How to power a Nixie tube?

[Azhar]

Do we need to build a circuit to light up a Nixie tube? or we can do it with just a power source?

[amyk]

Depends how you want to light it up...

[Azhar]

I have a ten digit Nixie tube, and wanted to light up the digits one by one! is that possible by applying voltage directly to it?

[Psi]

You could just have 10 switches but you need a high voltage source.

Just how high a voltage depends on the nixie tube you have.

[Azhar]

Does that mean, they work normally like any LED display? I don't need another power source to heat a filament for example?

[Paul Price]

The Nixies require a low-current, Usually unregulated, approx 140V to 170V (depending on the Nixie type)power source connected to a common anode and a current limiting resistor is connected to each numerical or other symbol display cathode pin. The other side of the current limiting resistor connects to the collector of a  HV small transistor that is turned on and off at logic level voltages with a resistor to its base, and the emitter of the Nixie driver transistor connects to ground.

Sometimes a small pot-core transformer is used with a oscillator circuit to generate a 140V source from a logic level power supply voltage.

for more info, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_tube

[Azhar]

Thanks a lot! thank you all