Awesome Nixie

Techmoan loves to collect and examine unusual bits of technology from our past. One of the more interesting gadgets he’s come across is the Nu-Spin – a single purpose device which generates random numbers and displays them on cool old gas-filled nixie tubes.

A surprisingly well-priced nixie tube clock, with a bright, easy-to-read display made from vintage soviet front-facing tubes. Each one is handmade with a solid wood case, and features a 7-day alarm capability. Available with or without RGB LED backlighting.

An absolutely stunning retrofuturist timepiece, featuring four miniature Soviet-era Nixie tubes for its display. The circuitry is housed in a body milled from a block of aluminum, and can activate automatically when you turn your wrist. Includes a wireless wooden charging stand.

This amazing bit of retrofuturist tech uses over 1400 electronic components to display a visual representation of audio using 32 vintage Soviet era Nixie tubes. The base is made of solid acacia and oak with brass accents, and it can accept analog or digital audio inputs.

For the 5th anniversary of MB&F’s M.A.D. Gallery, industrial designer Frank Buchwald teamed up with nixie tube specialist Dalibor Farny for an updated version of Buchwald’s incredible Nixie Machine. The steel and brass clock can be tuned manually or online via Wi-Fi.

LaserMad shows off a sweet retro-modern clock that uses high voltage vintage Nixie tubes which float in the air using electromagnets, get their power using a copper induction coil, and transmit the time to the digits using infrared light. Available in kit form or fully-assembled.

A truly unique chess set that uses old-school nixie tubes as its game pieces. Each tube displays a symbol on top representing its position, and they glow without wires or plugs thanks to wireless inductive power. Also available as a DIY Kit for about $300 less.

California artist J A Woodwork handcrafts fantastic desktop timepieces from uniquely charactered woods. Our personal favorite is Clock #017, which is made from a chunk of insect-bored cherry wood, with its six Nixie gas tubes mounted horizontally.

While it wouldn’t be the first Nixie tube clock we’ve seen, there is something nifty about the minimal design of the Blub Uno, which displays digits one at a time on its single numeric tube. It also has date, temperature and alarm functions.