Nixie Tube Clocks, anyone got one?

[Power5]

I find Nixie Tubes to be very neat. I love how simple they are.

I am not sure if I could do a DIY like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IN-16-Nixie-...-/170897417931


but some of the prebuilt ones are very expensive.

$375

What do I need to know about DIY electronics? I have soldered before, but not precision. Just back in the days of car stereo setups and engine swaps. No real risk of burning anything up though.

[KeiCar]

I would def try to hone your soldering skills a bit. The contact points for the IC are pretty small, but at least they are doable with a regular solder iron anf kit from Radio Shack. I would practice on some old circuit boards out of anything simple, like a digital desktop clock for example. Try and de-solder the existing chips and re solder them back on.

It looks hard but its not too bad. I have to solder a SMD that broke on my tablet, THAT is hard.

[MRA3S]

Honestly, there's nothing about this kit that should scare anyone who's ever soldered before. Hell even if you've never soldered.

One recommendation i would give would be get some IC sockets for the 2 IC's in the kit. De-soldering ICs is a major headache should you ever need to replace one. I would imagine Radio Shack should carry them still. If not, Digi-key will.

SMD soldering is easier than through-hole, if you have the right equipment that is (solderpaste instead of solder and hot air instead of an iron)

[Power5]

As said, I have nothing at home capable of doing this intricate of stuff. I guess I will give it a shot though. Sucks its so expensive of a starting point though, but I really want one of these the more I look into the construction.

[Power5]

This is the one I really want, but its like $750 and still a kit.
http://www.nocrotec.com/shop/product...xie-Clock.html

[theevilshiftkey]

If you can come up with a case yourself then they can be quite a bit cheaper, like $100 or so. Start with this... http://www.allspectrum.com/store/dig...hip-p-501.html

I made one from scratch years ago and I'm half-heartedly in the process of making a Nixie alarm clock now (am I the only person that noticed that all store bought alarm clocks look like total ass?).

[Power5]

Alarm clocks are almost all just boxes. I agree they are ugly.

I really want to make a 6 digit IN-18 clock w/ colons like the last one I posted. I don't want one of those tiny versions. I want it to be more like a piece of art than just a device. I can make a nice case for sure. Was probably going to make it out of aluminum. The skills I lack are knowing what the hell I exactly need to build one from scratch. The link you posted seems to be for a chip. Or does it come with the circuit board as well? I cannot read electrical diagrams for building my own circuitry.

[theevilshiftkey]

The link I posted was for a chip, no circuit board. But a circuit board is really just a board with a bunch of pre-printed wires on it. Get blank boards and put your own wires between the compnents and you have the same thing, just follow the schematic. Of course there are other needs like the power supply... but nobody said it was Legos.

You might try a normal LED clock kit to get your feet wet if you're worried about burning up $100 worth of parts. LED clock kits can be found for less than $20us.

[Power5]

I am fairly confident I could solder the parts on. I really doubt I could make my own circuit board though. Only really expensive part of the Nixie clock is the tubes. Everything else should be pretty similar to an LED clock kit, right?

[theevilshiftkey]

From a soldering standpoint yes, there's no major difference. Parts is parts. Nixie tubes themselves are very different in terms of electrical charateristics. The closest thing to a Nixie tube is a florescent light. They both require high voltage to light up, so it's not like you could easily add Nixie tubes to an LED clock kit.

Most Nixie clocks use sockets for the Nixies so you're never soldering directly on the tubes themselves. They're a bit fragile, and as you noted the most expensive part of the project (besides the case in mine).

[Slayer]

My dad has built a few with I think the IN-14 tubes with the red coating on them. We want to do some with the IN-18 tubes, but they are sooo expensive, like $350 for a set of 6

It's not that hard, you can just use breadboard and do deadbug wiring instead of making a pcb

[Zzzzz]

These things are awesome. I've been meaning to get my hands on one for quite some time.

[Slayer]

Here's one my dad made

[Power5]

That's pretty nice work. Got a pop can or something to place next to it next time? How much are 6 of the clear IN14? Guess I could just do a bing search.

[Slayer]

the in-14's are reasonable, like $25-30 for a set of 6. digits are ~3/4" tall, ~1/2" wide. If I remember, I'll snap a pic tomorrow with something near it

[turbinepowered]

Nixie tubes!

[Slayer]

Hah, funny that I just replied to this.. my dad got me a nixie kit with in-8 tubes for christmas

[SmithersSP]

Here is mine:

[Jesse]

Soldering parts on to an IC board is simple as pie.. much easier than soldering wires for a stereo install IMO.

[Power5]

Awesome clock you made.