I've built myself three of these Ice Tube Clocks, with the revised hardware and software of the XMas edition. I have one spare now.

The kit uses a new IV-18 Sovjet VFD tube, but because of its age, could show small signs of imperfection.

Runs at 9VDC, no power supply included. Clear acrylic case, made in Germany.

Based on the Adafruit kit: https://learn.adafruit.com/ice-tube-clock-kit/

XMas project github description is as follows:

XMAS-ICETUBE PROJECT

Several years ago, my father gave me an Adafruit Ice Tube Clock kit as a Christmas gift. As an excuse to learn AVR programming, I started playing with the firmware. Eventually, none of the original Adafruit code remained, and the result was a feature-rich reimplementation of the Adafruit firmware.

Once the firmware was mature, I decided to revise the hardware design to support many of the hacks and mods described on the Adafruit forums. With the help of other clock hackers, especially Phil DeGruy and Russell Walker, the xmas-icetube hardware revision became a reality.

Today, the xmas-icetube firmware still runs on the Adafruit Ice Tube Clock v1.1 as well as the xmas-icetube hardware revision. For more information on the firmware and hardware portions of this project, please check out the firmware/README and hardware/README files.

Finally, although the xmas-icetube project is named after Christmas, it is designed for use year-round. The name is also a reference to Christmas as a cultural holiday--not a religious one. I sincerely hope this project is compatible with all religions.

John Archie April 2, 2014

FEATURES

The xmas-icetube firmware offers the following improvements over the official Adafruit firmware:

• GPS synchronized timekeeping*
• fully automatic compensation for clock drift
• animated display transitions
• multiple time and date formats
• DST support (USA, EU, or manual)
• pulsing display brightness during alarm and snooze
• three alarm times for selectable days of the week
• functional alarm during power outage**
• finely adjustable alarm volume (from 0 to 10)
• progressive alarm option (gradually increasing volume)
• adjustable snooze duration
• selectable alarm sound (high frequency beeps, low frequency beeps, high frequency three beep pulse, low frequency three beep pulse, Merry Christmas, Big Ben, Reveille, or For He's a Jolly Good Fellow)
• 4-fold improvement in battery life
• no beeping or time loss after external power failure
• low battery warning before battery failure
• per-digit brightness adjustment for uneven displays
• larger range for user-configured display brightness

• optionally disable display during specified time periods

• An external GPS module, such as the Adafruit Ultimate GPS, is necessary to support GPS synchronized timekeeping.

** Without external power, the alarm sounds with loud high frequency beeps. The only way to turn the alarm on or off is with the alarm switch. Snooze is not supported.

The following additional features are supported on the xmas-icetube hardware revision, but the Adafruit Ice Tube Clock v1.1 can be modified to support any or all of the following as well:

• automatic brightness control by ambient light
• optionally disable display at night (when dark)
• 25-fold improvement in battery life
• highly accurate temperature compensated timekeeping
• IV-18 tube driven to specifications (providing more even display illumination and preventing cathode poisoning)

Disclaimer: I've tested the clock and it works immaculate; I'm a hobbyist, not a professional shop. Sold without warranty.