Want to build a soviet-era clock.

[saya_kucing]

So I've recently got into hobbies to do with soldering and electrical work, after modding my PC, working on my car and building/programming a quad-copter from scratch I'm almost ready for the next project; a Cold War era digital clock.

 

I've come here because I need you to convince me to fork out the $150 needed to build this bad boy, which I'm torn between my rhetoric of practicality and love of retro tech.

 

It's basically a modern PCB that you solder Nixie Tubes to in order to display a series of numbers. Each tube resembles an incandescent light bulb, only they each house 10 filaments shaped from numbers 0-9. The cons of this is that every tube has [at least] 10 points of failure - with the whole clock (assuming hours, minutes and seconds are being displayed) having 60 points of failure just in the filaments. Basically these tubes were a pre-cursor to LCD displays.

 

I've found that the Tubes can only be sourced from Russia and other former Soviet countries, and 6 tubes usually run around $30-50, depending on supplier. With the PCB coming in at around another $90 or so, this is one expensive, failure-prone - yet majestically elegant piece of technology.

 

This project would be strictly center piece material to show off and have on display around the house, but again - the price:functionality has me torn.

 

Any thoughts? Perhaps this has inspired you to utilize them in a retro themed PC build as a temperature display, or just educating people of what they are - since we've all seen them in movies, yet couldn't say anything on them if asked upon.

 

Cheers,

saya.

 

 

[Prikk]

Never knew these were somewhat standard. I always thought it was just a Metro 2033 thing

 

These look epic. I went to search for some Nixie Tube clocks and man they aren't common. Do you know that wattage that is used to power these things? From the look of it it seems like these are the most inefficient and hottest clock ever. 

[ALwin]

snip

 

Sure, then let's leave it at a train station or airport or even take it to a school and have people calling the police.

[nofxz]

Rinoa Super-Genius as he goes by on youtube, was able to get the very same modules at weird stuff warehouse.

Unless your talking about the specific modules you are sharing in your photo.

[Peepnbrick]

This is so cool. I had seen these before, but had never known what the were. I share the same love of old tech. The incredibly inefficient methods of doing things as simple as something like displaying numbers is captivating.  If you've got the money, and don't have any really big and important purchases in the near future, go for it. What's the purpose of money if you don't spend it, right?

 

If you do decide to go through with it, though, just keep it away from your cats and your kids - unless you want gaseous mercury floating from broken CCT's in your house.

[IMPERIUS]

The pic you used...I know those clocks. Give me 5min, will try to remember the correct name

 

edit: nixie tube clocks.

They are expensive. try to find tuturials for how to make them if you have the tools for it

[spwath]

Yes, it is amazingly cool

[Trik'Stari]

Wouldn't the clock just say "time to get back to work, WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME LOOKING AT CLOCK?"?

 

I can never resist the chance to make a good communism joke.

[DebatED Nothing]

On one hand, it's amazingly cool, and if some of the numbers fail, then you can just get it to display the same number continuously and get people to try to guess what it means It'll still look awesome that way. On the other hand, money.

Edited November 27, 2015 by DebatED Nothing

[Sinder5]

GO FOR IT.  Don't let your dreams be dreams, JUST DO IT.   Ignore me, all I can say in all seriousness is, That looks absolutely AWESOME!