RLB Designs is located on the out skirts of London in Surrey our aim to create unique and individual clocks from original vintage Nixie tubes.
A history of the Nixie Tube;
A Nixie tube, or cold cathode display, is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information using glow discharge.
The glass tube contains a wire-mesh anode and multiple cathodes, shaped like numerals or other symbols. Applying power to one cathode surrounds it with an orange glow discharge. The tube is filled with a gas at low pressure, usually mostly neon and often a little mercury or argon, in a Penning mixture.
Nixie tubes were in use from the 1950’s up until the 1970’s when LED’s became more readily available. Nixie tube where used in many electronic devices of the time, from petrol pumps, counting machines to military equipment. The last production of Nixie tube was in the mid 1990’s in Russia.
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About the Clocks;
Each hand made clock is produced with loving care using Nixie tubes from old stock lost in warehouses in Russia or Ukraine. The tubes have a beautiful orange glow and a 3D look as each digit is stacked behind other within the tube. The clocks are created as timepiece art – and by their very nature they are individually constructed from recycled equipment, or original vintage items.
Inside each clock is the very latest Arduino microprocessor technology, the PCB’s are designed and built by RLB Designs in the UK and are used to drive these long forgotten tubes. For more information about my Universal Nixie Driver Board UNDB, click here.
About the Designer;
I have been in electronic design for many, many years and made my first Nixie clock when I was an apprentice in the 70’s. The clocks that I make now use the most up to date electronics available including a RTC (Real Time Clock) module which gives an accuracy of less than 1 second a year.
I have a range of clocks for general sale and take orders for commissioned pieces, If you would like to discuss an idea you have in mind, please feel free to get in touch. |
