This is a handmade tube clock unique designed and built in Greece. The used tubes are the original Russian IV-11 VFDs. The first type of 7-segment displays in the early 50s.

When i first saw this type of tubes it was back in my early years in college when i was still studying for Eletronic Computer Systems Engineer. They looked really nice and interesting, for me they looked way better than the nixie tubes. I began this project as a challenge to make a desktop device to be used for displaying the time. On the first prototype i took care to design the PCB in a way that it would look nice without the need of any extra enclosures and be able to be hold on the desk with small legs. When the first prototype was ready friends asked me to make one for them and then the requests came one back to the other so i had to finally make an enclosure as it wasn't safe for an non-electronic guy to have the clock nuked on the desk as all the parts were exposed.

The design makes the device electric shock safe as the whole device is power by a 12V 1A wall power pack. There is an onboard voltage booster controlled by the main mcu which also manages automatically the brightness of the tubes (depending on the ambient light) by adjusting the voltage and the current supplied to the tubes and the filament. The device uses only 2 ICs the mcu and one high voltage shift register which constitutes the device robust and stable. There have been also included RGB leds under each tube which full fill the glass of the tubes with colors making it look elegant and unique.

Specifications:

• Display Time (24h)
• Display Date
• Alarm Function
• Auto-Brightness control using ambient light sensor
• Automatic Daylight saving time
• Led lighting of up to 16.581.375 combination colors
• Backup power on power loss for time keeping
• Power supply 12Volt DC 1A
• Precision watch crystal keeps time with under 2 seconds a day (depending on ambient temperature)

Tubes life: The tubes as well as the device itself has been tested in real life conditions running on test since 2010 until today with no issues or any malfunctions. The circuit takes care to reduce the current as well as the voltage on the tubes depending on the ambient light and never over presses the tubes to a stress point.

PS.

• The PCBs are soldered in the oven or by hand if there is for a small batch
• The Wooden enclosure is all handmade
• All the devices are tested before shipment
• It comes fully assembled ready to be used out of the box
• The devices can be build upon order with a lead time of a week