best nixie tubes for diy

• Nixie tubes are a display device that were popular in electronics before the invention of the LED
• The cost of old nixie tubes is rising, and they are not being manufactured anymore
• [Dalibor] from Czech Republic is making his own nixie tubes
• He has chosen Z568 style of nixie tubes to copy, as they are his favorite style of nixie
• Uses a Heathway glassblowing lathe off eBay for blowing glass tubes
• Has been developing his nixie tube making process over a few years
• Has etched the digits and housing out of 0.3mm stainless steel sheet
• A glass tube is made, which is then sealed with pins and gas inserted to provide the cathode
• Restoration of old nixie tubes is done by removing the display from their casing and cleaning the internal components
• The new nixie tubes have recorded striking voltage values very similar to industry tubes
• Nixie tubes are fun to create, but obtaining their components are getting more expensive
• Dalibor is also working on an art clock called the ShanghaiTime Nixie Clock, which is entered in a glass art contest called “When Prague Meets Shanghai”
• The tubes Dalibor makes are not available commercially
• The longevity of nixie tubes is similar to that of CRT screens, and brightness decreases with usage and can be restored by replacing the internal components
• A video showing the new nixie tube in action is provided
• Each nixie tube requires approximately 30 minutes of work to produce
• The site also features a link to a previous article about homemade nixie tubes
• The previous article is not as elegant as Dalibor’s nixie tubes.

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• Website name: “DIY KITS FOR NIXIE TUBES CLOCKS – GRA & AFCH”
• The website offers multiple types of Nixie tube clocks DIY kits.
• Kits include PCBs, designs, schematics, case, and software made by GRA & AFCH.
• DIY KIT for IN-14 Arduino Shield NCS314-6 Nixie Tubes Clock is a kit designed for 6 IN-14 xUSSR Nixie Tubes with sockets.
• DIY KIT for IN-14 Arduino Shield NCS314-6 Nixie Tubes Clock comes with options include Tubes, Columns, Sockets, and a Power Supply.
• The kit has accessories including temp. sensor, GPS time sync., and IR Remote.
• Tools required to assemble the kit are an Soldering iron (25-40W), Cutters, Needle-nose pliers, Screwdriver, Diagonal Cutters, De-soldering tool.
• DIY KIT for IN-18 Arduino Shield NCS318-6 Nixie Tubes Clock is designed for 6 IN-18 xUSSR Nixie Tubes with sockets.
• DIY KIT for IN-18 Arduino Shield NCS318-6 Nixie Tubes Clock comes with options include Tubes, Columns, and Power Supply.
• The kit has accessories including temp. sensor, GPS time sync. and IR Remote.
• Tools required to assemble the kit are an Soldering iron (25-40W), Cutters, Needle-nose pliers, Screwdriver, Diagonal Cutters, and De-soldering tool.
• DIY KIT for IN-14 Arduino Shield NCS314-4 Nixie Tubes Clock is designed for 4 IN-14 xUSSR Nixie Tubes with sockets.
• DIY KIT for IN-14 Arduino Shield NCS314-4 Nixie Tubes Clock comes with options include Tubes, Column, Sockets, and Power Supply.
• The kit has accessories including temp. sensor, GPS time sync., and IR Remote.
• Tools required to assemble the kit are an Soldering iron (25-40W), Cutters, Needle-nose pliers, Screwdriver, Diagonal Cutters, De-soldering tool.
• DIY KIT for IN-18 Arduino Shield NCS318-4 Nixie Tubes Clock is designed for 4 IN-18 xUSSR Nixie Tubes with sockets.
• DIY KIT for IN-18 Arduino

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• The post is from Reddit (r/diyelectronics) and was submitted 5 years ago.
• The user is seeking advice on building a nixie tube clock for their electronics major project.
• The clock is intended to display time and date using six nixie tubes arranged horizontally.
• The user would like the option to toggle between displaying 12/24-hour time or displaying the date with a toggle switch.
• The user would like to be able to adjust the time and date with buttons on the clock unit.
• The user is considering building the clock from scratch as they believe this may result in more marks, although following a tutorial is also an option.
• The user is seeking advice on the best store to buy nixie tubes that ship to Australia and what are the recommended types of nixie tubes for this project.
• A user suggests the website www.tubehobby.com, which sells nixie tube kits and individual tubes, particularly the IN-14 tubes for their price and cool look.
• Other users recommend eBay or rutubes.com for buying nixie tubes.
• Users suggest the IN-8 and IN-8-2 tubes as being of particularly good quality for this kind of project.
• Regarding the circuitry, some users suggest borrowing designs from existing projects like arduinix.
• A few users provide advice on whether to use a breadboard or a custom etched PCB, suggesting that using a PCB will make the project easier but may take more time and money than using a breadboard.
• There is discussion on how to mount the nixie tubes. One user suggests soldering directly to a perfboard and mounting the board to a chassis.
• Users also suggest using IN-16 tubes, building a driver board with the chip SN74141, and considering using a non-software controlled power supply based around the 555 timer and capacitor or a dedicated switching IC.
• Some users suggest designing their own circuit layout for maximum freedom of component placement, while others recommend using Kicad or other PCB design software.
• Additional tips include: avoiding non-numerical tubes, using an RTC chip specifically designed to keep accurate time, and being aware of the high voltages involved in nixie tube circuitry.
• Some users suggest using capacitive touch switches and PIC16f1825 microcontrollers for button control.
• One user suggests creating a lixie display instead of using nixie tubes if access to

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• Reddit post from user seeking advice on building a Nixie tube clock as a beginner with no prior experience or parts.
• Nixie tubes require a 170VDC power supply to light up.
• Nixie tubes are cheap but the circuits to drive them can be expensive.
• Good clock kits can cost $200-250 or more.
• The Smart Nixie Tube kit from Switchmode Design ($350) is modular and driven by an Arduino-compatible board.
• Store.tubeclock.com and Ramsey also sell clock kits.
• Nixie tube circuits are not complex and designs have not changed since the 1960s.
• A quick eBay search for “nixie tube clock” can bring up different kits at various styles and price points.
• Nixie tubes use high voltage that can deliver a nasty shock, so it is important to respect it and to learn how to solder well.
• Nixie tubes are retro and look like vacuum tubes, but technically they are gaseous tubes like neon tubes.
• Various types of Nixie tubes include single digit, dual-digit, and B-7971.
• ElectricStuff.co.uk sells Nixie tubes and LED drivers.
• There are two types of Nixie tube sockets: PCB and wire-wrap, with PCB sockets being more common.
• Dynatronix, Inc. sells power supplies for Nixie tubes.
• The IN-14 Nixie tube from the former Soviet Union is a popular choice for clock projects.
• PCBWay is a website that sells PCB boards for Nixie tube clocks and other projects.
• Nobsound Mini Dual 12 Level Indicator VU Meter is a useful tool for setting up Nixie tube clock drivers.
• High voltage transistors and optocouplers are often used in Nixie tube clock circuits.
• Different types of Nixie tube drivers include direct-drive, multiplexed, and shift-register types.
• Direct-drive Nixie tube circuits are simpler but require more output pins from the controller.
• Multiplexed and shift-register Nixie tube circuits are more complex but require fewer output pins.
• Nixie tube clock projects can be found on sites such as Instructables and Hackster.io.

• The webpage is a Reddit post entitled “DIY Nixie tube clock”
• The post was made on r/diyelectronics 3 years ago and currently has 20 upvotes.
• The post’s author expressed interest in building a Nixie tube clock and asked for advice regarding its difficulty as a beginner project and the availability of good instructions for building such a clock from a kit.
• Several users commented on the post with advice and recommendations.
• One user recommended purchasing a kit from GRA-AFCH on eBay, which use Arduinos and come with easy-to-follow instructions, and another recommended Numitrons as a cheaper and easier-to-use alternative to Nixie tubes.
• A user shared a link to a project called Lixietube, which is a modern variation of Nixie tubes that use LED-lit layers of plexiglass to display numbers and characters.
• Another user disagreed with the notion that building Nixie tubes is nearly out of scope for a DIY-level project, stating that they are no different from 7-segment LED displays and can be easily controlled with transistors.
• A user warned that Nixie tubes require a voltage of about 140 volts and recommended caution when attempting to build them from scratch without prior experience.
• One user shared a link to a website that sells Nixie tube clock kits and another recommended checking out a simple Google search for DIY Nixie clocks.
• Another user shared their personal experience building a Nixie tube clock from a GRA-AFCH kit, stating that they learned a lot and found it to be a fun and rewarding project.

Additional notes:

• There are a few comments that are not directly relevant to the query, including a joke about “erections” that was made by a user who loves electronics, and a comment linking to a YouTube video that shows how 3D printed jigs and cheap parts from IKEA can push the limits of DIY.

• Nixie tubes are discussed in detail and were once a popular way to display information in the 1970s.
• They are fragile compared to LEDs and LCDs, but are still functional.
• They are a cold-cathode tube variant of a neon lamp.
• They were used in the cockpits of aircraft, scientific instruments, and other applications.
• Nixie tubes are more commonly found in expensive art clocks today.
• The page provides step-by-step instructions for 10 different nixie tube projects.
• These projects are sourced from the Instructables.com community of creatives.
• The projects on the page are not focused on finding the best nixie tubes for DIY projects.
• Instructables is a project-sharing community with over 40,000 projects.
• The projects cover all subjects, including crafts, art, electronics, kids, home improvement, pets, outdoors, reuse, bikes, cars, robotics, food, decorating, woodworking, costuming, games, and more.
• Overall, the page provides interesting background information on nixie tubes and their past uses, as well as great project ideas for those who want to experiment with them. However, it doesn’t provide specific information on selecting the best nixie tubes for DIY projects.

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• NixieDIY is a small team of electronics engineers who are passionate about Nixie Tubes.
• They produce Nixie Tube Clock KITs for the most popular and available on the market Nixie Tubes.
• The KITs are easy to assemble and come with detailed documentation and a reasonable price.
• Their products merge the Cold War era technology with modern electronics.
• The clock has 12 or 24 hour operation modes and is able to switch between them.
• The Nixie tube display comes with a programmable LED backlight feature.
• The time accuracy of the clock is based on an extremely precise DS3231 RTC.
• The clock has three display modes - Standard, Crossfade, and Scrollback.
• The “Slot Machine” mode automatically changes the digits on the display to prevent Cathode poisoning.
• They offer four different Nixie tube options: IN-12, IN-14, IN-16, and IN-18.
• The IN-12 tube is a 4-digit tube with a decimal point, and is a budget option for enthusiasts who want a simple clock to build.
• The IN-14 tube is a 6-digit tube with two decimal points, and is a popular choice for building clocks, along with the IN-16 and IN-18 tubes.
• The IN-16 tube is a 6-digit tube with a single decimal point, and is known for its wide viewing angle and bright green glow.
• The IN-18 tube is a large 8-digit tube that stands at 60mm tall and 18mm wide, and is known for being rare and expensive.
• The clock kits come with different tube options and the customer can also choose to include one or all of the tubes.
• The NixieDIY website offers tutorials on how to assemble the kits, including the soldering process, and there are also detailed online documentation for each kit.
• They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 12-month warranty on their products.
• They provide worldwide shipping for their kits, and there is an option to expedite the shipping process.
• They also sell individual components such as Nixie tube sockets, ENC enclosures, and remote controls for the clock kits.

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