Jeff Thomas is no more

[MichaelB]

This is a truly sad day. Jeff Thomas, who most of us know as the inventor of the classic Nixisat, NixiChron, and countless other Nixie classics has passed away this 4th of July weekend. Jeff was a tremendous guy and an extremely intelligent guy who was always willing to help me in my Nixie endeavors.   I think I can call him a friend although we never met in person. I will miss him and my sincere condolences go out to his family and business associates. May his memory live on.

[mic...@xiac.com]

That is very sad news indeed! I also regarded him as a friend, very helpful and knowledgeable person!

My condolences go out to his family.

 

 

 

 

On 2014-07-10 13:43, MichaelB wrote:

This is a truly sad day. Jeff Thomas, who most of us know as the inventor of the classic Nixisat, NixiChron, and countless other Nixie classics has passed away this 4th of July weekend. Jeff was a tremendous guy and an extremely intelligent guy who was always willing to help me in my Nixie endeavors.   I think I can call him a friend although we never met in person. I will miss him and my sincere condolences go out to his family and business associates. May his memory live on.

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to neoni...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/dc07d8b9-7d72-49cd-a1a5-a3c516a672bb%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Nicholas Stock]

Oh my, that is tragic news indeed. I've 'known' Jeff since 2000 and have enjoyed not only his creations but all the messages, emails and discussions I've had with him over the years..

I'm really quite shocked by the news. My sincerest condolences to his family also.

RIP Jeff.

Nick

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 9, 2014, at 20:43, MichaelB <badn...@badnixie.com> wrote:

This is a truly sad day. Jeff Thomas, who most of us know as the inventor of the classic Nixisat, NixiChron, and countless other Nixie classics has passed away this 4th of July weekend. Jeff was a tremendous guy and an extremely intelligent guy who was always willing to help me in my Nixie endeavors.   I think I can call him a friend although we never met in person. I will miss him and my sincere condolences go out to his family and business associates. May his memory live on.

--

[petehand]

I am very sorry to hear that. I collaborated with Jeff on a couple of projects, though we never met face to face. May he sleep easy.

Pete

[Nick]

Really, really, sad to hear this news - I believe he was only 56 - our thoughts are with his family and friends...

I had a fair amount of communication with Jeff over the years, most recently in the last few months where he helped me update & rebuild my all-original NixiSat - one of his many beautiful designs.

He was one of the original members of the original Yahoo! neonixie-l group back in 2002 and was always helpful, willing & constructive in giving advice. He was instrumental in the resurgence of nixie popularity and was featured in the IEEE Spectrum articles in 2002 (http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/new-life-for-nixies) & 2004 (http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/pardon-me-got-the-time).

Jeff recently (well, in the last few years) became interested in HV experiments and was an active participant on the 4HV forum when most of the innovative Tesla Coil stuff happens - he did some fantastic work over there too - whilst we didn't work directly together on HV projects, I was in awe of the stuff that he and his main collaborator, Eric Goodchild, did.

He'll be missed by many.

Nick

 

[Morris Odell]

I am really sorry to see this. I had one or two email exchanges with him and he always came across as a real gentleman.

My condolences to his family.

Morris

[TouMu]

Sad.

R.I.P.

MichaelB於 2014年7月10日星期四UTC+8上午11時43分38秒寫道：

[Michael Seaton]

Very sad & unexpected news.  Condolences to his family and friends.

He was aways the gentleman and very helpful whenever I talked to him.

[Quixotic Nixotic]

On 10 Jul 2014, at 04:43, MichaelB wrote:

> This is a truly sad day. Jeff Thomas has passed away.

May I ask how old he was and what dependants he has left? A sad affair indeed. I condole all those who need condoling,

John S

[Wayne de Geere III]

On Jul 11, 2014, at 1:43 PM, Quixotic Nixotic <nixc...@jsdesign.co.uk> wrote:

May I ask how old he was and what dependants he has left? A sad affair indeed. I condole all those who need condoling,

He has a wife and three children, the oldest is their 15 year old son Christian who recently started learning to drive by driving daddy’s vintage thunderbird convertible “The Time Machine” around their community. They also has two daughters who are younger than the son.  I reached out to his wife to let her know there’s an entire community grieving this loss. Jeff was really an exemplary engineer, geek, maker, creative, mensch.

According to his FB wall, Jeff left their home in Arizona with the kids on June 27th on what he described as “the Great American road trip." 
"First stop was magic mountain. Next stop redwood forest.”

I haven’t gotten a lot done since hearing the news the other morning.

John Miktuk posted this to Jeff’s FB wall a few months ago. You all know anybody like that? :)

[threeneurons]

A very sad day. He was one of the old guard that brought life back into the nixie tube, and created this hobby.

It was an honor to have known him.

[lai...@wcoil.com]

I am very sorry to hear of Jeff's passing, my heart goes out to his family
and especially his children. I was 25 when my father passed away in 1987,
I miss him still. It would be so much harder at even an earlier age....
Tim Laing

[Terry S]

Jeff was a great engineer. We had many email exchanges over the years, I helped him with radio parts and schematics and updates for his Data IO device programmer. In classic Jeff style, he over-returned the favor... at various points giving me tubes and clocks, software updates, tons of advice and nixie wisdom.

Jeff had lots of other interests. He was an electric vehicle enthusiast. He had a world class radio collection, probably the most comprehensive and complete collection of Atwater Kent breadboards ever assembled. Several years ago his health issues contributed to his business problems, and he was forced to liquidate his collection. But he never lost his enthusiasm for nixies and nixie clocks... as recently as this spring, he was helping me with nixie clock questions.

He will be missed. My condolences to his friends and family.

Terry

On Wednesday, July 9, 2014 10:43:38 PM UTC-5, MichaelB wrote:

[Instrument Resources of America]

I never met the gentleman, and I don't believe that I had the pleasure of conversing with him here,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,my loss!! My condolences to his friends and family.  Ira.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to neoni...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/df117ede-1329-4b2d-ae99-0f40751ad4b7%40googlegroups.com.

[Wayne de Geere III]

On Jul 13, 2014, at 5:52 PM, Instrument Resources of America <IRACO...@HUGHES.NET> wrote:

I never met the gentleman, and I don't believe that I had the pleasure of conversing with him here,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,my loss!! My condolences to his friends and family.  Ira.

Here is all I need to share with you, nixie lovers, Jeff’s nixie site and you wil have an idea of the quality of human, engineer and maker that the word lost: http://www.amug.org/~jthomas/clockpage.html

 

Nixie Tube Clocks and the Nixie Wristwatch Decades ago, Nixie Tubes were used as indicating devices in many types of instrumentation, and ultimately replaced by the cheaper  -unattractive-  LED display.  Having been obsolete for nearly a half century, these glowing bottles of ionized gases have attracted another generation that appreciate their simple beauty. My approach to Nixie Clock design began at the packaging. All examples are influenced by mid-century industrial design.  GPS Satellite receivers are the primary timing reference source,  delivering the highest time keeping precision available. Click here to view the IEEE Spectrum June '02 feature article on Nixie Clocks.    Great examples of custom nixie clocks. Click here to view the IEEE Spectrum July '03 article "A Clockwork Orange" building the NixiSat clock as a kit of parts. Click here to view the IEEE Spectrum October '04 "Tools & Toys" article, reviewing the NixiChron clock and others too. The GPS FLW (Four Letter Word display) The GIANT GPS Satellite controlled clock with FOUR Alphanumeric B7971 Nixie Tubes! A collaborative effort with Peter Hand and Juergen Grau has brought you the long awaited GPS FLW This is a very large Burroughs B7971 nixie tube display. It stands more than five inches tall, and ten inches wide. Click Here for purchasing information, or additional details about the GPS FLW. Click Here to download the GPS FLW document package as a zip file. Have questions?  send me an email here The Gallery of Nixie Tube Clocks  I've built a few different clock models in the twelve years since I began this crusade. Including the world's first Nixie Wristwatch!  Click on the name of the clock model below for additional information and images about them. Note: most are no longer for sale. The Nixie Clock Commemorative Clock The NixiSat Cylinder NixiSat NixZilla!    WWVB Clock The Burl Clock Nixie Tube Wristwatch GPSII Cylinder Clock The NixiChron   Atomic Nixie Tube Clock The GPSII Clock Transparent Nixie Clock CyClock - one tube NIMO clock The Tuning Fork Nixie Clock Nixie Tube Wristwatch  Redux  It appears just about anyone who can swing a soldering iron has been marketing their nixie projects through an online auction site.   Beware of any nixie clocks or other gizmos that are directly line voltage powered.  If it uses a low voltage wall adapter for power   it would indicate the line is isolated for safety.  Always do some research before you buy someone's project. It could be total junk. And they have all visited here, using these nixie clocks as the benchmark for menu structure, features, and enclosure design ideas. Heath kit GC-1000 Most Accurate Clock A Power Supply reliability upgrade procedure Click on the image below to enter <>The Alien Nixie Clock Autopsy Click on the image below to enter    Christian's 48V Electric Go Kart Click on the image below to enter Visit the online museum of Atwater Kent Breadboard radios. I collect these dusty radio relics from the early 1920's! Click on the image below to enter   The J.C. Deagan MIDI Chimes Doorbell Click on the image below to enter A Nixie Gone Bad? The sad tale about an international scammer. Jeff Thomas Resonant Instruments LLC  (480) 516-4523 This site was last  updated 03/01/12

[Instrument Resources of America]

Thank you Wayne.  Ira

[fixitsan]

Tragic news. I worked on a couple of things for Jeff and knew him as great guy, very helpful and willing to give his time freely.

Bye Jeff

Chris

[MichaelB]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0jYY0UcC0U

On Wednesday, July 9, 2014 8:43:38 PM UTC-7, MichaelB wrote:

[Nick]

On Sunday, 17 August 2014 22:06:56 UTC+1, MichaelB wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0jYY0UcC0U

Lovely lovely clock - I like that.

Has the hours/units digit 2 gone a bit wonky or is that an artefact of the filming?

Nick

[MichaelB]

Thanks NIck. No, that's just the way that digit's formed on that tube. Not one of the best in my stock of these.