Decimal clock parts found!

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martin martin

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Jun 22, 2019, 7:33:40 PM6/22/19
to neonixie-l

Mac Doktor

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Jun 22, 2019, 8:57:11 PM6/22/19
to neoni...@googlegroups.com
There's a bunch of them up right now. The actual counters they go in are pretty steep. I'd LOVE to have one. The actual counter, I mean. I already have one of the modules.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

gregebert

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Jun 23, 2019, 1:20:30 AM6/23/19
to neonixie-l
Brings back old memories.....

I've cannibalized at least 3 versions of the Berkeley Universal Counter, most recently in 1980. One of them, though, had an electroluminescent panel which I thought was interesting, but it was very dim (these thing have limited lifetime).

They got scrapped for the neon bulbs, power transformer, panel switches and panel lamps, and perhaps fuses. Sorry to say the tubes had a very unpleasant ending. They went pop-pop-pop into the local storm drain.  Maybe it's just me, but I still have no regrets destroying those dinosaurs. I already had a working 6-digit nixie-tube counter, so I had no use for the Berkeley units.

The tube-based counter modules are quite a nightmare: No circuit-board !! Instead, its a stack of resistors and a few caps. I think they called this assembly technique  "cordwood", because it resembles how one would stack a cord of firewood.

Anyone who has the patience to resurrect one of those counting modules and get it working deserves a lifetime achievement award.

J Forbes

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Jun 23, 2019, 1:15:23 PM6/23/19
to neonixie-l
when are you sending me my award?

I still have this, and it still works, for a while.


I also have a mostly complete earlier 5510C Beckman counter, and a bunch of extra modules.

gregebert

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Jun 25, 2019, 12:03:22 PM6/25/19
to neonixie-l
Jim - I intend to make-good on the award; I just need a few more weeks to wrap-up a long-overdue project that is at the final stretch to the finish line.

Bill Notfaded

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Jun 28, 2019, 10:48:43 AM6/28/19
to neonixie-l
Those are really neat I almost bought 8 of those but I have too many projects on the drawing board right now...  really neat clock.
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