/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20188]

Anyone up for another tube/vintage thread?

Post some cool stuff, tonight its VFD's for me.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20196]

It seems like its pretty hard to find VFD tubes that don't have a backing inside, its just the frame of the character like in the pic.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20201]

Anyway, these things are pretty cool, maybe I'll experiment once I'm finished with nixie stuff.

[Radiofag No.20209]

A wild radio operator appears.

[Radiofag No.20212]

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20223]

VFD's typically run in the 30v range I believe, making it easier to supply the power. (Voltage doubler or tripler could do it for you)

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20246]

>>20209
>>20212
I wish I knew more about radios.. I guess I really haven't gotten into it.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20275]

Ordering a couple of these to play with this week, super cheap and easy to wire up. If I decide to control it with an AVR I'll have to use PWM or something.

[Radiofag No.20291]

>>20246
That was a schematic for a simple linear amplifier called the "Tiny Tim".

I uses two commonly available 811A tubes to produce approximately 300w output.

Pic related, 811A. Still produced in the Ukraine and China!

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20300]

Mmmm, IN-13.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20311]

>>20300
Forgot image.

>>20291
Haha the only part I noticed was the power supply portion..

[Radiofag No.20319]

Here's a good one.

Fluorescent lightbulb parts turned into a simple CW transmitter.

The SWR of the antenna does not matter, the transistor can take a lot of heat.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20328]

>>20291
Oh I see the tube(s) now. Single triode tubes?

--------------------------------------------------------
pic is a nixie watch, Steve Wozniak has one.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20333]

>>20328
Fuck I keep forgetting the image.

>>20319
Thats interesting..

[Anonymous No.20337]

This is an amplifier circuit. Translation:
Correction modules for different speaker impedances. Resistors should be 1 watt. Adjustable cap is adjusted for minimum current through the oscillation coil.

[Radiofag No.20350]

>>20328
Correct!

I should be noted that the filament is thoriated tungsten for longevity reasons, thus, is slightly radioactive.

6.3v @ 4a filament
~1250-1500v B+

[Anonymous No.20358]

Schematic for a RIAA-approved phono preamp.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20364]

>>20337
Nice 12at7 preamp tubes there.. I built a simplified circuit like that, but with a 12ax7 and a solid state main gain stage for a guitar amp.

pic unrelated, just some nixies. (B-5025)

[Anonymous No.20366]

>>20223
SAUCE??

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20377]

>>20366
http://www.ladyada.net/make/icetube/

Very nice site with plenty of details.

----------------------------------------------------
Semi related schematic, found it on my first day on /diy/. Already had one designed, but this is cool.

[Anonymous No.20383]

>>20358
I was looking at phono preamp schematics a couple of days ago. I'm definitely going solid-state though, I'll stick to low voltage thank you very much.

[Anonymous No.20389]

>>20188
>>20196
>>20201
I've never seen VFDs like those before. I am all hot and bothered.

[Anonymous No.20392]

>>20364
Since you're here, you can help me a bit. I want to build a phono preamp and two push-pull monoblocks. Got six 12AT7 and four 6N2P double triodes, with corresponding transformers. What else do I need?

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20395]

>>20366
Sorry I should have given a more direct link to the kit.

http://www.adafruit.com/products/194

Pretty damn good deal for an awesome clock kit like that, and I'm assuming the avr is pre programmed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More IN-7(?) tubes

[Anonymous No.20405]

>>20377
big thanks man, maybe I'll try making one. Totally new to this. Saw some threads yesterday. Just love that vintage feel. Alright, I am new, do these do any serious work on an electric bill? Also, any way to get it to alarm?

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20413]

>>20392
Filter capacitors, resistors, some potentiometers for control. What is this used for, just straight audio amplification, or something guitar related?

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20425]

>>20405
These things probably consume just a couple of mAh so power consumption would be way less than an incandescent lightbulb, nothing to be worried about. That kit also comes with a transformer for 110 and 220, which is awesome.

[Anonymous No.20427]

>>20413
Straight audio stuff. The transformers are vintage Siemens coils from the mid-1960s. Tested, work fine. Can't test the 110 volt input side since I'm an eurofag though.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20459]

>>20405
Also the kit has a built in alarm system.

>>20427
Oh okay, well the only work I've done is dealing with stuff where distortion was desired, and that was a while ago. I'm probably not much of a good resource when it comes to audio stuff, but I can try and point you in the right direction. I found some cool stuff on http://diyaudioprojects.com/Schematics/ before. They helped me come up something on my own. Sorry I was trying to find the link, firefox history is weird.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20482]

>>20427
I wish I could help more with the audio stuff, I really need to get back into that too.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20507]

[Anonymous No.20515]

>>20507
How much would it cost to make the kind in your pic there?

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.20530]

>>20515
That particular one is a kit for like $500... crazy, huh? I blame it on the tubes and the nice case though.. Really you could build a similar one with tubes like that for under $100 if you know what you're doing.

http://www.nixieclock.net/pd1148559262.htm?categoryId=0 is where I found it.

[Anonymous No.20607]

>>20530
AND you could sell it for $500 afterwards. Similar stuff for tube amplifiers, really.

[Just Expecting Every Problem !ZXmBdDUhMU!!zv3dZrGjtru No.20615]

LAWDY LAWDY FREE AT LAST.

I used to post and ask /g/ questions about radios when I couldn't reach my friend who's a pro with them . Needless to say, they were assholes...

Now I have people who appreciate the old stuff!

[Anonymous No.20698]

>>20615
Old radios are neither linux nor lolis. No wonder that /g/ sperged out.

[Just Expecting Every Problem !ZXmBdDUhMU!!zv3dZrGjtru No.20717]

>>20698
Yea pretty much....

I try to avoid computers in my daily things actually, besides my laptop of course.

My car? No computers. Radio? No computers. Cell phone (not much I can do). Land line? No computers (1943 rotary dial).

Hell, I want a watch like this one at some point. Not for the no computers but just for the hell of it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4R3hODnTGo

I already have a luminox for dat glow.

[Anonymous No.20719]

What are these and how can I make an alarm clock out of them?

[Anonymous No.20722]

>>20698
>>20188
99.99% of the denizens of /g/ aren't old enough to know that tubes used to be used for something other than guitar amps.

[Anonymous No.20724]

what did the last one 404 already

i posted this in the last one. it's my nixie clock, build from a kit from PVelectronics (google them cheap and high quality, fe no cheap carbon resistors but all metalfilm). on these pics it's still in test mode hence the same digits are lit. i still need to make some enclosure for the clock and the DCF77 receiver

[Anonymous No.20727]

this tech has gone extinct my /diy/nosaur friends. but its super neat

[Anonymous No.20729]

>>20724
srry for the not very high res but 4chan kept whining about the size and these are already resized for another forum

[Anonymous No.20731]

>>20719
Nixie tubes. Basically the same thing as the glowing displays in DVD players, just in an older package. Just follow the links, there are some tutorials. For best effect, combine with a tube radio.

[Anonymous No.20734]

>>20729

[Anonymous No.20741]

>>20722
Nah, they've probably never worked with them for anything else, but the electbros here know how one functions as a circuit element.

[Anonymous No.20751]

Any place where you can reliably buy Nixie tubes from?

[Anonymous No.20753]

>>20729
>>20734
>>20741
Show me your ways elecbros

[Anonymous No.20768]

>>20751
ebay?

or try some webshops, PV electronics sells tubes along with complete kits. a quick google gives you some decent looking webshops.

[Anonymous No.20784]

[Anonymous No.20788]

i can really recommend building one. it is defenatly worth your money. i was as excited as a little child with christmas when he opens his presents when my first tube lit. and the hopping back in forth in the tube when a digit changes, my god....

even my non electronic loving friends and girlfriend love to stare in them.

[Anonymous No.20821]

if you cant programm microcontrollers this is a nice schematic, http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/nixcct.pdf

does the basic shit but if you don't understand why it's quite dangerous to use this one you shouldn't build it. *cough* no *cough* mains *cough* isolation *cough* use a fucking isolation transformer with this or back to back 2 identical transformers. dont just stick stuff straight to mains without galvanic isolation from mains

[Anonymous No.20834]

>>20821
Insulation is the word. Made that isolation/insulation error myself. Do you happen to be German?

[Anonymous No.20841]

>>20834
dutch, we're neighbours in some sort of way

you shocked yourself or what?

[Anonymous No.20897]

>>20841
Nah, just freaked out an American. Had to explain that it's the same word in German.

[Anonymous No.20915]

>>20897
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_isolation used the wikipedia term.

but anyways i'm back to my homework, exam this week

[Anonymous No.21212]

[Anonymous No.21229]

>>21212
do those run on 9 volt?. always tought it was around 30-50 volt

[Anonymous No.21304]

all the ones i tried so far (even the ones i ripped out of vcrs) have turn on with just a 9v battery.

[Anonymous No.21345]

>>21212
>>21304
weird, it's usually 30 volt and 3 volt for the pins i think

[Anonymous No.21358]

does anyone know anything about converting an old tube radio to a tube amp for guitar? it should be quite simple , but I can't seem to find anything useful...

[Anonymous No.21386]

>>21304

you just hook them up, with a datasheet or just trail and error, any current limiting needed? i have some laying around here, might be fun to mess around with when i've finished my nixie clock

[Anonymous No.21421]

Anyone used dekatrons?

[Anonymous No.21437]

>>21386
the ones in the pics i have no datasheets which is why i'm protoboarding them to make diagrams for them. the real pain is the filament voltage. the voltage is small (around 2-3v, using leds to get the voltage drop from 9v) but needs to be an ac voltage to get an even illumination (if you look at the pics you can see one side is darker than the other side since i'm using a dc voltage right now). no current limiting needed since its small even when the segments are all on. i plan on using cmos ics so i can run the chips at 9v, that way i won't need any driver chips (was going to use uln2804 but now not needed).

[Anonymous No.21447]

[Anonymous No.21891]

>>21447
without the software the circuit is quite useless

[Anonymous No.21901]

fucking love tube threads

what fun projects are there to pursue with these other than a clock? i already have a nixie clock. might use in-13s for a thermometer or something

[Anonymous No.22021]

>>21901
Calculator, for instance.

[Anonymous No.22069]

about how long do these last?

[Anonymous No.22096]

I would love to try and make my own tubes, but I've only found 1 guide so far and it's not that great.

[Anonymous No.22185]

>>22096
Yeah, I'd also love a decent guide for one if any Anon has one?

[Anonymous No.22191]

>>22069
tens of thousands hours. some even longer especially the multiplexed designs with tube savers (dimmed in the night, slotmachine function to keep the tubes in condition) tend to last VERY long.

[Anonymous No.22256]

>>22096
>>22185
I triple this.

[Anonymous No.22303]

physicist here
Building your own tubes is very difficult, it is not that hard to understand how they operate and are constructed (child langmuir equation) but the equiptment to construct a tube is very very expensive. For a good vacuum you need a diffusion pump (large quantities of mercury !!) or better, a turbomolecular pump (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alcatel-Turbomolecular-PTM-5400-Ceramic-Turbo-Pump-/140540533697?pt=BI_Pump
s&hash=item20b8de5bc1) to achieve a good vacuum. Because the vacuum is still bad, you need a getter, some kind of trap for existing gas molecules. Therefore you need an induction heater, to transfer magnetic flux (for heating) through the glass bulb (http://www.ebay.com/itm/15KW-30-80KHz-Hi-Frequency-Induction-Heater-Heating-Melting-Furnace-System-
/190554903261?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5df512dd). And of course, some barium metal for the getter. Then lots of glass and special metals which seal airtight with glass etc.
Even I buy the tubes. It is useless to think about diy

[Anonymous No.22327]

Where can i scavange a nixie tube?
Do i need to find a shit old radio?

[Anonymous No.22336]

>>22327
No, fuckin leave the radios alone. The more people like you salvage, the less will exist. These radios play wonderful music with just a few components were engineered by clever people. You can't build anything better with them.
When you want nixies, buy them. Russian IN18, IN14 and so on.

[Anonymous No.22340]

>>22327
Old calculators used them as display. Early 1970s.

[Anonymous No.22352]

>>22303
why not just put some LEDs in a non-vacuum tube? I assume you're all going for aesthetics here and not functionality.

[Noko No.22353]

DIY/Build/tools newfag here.Is there any easy mode to build one of these?

Also, all I can think of is Steins Gate as I look at these beautiful creations..

[Anonymous No.22358]

>>22353
There are kits out there. That's as easymodo as it gets. Just solder.

[Anonymous No.22367]

>>22303
Guess it would be simpler to break into an old Russian fallout shelter and steal them.

[Anonymous No.22376]

>>22303
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5dldgblID6ha3ryFm

[Anonymous No.22402]

>>22353
second this, I have an arduino and learning how to blow up LED, how difficult is to build a clock?

[Anonymous No.22404]

>>22376
HE`S A WITCH! Burn him at the stake!

[Cadwallader No.22407]

>>20722
problem?

[Anonymous No.22556]

>>22353
>>22402
take a kit like that from PV electronics or check nixiekits.eu a child can assemble them, just some soldering skills required.

>>22352
you clearly havent seen a nixie tube in real life, LED can't recreate that

[Just Expecting Every Problem !ZXmBdDUhMU!!zv3dZrGjtru No.22566]

Ok gentlemen, a little help if you don't mind!

Lets just brainstorm this idea to begin with.

I am trying to set up the radio in my car to be A LOT better looking than it is right now.

It's a 1970 F100, and I am trying to put only original 60's/70's things in there. My most recent was a legit vintage suntach tachometer, next easiest thing to do would be to replace my current CB with a 70's model.

However, here is the challenging one. I want to be able to get AM/FM as well as have an auxilary jack, but I want it to be something different and old looking that I can make myself. How hard would it be to use a current model radio, and switch out the display to a nixie tube one? No more than 4 tubes, just for radio stations.
tl:dr
How hard would it be to have nixie tubes for my car radio?

>pic for reference, current radio is shit, but I have A LOT of space to work with in there.

[Noko No.22627]

>>22566
I like your cup holder =O

[Anonymous No.22647]

>>22407
No, no problem.

Didn't think I'd be back to check on this thread, did you. Problem?

Note I didn't say "ALL of /g/", I said "99.99% of /g/". Welcome to the 0.01%.

BTW that's a late design with tubes because the small-signal tubes are mounted on PCBs instead of chassis-mounted sockets.

Looks like a stereo amplifier.

[Anonymous No.22652]

>>20395

How does the bar illumination work?

[Anonymous No.22661]

>>22566
More trouble than it's worth.
Modern displays are LCD and are multiplexed, and usually alphanumeric, if not outright graphical displays. Nixie tubes are just numbers with 1 pin per number. Even 7-segment VFD displays are still just VFD. Also, a radio for the vintage truck you have wouldn't have nixie tubes at all, it'd have a mechanical dial with a knob you turn to tune it, maybe mechanical presets if you're lucky.

I'd try wrecking yards, or antique dealers for vintage radios. You might be able to find one that is AM/FM.

[Anonymous No.22668]

>>22661
>Even 7-segment VFD displays are still just VFD.
"Even 7-segment VFD displays are still just 7-segment"

[Anonymous No.22671]

>>22661
No, you moron. Glowing displays are ALL still VFD displays.

[Anonymous No.22676]

>>22566
Or, put a stock AM radio in the dash, and hide the stereo in the glovebox.

[Just Expecting Every Problem !ZXmBdDUhMU!!zv3dZrGjtru No.22851]

>>22627
lol thanks, It's my own DIY project I guess, lol

It looks terrible... but it works.

>>22661
I'm aware the original AM only radios didn't have a display. I have one sitting around. The problem is AM only sucks.. but I want the classic look. I was just contemplating the idea of getting a newer unit but having it displayed like an older one.

>>22676
Mother fuckin' WOAH.

Why would I not think of that... lol

[The Dude !dudeCNpp3w No.22909]

TUBE MAGIC EYEs motherfuckers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_eye_tube

[Anonymous No.22923]

>>22909
Awwww yeah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAFPzBEe9b4

[The Dude !dudeCNpp3w No.23087]

Also check NANO TUBES
These are nasty little fuckers since they were meant for military applications and they are built to resist insane shocks (several Gs of accelleration, since they were used on MIG jetfighters).
I was thinking about building a car stereo tube amp with these.
I'll never do that but hey it'a an idea.

[Anonymous No.23830]

>>22376
Can anyone tell me what the machine at 1:23 is called?

[Anonymous No.23863]

>>23830

Small spot welder.

[Anonymous No.23874]

>>23863
Yeah, just managed to figure out what it was. Thanks for the reply.

[Anonymous No.24104]

Speaking of old tubes, what does /diy/ do when they encounter an asbestos insulated radio?

[Anonymous No.25440]

>>24104
get cancer

[Anonymous No.25471]

>>23830
That's a small spot welder built into a rotary press. I have a similar DAUDE press, they're strong enough to dent steel.

[Anonymous No.25761]

Love dem tubes!!! here's a shitty pic of my phono preamp, A bit noisy still but sounds great!

[Anonymous No.27114]

moar nixies

[Anonymous No.27574]

I wish I had money to spend so I could make a nixie clock.

[Luca !AMSCIenCEY No.27583]

I love tubes.

I know that there are several companies that produce tubes nowdays, especially for the high-end audiophile marked, but there's someone who still produces Magic Eyes?

Pic related.

[Luca !AMSCIenCEY No.27588]

I love tubes.

I know that there are several companies that produce tubes nowdays, especially for the high-end audiophile markek, but is there anyone that still produces Magic Eyes?

Pic related.

[Anonymous No.29110]

can anyone post a starter tutorial for these schematics and stuff?

I would love to know what it all means.

[Anonymous No.29129]

>>23087
Something tells me that those little tubes aren't going to be able to push even a full watt of power.

>>22851
Well, you can't have everything, can you? You have to choose. Either that, or if you have either an engineering degree and can design and build an entire car stereo that looks like an old radio but is actually modern, or unlimited money to spend to pay someone to do that. Otherwise you'll just have to put up with what you can get your hands on, because it's not a simple DIY project. I still say just put the stock AM in the dash so the look is consistent, and put the real stereo somewhere else.

[Anonymous No.29138]

>>29110
yea a place to start would be nice.

[Anonymous No.29145]

>>29110
>>29138
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/
Community college/State college/University basic electronics courses
Public library
Local bookstore

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.30866]

Woah, thread is still alive.

Bumping while I read.

[None !NIXIEavBA6 No.30895]

Pretty awesome to see this many people still interested in old tech like this.

Also, do you guys think I should multiplex my tubes? It would mean less decoder chips, but a little bit trickier.

[Anonymous No.31700]

Ugh, it's a shame these kits are so expensive. I suppose it's to be expected of older tech, but bleh..150ish dollars for a cool looking clock is a bit much heh.

[Anonymous No.31706]

>>31700
Exactly, I'd love a nixie clock. Not even anything that fancy, but I can't justify spending $300+ on a damn clock that doesn't even have an alarm.

[Anonymous No.32227]

>>31700
>>31706

check pv electronics. http://www.pvelectronics.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

on the cheaper side. but i've seen a i believe 60 dollar 4 digit clock with IN-16 tubes. but i can recommend the IN-8-2 or IN-8 kit from pv electronics. and it does include an alarm

[Anonymous No.32361]

>>32227
Would know any NA sites that sell Nixie clock kits?

[Anonymous No.34233]

>>32361
ebay

[Anonymous No.34245]

>this thread

[Anonymous No.34256]

>>20615

There were several topics I originally went to /g/ for but found only assburgers in their place.

/sci/ and now /dyi/ seem to embody most of those topics now, thankfully.

[Anonymous No.34789]

bumpo

[Anonymous No.34885]

I always wanted to play around with some of those micro nixie tubes, but finding a reliable cheap source has been difficult.

[Anonymous No.35071]

>>34885
go to the thrift shop and look for old calculators then rip them out of there.