Bruce W. Ellis wrote:
On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 06:51:53 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa
wrote:

On Apr 3, 10:34 am, JIMMIE wrote:
I have a Systron Donner frequency counter that uses Nixie tubes. The
counter works fine but I am forever replacing the Nixie drivers
74141s. I started to use it this AM an one was out. Is there a
replacement for the 74141, I couldnt find one, or is there a circuit I
could build on a DIP header to replace them. I could probably design
one but I wanted something tried an tested as I dont want to put my
counter board at more risk than I have to.
Domestic 74141's are hard to find these days but on E-bay the Russian
equivalent is very common.

Yes, you could build just about anything with a one-of-ten decoder and
some current-sink drivers to do the same.

If the goal isn't nixie tubes but is a working frequency counter, you
could probably put the counter up on E-bay for somebody who wants
nixie tubes, and use the money to buy several superior frequency
counters.

Tim N3QE

Just remember to cut down on the voltage and current to the nixie
tubes and the 141s will last forever...


One risk with such chips is that a nixie element occasionally reaches
strike voltage while the respective driver output is off. Or doesn't
extinguish right away when turned off. Then the dissipation in the 55V
zeners inside might be too much to stomach for the little chip.
According to the datasheet those things aren't really high voltage switches.

--
73, Joerg