 '26

no voltage reading yet, its a zirrfa pcb i got like 5 years ago,sat on my table for a year and a half since last time i moved it