| Philips ZM1015 Nixie Tube | |
| Written by AnubisTTP on 2022-11-27 |
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The ZM1015 is an uncommon special purpose Nixie tube produced by Phillips for the European market. Built around the same envelope as a Philips ZM1000, the ZM1015 contains digit cathodes shaped into an unusual 'OCR'-style character font. The unusual display font, combined with a circular anode cage, make this a very visually attractive tube, if not a particularly useful one. The tube has the same white glass wafer base as the ZM1000, but unfortunately only displays digits from zero to eight, the other pins are unused and unconnected. The lack of a '9' and '0' character is an unfortunate decision on the part of Phillips, as home builders who wish to make use of this tube's unusual font in their projects will face serious design issues in dealing with the lack of a full character set. Electronics lore has that the ZM1015 was originally produced as a channel indicator for satellite television receivers.
Special thanks to Audrey Stroud for providing this unusual part.
Philips ZM1015 nixie tube, normal operation.
The ZM1015 is outfitted with unusual 'OCR'-style shaped characters. Sadly, the numbers "9" and "0" are not included in the tube's selection of displayed characters, which makes it a difficult choice for most projects.
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