[sdiy] Will Reverse Voltage Harm a Nixie Tube?

[Colin f]

> >>It's just a neon bulb with more than 2 electrodes, there is 
> no polarity,
> >>you could test them with AC as long as you have a proper 
> current limiting
> >>series resistor.
> >
> >That's what I was thinking, but all the applications I've 
> ever seen used
> >DC, and they seemed to care about the polarity.
> 
> DC is easier to switch on and off.  But really, the system 
> could run with
> reverse DC polarity as long as all of the switching components are of
> reversed polarity (i.e. NPN vs. PNP).

You can probably run a Nixie with reverse polarity, but I wouldn't expect it
to show you any numbers.
You want to energise the neon around the digit shaped cathodes.
If the electrons are coming from the common grid instead, it'll probably
just look fuzzy.

Cheers,
Colin f