Hypothetically what’s the simplest way to run a NE-2 lamp off say a 9 volt battery nowadays? The Radio Shack “Goofy Lights” kit that I had as a kid used a 9 volt battery and an inverter with discrete components including a huge transformer. I’m aware that single chip DC-DC converters are as common as dirt now, but I can’t seem to find any DC to AC. Most of my searching turns up the huge brick like devices that plug into a car socket. Is there a single chip solution for low voltage, low current DC, say 5 to 12 volts, to 90-120 volts or so AC?
Well, you need some external components, but something like this will work.
Neon lamps run fine on DC. I assume you’re looking for a small self-contained module, not necessarily literally single-chip.
Look for Nixie tube drivers on eBay. Nixie tubes are just special neon lamps. Something like this power supply should work for you–low voltage input, high voltage output. Can tune the output voltage to get the brightness you need.