Hoping to relive the days of the Cold War -- you know, without the air raid drills? The handiwork of someone called Fred Niell (a character from a John le Carre' spy novel if we ever met one -- and we have), the Индикатор-6 ("indicator-6") uses gas-filled Nixie tubes to display the time. This timepiece is definitely more sane and sober in appearance than most of the clocks we see 'round here, and would look great in your study next to your cigar box and framed, autographed picture of Winston Churchill. What better way to keep track of the passing hours as you spend your twilight years writing your memoirs detailing your time in MI5? This hand-crafted chronometer sells for $275. Either hit the read link to order, or go to the safe house tonight at the stroke of midnight. You should already have the pass phrase. Video after the break.
Depends on the brightness level, and how often the numbers change. Many nixie clocks have display switches to turn off the tubes when you aren't using it. Assuming you leave it on all the time, you will have to change the tubes after a few years.
I built a clock similar to this one myself. It wasn't extremely hard but it took a few months to get everything together in my spare time. Here's a picture: http://home.comcast.net/~mdordai/clock.jpg I could take a better one if people are interested. That was a quick shot right after I finished it. My design is based off the info from here: http://electricstuff.co.uk/nixclock.html
This is the third nixie I've seen, and actually its the ugliest/ least appealing. The other two by the same builder are really nice... and hes got a pretty neat site. I stumbled on it doing a google search for info on soldering irons... gotta love the adventure we call the internet! links below:
there's some other real interesting projects here too. click around... BTW, I have no relation to the webmaster-owner of the site, or vested interest in his site. I just found it and thought it was really cool, and seeing this on engadget made me think to share it here.
Any idea on what the power consumption is on something like this or how long the tubes last? I guess what I'm asking is, will keeping this thing on 24/7 put a dent in your power bill or require you to buy new tubes on a regular basis? Or I guess I could just get off my ass and search for these answers myself :)
I emailed Fred and he got back to me in about a minute flat in regards to my question of longevity (at digit cycling per every hour) ... and cancer!
"The tubes should offer much greater than 4 years operation (I have a clock of similar design that has been running since mid 2002). The tubes do not emit any harmful radiation or anything - they're just like neon signs in that regard. Thanks for the compliment. :)"
I have to admit ... that's actually really cool. Does it automatically change for Daylight savings? ;)
4 years life is not too shabby, but what do you do when a tube goes out? Buy one at Caldor or Woolworth's?
... and how much power does consume to run? I guess if you spend near $300 for a clock ... you don't really care about that. I suppose you can always just turn it on at parties ...
Power consumption is similar to an ordinary LED clock, perhaps a bit higher with some designs but certainly not bad. My biggest clock uses six 4" high tubes and consumes around 14 Watts. The smallest is under 2W.
Figure about 140V drop across an illuminated tube, typical current is 1-10mA depending on the tube (size and desired brightness) so ~0.14 to 1.4 Watts per tube, with most toward the lower end of that scale. Add on to that whatever the electronics you use consume, perhaps a few Watts for vintage TTL chips to a fraction of a Watt for modern CMOS, and losses in the power supply and you have the answer.
I suggest emailing Fred himself for all the answers. He also has some information on his website that is useful ... though I am not sure if the questions you're asking will find an answer there.
man 275 for this is a bit high when you can buy a kit off ebay or other places for around 75 to 125 ( yes you will have to build it yourself ) but i guess if you not inclined or have the knowhow it is a good deal!!
there are tons of references on the intertoobs about nixie clocks and it was referenced above in the comments -- or search mikes electric stuff-- think there is info there
ive had one for about 3.5 years and have never had a problem ( only problem is that when the time changes i have to remember how to reset the clock) it cool and it doesnt draw too much current -- most use a 12 volt wall wart at 1 amp
there is another guy on the web that sell a really nich clock kit for 99.00 and comes in a real nice aluminum case -- that my next kit
Nixie tubes require around 170V at a few milliamps. It's high voltage compared to what most electronics use, but it's not nearly as high as you'd find in a TV set, tube amplifier, etc. These days you can get inexpensive DC-DC converters that take 5V in and put 170V out, the available current from these is low so it's less dangerous than ordinary household current. Speaking from experience, it will bite you if you touch the wrong thing, but you'd be hard pressed to kill yourself.
I've been building nixie tube clocks off and on for quite a few years now. Lifespan varies depending on the tube and how hard it's driven, but my oldest clock has been running virtually 24/7 since early 2001 and the tubes still look like new. If you run them a bit under max ratings and use direct drive rather than multiplexing, they're still plenty bright and lifespan is dramatically increased. If you find tubes on ebay, and build the rest yourself, it's not terribly expensive. Kits are available from a number of different places for those not inclined to build from scratch. There's a yahoo group neonixie-l with a lot of good folks who tinker with this sort of thing.
The Soviets made millions and millions of these tubes. If one ever fails for some reason, finding a replacement should be easy for the foreseeable future.
No, they stay cool to the touch. A nixie tube is just a glorified neon glow lamp like you'd find in those old nightlights that glow orange. Safety wise they are similar to line powered lightbulbs, if they break there is sharp glass and you can get a shock, but the same is true of Christmas lights. With kids around I would recommend a fully enclosed design if only to protect the fragile tubes from curious or clumsy fingers.
"I own an iPhone 3G and I'm looking for a decent speaker / alarm clock for it. I am going to listen music in a mid-sized room, so I want nice quality speakers with solid bass. I also want to use it as an alarm clock, so it would be great if there is such a feature. The price can be low-mid to mid-high range. I was looking at the Klipsch iGroove SXT; it's powerful, slick and the reviews are good, but it doesn't have an alarm clock feature. It's no deal breaker if I can set it up from the iPhone, but I'm not sure. Thanks!"
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posted Jun 4th 2009 9:23AM
cool! **thinks of smart thing to say in russian since I know russian but comes up empty**
lol how could I forget!!
" in Soviet Russia, clocks count You! "
meh was worth a shot...
There are no ugly clocks, there is too little vodka
Nixie tubes...kinda cute.
anyone know the lifespan of the tubes? :)
According to the website, "...tens of thousands of hours of continuous use...". It also mentions that cycling will significantly extend the life.
Depends on the brightness level, and how often the numbers change. Many nixie clocks have display switches to turn off the tubes when you aren't using it. Assuming you leave it on all the time, you will have to change the tubes after a few years.
Old school rappers come to mind Imagine them with that clock round they necks yo. G. Word to yo momma
Please don't go around saying that, you are going to get shot.
Only if he hangs around those people a lot.
What do you mean, "those people?"
That's pretty tempting.
Someone should develop this as a computer clock , maybe for the desktop and possibly the iphone!
I built a clock similar to this one myself. It wasn't extremely hard but it took a few months to get everything together in my spare time. Here's a picture: http://home.comcast.net/~mdordai/clock.jpg
I could take a better one if people are interested. That was a quick shot right after I finished it. My design is based off the info from here: http://electricstuff.co.uk/nixclock.html
This is the third nixie I've seen, and actually its the ugliest/ least appealing. The other two by the same builder are really nice... and hes got a pretty neat site. I stumbled on it doing a google search for info on soldering irons... gotta love the adventure we call the internet! links below:
http://www.nonentity.com/New/Main/Projects/Main-NixieClock.htm
http://www.nonentity.com/New/Main/Projects/Main-NixieClock2_Fset.htm
there's some other real interesting projects here too. click around... BTW, I have no relation to the webmaster-owner of the site, or vested interest in his site. I just found it and thought it was really cool, and seeing this on engadget made me think to share it here.
Cool! It would be superb if it function as a tube amp too.
Does it run windows? =D
It seems that it looses about a second when the clock goes to 4:57...
Looks good but I prefer the Hughes & Kettner version. The H&K version can be found here http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/products.php?mode=prod&id=113
This would make an excellent address sign. Imagine coming up to someone's house on halloween night and seeing that little gem staring back at you.
Any idea on what the power consumption is on something like this or how long the tubes last? I guess what I'm asking is, will keeping this thing on 24/7 put a dent in your power bill or require you to buy new tubes on a regular basis? Or I guess I could just get off my ass and search for these answers myself :)
I emailed Fred and he got back to me in about a minute flat in regards to my question of longevity (at digit cycling per every hour) ... and cancer!
"The tubes should offer much greater than 4 years operation (I have a clock
of similar design that has been running since mid 2002). The tubes do
not emit any harmful radiation or anything - they're just like neon
signs in that regard. Thanks for the compliment. :)"
-Fred
Thanks for the followup. Might be fun to build one of these.
I have to admit ... that's actually really cool.
Does it automatically change for Daylight savings? ;)
4 years life is not too shabby, but what do you do when a tube goes out?
Buy one at Caldor or Woolworth's?
... and how much power does consume to run?
I guess if you spend near $300 for a clock ... you don't really care about that.
I suppose you can always just turn it on at parties ...
Power consumption is similar to an ordinary LED clock, perhaps a bit higher with some designs but certainly not bad. My biggest clock uses six 4" high tubes and consumes around 14 Watts. The smallest is under 2W.
Figure about 140V drop across an illuminated tube, typical current is 1-10mA depending on the tube (size and desired brightness) so ~0.14 to 1.4 Watts per tube, with most toward the lower end of that scale. Add on to that whatever the electronics you use consume, perhaps a few Watts for vintage TTL chips to a fraction of a Watt for modern CMOS, and losses in the power supply and you have the answer.
I suggest emailing Fred himself for all the answers. He also has some information on his website that is useful ... though I am not sure if the questions you're asking will find an answer there.
fred.niell@gmail.com
looks like a similar style to these:
http://www.unusualelectronics.co.uk/nixiekit.php
although no longer for sale there
seems to be a popular style of clock now- they're all over ebay. definitely looks nice.
man 275 for this is a bit high when you can buy a kit off ebay or other places for around 75 to 125 ( yes you will have to build it yourself ) but i guess if you not inclined or have the knowhow it is a good deal!!
there are tons of references on the intertoobs about nixie clocks and it was referenced above in the comments -- or search mikes electric stuff-- think there is info there
ive had one for about 3.5 years and have never had a problem ( only problem is that when the time changes i have to remember how to reset the clock) it cool and it doesnt draw too much current -- most use a 12 volt wall wart at 1 amp
there is another guy on the web that sell a really nich clock kit for 99.00 and comes in a real nice aluminum case -- that my next kit
DM
I was going to build one of these, but apparently they have some high voltage to work with, so i was too afraid
Fear is the mind-killer.
Nixie tubes require around 170V at a few milliamps. It's high voltage compared to what most electronics use, but it's not nearly as high as you'd find in a TV set, tube amplifier, etc. These days you can get inexpensive DC-DC converters that take 5V in and put 170V out, the available current from these is low so it's less dangerous than ordinary household current. Speaking from experience, it will bite you if you touch the wrong thing, but you'd be hard pressed to kill yourself.
I've been building nixie tube clocks off and on for quite a few years now. Lifespan varies depending on the tube and how hard it's driven, but my oldest clock has been running virtually 24/7 since early 2001 and the tubes still look like new. If you run them a bit under max ratings and use direct drive rather than multiplexing, they're still plenty bright and lifespan is dramatically increased. If you find tubes on ebay, and build the rest yourself, it's not terribly expensive. Kits are available from a number of different places for those not inclined to build from scratch. There's a yahoo group neonixie-l with a lot of good folks who tinker with this sort of thing.
The Soviets made millions and millions of these tubes. If one ever fails for some reason, finding a replacement should be easy for the foreseeable future.
haven't checked out the site yet, does the tubes get hot or stay warm?? Is it safe near little kids.
No, they stay cool to the touch. A nixie tube is just a glorified neon glow lamp like you'd find in those old nightlights that glow orange. Safety wise they are similar to line powered lightbulbs, if they break there is sharp glass and you can get a shock, but the same is true of Christmas lights. With kids around I would recommend a fully enclosed design if only to protect the fragile tubes from curious or clumsy fingers.
Thanks for the info James
I'm actually surprized to see this posted on endgadget. Us steampunkers have had these for years, it's nothing new, nothing amazing...
The Hughes and Kettner Amplifier company makes a similar clock. It is designed to look like a guitar amplifier though.
http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/products.php?mode=prod&id=113