- Joined
- Oct 18, 2013
- Messages
- 931
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- 83
Hello! So I'm one of the lucky ones who got one of those tiny little 6 HeNe tubes and matching PSUs that Ultimatekaiser was selling a while back.
I just got the ballast resistor in the mail today, and I wired it all up the way UK showed me, and the tube lights up and I get a tiny red dot out the end, but I'm getting a fizzing noise from the tube, and I can see the plasma in the tube flickering a bit. I only ran it a few seconds in case something might damage the tube.
I *think* its the the connections I've made to the tube. I don't have proper clips so i just wrapped the wires from the PSU around where the clips would go. Could that be the problem?
The only other thing I think it could be is that there isn't enough power going into the PSU. It says it needs 7-9 volts (no mA input rating), I'm just running it off a 9-volt battery. Would a 9-volt battery not provide enough current perhaps?
Also, one last thing, I've heard how HeNe tubes hold an electrical charge, so now I've basically got a quarantine on my desk where the tube is because I'm scared to touch it now.
Can any part of the tube shock me? Like the glass tube part? Or only the metal parts?
How can I safely discharge it? I've got 2 75K ohm 5 Watt resistors, if I put them in series and shorted the cathode and anode of the tube with them would that work?
Thanks!
I just got the ballast resistor in the mail today, and I wired it all up the way UK showed me, and the tube lights up and I get a tiny red dot out the end, but I'm getting a fizzing noise from the tube, and I can see the plasma in the tube flickering a bit. I only ran it a few seconds in case something might damage the tube.
I *think* its the the connections I've made to the tube. I don't have proper clips so i just wrapped the wires from the PSU around where the clips would go. Could that be the problem?
The only other thing I think it could be is that there isn't enough power going into the PSU. It says it needs 7-9 volts (no mA input rating), I'm just running it off a 9-volt battery. Would a 9-volt battery not provide enough current perhaps?
Also, one last thing, I've heard how HeNe tubes hold an electrical charge, so now I've basically got a quarantine on my desk where the tube is because I'm scared to touch it now.
Can any part of the tube shock me? Like the glass tube part? Or only the metal parts?
How can I safely discharge it? I've got 2 75K ohm 5 Watt resistors, if I put them in series and shorted the cathode and anode of the tube with them would that work?
Thanks!