Not really amps, but Nixie Tubes

vasselmeyer

This is an astonishing video. A guy got into Nixie tubes, found out that they were no longer made so he set up an entire production line to manufacture new ones. These are a work of art.

martinw

@juansolo

juansolo

Yep, and when you see how it's done, you realise just why they're so damned expensive (and probably worth it...).

vasselmeyer

$145 per tube. But when you look what he has done...even down to making the glass and creating the vacuum, this is artisan-level manufacturing.

I like the line in the video where he says he "ran out of room in the shed so we moved into a castle".

hywelg

Absolutely fascinating.  A true craftsman. Why isn't he making valves for the TGP market I wonder?

ThorpyFX

I watched the whole thing, true artisan right there. The product is immense

RiftAmps

Any man who can use a Whirlpool kitchen oven to make valves deserves my business.

1 x R|Z568M ordered.

robinbowes

"I needed more space so I moved from the garden shed to a local castle".

As you do...

normula1

Fascinating the lengths he's gone to

hotpickups

Amazing. But excuse my naïveness what are these numerical valves for?

olafgarten

hotpickups said:

Amazing. But excuse my naïveness what are these numerical valves for?

That's the purpose of the tubes, to display numbers, they were a rudimentary form of a screen. 

hotpickups

olafgarten said:

hotpickups said:

Amazing. But excuse my naïveness what are these numerical valves for?

That's the purpose of the tubes, to display numbers, they were a rudimentary form of a screen. 

Why would one need them now though? Why would he go to such lengths and expense to make them again 

Sporky

hotpickups said:

olafgarten said:

hotpickups said:

Amazing. But excuse my naïveness what are these numerical valves for?

That's the purpose of the tubes, to display numbers, they were a rudimentary form of a screen. 

Why would one need them now though? Why would he go to such lengths and expense to make them again 

I think it may have started with the steampunk thing (though they're not really steampunk) - they have a sort of Tesla-ish look to them, they're a mostly-forgotten technology and so on.

Mostly I think it's that they look cool, and they produce a lovely warm glow. One of those rare times when even I think that the better way of doing it (with a dial and hands, or an LCD or LED screen) actually lacks something. Nixies and flip-clocks have a nice elegance to them. They're both simpler and far more complex than the modern approaches.

Sassafras

I like that someone went to a lot of trouble to keep an old technology alive.

We've lost many skills because people couldn't be arsed to keep old traditions going.
Think how many 'True Historics' Gibson could've saved themselves from making and the public from repeatedly buying if they'd only kept blueprints of the originals.

ThorpyFX

hotpickups said:

olafgarten said:

hotpickups said:

Amazing. But excuse my naïveness what are these numerical valves for?

That's the purpose of the tubes, to display numbers, they were a rudimentary form of a screen. 

Why would one need them now though? Why would he go to such lengths and expense to make them again 

Because they are beautiful and it's a very nostalgic technology 

hotpickups

ThorpyFX said:

hotpickups said:

olafgarten said:

hotpickups said:

Amazing. But excuse my naïveness what are these numerical valves for?

That's the purpose of the tubes, to display numbers, they were a rudimentary form of a screen. 

Why would one need them now though? Why would he go to such lengths and expense to make them again 

Because they are beautiful and it's a very nostalgic technology 

Well I yes I agree and love to see more of this stuff but how cost effective can it be? Is there a market for it enough to financially viable with all that kit he had to buy. Maybe he's an eccentric millionaire or something and money doesn't matter that much.

Still it's captivating watching how it's all done though. 

Sassafras

Labours of love are rarely 'cost effective' or 'financially viable'.

m_c

hotpickups said:

Well I yes I agree and love to see more of this stuff but how cost effective can it be? Is there a market for it enough to financially viable with all that kit he had to buy. Maybe he's an eccentric millionaire or something and money doesn't matter that much.

Still it's captivating watching how it's all done though. 

Given each tube sells for $145, and I noticed somewhere mentioned 800 had been made, even allowing for $45 for materials, that's still $80'000, or more realistically over $100k, as I'd guess material costs for each tube won't be that high.

Given the low scale production techniques being used, I can't see an individual tube needing more than an hour labour, so you're looking at $100 an hour, which should quite easily cover costs. Even at two hours, it's still $50 an hour. Now for something that would appear to be more of a hobby/passion, that's pretty good.

m_c

It's worth a read of the About Me section on the website, as it gives a bit history - http://www.daliborfarny.com/#section-about-me

BigMonka

That clock he's made is so frickin cool - shame I can't afford the $1700 price tag :-(

ThorpyFX

BigMonka said:

That clock he's made is so frickin cool - shame I can't afford the $1700 price tag :-(

oh i want one, shame the long haired general has vetoed it as an unecessary frivolity