BulbCollector Forums

BULB BANTER => General Discussion => Topic started by: danrufus on December 23, 2007, 09:29:49 pm

Title: Antique Digital Bulbs: Need Information
Post by: danrufus on December 23, 2007, 09:29:49 pm

I would like to find some antique bulbs approximately one inch high that can display numbers 0 to 9 to recreate a clock i saw in a gallery.

does anyone have any info?

thanks.

Title: Re: Antique Digital Bulbs: Need Information
Post by: Chris W. Millinship on December 24, 2007, 08:32:28 am

Sounds like a Nixie tube.

(http://bulbmuseum.net/nixiecounter.jpg)

Though not made for a good many years now, the tubes are still available. To buy some, simplest thing would be to search Ebay for "nixie tube". Several of the later versions made in the former Soviet Union are commonly found and not too expensive. You can also often find Nixie driver boards and parts of old test equipment like that counter board up there, which can be used as the basis for clock designs. And there is a load of information on the tubes and driver circuits out there, here is just one page with details on building a simple AC-driven clock (http://electricstuff.co.uk/nixclock.html).

:)

Title: Re: Antique Digital Bulbs: Need Information
Post by: Dimbulb on January 30, 2008, 11:25:53 pm

Danrufus,

While in the army during the early seventies I used a computer that utilized Nixie tubes in its' display. When running a system check of some sort all of the tubes would cycle through all possible illumination configurations. It was pretty impressive looking so I made a point of initiating the process to impress people whenever I had the chance. The "Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer" (FADAC) was used for determining azimuth, elevation, and etceteras.

Good luck with your clock project!

DimBulb