Heathkit clock

[Nicholas Stock]

I didn't know they had a Roman Numeral clock, 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/286690666022

#notmyauction etc etc..

Bit steep on price, but a nice curiosity...

Cheers,

Nick

[Richard Scales]

Certainly is a nice curiosity and definitely a steep price.

Perhaps not one for telling the actual time at a glance!

.. and no visible setup buttons - perhaps you have to turn it on at mid-day?!?!

- Richard

[Dan Harboe Burer]

I have had one of these for a loong time.

During the covid shutdown I managed to modify mine to 50Hz Mains timing instead of 60Hz :)

The setup buttons are tilt switches set at different angles... I modified mine to normal pushbuttons. 

..and I rebuilt the mains PSU - it was terrible :P

Dan

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[Mac Doktor]

On Nov 21, 2025, at 4:25 AM, Dan Harboe Burer <danb...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have had one of these for a loong time.

I asked a friend of mine about it. Here's his reply:

Seen before. It was a kit offered in the late 80s by some long-gone kit maker. They might have been sold at Heathkit or Lafayette stores, who often carried assembled consumer devices and third-party kits. I seem to recall it used fuse-programmed PROM chips as decoders. It's a very rare item. Cannot be googled.

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

[Tom Katt]

Seen before. It was a kit offered in the late 80s by some long-gone kit maker. They might have been sold at Heathkit or Lafayette stores, who often carried assembled consumer devices and third-party kits. I seem to recall it used fuse-programmed PROM chips as decoders. It's a very rare item. Cannot be googled.

I seem to recall that using proms as decoders was somewhat common at the time.  I know I’ve seen other projects using that same idea.  Maybe proms were cheaper than dedicated decoder chips or provided the ability to create custom patterns?

[J Forbes]

Heathkit always put their name on their stuff, so I agree that it's not Heathkit. It is clever, though.

[Nicholas Stock]

The listing states " Heathkit part number is CW-136", but I can't find anything online about it as Terry's friend mentioned... Seems like a specific thing to say though, but hey, it is eBay...

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[Tom Katt]

Ah, the days when leds were still a new fangled technology…. And before blue leds were invented and made everything so painful on the eyes lol.  I miss old red leds ;-)

[Mac Doktor]

On Nov 21, 2025, at 2:57 PM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Ah, the days when leds were still a new fangled technology…. And before blue leds were invented and made everything so painful on the eyes lol.  I miss old red leds ;-)

As you age your sensitivity to short wavelengths decrease and the wavelength of blue LEDs can vary quite a bit. There's a house nearby that had blue LED Xmas lights before anyone else in town. They looked strangely dim to me at the time and they haven't gotten any brighter over the last 15 or 20 years. 

A friend of mine has a very powerful laser in the low 400s (nm). It just barely looks violet to me.

I collect antique Xmas lights and blackbody radiation is the only way to go. No LEDs on my tree, just 350 hand painted clear incandescents on a 4' tree plus 35 miniature base bubble lights. The entire inside of the tree just glows and the bubble lights are to die for. None of the crummy candelabra base stuff.

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."— Roy Batty, Blade Runner

[5-ht]

More info and schematic on this Roman Numeral Clock:

https://www.watchprosite.com/horological-meandering/nearly-as-nifty-as-a-nixie/17.1127926.8613926/

Mark

[Nicholas Stock]

Nice find! I'm not a fan of the italic nature of the numerals though, seems unnecessary...

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 21, 2025, at 20:22, '5-ht' via neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Tom Katt]

On Friday, November 21, 2025 at 3:39:23 PM UTC-5 Mac Doktor wrote:

As you age your sensitivity to short wavelengths decrease and the wavelength of blue LEDs can vary quite a bit. There's a house nearby that had blue LED Xmas lights before anyone else in town. They looked strangely dim to me at the time and they haven't gotten any brighter over the last 15 or 20 years. 

I must be the exception to that rule lol..  A single blue led power indicator seems to light up an entire room in the dark for me.  And beyond eye piercing, I just find them aesthetically unappealing.  Surely red leds are cheaper in today’s penny pinching world…

And I’m with you on the Christmas lights - old school Noma bubblers in my house as well.  Though I did trade the C9’s for incandescent mini bulbs - too much heat kept drying out the tree.

[Rob B]

Maybe not in this case.  Seems like Hesth was reselling it. 

https://www.watchprosite.com/horological-meandering/nearly-as-nifty-as-a-nixie/17.1127926.8613926/

[Mac Doktor]

On Nov 22, 2025, at 10:20 AM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

A single blue led power indicator seems to light up an entire room in the dark for me.  

Bright blue seems to be all the rage these days.

And beyond eye piercing, I just find them aesthetically unappealing.  Surely red leds are cheaper in today’s penny pinching world…

When blue LEDs look bright then they're even brighter than that. A dark room adds to the intensity of the experience.

And I’m with you on the Christmas lights - old school Noma bubblers in my house as well.  Though I did trade the C9’s for incandescent mini bulbs - too much heat kept drying out the tree.

You had C9s on your tree? How big was this tree? o_O

FYI: "C9" means a conical envelope 0.9" in diameter and intended for outdoor use.. Most are actually .925" to .95". Candelabra base bulbs are C7 and typically 0.75". Miniature base bulbs are C6, 0.6".

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com