Sunday, June 08, 2003
Nixie Clock!For my "man pit" in the basement, I was contemplating getting a neon illuminated clock, perfect for being able to see the time when sitting down to watch a DVD or MPEG movie on the big tube on the arcade box. A local shop has one on sale for $50, but frankly, it’s boring. So I went to Google trying to find things on interesting neon illuminated clocks, and somehow I ran across this. What better geek clock than one based on long obsolete nixie tubes, once the mainstay of old computers and test equipment in the pre-LED days. Who needs neon when you can have nixie! ;-)
It turns out that kits for putting them together are available, and as an electronic newbie I am inclined to go for the one that comes with its own PCB board. I found an online gallery of the types of designs that people have come up for housing their nixie clocks, and my favourite of the bunch is the one pictured above built by Tom Struzik, which is housed in an old wooden mantel clock and looks very future-retro, or like something out of Brazil. I may have an old wooden radio housing which may be perfect for housing such a clock, but failing that, am sure I can find something suitable at a yard sale or auction.
We have to watch our money at the moment, so am not going to do this now, but will definitely add it to my list of things I’d like to build near-term.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
