[sdiy] eh? high voltage? wazzat?

[metasonix]

>you're getting past it, eric..;-)
> we've already had the 70's revival.. we're currently at early 80's level.

That's even worse. Culture Club, a-ha, Dexy's Midnight Runners.......
the Knack (agggh!!)...

Conan O"Brien says it all the time--80s music really, really sucked!

>this is new. be glad they even bother to find out what nixie tubes are.
>after all, this is all part of the same 'retro' movement that caused
>analogue synthesis to come back, and even makes people interested in your
>modules.

Yes, but I am thinking the whole thing is too shallow. 
I have the constant problem of getting younger customers 
to understand that tubes are far larger, far more power hungry, 
and more costly to use than solid-state.
That's why I can't make a tube VCO for $49 as they wish....and it won't
be the size of a small Doepfer module either. It is the same with almost 
everything I make. "Why is it so big? Why is it so expensive?"
And I busted my ASS to make it as small, compact and easy to use
as possible.

>one of those retro digital watches where you have to press a
>button to see the time in red led's..)

Already collectible. In fact, calculator collectors turn their
noses up at LCD displays--even the earliest ones. 

Watch collectors are chasing the earliest Pulsar watch. 
It is extremely rare. I mean the first 1972 model with the funky 
chip-LED display. Sometimes they sell for $10k or more....
and you should see the market for the HP-01 calculator watch...

>Aside from the poor accuracy of the PIC timer used to count time (replaced
>with an AVR and an MSF receiver module) I just about fainted when I looked
>inside it.
>It was generating the HT supply for the nixies by rectifying and smoothing
>the mains input.
>This is UK mains we're talking about, so there was a ground referenced
>~400 volt DC supply, running through ribbon cable wires soldered to
>stripboard, millimeters away from un-grounded metal switches poking out
>the back. Case was wood, so obviously un-grounded too.

And there's that little aspect....all the Nixie kits on the market use 
raw un-isolated mains voltage to make the high-voltage DC.

The young retro-ers don't get this high-voltage business.

I can hear the Asian voices already......
"ah HAHAHAHA! You stupid white teenager!! Mains HT is dangerous!! 
You die now!  HAHAHAHA! Buy cheap Chinese clock radio!!"




uncle eric
metasonix.com