Handmade nixie goodness
October 2, 2016 1:47 PM Subscribe
Reminds me of a Robert Bresson movie. A kind of suspended sense of time and many very careful and exact actions.
posted by bertran at 2:50 PM on October 2, 2016
posted by bertran at 2:50 PM on October 2, 2016
Gorgeous work - thanks for posting.
posted by grimjeer at 2:57 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by grimjeer at 2:57 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Dalibor Farny is mentioned in the Wiccuhpeedia page on Nixie Tubes, under 'revival'.
Wp mentions, but does not resolve, the issue over whether they were named for the mythical shape-shifting water sprite.
Wp also discusses the fact that "Nixie" was a trademark owned by Burroughs, so when I said that there were nixie tubes in the xerox machine I created a double instance of genericized "lost" trademarks.
posted by Herodios at 2:57 PM on October 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
Wp mentions, but does not resolve, the issue over whether they were named for the mythical shape-shifting water sprite.
Wp also discusses the fact that "Nixie" was a trademark owned by Burroughs, so when I said that there were nixie tubes in the xerox machine I created a double instance of genericized "lost" trademarks.
posted by Herodios at 2:57 PM on October 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
His nixie tube clock is 1700$. It's easy to see why, given the amount of skilled labor, infrastructure and specialized material needed
posted by Dmenet at 3:15 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Dmenet at 3:15 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Similar Nixie tube clocks using NOS vintage Nixies are $1000+. I don't think the guy is profiteering.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:17 PM on October 2, 2016
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:17 PM on October 2, 2016
The shout-out at the end is most likely to Ron Soyland, aka glasslinger, who has a lot of fun videos on YouTube. If you watch his early Nixie videos, you'll soon realize that Dalibor made it look quite a bit easier than it is :-)
(Ron mentions a Dalibor in the description of his Nixiepet video)
posted by effbot at 3:42 PM on October 2, 2016
(Ron mentions a Dalibor in the description of his Nixiepet video)
posted by effbot at 3:42 PM on October 2, 2016
This man is an artist magician scientist King! Maybe there is hope for humans. Thank you for this so much!
posted by eggkeeper at 3:48 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by eggkeeper at 3:48 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Glad someone is keeping the true meaning of "tube" alive; between YouTube and "a series of tubes", the internet has really demeaned a lovely piece of terminology.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:54 PM on October 2, 2016
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:54 PM on October 2, 2016
I think I like the new Nixies better than the old ones.
Might be the font, or the size of them.
(I did like the tiny old ones, but these are bold.)
posted by MtDewd at 4:19 PM on October 2, 2016
Might be the font, or the size of them.
(I did like the tiny old ones, but these are bold.)
posted by MtDewd at 4:19 PM on October 2, 2016
I don't think any sane person would accuse him of profiteering. But if he were, profiteer on, dude! It's not as though people are being robbed for seeking that cancer curing free energy Nixie glow.
Does give a hint why the Nixie tube had virtually gone the way of the dodo, though. That said, I've seen some small Nixie tubes for sale from a China source, looked like it could have been new production. I think they may be aimed at the Arduino/diy market.
posted by 2N2222 at 4:29 PM on October 2, 2016
Does give a hint why the Nixie tube had virtually gone the way of the dodo, though. That said, I've seen some small Nixie tubes for sale from a China source, looked like it could have been new production. I think they may be aimed at the Arduino/diy market.
posted by 2N2222 at 4:29 PM on October 2, 2016
More importantly than the clock price, he wants $145 USD / piece for the tubes. Sounds pretty damned reasonable considering!
It would be great to see him grow the business. Some economies of scale could help the price, but for me the ability to order a custom tubes with unique symbols.. Too fantastic.
posted by Chuckles at 4:50 PM on October 2, 2016
It would be great to see him grow the business. Some economies of scale could help the price, but for me the ability to order a custom tubes with unique symbols.. Too fantastic.
posted by Chuckles at 4:50 PM on October 2, 2016
Neat! I've been making some edge-lit numeric displays using laser-engraved acrylic. They're really easy to drive with a 74LS42
posted by scruss at 5:41 PM on October 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by scruss at 5:41 PM on October 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
At the end I noticed a tube in the upper left of the test machine had a non-functioning 6-digit. After all that work, how tragic!
posted by books for weapons at 6:18 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by books for weapons at 6:18 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
More importantly than the clock price, he wants $145 USD / piece for the tubes. Sounds pretty damned reasonable considering!
It looks like the old tube it's based on goes for around $250, so $145 for such a beautiful handmade tube with a warranty sounds even more reasonable.
posted by bradf at 6:23 PM on October 2, 2016
It looks like the old tube it's based on goes for around $250, so $145 for such a beautiful handmade tube with a warranty sounds even more reasonable.
posted by bradf at 6:23 PM on October 2, 2016
I have a Nixie tube volt meter that I bought at an auction years ago. It still works. It has a label stating that it was due for calibration in 1972. My first digital meter.
posted by Jumpin Jack Flash at 6:42 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Jumpin Jack Flash at 6:42 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Neat! I've been making some edge-lit numeric displays using laser-engraved acrylic. They're really easy to drive with a 74LS42
Do you have any photos of these online, scruss? I'd be interested in seeing them.
posted by Songdog at 7:15 PM on October 2, 2016
Do you have any photos of these online, scruss? I'd be interested in seeing them.
posted by Songdog at 7:15 PM on October 2, 2016
Thanks for posting! That video was like the high-tech version of the guy in Australia who makes huts in the woods.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 7:23 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mon-ma-tron at 7:23 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
→ Do you have any photos of these online
Just one, of a very early prototype: Homebrew edge lit numerals. I really need to get a better handle on stray light transmission, and the font I used was a little heavy. The next prototype will have bigger slides for more even light distribution, and also use a properly etiolated Nixie-style font I've just cooked up.
posted by scruss at 7:26 PM on October 2, 2016 [8 favorites]
Just one, of a very early prototype: Homebrew edge lit numerals. I really need to get a better handle on stray light transmission, and the font I used was a little heavy. The next prototype will have bigger slides for more even light distribution, and also use a properly etiolated Nixie-style font I've just cooked up.
posted by scruss at 7:26 PM on October 2, 2016 [8 favorites]
Yikes, those are huge. I guess if you're going to go into production you have to aim for the high end where the margins are highest. If you're on a budget you don't need to spend several grand. Techmoan did a review a few months ago of fully assembled Nixie clocks that you can buy for around $100 to $250 for four to six digits, and which use smaller (but still quite readable) tubes. He's also done several reviews of Nixie wristwatches (!): 2010, 2013, and 2016.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:10 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Rhomboid at 11:10 PM on October 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
At the end I noticed a tube in the upper left of the test machine had a non-functioning 6-digit. After all that work, how tragic!
This isn’t really a problem for most clocks, because the most significant digit (tens of hours) only ever displays “0”, “1”, or “2” (but it can be if the clock does something fancy like display date or temperature).
You can’t put one in a $1700 clock, or sell it at full the full price of $145, but it could be sold as a flawed item for a lower price. Someone out there will buy it.
The sky’s the limit on Nixie tubes. Rodan CD47s (22 cm tall) can sell for $1500 when one comes on the market. That’s a $10 k clock. I believe F9020AA tubes would go for more, if you could convince a collector to part with one. Google doesn’t turn up any public sales (ever, not just at present).
posted by Fongotskilernie at 1:01 AM on October 3, 2016
This isn’t really a problem for most clocks, because the most significant digit (tens of hours) only ever displays “0”, “1”, or “2” (but it can be if the clock does something fancy like display date or temperature).
You can’t put one in a $1700 clock, or sell it at full the full price of $145, but it could be sold as a flawed item for a lower price. Someone out there will buy it.
The sky’s the limit on Nixie tubes. Rodan CD47s (22 cm tall) can sell for $1500 when one comes on the market. That’s a $10 k clock. I believe F9020AA tubes would go for more, if you could convince a collector to part with one. Google doesn’t turn up any public sales (ever, not just at present).
posted by Fongotskilernie at 1:01 AM on October 3, 2016
I've been making some edge-lit numeric displays using laser-engraved acrylic.
When I was a teenager my father let me use the antiquated equipment in his lab, which even in the 1970's was generally two generations old and donated from a more affluent university. He had a rack mountable digital voltmeter using edge lit numerics, with tiny incandescent light bulbs and glass etched number slides. The whole thing was powered by stepping relays driving a comparator with precision resistors until the comparator output matched the input voltage.
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:44 PM on October 3, 2016
When I was a teenager my father let me use the antiquated equipment in his lab, which even in the 1970's was generally two generations old and donated from a more affluent university. He had a rack mountable digital voltmeter using edge lit numerics, with tiny incandescent light bulbs and glass etched number slides. The whole thing was powered by stepping relays driving a comparator with precision resistors until the comparator output matched the input voltage.
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:44 PM on October 3, 2016
He had a rack mountable digital voltmeter using edge lit numerics, with tiny incandescent light bulbs and glass etched number slides.
So circa 1953-1960 or so, judging from an article I happened to have open in another tab after googling for edge lit designs yesterday: The First Digital Voltmeters and the Birth of Test Automation.
posted by effbot at 4:50 PM on October 3, 2016
So circa 1953-1960 or so, judging from an article I happened to have open in another tab after googling for edge lit designs yesterday: The First Digital Voltmeters and the Birth of Test Automation.
posted by effbot at 4:50 PM on October 3, 2016
The first digital voltmeter I used was the Digitec 266. IBM mainframes had ridiculous voltage tolerances then: +/-.005VDC (1970's MST-2), and this could handle it.
(Not Nixie, though)
posted by MtDewd at 4:38 PM on October 4, 2016
(Not Nixie, though)
posted by MtDewd at 4:38 PM on October 4, 2016
God, how I want a Nixie tube clock. I'm not a grasping materialist or anything, but those things really just delight me.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:19 PM on October 6, 2016
posted by wenestvedt at 4:19 PM on October 6, 2016
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Great find, very interesting. This zinc-plated vacuum tube culture is the one I grew up in. Nixie tubes were everywhere -- like clocks and the displays of high tech wonders like "Xerox Machines" -- that is, photocopiers.
A lot of the machinery and test equipment he's using also has that post-WWII Science Fiction Theater look, too. Very familiar mid 20th century 'style'.
But -- well, you can see why they don't mass produce them anymore. Care to unpack that, Dalibor?
His website says the 17th century castle was the closest place for rent, competitively priced, almost empty, and "has unbeatable spirit".
The world needs more monomaniacs like you, Dali.
posted by Herodios at 2:39 PM on October 2, 2016 [4 favorites]