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INTEREST: Get Steins;Gate's Divergence Meter as a Nixie Tube Clock


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thewhitemetroid



Joined: 09 May 2013
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 8:21 pm Reply with quote
Must have!
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:00 pm Reply with quote
Nixie tubes are so cool. They give off a steampunk look like nothing else. They're also used for the score display on the Haunted House pinball machine, which is, regrettably, far too rare for me to recommend at least watching in person.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:01 pm Reply with quote
That's a very impressive nixie tube clock.
I wonder if it comes with an alarm? Wink
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Pokenatic



Joined: 24 Jan 2012
Posts: 574
Location: Neo Venezia
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 11:31 pm Reply with quote
If only I have the money for it I'd get one in an instant.
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omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1845
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:56 am Reply with quote
If one could get custom-made nixie tubes, a Royal Space Force variant would be impressive, but not very practical.
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Tempest_Wing



Joined: 07 Nov 2014
Posts: 305
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:44 am Reply with quote
There was a small American company that used to make these a couple years ago for around $400. I don't think they exist anymore, since their website has been down since last year. They specialized in niche clocks using nixie tubes. If their prices are anything to go by, if this starts to sell, they gon' be expensive because nixie tubes are pretty rare since they don't make them anymore except in Russia last I read.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:30 pm Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Nixie tubes are so cool.
No they are hot. literally if this is the real deal they will warm your room, so be careful not to place it near anything like paper, or cloth as they will ignite it also Tubes even these, are high current flow devices. and touching one of those poking up resisters will give you quite a belt of electricity not to mention a burn. Really this is not a toy. it is a device designed in the 1950's and meant to be encased in a grounded metal box in a rack and in a climate controlled room. In short, it's nice to look at, but just waiting to kill you if you disrespect it. Not to mention the cost of replacing a tube when they eventually fail from over heating, and they will fail guaranteed. Wink
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:38 pm Reply with quote
^
I think this could explain why very few companies, if any, make nixie tube clocks nowadays. In that case, no way would I buy one if that meant risking the chance of unwittingly setting the home on fire.
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DavidShallcross



Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Posts: 1008
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:01 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk55, could you be thinking of some other device? Concerning Nixie tubes, Wikipedia says
Quote:
Such tubes rarely exceed 40 °C (104 °F) even under the most severe of operating conditions in a room at ambient temperature.
and that
Quote:
Each cathode can be made to glow in the characteristic neon red-orange color by applying about 170 volts DC at a few milliamperes between a cathode and the anode.

So, warm rather than hot, and a voltage worthy of respect, but not much current.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:25 pm Reply with quote
DavidShallcross wrote:
Mohawk55, could you be thinking of some other device? Concerning Nixie tubes, Wikipedia says
Quote:
Such tubes rarely exceed 40 °C (104 °F) even under the most severe of operating conditions in a room at ambient temperature.
and that
Quote:
Each cathode can be made to glow in the characteristic neon red-orange color by applying about 170 volts DC at a few milliamperes between a cathode and the anode.

So, warm rather than hot, and a voltage worthy of respect, but not much current.
You would trust your life to what is written in Wiki? I'm an electronics engineer. That's slightly hotter than an ordinary incandecent bulb, and the picture show them burning yellow not red which means there is more voltage going through it and BTW it's the current flow that makes the filiments glow. The higher the current the brighter the glow. Here's a test. place a sheet of A4 on top of a hot light bulb and see what happens. but do it away from your house and anything else that will ignite.
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EyeOfPain



Joined: 14 May 2013
Posts: 312
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:30 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Nixie tubes are so cool.
No they are hot. literally if this is the real deal they will warm your room, so be careful not to place it near anything like paper, or cloth as they will ignite it also Tubes even these, are high current flow devices. and touching one of those poking up resisters will give you quite a belt of electricity not to mention a burn. Really this is not a toy. it is a device designed in the 1950's and meant to be encased in a grounded metal box in a rack and in a climate controlled room. In short, it's nice to look at, but just waiting to kill you if you disrespect it. Not to mention the cost of replacing a tube when they eventually fail from over heating, and they will fail guaranteed. Wink
Nixie tubes are cold cathode florescents, so if they they get hotter than ~104F, something is going terribly wrong. The electric current should actually drop as it operates.

The clock should be no more dangerous than a neon sign, and even cooler than household CFL light bulbs.

The light is from glow discharge, not incandescence.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:53 pm Reply with quote
Ya pays yur money, ya takes yur choice. It's your funeral. Wink
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EyeOfPain



Joined: 14 May 2013
Posts: 312
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 7:09 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Ya pays yur money, ya takes yur choice. It's your funeral. Wink
Quite trying to avoid admitting you mixed up Nixie tubes with vacuum tubes.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16961
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 7:38 pm Reply with quote
How about we all remain civil and not start getting snooty over an interest piece on a clock.
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tobeast777



Joined: 22 Oct 2009
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:12 pm Reply with quote
Would look good in every room! Especially mine.
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