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Bombing, Neon Products 'trodes
Hello all,
I recall in past posts that some of you were using Neon Products
'trodes. I have used them for several years now with good success, but
have a weird phenomenon with their 12mm 50ma unit.
For me, this 'trode has always been hard to process, since it seemed very
easy to overprocess. Evidence of the overprocess was simply a slight
ring of soot on the ceramic collar around the hole.
What's weird is that I've recently found that this ring of soot has
nothing to do with overprocessing. When it occurs, it can be _completly_
removed by admitting about 3 torr of air and re-bombing a few seconds.
Like if never even happened. It can happen even with underprocessed
trodes. The only clue I have is the way is dissappears with re-heating.
I don't always get this soot. It seems to happen during the final heating
at 500ma. I have been taking some notes to try and indentify the
phenomenon, and it _seems_ to get worse at reduced pressures.
In a nutshell, my bombing proceedure is: warm tube, evacuate. Fill with
3 torr air, warm, increase to 225ma or so, when temp. crayon has shifted
color, go to 10x the 'trode rating (this case 500ma), reduce to 1 torr and
bomb till cherry red.
By the way, this soot seems to in no way effect the tube. My shop sign's
electrodes have this and have burned nearly 5 years with no aging effects
at all.
Anyway, does any of this make sense? I know form repairing other guys
stuff that this light ring of soot happens to others too.
-John Anderson
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