Not sure exactly what could be inside the black can. Another view here.Ĭlose-up view of said Vocal Disc Encoder. Note the line of circuit boards, plus the aforementioned 'Vocal Disc Encoder' next to them. Both of those terminal strips are 600 ohm audio outputs the BNCs are simple signal input/outputs. Note the speaker and separate AC/DC power switches. I have yet to bring myself to plug it in, for fear of something blowing up. I have no idea how it works, or what this clock was meant for in general, as it doesn't seem to have been meant for automation purposes like most other commercial/industrial nixie clocks of the era, which generally had all sorts of connectors on the back for external control. The visual part, of course, is a series of nixie tubes the aural part, however, is apparently provided by a mystery motorized device in the middle of the chassis which is labeled as a "Vocal Disc Encoder", whatever that entails. It's a Tracor model 514 "Visual/Aural Clock", which I suspect dates from the late '60s or early '70s. It still needed lots of repairs, but it wasn't blowing fuses anymore.Īnother old nixie clock I've found is a real oddball. Note the old-school 74xx TTL ICs!įront view after I got it running. I did replace those vintage filter capacitors, which probably caused the fuse blowing.īottom view of the board. 'Top' view of the board, including the tubes. Well, it'd run properly for about three seconds the first time I plugged it in, then the fuse blew. Here are some photos:įront view, before I got it running properly. Unlike modern clocks, the B&F clock was designed back when having a digital clock in general was a novelty, so the tubes themselves are not exposed, but within a metal cabinet behind a colored filter. One example (which I have two of now) is by a long-defunct company called B&F Enterprises which used to run ads in Popular Electronics and other publications back in the day selling logic chips and nixie tubes, among other things. Also, I've bought a few nixie clocks at hamfests and whatnot in the area. I haven't built any nixie clocks yet, though I bought a board kit on eBay which I will turn into a clock using some of the tubes I have around here. Personally, I love the concept of nixie tubes in general. There are several companies selling nixie tube clocks, both in kit and built form:Į.uk (board only, lots of info!) (In writing this, I came across this: Never saw that before.) It is audio related, but it's SS, so I can't talk about it here ) But I sure would like to wear my tube obsession on my wrist. No, I'm not starting a project, (I already have another project in work. I'd also try to "cheat" with a really small boost module to supply the VFD anode voltage. When looking at some of the Russian clock chips, they include relatively simple schematics. I figure I can get them as small as some of the hand-made (and expensive) Nixie/VFD watches on eBay. Should support other tubes with just some attention paid to getting the right current. Here's a one-chip AC line synchronized clock that also looks like it meets your requirements: I also wouldn't rule out going it scratch. I suppose you don't have to install the LEDs around the outside if you don't want to, but you can't do much about the PCB size. It meets your requirements of 6 digits, and Numitron look. It's available, includes tubes, and as I say it's been around for a while. I know I've seen this one around in previous searches: It's red in that picture because VFD's throw out a lot of blue light (as seen leaking out the bottom.) so I added a red plexiglass face plate. It sync's to NTP over WiFi and is based on NodeMCU. Now I have an single tube VFD clock of my own design: When the "case kit" arrived, it was just a couple sheets of rectangular plexiglass. I ran it "naked" for a while, and then ordered a "Case Kit". IMHO, it looked just as cool as a true Nixie. One of the first kits I ever built was a 6-digit individual tube VFD clock. Note that there is nothing wrong with the other technologies, and they are still true tubes. Here's one with the glass removed: (from Wikipedia) True Nixies have fully formed numerals for each digit, one behind the other, and glow orange. Closer to the color and technology of a Nixie. Numitron tubes also have numbers made of segments, but look like a glowing wire for each segment. They glow blue/green, and have segments that form the digits. VFD's (Vacuum Fluorescent Displays) can come in single digit tubes. Many sellers try to pass stuff off as Nixie clocks or Nixie tubes that are not really Nixie. Just for some info for anyone not being real familiar with these things.
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