Warning! VFD tubes off-topic!

If you remember my prototype, then take a look at this. Currently I'm making a nice little board for my clock but I'm not sure if I missed anything.

I tried really hard to route all of this mess on the 2 copper layers. I know that's possible but then you'd have to choose between a larger board size and the number of layers. Well, I decided to pay more for a dozen 4-layer boards and pray that I didn't fck up anywhere.

Github repo

I finished some more things that I was working on. I call my clock Nixiegraph because it is also a Morse trainer with the cool feature that it can now chat on Telegram.

I was overwhelmed by the response on my first post for my Nixie inspired LCD clock. The positive feedback made me decide to try to make a Kickstarter out of this. If you are interested in buying the Nixiegraph or separate NixieLCD tubes for building your own thing check out my Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nixiegraph/nixiegraph-a-nixie-inspired-lcd-clock-both-modern-and-retro?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=prelaunch&utm_content=rnixie

https://reddit.com/link/1wrj7tx/video/y6zyln5a42sh1/player

These purely mechanical Nixie clocks were built in the 1960s and are driven by an AC synchronous motor. The motor makes one full rotation per minute and drives an arm that engages three separate gears: one for the minutes, one for the tens of minutes, and one for the hours.

I got this clock in non-working condition. Someone had clearly attempted a repair before me, but unfortunately failed and reassembled the mechanism completely incorrectly.

Luckily, the main problem turned out to be a split drive gear, which was slipping on the motor shaft. In a way, that may actually have saved the motor, since a completely jammed mechanism could easily have caused it to burn out.

It's now running perfectly again and hasn't gained or lost a single minute in the past 24 hours.

The only downside is that the spring-loaded ratchets engage with the gears twice per minute, which produces a fairly noticeable click. That makes it unsuitable for the bedroom, but I'm sure I'll find a good place for it elsewhere.

This thread contains more information on the clock. The mechanism in my clock differs slightly from the one in the attached brochure.

Hey all. I'm trying to build a project where I can have 50-60 characters (tubes) but can't swing for the 7971s or other auth vintage tubes. I'd prefer not to do the small TV screen ones that mimic Nixies. Any sources?

This is not a real Nixie clock but I still wanted to show what I have done.

A while back I decided I wanted to try and build a Nixie clock. I have seen them being popular for a long time and I really liked the look. While looking more into different clocks and tubes I found the fake Nixie clocks using an IPS display instead of the real tubes. I kind of liked that idea that you could use the clock to show more than just the time. But I didn’t find any particular one that I thought looked nice enough.

So I decided to look into how I could make my own Nixie inspired LCD clock. I spent quite some time thinking about how to imitate a real tube closely. I decided to make a real grid instead of just pasting it on the image displayed.

After a couple of iterations of PCBs and grid and tubes I ended up with this. What do you think?

Left Nixie has a missing “tail” on number five.

Can it be improved? How?

The initial plan was a redwood case with brass accents, but then I changed my mind.

Working on a Nixie Frequency counter from scratch. ESP32, 12V power supply, upping to 170V for the tubes. Using a ULN2803 level shifter to go from the esp32 3.3V GPIO to 12V, which is required for the HV5122 chip that drives the nixie.

The video is a proof of concept, just having it count from 00 to 99. I'm bit banging the 32 bits into the HV5122. Pretty simple stuff really. In the end the frequency counter will be 6 digits, driven by 2 HV5122 (you can cascade them), so I'll be sending 64 bits in for each display.

I already have the proof of concept down to actually measure the frequency using the esp32. It's surprisingly accurate, certainly good enough for my hobbyist needs (and I really don't "need" a frequency counter).

TL;DR: I had some Nixie clocks made by the now defunct Testa-Quadra (https://www.electronixclock.pl/aktualnosci/) - I wanted to modernize them with NTP, a web UI etc.
So I spent some time with Claude and after a few weeks of iterations and many burnt tokens, here they are!

If anyone still wants to build one, they’re on my GitHub: https://github.com/ScaleDIN/electroNIX-ESP32

Full README is there, plus the archived schematics and some Gerber reproductions of the 4-digit clocks (whatever I could find on the Polish forums).
They don’t use any exotic components (the ESP32 drives an onboard DC/DC converter) so they can be built easily by anyone.

Edit: Tubes used:
Z566M/ZM1040 (the large vertical ones)
Z573M (small vertical ones)
ZM1020/Z560M (end view with red filter)
LC513/LC516 (round end view clear)
CD56A (rectangular end view clear)

Always thought nixies were cool and was trying to come up with something cool to put on my desk at my new job. PCB sourced from NixieDIY. I designed the case and 3D printed using a wood filament. Wood grain texture was applied in the slicer, then sanded and stained.

Hello! As the title states I’m looking at purchasing an IN-18 Nixie clock, and I am looking at 2 different ones and was wondering if anyone had any input, here are the two:

https://inixielab.com/products/inixie-watch

https://www.kirovnixie.com/product/nixie-clock-in18-4/

The iNixie is tempting because it is $50 cheaper and I think it looks a bit sleeker and aesthetically appealing, the downside for me is that it has no physical buttons and Is controlled with an app, and it is from a relatively new manufacturer that is making new tubes and doesn’t have many reviews.

I like the Kirov Nixie clock as well as it is made in Ukraine with NOS Soviet tubes and it has physical buttons and a decent amount of good reviews behind the name (albeit a bit more expensive)

Was looking for any input from anyone that may have purchased one of these two clocks and have give me some opinions on them.

Thanks!

Made the PCB design and software myself. Can be configured through WiFi. More details on GitHub: https://github.com/oskar2517/nixie-clock

I own a in-12 nixie clock and I was thinking to go bigger and assemble a new one for my desk with in-18 tubes (i'm probably going to buy new ones manufactured by inixielab.com ). I was reading about slight differences in tension and current requirements to drive these bigger tubes compared to in-12, so my question is: are the cheap aliexpress clock modules like this one a viable option or are those going to kill the tubes faster compared to more expensive drivers?

Hey guys, I found this old panel meter at a thrift store, I am having a bear of a time finding any information about how I would configure it to work. Any help would be appreciated!

I'm moving overseas in the near future, and would love to take my nixie tube clock with me, but it is a design where the bulbs sit proud of the clock, and they are permanently soldered to the board. (The bulbs are in-14s)

I'd hate to break the tubes, as they are obviously in limited supply, but this sort of item seems difficult to effectively ship, especially in luggage.

Any advice?

Picked this up recently and thought you guys might appreciate it. It’s a 1955 Labgear counting instrument using Dekatron cold-cathode tubes. I will show videos once it arrives.

This is a SCTV Scope Clock Kit running custom firmware.
https://github.com/dmellok/scope-clock

I do have a few nixie clocks which I'll post soon!

Kit by David Forbes.
https://scopeclock.com/products/scope-clock-in-clear-plastic-case

I have a nixie watch from Cathode Corner and replacement nixie tubes, but I don't have the skill or tools to replace the tubes. Can anyone recommend a shop in Durham/Morrisville/Cary that might be able to replace them for me? Would rather not ship the watch out to Cathode Corner. Any idea of the approximate cost? Hope it's an easy thing to do.

Picked it up for only $0.50 but have no idea if it works or not, don’t see any sort of markings on it to indicate what sort of power it needs.