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NEON- more pinhole suckins...



I've just gotten an entire load (approx 30 units) of clear-red repairs.
About 80% of them have the proverbial "pinhole suckin" we talked about
earlier.  This is a hole in the double back right where the electrode
aims:

              -----  <-------- here
             |  _  |
             | | | |
             | | | |
             | | | |
             | |  -
             | |
             | |
             | |

On every one:  the suck in is indeed right where a bullet would land if
fired from the trode shell.

All are 15mm clear red.  Most around 5-7 feet.  I didn't make any of
these, but they appear to be not that old (they're Eurocom 'trodes,
glass is still clear and fresh, boots still intact, etc).

There is more sputtering than I would expect for tubes of this age, so I
am assuming that the fill may have been too low.

What I'd always assumed from seeing these before is that the 'trode
arced thru to the metal letter, or a piece of GTO.  After discussing
this on the list several months ago, examining these units (and talking
to the installers), I agree this is NOT what's happening.

Anyway, I'm really interested in the electron bombardment theory (or is
it a known fact?)  Why would electrons emit in such a narrow, focused
beam? George Doll mentioned that Al Sklar wrote an article on pinhole
suckins - does anyone know where I can find a copy?

    -John

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