Nixie Tube Clock - Boulder by Makenology

[Vaporeon 189]

I've always liked these. I thought people were using old tubes because they weren't in production anymore or have they come back?

[Takka 13,376]

No use for them outside of style anymore, but still made!

[WaeV 5,049]

On 4/15/2017 at 9:28 PM, Tucker933 said:

No use for them outside of style anymore, but still made!

Are they? I thought the stockpiles were still large enough.

 

By way of comparison, literally nobody makes CRT tubes anymore, but there are still enough to be found in stockpiles. Although that's a newer product.

[Takka 13,376]

4 hours ago, WaeV said:

Are they? I thought the stockpiles were still large enough.

This clock uses tubes with a modern pin socket to mate directly with the PCB, and the manufacturer talks about their advancements in preventing cathode poisoning.

[Takka 13,376]

Annnnd it's funny because not long after I said that, one of my tubes has developed cathode poisoning, so I'm going to have to replace it.

 

[Takka 13,376]

They were very friendly and prompt when I requested a replacement tube under the warranty, mailing it out that very same day. Though due to the international shipping, I only received it just now.

 

Amazingly, the clock still had perfectly accurate time even after being unplugged for more than 2 weeks!

 

Info updated in the OP to reflect this experience.

[Takka 13,376]

Clock is fast by roughly 1 second every day, adding up to about a 1 minute innacuracy for every 2 months.

 

That's comparable to the accuracy of a digital watch, but given how annoying this clock is to set, it's annoying squared.

[DiSiAC 1,347]

10 hours ago, Tucker933 said:

Clock is fast by roughly 1 second every day, adding up to about a 1 minute innacuracy for every 2 months.

 

That's comparable to the accuracy of a digital watch, but given how annoying this clock is to set, it's annoying squared.

 

Rig it to a wifi arduino module to automatically adjust the time based off whatever web service you prefer 

[Takka 13,376]

14 minutes ago, DiSiAC said:

Rig it to a wifi arduino module to automatically adjust the time based off whatever web service you prefer 

Not really worth the trouble, as I don't really rely on it for accuracy (PC and phone for that). It's mostly just a novelty device, but figured it was worth mentioning in the review.

[Takka 13,376]

2+ Year Update: Still running great and no cathode poisoning beyond that first one posted about here.

 

They have released a sort of Gen2 version, which from the pictures seems to address the complaints I had about the control buttons: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07FHWB4N9/

 

Not sure I prefer the chassis of the new one though.