6 ms·

Nice to hear that someone is still producing these tubes! What is the life expectancy of such a tube if switched on constantly?

jkingsman 5y ago
Tangentially, this is a beautiful (with no music or narration; text notes only) high quality video of modern artisanal (i.e. all by hand) nixie tube manufacturing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA
- omnicognate 5y ago
  "I needed more room so I moved from the garden shed to a local castle." What a guy.
- Slartie 5y ago
  I love the glass working parts especially. And the creative use of Ikea-sourced "lab equipment".
- rx_tx 5y ago
  This is the actual manufacturer of the tube from the article! A modern nixie tube manufacture, they have had to (re)learn the processes and tooling again, from old books, and acquiring old tools like that awesome glass lathe. Their youtube channel is great to watch, they explain a lot of their steps. https://www.daliborfarny.com/ https://www.daliborfarny.com/
- dylan604 5y ago
  This guy deserves every dime he gets from these. What a tremendous amount of effort to make them.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  Amazing video. I noticed some small imperfections in the process but the end result is very nice and the fact that they are made by hand probably adds rather than detracts from their charm, each tube being a little bit 'off' rather than that they all come out exactly alike. Especially during the spot welding phase there is some burn through and the height of the stems is different for every tube. But likely that doesn't impede their final operation or longevity at all. I really like how clean he works. They must cost a fortune the way they are made. edit: prices are listed, 135 euros each, so 810 euros for the tubes for a six digit clock, the clocks go from 1400 to 2000 euros. It depends on how you look at it: for the utility value of a clock that's pretty high but for the amount of work it is probably on the low side, and by keeping them 'hand made' there is some scarcity effect at work, they'll never be things that everybody has so that's probably a happy medium for him. I wonder how many he's making and whether or not he is tempted to move away from the artisanal process to move into more automated production, larger batches and so on. I also wonder why he fires the getters prior to sealing the exhaust tube, traditionally the getters were ignited after achieving high vacuum and sealing the envelope and removing the remains of the exhaust pipe rather than induction heated prior to sealing (they're the cause of the metal deposit at the top of many vaccuum tubes). The way he does it you risk re-contamination after/during the gas is introduced with any one of the following process steps, the getters really should come last. But it works well enough I guess :) That video is a masterclass in how to produce something like this, quiet, just the work, no distractions at all. And the website looks great as well. This guy really has something to be very proud of.
blutack 5y ago
Depends on the tube and if you account for cathode poisoning. My clock is still going strong after 3 years, coming on automatically at sunset and goes off at midnight.
- KennyBlanken 5y ago
  It also depends on the voltages you drive them at.
Slartie 5y ago
I have built two six-digit Nixie clocks with Z5660M tubes, which I bought as "new old stock" - likely unused - for about 50€ per piece over 10 years ago. Both of these clocks have been running non-stop since then, and they are still going strong after more than 86.000 hours of operation, with negligible loss of brightness. They are still readable in anything but direct, full-brightness sunlight, and illuminate the room nicely by night. I guess the flash memory of the Atmel microcontroller running the clock logic will lose its contents before the tubes eventually wear out.
jareklupinski 5y ago
i have been running a 4-digit nixie clock off NOS russian tubes non-stop for a few years now. two of the number tubes burned out in that time, one shortly after turning it on, one a year later. they were socketed and I bought spares so replacing wasn't a big deal, and the 4 tubes socketed in now have been working for years, but ymmv with anything that old tho spares are cheap to carry for such a nice piece :)
jacquesm 5y ago
Longer than yours. Nixies are super solid.

jkingsman 5y ago

Tangentially, this is a beautiful (with no music or narration; text notes only) high quality video of modern artisanal (i.e. all by hand) nixie tube manufacturing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA

omnicognate 5y ago
"I needed more room so I moved from the garden shed to a local castle." What a guy.
Slartie 5y ago
I love the glass working parts especially. And the creative use of Ikea-sourced "lab equipment".
rx_tx 5y ago
This is the actual manufacturer of the tube from the article! A modern nixie tube manufacture, they have had to (re)learn the processes and tooling again, from old books, and acquiring old tools like that awesome glass lathe. Their youtube channel is great to watch, they explain a lot of their steps. https://www.daliborfarny.com/ https://www.daliborfarny.com/
dylan604 5y ago
This guy deserves every dime he gets from these. What a tremendous amount of effort to make them.
jacquesm 5y ago
Amazing video. I noticed some small imperfections in the process but the end result is very nice and the fact that they are made by hand probably adds rather than detracts from their charm, each tube being a little bit 'off' rather than that they all come out exactly alike. Especially during the spot welding phase there is some burn through and the height of the stems is different for every tube. But likely that doesn't impede their final operation or longevity at all. I really like how clean he works. They must cost a fortune the way they are made. edit: prices are listed, 135 euros each, so 810 euros for the tubes for a six digit clock, the clocks go from 1400 to 2000 euros. It depends on how you look at it: for the utility value of a clock that's pretty high but for the amount of work it is probably on the low side, and by keeping them 'hand made' there is some scarcity effect at work, they'll never be things that everybody has so that's probably a happy medium for him. I wonder how many he's making and whether or not he is tempted to move away from the artisanal process to move into more automated production, larger batches and so on. I also wonder why he fires the getters prior to sealing the exhaust tube, traditionally the getters were ignited after achieving high vacuum and sealing the envelope and removing the remains of the exhaust pipe rather than induction heated prior to sealing (they're the cause of the metal deposit at the top of many vaccuum tubes). The way he does it you risk re-contamination after/during the gas is introduced with any one of the following process steps, the getters really should come last. But it works well enough I guess :) That video is a masterclass in how to produce something like this, quiet, just the work, no distractions at all. And the website looks great as well. This guy really has something to be very proud of.

blutack 5y ago

Depends on the tube and if you account for cathode poisoning. My clock is still going strong after 3 years, coming on automatically at sunset and goes off at midnight.

KennyBlanken 5y ago
It also depends on the voltages you drive them at.

Slartie 5y ago

I have built two six-digit Nixie clocks with Z5660M tubes, which I bought as "new old stock" - likely unused - for about 50€ per piece over 10 years ago. Both of these clocks have been running non-stop since then, and they are still going strong after more than 86.000 hours of operation, with negligible loss of brightness. They are still readable in anything but direct, full-brightness sunlight, and illuminate the room nicely by night. I guess the flash memory of the Atmel microcontroller running the clock logic will lose its contents before the tubes eventually wear out.

jareklupinski 5y ago

i have been running a 4-digit nixie clock off NOS russian tubes non-stop for a few years now. two of the number tubes burned out in that time, one shortly after turning it on, one a year later. they were socketed and I bought spares so replacing wasn't a big deal, and the 4 tubes socketed in now have been working for years, but ymmv with anything that old tho spares are cheap to carry for such a nice piece :)

jacquesm 5y ago

Longer than yours. Nixies are super solid.