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Re: Pressure adjustments for smaller tubes
Though not as complete as Jeff's explanation, well said Tom. Jeff,
when you refer to unionized gases, what local do they belong to?:-)
When I first became involved with neon, snaking fascinated me as an
artistic effect (still does). I asked anyone in the field I could
find, how the effect is achieved and only got advice on how it could
be avoided. The two leading clues were high pressure and/or
impurities. Eventually I played with a technique where I added very finely
ground iron and a somewhat higher than normal pressure for arg-merc.
I have at least one piece that has consistently wiggled for 15 years
and physically looks quite clean. But I have many others that did not
work out as well. The joke used to be if a customer asked why a tube
was wiggling, the answer was "you usually have to pay extra for
that". Best example I've ever seen was an Astrologer's sign that
slowly and eerily snaked for years.
Never been able to isolate those groovy pinwheels for more than a
week or so.
> The snaking is simply a matter of path of least resistance. In a high
> pressure situation there is inherently more resistance to begin with so the
...
> Anyway, the charts are just a guideline for normal case situations. I like
> Kenny's little program because it figures out mixed loads (merc and neon)
> nicely. I am not sure if he factored in short or longer tube lengths in the
> mix but it certainly is useful for the ability to mix transformer sizes to
> what you have on the shelf. Nice job, Kenny!
>
Thanks for the compliment! I'm fixing a couple of cosmetic things that I've
noticed, so there may be a 1.0a minor revision soon. I'm not sure what you
mean by factoring long vs. short tubes. This version does essentially
the same thing as a standard chart (with both its advantages and
disadvantages). The main advantage as you say is the ability to mix
gases, diameters, lengths to your hearts content. This disadvantage
as you will see with the standard chart is that there are situations
which generate a different answer depending on where you start. The
next major revision will add the volts per foot method that inspired
Bruce's online version. The two methods together will be a pretty
good guesstimate. But folks, don't forget to use your meter!
And here's where everything is:
Bruce's calculator is at:
http://devserve.cebaf.gov:80/~bowling/transformer.html
My front end to his program (which makes it a bit easier) is at
http://www.neonshop.com/neonweb/transcalc.html
The server that Bruce is on is unreliable. He has given me the C code
so that I can install it on my site. Just haven't had the chance to
compile it yet. I should do this soon. Bruce somehow got bumped
from neon-l and I'm not sure why he is unable to get back on.
My Neon Lite 1.0 program for Windows is available for free at:
http://www.neonshop.com/software/nlite10.zip
If you do not have the necessary vbrun300.dll file in your
Windows/System directory (usually you will) I placed a copy at:
http://www.neonshop.com/software/vbrun300.zip
Kenny
Kenny Greenberg -- Neon - Scenic and Environmental Art
Internet Site Consultant and Author
KRYPTON NEON 34-43 Vernon Blvd Long Island City, NY 11106
Phone: 718-728-4450 Fax: 718-728-7206
http://www.neonshop.com - The Internet's Neon Shop
http://www.licweb.com - The Long Island City Web