Nixie tubes

Nixie tube technology came onto the market in 1954 and was gradually abandoned until it was virtually discontinued due to the introduction of LEDs. As a result, Nixie tubes have not been manufactured for about 40 years, which means that the supply of Nixie tubes is currently very limited, reduced to remnants of old stocks.

Thanks to the nostalgic appeal and taste for vintage aesthetics, a number of electronics enthusiasts have recently shown interest in resurrecting projects made with Nixie tubes, such as Nixie clocks.

One example of this is the manufacturer Noyce Joyce, which has opted for the acquisition of old stocks of Nixie tubes for the development of the assemblable Nixie clock kit. In addition to this kit, Noyce Joyce also offers the Nixie tubes separately for those users who wish to create their own vintage aesthetic designs.

Noyce Joyce offers two options:

• Nixie IN-12A/B tube
• Cold cathode tube

Nixie tube IN-12A/B

The Nixie tube consists of an anode, which is a grid, in front of a series of cathodes. The cathodes are in the shape of the symbol to be represented, in this case numbers from 0 to 9, and are stacked behind the anode, but not in contact with each other.

Image 1: Nixie tubes. Source: 3DSimo.

The whole assembly is housed inside a glass structure filled with low-pressure gas. When the Nixie tube is active, the selected symbol is illuminated with orange light, highlighting that cathode against the rest that are switched off.

This option includes 1 unit of Nixie tube IN-12A/B.

Cold cathode tube

The cold cathode tube is based on the same principle as the Nixie tube, but only one spot is illuminated inside it. This means that, for a clock like the Nixie clock kit, four cold cathode tubes would be needed to create the dots on the clock.

Image 3: Detail of Nixie watch. Source: 3DSimo.

This option includes 4 units of cold cathode tube.

Noyce Joyce Nixie tubes have been tested to offer the highest quality and a lifetime of up to 200,000 hours, making them ideal for users who want to create their own designs with a handcrafted, vintage look and feel.