I was wanting a sidereal clock for my observatory, which let me down various rabbit holes....where I discovered this, non-sidereal, but cool bit of kit
A retro style Nixi tube clock....and even better it was not that expensive plus made in Ukraine (whom I am very happy to support )
Nixie tubes were used in Soviet era military equipment like guidance, radar and comms displays. Maybe the Ukrainians have discovered a ready supply recently.
The service from the Ukrainian vendors was simply excellent.
UPS have closed all of their stores in Ukraine (for obvious reasons) , hence apparently the package was
driven into Poland then shipped by UPS from there.
Took a bit over a week and the modest price included shipping!
The clock is now pride of place on my desktop. It has this weird "steam punk" Uber cool look. Very happy
Nixie tubes were used in Soviet era military equipment like guidance, radar and comms displays. Maybe the Ukrainians have discovered a ready supply recently.
Chris
Reviewing their website it looks like the build everything in-house, tubes included. Also, a bit of R&D.
Reviewing their website it looks like the build everything in-house, tubes included. Also, a bit of R&D.
They make the nixie tubes? I'm not so sure.
From their FAQ:
What is the average lifetime of a Nixie tube?
..."since all the Nixie tubes that we use in our clocks were discontinued 30 years ago (the last batch's date code was dated to the late 80s) there is a chance that some of the tubes may die earlier."...
What is the difference between Nixie tubes?
..." The most available and common Nixie tube IN-14 has a upside-down "2". Due to some reasons (probably economy) soviet engineers decided to reuse some materials." ...
Whatever, still a fantastic way to make your observatory look like a Soviet missile silo.
Ordering the Nixie clock in wooden case with black PCB and acrylic top, but decided on the In-8-2 tubes because I don't like the upside down 2 representing a 5 on the In-14 tubes. I also decided to order a couple spare tubes given what Chris pointed out on the Nixie website.
Ordering the Nixie clock in wooden case with black PCB and acrylic top, but decided on the In-8-2 tubes because I don't like the upside down 2 representing a 5 on the In-14 tubes. I also decided to order a couple spare tubes given what Chris pointed out on the Nixie website.
My Nixie Clock arrived yesterday.
I ordered the Ashwood perforated enclosure with an acrylic clear top and the IN-8-2 tubes.
It's even better than I expected, simply beautiful to look at.
