Lets see your Nixie Tube equipment

[bitseeker]

It was the 5216 from Poland, I was outbid on the other recent 5216 - if I recall the other one was from the USA.

Yep, I was watching those too. They don't come up often so it's fun to see. There was a 5221A recently, too.

[bitseeker]

I finally got mine cleaned up and working, and have been meaning to post a tear down thread but am being lazy.  Perhaps I'll get my butt in gear and do it this week.

I still have to tear into mine. It'll probably be next after I wrap up the power supplies that have consumed my bench.

[bitseeker]

The plastic screen has a brush mark which needs to be removed. (Some sort of abrasive plastic polish or find another colored plastic sheet ?)

That should just polish out if it's not deep. I'd try that before replacing.

I do not have the proper power plug. ( IEC? File out a new opening?)

Is it the oval-shaped connector? You can get the correct cable, though they're not cheap. One of my 5216 has it, too. The other is the more modern IEC.

This one is a bit more rectangular than I've seen before, but might work:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/142280298717

These are "normal" looking:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111978547722
http://www.ebay.com/itm/122312916577
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371848014001

[Cubdriver]

Johnny -

As far as the filter for the display goes, I'd first try plastic polish - Novus is one kind, and a plastic headlight restoration kit from an auto parts store might be another option.  I haven't found a readily available source for amber tinted Plexiglas or Lexan that's thin enough to replace it (though I also haven't really looked beyond McMaster-Carr and a cursory Amazon search - a plastic supplier would likely have something though minimum quantities may be an issue there).  I think I recently read in an HP blurb somewhere that at least some of those filters are polarized, too, but haven't checked that out so don't know for certain.  It doesn't appear to me to be dark enough to be polarized, so I'm not sure I believe that.

For the scuffed side castings, when I did my 3460B, I took them off completely and wet sanded the scuffs out in the kitchen sink.  Do them one at a time, and the opposite one that's still in place will keep the instrument mostly intact.  I likely started with 180 or 200 grit, then went to 400, 600 and finally 800 or 1200.  The 5216A castings would be much easier to do - they'd fit in the sink!  I wrapped the sandpaper around a small whetstone to keep it flat and prevent rounding off the sharp edges where the side and outer flats meet.  The 3460 ones were too long and a PITA to do without getting water splashed everywhere.  I think the results were worth the effort, though.

Before wet sanding:


The same area after wet sanding:


-Pat

[Cubdriver]

The oval AC Mains connector HP used is a PH163.  The HP ones are 'odd' in that the line and neutral conductors are swapped from other, similar versions of that connector.

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~hilpert/e/powerConn/index.html

Has some info on them. 

I try to keep an eye out for the cords, and grab them when I get a chance as I have a ton of gear that uses that connector.  Unfortunately they are few and far between, or $$$.  Replacing the mains input with an IEC320 connector is always an option if surgery on the chassis doesn't bother you.  I've occasionally found cords with Euro CEE 7/7 plugs on them; if you get the opportunity grab those and cut off & replace the original plug with a NEMA 5-15P and you're good to go.

-Pat

[Johnny10]

Appreciate all the advice !

[VK5RC]

Hi guys, I have finally got around to finishing testing all the 521Cs tubes, well the ones I could anyway. I ended up replacing 5 tubes eventually, quite a large number really - most of the failing tubes had gone gassy. Main caps OK, fan works, transformer ok.
I used my uTracer- (after I broke it ,  then repaired that as well!)
This is one of HP not good designs I think. The frequency divider circuit styled after a phantastron, to me , looks like a charge pump, and with differences in loading of each divide by ten circuit (whether it is in 1/10, 1 or 10sec count mode) results in different divisors (9,10 or 11) , you can adjust each stage to divide correctly. The different range selections obviously load the divisors inconsistently, so if you count in the 'wrong' range the answer can be out by 10% or so.  I am sure when it came out of the factory all the caps were in value etc and it didn't do this but now it does. I think I am going to leave it. Otherwise it works well.

[bitseeker]

Congrats on getting the 521 running, Rob. That must be fun to watch with an FM signal. A stable CW would be boring.

[Cubdriver]

Mmmmm.  Very pretty glow!     Nice to hear that it's up and running, at least most of the way.  Very cool old piece of gear!   

-Pat

[TheSteve]

Pulled the trigger on another HP 5340A - this one was sold for parts, the >250 MHz input is dead. If it is an easy fix I'll preserve it, if not the nixie's get a new home.

btw the same seller has a Heathkit IB-1103 frequency counter that has 8 nixie's in it that looks pretty interesting. A low best offer might just take it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/232282084251

[VK5RC]

OK not Nixie gear but often related to it. PINOUT of LL14847
I am in the process of making some US LL14847 cables into AUS cables - I am now confused - two premade cables have different pinouts!
In my 'scrap piece of paper' , God knows where I got the pinouts from,  to remind me of mains cables (Also US, AUS, IEC) etc
In the below photo the
                                 TOP socket is Neutral
                                 CENTRE  Ground
                                 BOTTOM is Active/Line
Is this correct???
Thanks guys
Robert

[Cubdriver]

OK not Nixie gear but often related to it. PINOUT of LL14847
I am in the process of making some US LL14847 cables into AUS cables - I am now confused - two premade cables have different pinouts!
In my 'scrap piece of paper' , God knows where I got the pinouts from,  to remind me of mains cables (Also US, AUS, IEC) etc
In the below photo the
                                 TOP socket is Neutral
                                 CENTRE  Ground
                                 BOTTOM is Active/Line
Is this correct???
Thanks guys
Robert

Rob -

That is correct - HP used the 'reverse polarity' version.  As you have it drawn and labeled is the proper wiring for old HP gear.  I posted a link to a website showing this a while back, but I'll be damned if I can find it now.  Ugh!  I did just confirm by measuring one of my PH 163 HP type power cords just now, though.

-Pat

[VK5RC]

Thanks Pat, I recalled vaguely ( as most of my recollections are now!) you commenting about it, but I couldn't find any links myself.
I suppose the good thing is most HP gear, both mains leads are isolated.
Thanks
Robert

[bitseeker]

I also recall that peculiarity and have seen a page online about some devices using reversed polarity (not just HP's). Alas, I am unable to re-find the info.

[Cubdriver]

Well, I just found the page link I was referring to.  Reply 230 above.  And i now know why I couldn't find it earlier today - the page is apparently gone - I get a 404 error now.     

Oh well, at least we know what the connector is (a PH 163), and that the polarity is reversed on old HP stuff, and at least a few of us have linecords that can be checked to confirm the proper pinout.

-Pat

[bitseeker]

Here's a copy on archive.org:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160802081036/http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~hilpert/e/powerConn/index.html

And just in case it disappears, a quote of the relevant part about the 163:

To my observation, the most popular of the predecessors to the IEC C13/C14 standard is that shown in the photo to the right. This is sometimes referred to as an "oval" connector, although the shape is not really oval or elliptical. It was used extensively by Hewlett-Packard and many other manufacturers in the 1960's. The earliest instances of use I have noted are on a HP-3440A DVM from 1965 and a Friden SBT10 mechanical calculator, manufactured in 1964 but introduced in 1959. Connectors of this type were still being installed on new equipment up to at least the late 1970's.

Some documentation indicates the cord outlet was designated as PH-163. For purposes here I'm going to refer to the format as the '163' type, for lack of any better designation.

Belden manufactured cordsets with these connectors. Apparently the power-cord division of Belden is now part of Volex. The Belden/Volex part numbers for North American cordsets (common NEMA 5-15P cord inlet (plug) on the other end) are 17952 and 17280, the two having different polarisation (more on this below).

Most of the cordsets I have encountered with this connector have the Belden name on them, even those which also have a more prominent equipment manufacturer label. Perhaps it was a Belden design that they successfully marketed to many equipment manufacturers, to become a de-facto standard.

Polarisation

Somehow the 163 connectors ended up being used with both possible orientations of the Line and Neutral connections, as indicated in the photo. Earth managed to stay in the middle. All the instances of use in Hewlett-Packard and other equipment I have run across are connected one way, consistent with the Belden 17952 cordset. Of course, UL and CSA had to designate the opposite way, reflected in the Belden 17280 cordset.

How much of a crisis this is depends upon how much of a stickler one is for such safety issues. It is primarily a concern when servicing or working inside equipment, it is not likely to be an issue for basic operation. Here's one take on it: DOE-Hanford - Lesson Learned.

Ain't standards great.

Dimensions & Rating

• Pin diameter: 0.12in (3mm)
• Separation of outer two pins: 5/8in (16mm) center-to-center
• Housing: 1/2in (13mm) by 15/16-1in (24-25mm) (nominal)
• Rating: 125V / 7A.

Attached is a photo of the pinout from that site.

[Cubdriver]

Nice find, bitseeker.  Good call on 'archiving' it here!  That's the bad thing about the interwebs - good info can up and vanish without warning.

-Pat

[VK5RC]

Thanks pat and bitseeker  - I feel justified in my confusion - fortunately all my type 163 connectors are all HP .
I will put a link in the Repair Post.
Robert

[TheSteve]

They are beautiful!

Two screws and the entire display module unplugs.

[Johnny10]

TheSteve,

You are making me jealous.

[james_s]

I picked up this Keithley 160 from ebay about 15 years ago, I don't remember how much I paid but it wasn't very much. I think I bought it for the tubes but then realized it was in nice condition and works. Now I got a calibration standard so I pulled out the meter to try it out, after warming up for a bit it's pretty much dead on which is impressive given it probably hasn't been calibrated in at least 30 years.

[bitseeker]

That's a beauty, James. I'm glad you didn't strip it for the tchoobs.

[BU508A]

There is a really nice meter on ebay with five Z566M Nixies and one Z567M:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/252841505068

Pity, seller is shipping the meter only to Germany.

But the pictures are great.

[bitseeker]

That is really cool. Never saw one of those before. It's interesting that the tubes themselves are red, too. Attaching some photos here for posterity.

[james_s]

I have some red coated Nixie tubes. The coating provides a built in filter and contrast boost without requiring a separate filter.