Warm tube watch for geeks for all tastes

After completing his mega project WATERING I started temporary insanity. I mean, I started a project of mechanical watches. In order to be as original, I decided to carefully peruse all of the existing structure of amateur hours, starting with the search for tube specimens.
I am pleased to share this review with you, so that you will find a lot of rolled tube warm and vintage video.

I have prepared a video review anturazhnye hours on a background anturazhnye hours:


It is reasonable to start with a review of the discharge indicators. In foreign literature, they are called Nixie tubes.
Inside filled with neon indicator at all there is a common anode and cathode of a dozen wires, each curved in the shape of the desired number or symbol.


Applying voltage to 200V between the anode and the desired number appears glow discharge and the figure begins to glow.

These indicators can be divided into two groups - with the display through the side surface of the cylinder and an end.
Indicators such as IN-1, IN-2, IN-12, and others provide an indication through the dome of the balloon, allowing you to create interesting designs hours:

Hours Nuvitron on IN-12 a la Fallout

Yet another vintage watch in a very interesting performance

And this is just lovely. Watch Steampunk, gears and pistons with steam


In turn IN-8, IN-14, IN-18, and many others including foreign provide an indication through the side surface of the cylinder. Such indicators look great sticking out of the stand without any support.

The biggest domestic Incas - IN-18 - have a height of 40mm digits! Their price on ebay - $ 200-250 per set of 6 pieces

Here the author has made the clock on IN-18 with a home-made battle.

This watch on indicators Z568 production GDR with 50mm high digits. The price rises to $ 400 apiece ...

But there are indications even steeper. example CD-47 have a height of 135mm in numbers! One hundred thirty five! The overall height of 200mm indicator.


Nearby stands Z568 for comparison.
Watch the look just great. On ebay these bulbs even find problematic. And the price of 900 euros for a light bulb really sad.


Want to cool wristwatch?
Add 4 LEDs in a wristwatch usual size is problematic, although in principle a lot of these projects, so have the popularity and the clock with two indicators that consistently reflect the hour then the minute. At the same time, to save the battery indicator turns on for a short time after the hand on the clock.

Too lazy to charge the batteries? No problem, install a couple of solar panels and voila. To keep the small size is necessary to give more of one indicator, and all show a tube, but these watches can safely leave in the sun and do not worry about the charge.

By the way, did you know that Steve Wozniak has here such watches? Their manufactures David Forbes branded Cathodecorner. By the way, they sold for $ 495 plus shipping. Nice gift lover of such exotics. As you can see this watch, too, have only two lights, but they are built-in accelerometer that responds to a characteristic gesture - hand turn to watch the clock. Stylish and laconic.

And here is the Steve Wozniak to talk about these watches


To control these indicators, there are specialized chips K155ID1, K133ID1 and SN74141. But the chip is not labor.
Maybe take neonki?

Yes, first divide by 50 frequency mains, forming second pulses, the signal is fed to the divider 60, simultaneously forming a signal for a new digit seconds to form a divider of minutes, and then the clock. Absolutely nothing slozhnogo.Sovershenno.
That here is a scheme of the device.

Neonki not like? There decatrons.
Decatrons - is a gas-discharge step-counting device, on which you can build different registers. 60s decatrons used for building of computers, and in the 70s they have replaced the transistor circuits.


The amateur hours decatrons like to put just for beauty, as the unit is not enough in spite of the low cost is still scarce. Usually it is used simply as a decorative krutilki, the so-called decatron spinner.

Yes, it's amateur hours on decatrons. Author specially selected components and technology in 1959 in the development of the instrument. That here is a description and diagrams.


How relay fetifanat I could not get around the clock on the mechanics with ladder logic counting

Just listen to how melodic it snaps ... hateful old pendulum clock. Circuitry is as simple - and triggers relay step-counting logic.

By the way, my future coming of hours (I'm talking about madness, so watch is actually more than one) will work on the basis of the stepping and significant size relyuhi:


Among the fans there were too indifferent to this type of device:

Here the author took two 10-minute position in the finder, so very few tens of minutes. And watch finder took like me - my 25 position, so that the 24 provisions it is quite cope. The author subsequently altered the watch under the secondary, and are not involved Seconds digits.

Most interesting is that these watches were produced and commercially. Here's proof (Caution In the video there is a naked Jukebox [jukebox])


In such a hot summer time will not prevent something cold and refreshing. Therefore, it would be foolish to miss the vacuum fluorescent display (VFD).
There is no longer a vintage vacuum tube, so formlenie much more modern.
Here's a nice little semisegmentniki with color highlights:

But watch sizeable indicators point to IV-26

Yes, we have here again an abundance of domestic indicators. This time IVshki.

With the vacuum indicators the fashion to put a lot of bits in a bottle.
For example, here are nice watch on the IW-18


Vacuum indicators of the way, despite the advantages of LED and LCD indicators in many areas of technology, it is even manufactured. The truth is the main area of ​​use - is Display Stereo and radios. Alas.

Finally we look at my favorite, but the best few for the time clock, the way most of all the lamp.
The clock on the cathode-ray tubes.


Various topics displayed on a round tube

But Christmas and watch, with rolls on the screen Santa Claus.


You can and does use an oscilloscope ready, though no cancellation of the beam the picture is a little bit dirty


Tubes from the oscilloscope are good that they have already built an electrostatic beam deflection system. In the case of television tubes in addition to the tube you need to find another home and deflection system, which then still need to be set up. And then just apply a potential difference in the deflection electrodes and ready.

I hope you enjoyed this heat lamp post. Leave comments and interesting projects of hours that I accidentally skipped or not, and I went to celebrate his birthday. Good luck!

Source: geektimes.ru/post/253256/