OT RANT - I hate modern resistors with hair-thin leads !!!

[Tom Katt]

Recently purchased new 1/4 + 1/2 watt resistor kits as my stock was running low...  I bought a few variety packs at Rat Shack ages ago that have lasted decades - the new ones  have leads that seem to be literally hair-thin - they bend all over the place in a breadboard and break off on terminal strips if you push them out of the way to get to another component.

I know that everything has gotten 'cheaper' over the years, but this really surprised me.  Do I really need to start hunting for 'vintage resistors' on eBay now?  Crazy!

Sorry - I feel a bit better getting that off my chest.

[Leroy Jones]

That, plus the extremely annoying (to me anyway) "4-band" color code.    These "new" resistors are garbage.   When ever I see these light sky-blue colored resistors, I know there is annoyance ahead.

[Dekatron42]

What brand did you buy and where?

Most professional brands sold by Digikey or Mouser have the usual pins, however cheap unbranded components from hobby places usually sell a cheaper Chinese brand with quite flimsy pins.

/Martin

[Tom Katt]

Not knowing any better I did in fact buy a cheap set from Amazon.  I typically purchase most components from reputable resellers like Digikey, but I figured what could they do to small resistors?  

From what I can tell, even kits from places like Jameco and SparkFun are identical to what I received.  Everything at Digikey beyond Sparkfun is about $50+ with some running over $300 (!!!) for Vishay sets that aren't offered in wide ohm to Megaohm ranges.  At best that means I'd need to order dozen qtys for popular values rather than the grab-bag kits I'm used to, and that seems like a PITA.

Any suggestions?

[Nicholas Stock]

taydaelectronics.com (https://www.taydaelectronics.com/)

I've purchased a lot of components from them and they're good quality as far as I can tell. I've never had any issues...(famous last words!)

Nick

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[Leroy Jones]

I have bought quite a few items from Tayda.   I will vouch for them they are a decent supplier.  But all of the resistors they have are the 4-band light-blue garbage.

It is true that if you really want high quality and reliable well made stuff, Digikey and Mouser are the best.   But always with those two outfits, remember

to get out your wallet and empty it very fast.    Jameco also has some decent stuff but not as much any more like it was 20 years ago.

[Leroy Jones]

Electronic Goldmine is also worth keeping an eye on.    They have some real nice old stuff that pops up from time to time.

Got a big bunch of N.O.S. C.P. Clare 24 volt multipole relays from them a while back.   They even have nixie tubes every so often.

[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 12:48:33 PM UTC-5 Nicholas Stock wrote:

taydaelectronics.com (https://www.taydaelectronics.com/)

I've purchased a lot of components from them and they're good quality as far as I can tell. I've never had any issues...(famous last words!)

Nick

Do you know if they have US based shipping? 

I did some Googling and apparently this is just how most through-hole low wattage resistors are made these days.  Amazing how I just never noticed lol.  I saw some comments that suggested these 'blue' film resistors might have better leads - they claim #24 gauge leads: ELEGOO 17 Values 1% Resistor Kit Assortment, 0 Ohm-1M Ohm (Pack of 525) RoHS Compliant for Electronic Projects: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

For $10 maybe I should order a set and see what they're like - I don't need another 1,000 but one of the two kits could go back.  They certainly can't be any worse.  Even the 1/2 watt kit I got is hair thin.

Failing that I'll start looking for old Radio Shack sets on eBay - at least I know what I'm getting.

[Nicholas Stock]

I don't understand the dislike of 4-band resistors.... get your multimeter out! LOL.

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[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 1:04:47 PM UTC-5 Leroy Jones wrote:

Electronic Goldmine is also worth keeping an eye on.    They have some real nice old stuff that pops up from time to time.

Got a big bunch of N.O.S. C.P. Clare 24 volt multipole relays from them a while back.   They even have nixie tubes every so often.

I used to get random stuff there all the time.  I wonder if they still send out the printed catalogs (probably not) - it was like the Sears Wishbook when it came in the mail ;-)

PS - I just took the calipers to the resistors I bought and the leads are .015".  My old Radio Shack resistors have .023" leads.  I'd guess that makes the ELEGOO set I linked earlier what I'm looking for (plus they're 1%).  Despite being 'blue', they do have 5 band color codes and aren't those funky new ones.

[Mac Doktor]

On Nov 5, 2025, at 12:01 PM, Leroy Jones <leroypu...@gmail.com> wrote:

That, plus the extremely annoying (to me anyway) "4-band" color code.    These "new" resistors are garbage.   When ever I see these light sky-blue colored resistors, I know there is annoyance ahead.

They really are crappy. Reading the colors is tricky to almost impossible A whiter light source helps but then you run into the partially smearing ones. Then there are the 1/8W resistors. Almost microscopic.

I bought a huge set for less than $10 recently. Mostly oddball values you'll rarely need but then that's the whole idea. In the event that I need  a funky value I don't have to wait.

On Nov 5, 2025, at 1:20 PM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Failing that I'll start looking for old Radio Shack sets on eBay - at least I know what I'm getting.

I have a bunch of those including the 1/2W 10% ones.

On Nov 5, 2025, at 1:29 PM, Nicholas Stock <nick...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't understand the dislike of 4-band resistors.... get your multimeter out! LOL.

Get your hands on one of these:

https://jyetech.com/m162-10-lcr-meter/

The case is tricky to put together. They also have a modular version of the same thing. The contacts are on a separate (much cheaper) board and could easily be connected to your $20 Harbor Freight DMM.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"There is no Main Street anymore except at Disneyland—and try and buy a gun there"—Hank Hill

[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 1:48:40 PM UTC-5 Mac Doktor wrote:

Get your hands on one of these:

https://jyetech.com/m162-10-lcr-meter/

The case is tricky to put together. They also have a modular version of the same thing. The contacts are on a separate (much cheaper) board and could easily be connected to your $20 Harbor Freight DMM.

I got a pair of smart tweezers that work great for quick measurements of small parts like a pile of random resistors (Shannon ST42 that I lucked into from following an Eevblog forum)... They ended up being a lot more useful than I expected   I bought them for around $80 when they first came out, now they're over $200 (thanks tariffs!).   I highly recommend smart tweezer style meters if you can find one at a reasonable price - one handed measurements and they automatically determine the components.

[Toby Thain]

The short answer is: Buy _name brands_ on Digikey, Mouser, Farnell etc.
Never buy retail, generic, aliexpress or ebay.

Had this specific problem buying from a small parts retailer in Toronto
who put mystery meat generic resistors in bags and the leads were all
low gauge junk and probably the part was too.

--T

>
> Sorry - I feel a bit better getting that off my chest.
>

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[Nick Andrews]

And that's not even considering the crappy rohs leads that crappy modern solder doesn't want to stick to .

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[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 5:30:44 PM UTC-5 Toby Thain wrote:

The short answer is: Buy _name brands_ on Digikey, Mouser, Farnell etc.
Never buy retail, generic, aliexpress or ebay.

Believe me - I'd do that if Vishay kits weren't $300+ on Digikey... For kits that are only a few decades in value, so you'd need to buy several kits for the whole range.  No way I'm spending over $1K on resistors lol.  Which means I'd have to buy small qtys of each value I need - and would still end up costing $$$ for just a kit of 1/4 or 1/2 watt resistors. 

I'm all ears if you have alternative suggestions ;-)

[J Forbes]

a friend recently gave me some electronics stuff from the 1980s, that he hadn't played with since the 1980s.

I guess these days, you have to have connections. I don't know the answer. 

[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 6:34:35 PM UTC-5 J Forbes wrote:

a friend recently gave me some electronics stuff from the 1980s, that he hadn't played with since the 1980s.

I guess these days, you have to have connections. I don't know the answer. 

That's exactly what I'm looking for!   And what nice packaging!  You'd think that would be easy to find these days, but nope.   I think eBay scouting might be the answer for me.

And I remember All Electronics - another classic surplus shop ala Electronics Goldmine. 

[Mac Doktor]

Coming back to this...

On Nov 5, 2025, at 6:51 PM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

That's exactly what I'm looking for!   And what nice packaging!  You'd think that would be easy to find these days, but nope.   I think eBay scouting might be the answer for me.

Didn't someone already mention EEEEE?:

https://www.amazon.com/EEEEE-Resistor-Assortment-Electrical-Industrial/dp/B09PLNPX3P/?th=1

Beautiful packaging.

Now check out this notebook full of resistors in pouches:

https://www.amazon.com/EEEEE-Resistor-Compliant-resistors-Assortment/dp/B08BNDL6DS/

Tell me where to buy an empty "book" like that and I'll be stuffing bagged parts into it as soon as it gets here.

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

[gregebert]

Ever since I went to the dark side more than 10 years ago (surface mount) I vowed I would never come back. No regrets, yet.

I can only think of a few cases where I had to use a large resistor due to power (heat) instead of SMT.

I can fit several thousand 0805 resistors into a small plastic box from Harbor Freight Tools, and they cost less than a penny each.

[Nick Andrews]

You could get negative holder sheets for 4x5 film negatives or photo prints and stick them in a binder...

https://a.co/d/6uFpISi

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[Tom Katt]

On Friday, December 12, 2025 at 6:58:36 PM UTC-5 Nick Andrews wrote:

You could get negative holder sheets for 4x5 film negatives or photo prints and stick them in a binder...

I use small tackle type toolboxes and 3x5 ziplock pouch bags...   Took a few hours, but beats the small parts bins I used to use. 

[Mac Doktor]

Excellent. I'll let you know.

BTW, I have several cabinets like this for parts and half-built stuff:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWS3HGRS

I can't recommend them enough. Note that here are some variations with drawers of different sizes. The large ones seem like a mama bear to me.

The prices are way down at the moment. Below $40 is a bargain. I have one of each of the colors.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

Q: Should car stereo speakers be pointed to the rear for more thrust or up for more traction?

A. On long trips, the 20- to 30% improvement in gas mileage you might get with speakers pointing to the rear is certainly worthwhile. On the other hand, if you drive on snow or ice, the extra traction of speakers pointing upward gives you added control.

Don Lancaster

[gregebert]

Each case has 24 small boxes, costs 5 USD. You could probably house 100,000 resistors in there.

[peter bunge]

May I suggest using coin envelopes for small component storage. 

I use 3,25" wide by 4.75" high and buy them in a box of 1000 from a local stationary store see second to last photo..

Staples do not carry them. If anyone finds a good source for them please publish.

Cut coloured card higher than the envelopes and label them as section dividers (SCR, NPN, CMOS, etc).

Cut strips of cardboard for dividers between rows. I have separate sections for 1/4 watt, surface mount, and other resistors.

I have small power resistors grouped by value (1.2k 1/2W.1.2k 1W,, 1.2k 2W) to make it easier to find the closest device I need.

Look for a used chest of drawers but check that the drawers are deep enough for the envelopes. 

Width of drawers is not critical but I was lucky enough to get a perfect match with no wasted space.

This is what I bought for about $80 to $100 Cdn depending on white, or brown which are cheaper.

$100 Cdn = $70 US

For larger components I use a standard size bin that I can but cheap in quantity. For odd sizes I use boxes.

Adjustable shelving helps maximize the number of shelves while allowing adequate space to match the variety of bins and boxes.

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[Tom Katt]

The bags are very similar to my storage, just trading paper for plastic.  They do work very well and are easy to organize.

As for storage chests...  I have a fetish for boxes as well lol - I always wanted one of those antique apothecary chests with the gazillion small drawers, but they are ungodly expensive.  The best I've come up with for me are the Grizzly 9 Drawer Oak tool chests for around $175 and I have a few Harbor Freight Gerstner clones that frequently go on sale for around $75...

[Nick Andrews]

Yeah the Humpty Fright chests are surprisingly well made.  I have one for gunsmithing tools, and could use a couple more for that.  

Also have a number of Dewalt modular cases with separate bins in them that you can arrange.  Hoem Repot had them cheap for like $11 a couple years ago and I grabbed a dozen or so of them at like 75% off.  They stack and clip together. Have separate ones for parts for AR, 1911, S&W K frame, Glock, etc.

I have an old slide storage cabinet that I plan to add casters to and replace the plastic slide trays with custom 3d-printed organizers for end mills, dies, taps, reamers, spare drills and such.  Granite surface plate should sit nicely on top of it.  It was paired with another cabinet that has vertical racks for slides that well, slide out like a drawer except vertical, and a light box built in to view and select them.  I was thinking about removing a lot of the vertical racks and use a few left installed to organize cables.  When you have a ton of interconnects like BNC, MHV, RS232, etc that can be a nightmare, right?

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[Instrument Resources of America]

I've also been using these for years. To me, it just did not make any sense to put two or three diodes, transistors, chips, or what have you, into a full size plastic drawer. Way to much wasted space. Then the other issue was, "adding" a NEW previously not stocked part number to the drawers. Much easier to add a NEW item if using the envelopes. Just fill it, label it, and drop it in the correct place. I also buy the envelopes in boxes of 1000 but I pick them up from Ebay. Sometimes I do have to watch for a while to find the exact ones that I want, but about the size that you are using work well. The plastic drawer parts cabinets work well when an entire drawer can be completely filled, or almost so with something. I use all 24 of my Akro Mills style of small parts cabinets to hold nothing but hardware. 0-80 through 3/4 inch. Most are 50-60 drawers each, some smaller. Just about every type of screw, nut, bolt, and washer that one could think of, and they work great for that. For resistors I use the cardboard sleeves that 'five' of the small vacuum tubes used to be shipped and stored in. Those work great for that. Way to many resistors to put in these envelopes. I've included two pics of some of my hardware stash, 0-80 up to 1/4-24. I use a Dymo label maker for the labels. This is a lifetime effort to collect hardware, mostly from salvaging of equipment, or yard sales. My nearest hardware store is eleven miles from my home. Good to have a large stash on hand.

Ira.

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[Tom Katt]

On Monday, December 15, 2025 at 11:35:43 AM UTC-5 Instrument Resources of America wrote:

I've also been using these for years. To me, it just did not make any sense to put two or three diodes, transistors, chips, or what have you, into a full size plastic drawer. Way to much wasted space. Then the other issue was, "adding" a NEW previously not stocked part number to the drawers. Much easier to add a NEW item if using the envelopes. Just fill it, label it, and drop it in the correct place. I also buy the envelopes in boxes of 1000 but I pick them up from Ebay. Sometimes I do have to watch for a while to find the exact ones that I want, but about the size that you are using work well. The plastic drawer parts cabinets work well when an entire drawer can be completely filled, or almost so with something. I use all 24 of my Akro Mills style of small parts cabinets to hold nothing but hardware. 0-80 through 3/4 inch. Most are 50-60 drawers each, some smaller. Just about every type of screw, nut, bolt, and washer that one could think of, and they work great for that. For resistors I use the cardboard sleeves that 'five' of the small vacuum tubes used to be shipped and stored in. Those work great for that. Way to many resistors to put in these envelopes. I've included two pics of some of my hardware stash, 0-80 up to 1/4-24. I use a Dymo label maker for the labels. This is a lifetime effort to collect hardware, mostly from salvaging of equipment, or yard sales. My nearest hardware store is eleven miles from my home. Good to have a large stash on hand.

I envy your organizational skills - that looks great.  Unfortunately, that is not a trait I inherited lol.  Thankfully, I have a pretty good memory and can recall the exact pile of junk hiding an item I am searching for with 99% accuracy :-)

[Instrument Resources of America]

Yes, organizational skills, TIME, and 'LOTS' of patience!!  LOL

Ira.

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[Nick Andrews]

Hahaha, for those of us with several decades of collecting, organization after the fact is a nice dream but all too impossible...

To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/db4037ea-0836-4cb2-be09-8d32a09b81a7%40HUGHES.NET.

[James Montgomerie]

I built myself an ‘instant read’ ohmmeter (because, seriously, why do multimeters take seconds to settle‽) a few year ago after buying a huge lot of used-to-be-sorted-40-years-ago-but-succumbed-to-entropy through hole resistors at the Silicon Valley Electronics Flea Market a few years ago. Works great!

https://www.blog.montgomerie.net/posts/2023-08-30-instant-resistor-measurer/

Jamie.

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[Mac Doktor]

On Dec 15, 2025, at 12:27 PM, Nick Andrews <nickja...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hahaha, for those of us with several decades of collecting, organization after the fact is a nice dream but all too impossible...

My dad just asked me the other day with everything is worth in case I croak tomorrow. I guess I'll have to inventory all the Nixie stuff. Tags with bar codes hanging from the handles.

Then there's the Xmas light collection and the Halloween stuff. The record/CD collection will go to a nice home.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near Tannhäuser Gate. 

"All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain.

"Time to die"— Roy Batty, Blade Runner

[Nick Andrews]

Oh, the horror!  I have so, so , so much various 'stuff' it's not even funny.  Electronics, high voltage, lasers, high vacuum stuff, nixies, neon, tesla coils, laboratory, nuclear science, nuke instrumentation, gamma spec stuff, beta/alpha spec too, x-rays, Playboys, comic books, fine art prints mostly wildlife and Steve Hanks, high energy chemistry and such, pyro, guns, ammo, reloading, woodworking, photography, metalworking, tools, books, Disney books and such, 3d printing, chemistry, welding, construction, no wonder the 20x20 shed, 10x20 and 10x10 storage units are all packed full...  I'll be 54 on the 2nd and need to divest some of the excess.  At least so I can ditch the smaller storage unit!

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[Instrument Resources of America]

Yes I do know the feeling about how impossible a huge project may seem, and probably is. But if I could encourage you to first of all develop a plan to tackle it, start perhaps in one corner, and if possible keep working at it a certain amount each day. I found the following to be quite helpful for myself,    "How do you eat an elephant?"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------One bite at a time.!!!!  

Good luck with whatever you attempt to do.

Ira.

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[Tom Katt]

Reminds me of 'Swedish Death Cleaning' lol...  Which actually helped me out when my parents decided to thin out their lifetime's accumulation of stuff.

Don’t wait until you are old and tired to simplify your life. Swedish death cleaning is not consigned to the elderly.

We can declutter and embrace minimalism at any age. Doing so will unburden you, allow more time for loved ones, and create an abundance of memories to cherish for a lifetime.

[gregebert]

I've done a few rounds of that....such as throwing a working Dumont 304H oscilloscope into the garbage, and a working Teletype ASR-33. It still haunts me decades later.

Giving away something that works to someone who wants it helps erase that guilt. I gave away my working Heathkit scope I built in 1981 (the kit cost $969 back then) with zero regrets.

[Nick Andrews]

As much stuff as I have, I do still regret abandoning a few things when I left Florida in 2004, like 2 large laser power supplies that might've worked but more importantly had several hundred really good HV caps in them, among other parts.  And a couple of large stainless steel sheets, some other things.  Oh, well.  I am looking at selling off some nuke stuff that I have multiples of.  Organization, well...

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[Mac Doktor]

On Dec 16, 2025, at 12:05 PM, gregebert <greg...@hotmail.com> wrote:

a working Teletype ASR-33. It still haunts me decades later.

I still have mine. It's on the stand. Make me an offer.

I also have the analog plotter for an HP "calculator". Everything works but I have no way of testing its functionality. Ton of gold in it but it's a museum piece.

Giving away something that works to someone who wants it helps erase that guilt. I gave away my working Heathkit scope I built in 1981 (the kit cost $969 back then) with zero regrets.

Exactly. The friends who can haul music and electronics away

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"Ho, ho, ho"—Jabba the Hut.

[Dave ZL3FJ]

re the ‘analog plotter’- what model is it? (academic interest only- I’m in NZ!)

DaveB

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[Mac Doktor]

On Dec 16, 2025, at 3:31 PM, Dave ZL3FJ <2c...@silverbears.nz> wrote:

re the ‘analog plotter’- what model is it? (academic interest only- I’m in NZ!)

HP 9125A. The servos, pen holder and electrostatic paper holder all work.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"Would you like to see the relevant data?"—343 Guilty Spark, Halo 2

[Adrian Godwin]

I have it's successor, the 9862A. I believe it was built for the 9825A calculator but i have used it with the 9815A.

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[Mac Doktor]

On Dec 16, 2025, at 4:06 PM, Adrian Godwin <artg...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have it's successor, the 9862A. I believe it was built for the 9825A calculator but i have used it with the 9815A.

The big question is how much is it worth? As I said there's a lot of gold on the board. The leads are plated.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes."—Roy Batty, Blade Runner

[Dave ZL3FJ]

That’s the plotter to go with the HP 9100. I have one here. As such it will probably command a good price in the right place. eg the HP calculator forum or similar.

DaveB, NZ

 

From: neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mac Doktor
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2025 09:58
To: neonixie-l
Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] OT RANT - I hate modern resistors with hair-thin leads !!!

 

 

On Dec 16, 2025, at 3:31 PM, Dave ZL3FJ <2c...@silverbears.nz> wrote:

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[Alex]

I had an HP 7580B plotter on its (non detachable) stand. It was 4ft high and about the same wide, 8 pens and serial / GPIB control. It had auto sheet size detection and manual jogging, as well as the ability to use it as a semi manual scanner to report x-y coordinates back to the comouter. I used it as a vinyl cutter for a bit and it worked ok but never really had the pen pressure... Incredible pen plotter though, so fast and mesmerising to watch. The built in demo was a work of art. It was still working fine when I sold it about 5 years ago, due to complaints from the space police about the appropriateness of such things in a living room, when it was circa 40 years old... 

[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 7:38:25 AM UTC-5 Alex wrote:

I had an HP 7580B plotter on its (non detachable) stand. It was 4ft high and about the same wide, 8 pens and serial / GPIB control. It had auto sheet size detection and manual jogging, as well as the ability to use it as a semi manual scanner to report x-y coordinates back to the comouter. I used it as a vinyl cutter for a bit and it worked ok but never really had the pen pressure... Incredible pen plotter though, so fast and mesmerising to watch. The built in demo was a work of art. It was still working fine when I sold it about 5 years ago, due to complaints from the space police about the appropriateness of such things in a living room, when it was circa 40 years old... 

I'm a pretty lucky guy...  While apparently leaving my tools on the floor is a faux pas, the better half has no issue with the 8ft tall vintage NYC traffic light (complete with graffitied aluminum pole) I picked up from a surplus shop lol.  Oh - and her first Christmas gift to me after we got married was an old school electromechanical Gottlieb pinball machine.  She gets me ;-)

But gawd forbid I leave some cables on the kitchen table!

[Mac Doktor]

On Dec 17, 2025, at 8:17 AM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote: 

I'm a pretty lucky guy...  While apparently leaving my tools on the floor is a faux pas, the better half has no issue with the 8ft tall vintage NYC traffic light (complete with graffitied aluminum pole) I picked up from a surplus shop lol.  Oh - and her first Christmas gift to me after we got married was an old school electromechanical Gottlieb pinball machine.  She gets me ;-)

I have a set of railroad signal lights and some grade crossing flashers. Sadly, there's no room in here to set them up. There's no room for arcade games, either. I used to have a Bally Lost World and an Atari Tempest.

On Dec 16, 2025, at 7:55 AM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

basically took the innards and reformed it into a clock display

Oh, the humanity. Mine is intact and running.

https://www.astarcloseup.com/2019/05/systron-donner-8350-readergenerator.html

Someone is fixing the broken switch caps for me.

I loved the nasa-style illuminated push buttons and thumbwheel switches for setting the time. 

That's the rare part. The prongs on a couple of mine broke. I need to contact Sam to see if he's settled in for the winter and can fix them. Does anyone know where to obtain the light bulbs in them? I do NOT want LEDs in there.

On Dec 17, 2025, at 2:16 PM, Leroy Jones <leroypu...@gmail.com> wrote:

What all does "Colossus" do?

"This is the voice of World Control."

"Man is his own worst enemy."

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

"You know, I'll bet _any_ scene from "Metropolis" would have drawn protests from football fans"—Roger Ebert

[Tom Katt]

On Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 2:29:51 PM UTC-5 Mac Doktor wrote:

Oh, the humanity. Mine is intact and running.

https://www.astarcloseup.com/2019/05/systron-donner-8350-readergenerator.html

Someone is fixing the broken switch caps for me.

I loved the nasa-style illuminated push buttons and thumbwheel switches for setting the time. 

That's the rare part. The prongs on a couple of mine broke. I need to contact Sam to see if he's settled in for the winter and can fix them. Does anyone know where to obtain the light bulbs in them? I do NOT want LEDs in there.

On Dec 17, 2025, at 2:16 PM, Leroy Jones wrote:

What all does "Colossus" do?

"This is the voice of World Control."

"Man is his own worst enemy."

My favourite evil computer movie ;-)

When I bought that Systron Donner timer in the 90's gear like that was all over the place and basically being sold for gold scrap.  I had always loved nixies since I was a kid and my father's friend worked at Burroughs - I got to visit his office a few times and play with the punch card terminals...  That was where I first saw the neon tubes and it was burned into my memory.  Later when I had the resources to build a clock for myself the easiest thing to do was just get something already functioning because I had no idea how to wire them.  In hindsight, I would have preferred to have saved the original gear...  but such is life and at least the boards live on.  Speaking of which - I had never neard of DTL (Diode-Transistor-Logic) until I started reverse engineering the circuits - they looked like TTL chips, but were a generation prior technology.  Interesting.

And yes - there is a place for LED's, but it's not in those switches!

[Instrument Resources of America]

What's the part number on the bulbs? If no part number, how about a good photo with a scale for dimensions, and any electrical specs if known.

Ira.

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[Tom Katt]

On Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 10:45:26 AM UTC-5 Instrument Resources of America wrote:

What's the part number on the bulbs? If no part number, how about a good photo with a scale for dimensions, and any electrical specs if known.

Ira.

Sadly, the clock I built was gifted to a friend and I no longer have access to it...  My recollection is that the bulbs were small 12V or 24V with a threaded base, but I may be wrong.  I do remember trying to locate additional switch assemblies and they were all but impossible to find at the time.  I'll poke around Google images to see if anything kindles those memory cells.. 

[Instrument Resources of America]

Small bulbs like that had several different base. Some of which were, a screw base as you have mentioned, a flanged base with center contact, and some with two wire like pins. I have a very large stash of bulbs here all filed by part number. I'll eventually need that part  number, one way or another, or a way to help determine it.

Ira.

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[Mac Doktor]

On Dec 18, 2025, at 10:52 AM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 10:45:26 AM UTC-5 Instrument Resources of America wrote:

What's the part number on the bulbs? If no part number, how about a good photo with a scale for dimensions, and any electrical specs if known.

My recollection is that the bulbs were small 12V or 24V with a threaded base, but I may be wrong. 

The "bulbs" are long and polygonal with contacts running down the sides. They slide in and out of the switch.

I do remember trying to locate additional switch assemblies and they were all but impossible to find at the time.  I'll poke around Google images to see if anything kindles those memory cells.. 

Good luck with that one. Rare on eBay and usually expensive. 

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com

“...the book said something astonishing, a very big thought. The stars, it said, were suns but very far away. The Sun was a star but close up.”—Carl Sagan, "The Backbone Of Night", Cosmos, 1980

[Instrument Resources of America]

That helps some. Those are called 'slide base' bulbs. They came in several different lengths, and ratings. They were used by the millions in such things as Western Electric, telephone equipment, including switch boards.  I do have some here. Still need a number, or length and voltage, or a working sample.

Ira.

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[Tom Katt]

On Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 11:41:42 AM UTC-5 Mac Doktor wrote:

The "bulbs" are long and polygonal with contacts running down the sides. They slide in and out of the switch.

Now that you mention that - you are 100% correct!   They were very unique and I had never seen anything like them before.  Originally I thought they would have been the types used in multi-line telephone sets, but they are different. 

[Leroy Jones]

They sound like telephone switchboard lamps.   Just google that search term to see them.   They are on EPay all the time.

[Nick Andrews]

Room, what's that?

I have a Dig Dug cabaret cabinet that has a 60in1 board in it in living room, an old Data East convertible cabinet (horizontal/vertical monitor) with a 2600 or so game board in it in the shed/shop, and in storage unit an original working Crystal Castles cabinet, a Subroc original cabinet that plays but has a couple cosmetic issues, and another cabinet with a Boom'r Rang'r board set in it.  Have a complete wire harness and spare board for CC, some misc components, a spare Boom'r Rang'r board with some issue, and more parts like buttons and joysticks.  Have a spare 19" arcade monitor and I think two Zenith TVs with the right CRT to be donors for arcade monitors.  It's a sin to place an LCD screen in a real arcade cabinet!  I believe they are now making CRT for such things in Korea maybe?

Have some of the old octagonal rotary 8-way joysticks like for Heavy Barrel, Ikari Warriors, etc. where the boards broke at the connectors.  I was thinking I might be able to direct solder some wires at the edge of the plastic case to get them working but haven't tried yet.  My intent was to make two cabinets MAME machines, one each for horizontal and vertical games, but that stalled out...a while...ago.  Still have a couple small form factor Dell desktops that run Win2k I was going to use for that.

Aaaaaaaand yes two Atari 2600 and two Colecovision systems with a good number of games.  Even the adapter for Colecovision to play the Atari games in.

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