What is it?

This is a clock I made with vintage Russian display tube using (almost) all through hole parts. It's USB powered, and uses low voltage (5V) tubes, so it is safe if accidentally touched unlike Nixie tubes.

Each tube has a comma-like indicator on it that the clock cycles through to count the seconds. It has a nice light orange glow which is perfect to see at night or day. Clock can be set to 12 or 24 hour mode.

If ordered as a kit, this will come with all components packaged and labeled separately, with the microcontroller preprogrammed. Due to the small size of the micro USB connector, it will come pre-soldered.

If ordered assembled, the clock will come fully tested and working, ready to plug in. You must provide your own USB cable for the kit and assembled options.

Why did you make it?

I came across a large quantity of these tubes and wanted to see this cool old technology put back into use. They're safe, and fairly low power so they're perfect for a clock. I think everyone has heard or seen Nixie tubes, but not these Numitrons. I think they're a perfect mix of vintage with their vacuum tube design, and orange glow, but with a safe low power supply.

What makes it special?

It's easy to assemble if ordered as a kit. I wanted this to be fun for people to put together, but still easily powered by modern standards. Apart from the micro USB connector which comes pre-soldered, every other part is through hole and can be assembled by anyone with basic soldering skills.

Each board comes with a preprogrammed PIC18F47K40 microcontroller which drives the whole clock, as well as a programming connector for custom code. With a PICKit or other programmer, you can customise the code as you want, based off of the existing code from GitHub, or even write your own.

Each sale helps me keep making fun projects. I love designing things that reuse old technology, and making them accessible and useful to people today.