Sockets for Burroughs 5870 S

[Michael Harpe]

I have gotten a hold of some 5870S units and I would like to get sockets for them.

I am in the USA. Any help appreciated.

Michael Harpe.

[Leroy Jones]

If you can't find these sockets, here are two options both of which I have used.

First option is make your own socket.   Copy the pin pattern and drill holes in plastic or wood

big enough to fit snugly some appropriately sized plastic wire insulation pieces.   Take a length of

#30 gauge kynar insulated, silver plated wirewrap wire with one end stripped sufficiently long to

go through the insulation and loop back on itself and tightly twisted.   Put this into the hole.

The tube pins fit snugly down inside the insulation, and touching the silver plated wire.

Make the wires long enough to terminate elsewhere to suit.

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Option #2 is remove the black plastic standoff from the tube.   This exposes the wire leads which are just barely

long enough to hand wrap very carefully some of that same #30 ga wirewrap wire onto each tube pin.

Make these wires at each least a few inches long.    After getting them all wrapped on there, then terminate the other

ends of these wires to a 14-pin DIP header plug.    I make header pin 1 the anode and then pin 2 is tube digit 1.

The tube digits 1-2-3-4-5-6 occupy the left side of the header.   Then on the right side it continues with tube digits 7-8-9-0, then

decimal point or points if it has them.     These assemblies can be made to stand the tube up and hold it about 1.5 inches off the socket

where the header ends up being plugged in to.

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I have used both of these methods and I think the best one is option #2.    Did this 17 times to create a 16-tube array of NL-1220 tubes,

B-5853, B-5870, a mixture of tubes but they all look identical when lit up.     The nice thing about hand wrapping wire wrapping directly to the tube

wire pins is there is no heat applied.    And then when you solder the other ends of those 30 ga wires to the DIP header, very little and practically no

heat gets through the wire to significantly raise the temperature of the tube pin.

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Anyway that is what I did.   I hope this helps.      -Chuck

[gregebert]

I wasn't aware there were sockets; I just assumed the leads were too flimsy to go into a socket. So, for those who do have these socketed, how are they working out and how difficult is it to plug them in ?

I have a few of these tubes and they have the plastic standoff and were soldered-down. When the time comes (sooner rather than later I hope...) I will be soldering them onto a PC board and 3D print any additional standoffs. Although they are on the smaller side, the fine-mesh, character shape, and gas mixture make them very cool.

[J Forbes]

Sockets for these tubes are not rocket surgery, but you do need to be gentle with the leads.

Here's one example of how to do it, using common parts...

[Mac Doktor]

On Feb 14, 2025, at 1:25 PM, J Forbes <jfor...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here's one example of how to do it, using common parts...

What is this gadget?

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact."—Carl Sagan, Psychology Today, 1996

[Nicholas Stock]

Looks like the innards of one of the original Cathode Corner nixie watches....

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