Time for a quick video?
A look at a couple of items that use Nixie Tubes, one new and one old.
As this is a shorter video, I do have plans to try and get another video finished before the weekend...but we'll see how that goes.
Comments (26)
I love that timer. I keep seeing cool vintage Iron Curtain nixie-based clocks and calculators on eBay but then I wonder if they'll work on US power. By the time I'm halfway through the Google search, the mania fades. :) But I'm still kicking myself for not buying that desk calculator with the huge 10 digit display I saw at a church rummage sale...when I was 14 years old.
There’s always the possibly of issues with older devices like this timer relying on 50hz power for their timing, however the newly built ones that use a DC power adaptor should be fine...I think...
TIME for a quick video. I see what you did there ;)
this has now become my favourite thing ever..
How about reviewing one of THESE? It combines your two loves: VU meters and nixie tubes! <a href="https://theawesomer.com/nixie-tube-spectrum-visualizer/450965/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://theawesomer.com/nixie-tube-spectrum-visualizer/450965/</a>
There’s the small issue of the price....but it was fun to see. There is a nixielyzer kit on nixiekits.eu but I know someome who put one together and it wasn’t fun.
Good video. I would be interested to know what the battery life on the watch is like.
It’s very much dependant on how often the display is turned on, with minimal use it can last two months.
If odd clocks interest you, then check out this guy's clock collection: <a href="http://mcnally.cc/clock.htm" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://mcnally.cc/clock.htm</a>
Thanks, I'll take a look.
Are you sure the earth pin is missing? Looks to me like the plug is made for those european sockets where the earth contact is actally a pin sitting inside the wall socket itself.
Well it’s missing in the sense of it isn’t there...but as I was creating the links for the video I saw that the other models offered for sale had the same plug, so yes I could have worded it better....but never mind, it’s done now...and fixing the video would delay me starting on the next one by a day...so I’ll leave it as it is.
So the Nixie stopwatch is pre-1993, since Czechoslovakia existed between 1945-1992.
My best guess is that it’s from the 1970s
And thanks to the pesky WEEE you can't even produce and sell those here in Europe without, for example here in Germany, shoving tons of Euros down Stiftung EAR's and, if you don't want to fetch a container of E-Waste on pretty short notice yourself, Take-E-Way's troats.
Seems we jsut have to follow his eBay store, by searching I found several ended listings from him, guess he makes them then puts them on sale one by one, he's also put kits without case a few times. One like yours sold on October 3rd, don't know if it's yours or another piece. Definitely his nicest design IMO.
Dang that watch is awesome! Link above looks exactly liek it including the stand... too bad if it's unique :(
I’ve just had a look through my eBay history and it did come from him. Perhaps the video will encourage him to make some more.
Wow, I found the author of the watch: <a href="https://pikabu.ru/profile/ArtemPopov" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://pikabu.ru/profile/ArtemPopov</a> . Perhaps, just this watch is the only set.
If it is the same one - I feel very fortunate to own it.
Gosh, I had a few nixie tubes from Radio Shack back in the day, but sadly never used them. Pushing buttons for the time reminds me of my first digital watch in the early 70s, you had to push a button to see the time. Then one winter I pulled my acrylic sweater off while wearing that watch, and after that I got to enjoy the date January 32nd. So, maybe not EMP resistant, then.
That amused me - I got to thinking about how each year you'd have a day to yourself. Its almost the start of a short science fiction story.
Mat delivers once again! Thank you for sharing those Nixie treasures with us, they have a certain appeal! I remember seeing the Tweet regarding the Stopwatch Timer, all has now been revealed haha.
Not a pun... :D *snickers*
Looking forward to an extended Techmoan 'Technology From Behind The Iron Curtain' special soon :)
Funnily enough I do have an unusual Russian record player that I've been meaning to show at some point.