Fascinating ebay sale ... apparently IN-18 production gear!

[Zedsquared]

This is interesting!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261172534593

I've not got the cash or inclination to buy but would love to hear what people make of this, it's a great insight into what goes on in manufacture.
Does anyone know what the green machine with flames does?
What's in the cans? (I'd guess getter compound maybe ).
Looking at the Q&A so far it implies that the digits have to be made with the supplied "know how" ... photo etching techniques and recipies perhaps?

Cheers,
       Robin.

P.S.    I guess I should introduce myself :) Hi, I'm Robin from the UK, a software and hardware computer guy with a nascent ebay nixie acquisition habit but only a few breadboard rigs actually built yet. Here's "hello world" from my first PIC and nixie setup:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqxDZUYhl2s
Day job is R&D at a company fitting out emergency service command and control vehicles with tech, weekend job is pyrotechnician with skyburst. I'm currently spending most of my time in bed with a laptop due to a broken ankle, bah!

[dr pepper]

Looking at it you'd also need a air compressor and a power press for
the press tooling.

A visit to the seller would be a good idea to see what is included.

Setting up producing those tubes might be profitable, however
allthough not absolutely necessary you'd really need to speak to one
of the setters or production workers that ran the original production
line, so you'd need to speak russian.

[Dan Hollis]

What's in the tins?

I don't see these in the pics:
* grid meshes
* digit wire
* getters

-Dan

> --
> 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 an email to neoni...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
>
>
>

[kay486]

The tins contain getters actually. But the thing is that most likely they wouldnt be working by now. Also the most important thing that is missing there are the tube bases with the metal to glass seals. You can easily etch the anode grid and cathodes. But you wouldnt be able to make the bases.
All in all, there is no wa you would make money on that. It would be just an interesting project to work on.

>> � � � �Robin.
>>
>> P.S. � �I guess I should introduce myself :) Hi, I'm Robin from the UK, a

>> software and hardware computer guy with a nascent ebay nixie acquisition
>> habit but only a few breadboard rigs actually built yet. Here's "hello

>> world" from my first PIC and nixie setup: �https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqxDZUYhl2s

[Nicholas Stock]

Take a look at the question and answer section of the listing...the seller does say that the stamps for the bases are included.with pins....

This listing has been going for a while now...he's had a few offers that he's declined by the looks of it too..

Nick

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/neonixie-l/-/dgXwJaq6QZYJ.

[Adam Jacobs]

There definitely has to be a very limited sort of customer base for an auction such as this one.

Kind of reminds me of the Polaroid film "Impossible Project" people.. They bought the old factory, all of the equipment, and even hired back a ton of the employees. I'm still floored that there is enough of a niche customer base for that business to stay afloat.

-Adam

[Instrument Resources of America]

    Wasn't this exact same lot up for sale just a few months back??  Ira.

On 5/8/2013 3:15 PM, Nicholas Stock wrote:

[Dalibor Farný]

The seller describes the auction as a complete factory for producing
the IN-18 tubes, but actually it is just a pile of junk. The most
critical parts as stems (pin bases) arent there, digits are just in a
form of "know-how" and so.. Even he has the stamps for the pin bases
it would be a real deal to get the stuff working. You can see the real
production of stems here: http://youtu.be/GDvF89Bh27Y?t=21m15s
Does the seller provide also such a automatic machine working with the stamps?

Also the neon filling station would be difficult to build, especially
if it should be automatic..

I would be personally interested in getters and those ceramic bead
insulators, all other has almost no value. I think it could make sense
for anyone looking to start a crazy project (as the polaroid film
mentioned by Adam Jacobs), but in this case the price would have to
lowered to somewhere $2-3.000.

IN-18 isnt a tube worth recovering the original factory ;-) z568m or
something would be much better!

By the way, I am almost prepared to produce some tube samples.. I am
building the garden shed to accomodate all my stuff and then I will
put all parts together! The last progress I made are etched digits:
http://dalibor.farny.cz/another-update-digits-for-nixie-tubes/
Some interesting blog posts are to come soon!

Guess what kind of nixie am I going to replicate? ;-)

Sorry for self-promo!

Dalibor

2013/5/9 Instrument Resources of America <IRACO...@hughes.net>:

Dalibor Farny
http://dalibor.farny.cz

[Matt]

It would be nice to see larger tubes put on Kickstarter or Indiegogo so that more people can enjoy them.

Also, it would be nice to see other designs made. For example, lasermad.com has an induction powered nixie chess set that uses
existing symbols for chess pieces, but how awesome would it be to have the actual chess shapes as in this rendering?

http://nxt.flamingo3d.com/photo/nixie-chess-set?context=latest

(I am not affiliated with anything mentioned, attached, or linked above)

>> >> � � � �Robin.
>> >>
>> >> P.S. � �I guess I should introduce myself :) Hi, I'm Robin from the UK, a

>> >> software and hardware computer guy with a nascent ebay nixie acquisition
>> >> habit but only a few breadboard rigs actually built yet. Here's "hello

>> >> world" from my first PIC and nixie setup: �https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqxDZUYhl2s

[Dalibor Farný]

Nice, this is good idea!

There is actually not problem with money (to go on kickstarter), but
with information that is very difficult to obtain..

For example I solve a problem with the matte gray metal sheet what is
used for the back of the nixie tubes - it is not shiny but matte to
improve the readability of the tube. Is there anyone who knows what it
is? I have some information that it is "PN or P2 sheet", an aluminum
plated steel sheet annealed in vacuum.. But where to get it or how to
make it?

I am afraid that kickstarter wont solve that problem unless You can
pay someone who knows it ;-)

Dalibor

2013/5/9 Matt <mc1...@matthewc.net>:

> --
> 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 an email to neoni...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
>
>



--

Dalibor Farny
http://dalibor.farny.cz

[MrNixie (UK)]

Lend me your bargepole - I wouldn't touch this deal with my own! This doesn't stack up. You are only going to need one piece of don't-know-how, and you would be completely stumped, I reckon. Of course, this item has appeared on eBay before (was it with the same seller?), and it didn't sell then. Why?  Good luck to anyone buying it and shipping it half way around the world, only to find that DHL (stands for Dropped, High-kicked and Launched) or your international carrier of choice haven't just delivered you a pile of broken silica tubes.

[Dutchgray]

Then if by some miracle you actually get it set up and working properly the Russians will undercut you forever with their vast stock of IN-18's as no one knows how many they have left and I bet its lots. New manufacture would only work with a tube that people would pay big money for, so a copy of something big and very rare or one bigger than any other ever made would be required.

[AlexTsekenis]

A video of homemade neon tubes has a comment on the top by the uploader, 'Glasslinger'. He describes the lot as 'industrial junk'.
Apologies if 'glasslinger' has posted here already.

Alex.

[Charles MacDonald]

On 13-05-11 03:24 PM, Dutchgray wrote:
> Then if by some miracle you actually get it set up and working properly
> the Russians will undercut you forever with their vast stock of IN-18's
> as no one knows how many they have left and I bet its lots. New
> manufacture would only work with a tube that people would pay big money
> for, so a copy of something big

I share the scepticism. although since there is NOT any tooling for the
digits but just "Knowledge" - perhaps one could produce tubes with
better digits, or custom digits - Chess Pieces have been mentioned.
Also this might be a leg up to starting to make new design Nixie tubes
intended to fill niches in the market. if one had the processes down
for the IN18, perhaps your engineering staff could scale up to a CD-47
size tube.

My sceptical nature will leave me watching far away on the sidelines.

--
Charles MacDonald Stittsville Ontario
cm...@zeusprune.ca Just Beyond the Fringe
http://Charles.MacDonald.org/tubes
No Microsoft Products were used in sending this e-mail.

[Adam Jacobs]

It does look like mostly a giant pile of junk... and I agree, there is no telling how many IN-18's are left in the cartel's secret hoard. One thing is for certain: Although every other nixie tube price continues to increase, the IN-18 has stayed bizarrely stable.

-Adam

--
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+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Zedsquared]

Thanks for all the input folks, I was on the "borrow a bargepole" side of the fence myself :)

As a newcomer to the world of nixies can you fill me in on some IN-18 history? It sounds like there was a huge price hike in the recent past from what's being said, and this talk of cartels intrigues me :)

Cheers,
       Robin.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.