•
To make the tube stand upright, solder just three leads at the beginning (e.g. pin 1, pin6
and pin 10). This makes a sort of “tripod” out of the pins you have solderedm and you
can then easily align the tube so that it is perfectly upright by reheating only one of the
pins at a time. Once the tubes are upright and aligned, you can solder the remaining
pins.
•
If you want to test the tube before you finally solder it, you can turn the clock on while
only the first three pins are soldered, and usually all of the segments will work. Make
sure you don’t short out the remaining leads.
•
For last resort, final, small adjustments when all the pins are soldered, you can force the
tube slightly so the leads give. It is best to align the tubes without force. IN-14 tubes are
robust, but they are made of glass and must be treated with care.
•
Once the tubes are mounted, you can trim the colon LEDs to match the height of the
tubes.
