Uploaded July 2009 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I got the crazy idea of using a Xenon flash tube for NBTV into my head so I decided to investigate it. Here's the result - not the end result but a result. I still have to make a Nipkow disc and see what it looks like.
The video doesn't show the flickering the bulb produces very well but you can see it fading in and out. I left my lamp off to show how bright the bulb can get, so it is a little difficult to see the wiring. Not that you want to anyway.
Circuit diagram is here kaput.retroarchive.org/xenon_nbtv.png
The resistor values could probably be optimised, I just used whatever I had about, mostly out of an old television chassis. The transistor connected to the tube is out of the power supply and can withstand up to 400V and about 3.5A. It needs to be connected to a heatsink. The other one is out of the cathode driving circuit.
I got the crazy idea of using a Xenon flash tube for NBTV into my head so I decided to investigate it. Here's the result - not the end result but a result. I still have to make a Nipkow disc and see what it looks like.
The video doesn't show the flickering the bulb produces very well but you can see it fading in and out. I left my lamp off to show how bright the bulb can get, so it is a little difficult to see the wiring. Not that you want to anyway.
Circuit diagram is here kaput.retroarchive.org/xenon_nbtv.png
The resistor values could probably be optimised, I just used whatever I had about, mostly out of an old television chassis. The transistor connected to the tube is out of the power supply and can withstand up to 400V and about 3.5A. It needs to be connected to a heatsink. The other one is out of the cathode driving circuit.
