2011-03-24 The Diamond Age
Posted by AnubisTTP

In the time before LEDs, large outdoor video displays were constructed using myriad different implausible technologies. Mitsubishi's 'Diamondvision' FMCRT Mark III is one such device, a tileable cathode ray tube with multiple electron guns, each gun dedicated to lighting a single pixel. We have managed to acquire one of these hard-to-find devices and add it to the Imaging Tubes section. Several other new things have been added to the site, including a metal clad HP LED display in the the Solid State Displays section, as well as an unusual Western Electric controller chip in the Monolithic Integrated Circuits section and a Honeywell H5 power transistor which has been added to the Discrete Semiconductors page. As some of you are probably well aware, we also have an online webstore, which is filled with a constant stream of various awesome things. New items are being added to our inventory every week, which can be viewed on the Recent Additions page. If there is a Panaplex-shaped hole in your life that only a Panaplex display can fill, we have you covered.

2011-02-23 Be Square
Posted by AnubisTTP

As many of our readers are now probably aware, the Soviets produced a dizzying array of bizarre display tubes that are almost never seen outside of Russia. This could be one of the strangest of them all however, an IDL1-derivative tube that incorporates an entire VFD structure just to display a single red pixel. Even more unusual, the IDL1 was apparently never made in a red version, and yet we have a red phosphor tube of this type with attached photographic evidence. Truth is stranger than fiction, and this thing is very, very strange. We have also added a new dekatron, a Z563C compact envelope counter, to the Glow Transfer Counting Tubes page, as well as two new 'Datavue' branded Nixie tubes, the CK1903 and CK8422, to the Gas Discharge Displays section.

2011-01-31 Clocking In
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have posted a new project in the Articles section, a single digit clock utilizing an RCA DTF104B filament display tube. Filament displays are not as often-used as Nixies in clock projects, but they have one major advantage: they can be directly interfaced to a TTL-level circuit. Barring unusual mutations like the ITS1A, all gas filled tubes require a high voltage switching network before they can be connected to a microcontroller. In other news, we have made several additions to the Electronics Museum, including an RFT VQC10D smart LED display in the Solid State Displays section, as well as an IEE 340-06-A729-1 symbol projection display in the Incandescent Displays section and a BA-16 dekatron adder in the Display and Counting Circuits section.

2011-01-10 Post-Soviet
Posted by AnubisTTP

What is the size of a paperback book and able to display swear words on command? The Russian-made UDT3, a huge single digit VFD matrix that is one of the largest single digit tube displays anywhere. These displays have flooded Ebay in recent months and we were lucky enough to receive one from Terry Kennedy, a fellow tube collector. In other updates, we have also added several other new items to the Electronics Museum, including a Tesla 11TU7 nomotron tube to the Glow Transfer Counting Tubes section, a Raytheon CK1414 'Symbolray' character-generating tube to the Imaging Tubes section, and an Atmel AT27C256R leadless carrier EPROM to the Monolithic Integrated Circuits section.

2010-12-06 RG...G?
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have recently added two new unusual displays to our Electronics Museum, a Staver 402L vane display to the Incandescent Displays section, and a Soviet ILM2-9MV 'jumbotron' VFD to the Vacuum Fluorescent Displays section. Both are electronic displays designed for large format information, but these devices are otherwise polar opposites. The 402L is a mechanical 7-segment device intended for use in scoreboards, and the ILM2-9MV is a simulated 3-color pixel indicator designed to be assembled into larger full-color displays. In other news, we are pleased to announce that TubeClockDB is giving away a fully assembled YS950 Numitron Clock in their latest fourm-based contest. Want to win a free clock? Enter the contest by posting a reply in this thread on the TubeClockDB forum, before January 1 2011.

2010-11-10 These Tubes Have Real Gas
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have recently acquired an extremely unusual Soviet display, the Melz ITS1A. These neon filled devices use an array of thyratrons to display seven-segment numbers in green phosphor, and can be hooked directly up to a TTL microcontroller with no intermediate hardware. Other recent arrivals include several examples of a rare Telechron clock module with a very unusual incandescent mechanical display. These purely mechanical clock modules use an array of cam-driven shutters to draw seven segment digits on a plastic screen. We have several spares of this part, which we have listed in our online store for any experimenter who wants to build a unique display or LED project. We have also resurrected one of our articles from the early days of the website: Vintage Marking Machines. This article has been bulked up with even more information, including pictures of a marking machine so rare that it sells for over $400. What could make a marking machine so expensive? Read on to find out!

2010-10-17 Olduvai
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have (finally!) added an entry to our Glow Transfer Counting Tubes section for the rare GC10A, the world's first production dekatron. The GC10A sets the form and appearance for all Ericsson counters that were to follow, though it is nearly unique in its use of a helium fill gas instead of neon or hydrogen. The AERE WITCH, virtually the only computer to make use of dekatrons, contained over 800 GC10A tubes in its memory stores. We have also added a Soviet IN12 display to our Gas Discharge Displays section and a mysterious flat-top LED to our Solid State Indicators section. In other tube related news, the large Nixie review site TubeclockDB has recently opened up a forum for the discussion of all things related to Nixie tubes and vintage displays. If you have recently scored a sack of Burroughs beam-switching tubes from an old lady's garage sale for $2.00 and feel the need to gloat, it is important to pick a venue where people will recognize the importance of internal spade resistors.

2010-09-12 One More Thing
Posted by AnubisTTP

When one thinks on the subject of alphanumeric Nixie tubes, a single device springs to mind; the iconic Burroughs 7971. Its size and popularity in various projects is so well-known, many forget that Burroughs also made other models of alphanumeric tubes. The Burroughs B5971 is just such a tube: a 13-segment Nixie display crammed into a tiny oval envelope. Even though the 5971 has less segments than a 7971, it is capable of displaying nearly every alphanumeric character. We have finally managed to obtain a sample of this tube, which can be found in the Gas Discharge Displays section. We have also added a 6AF6G tuning eye display to the Variable Indicators section, and an ETL GS10H compact dekatron to the Glow Transfer Counting Tubes section.

2010-08-21 Do You Hear That, Mr. Anderson?
Posted by AnubisTTP

Numerous new tubes and displays have been added to the Gas Discharge Displays section in the past week, including an example of the very large NEO5000 planar gas discharge display. The NEO5000 may not be able to control the Matrix, but it, along with the NEO8000, are some of the largest Panaplex displays ever made available to the public. We have also added another planar display, the Pantek NCR08501 'mock VFD' readout, as well as two Nixie tubes, the RFT Z560M, and the crudely constructed Sovetek IN-1. We have also made a number of minor updates to the Filament Displays section, including the addition of datasheets and new pictures for several items.

2010-07-29 Silicon
Posted by AnubisTTP

How small can you make a projection display? If it is an IEE 340 series, the answer is 'quite small indeed'. With a digit height of only 13mm, the 340 series is one of the smallest projection displays available, yet it still contains all of the optical components of much larger projection displays. While on the subject of displays, we have also added two other display devices to the site: a Futaba 9CT06 multidigit VFD display and an early Monsanto MAN6A LED display. In other news, we have also added an entire new section to the website: Discrete Semiconductors, a place to cover early transistors and diodes. Currently this section contains entries for the Sylvania 2N35, Raytheon CK718, and Western Electric 2N559 devices.

2010-07-07 Dot Matrix Revolutions
Posted by AnubisTTP

Once again, we have added a number of new items to the Electronics Museum: * Incandescent Displays: A mechanical Ferranti-Packard flip dot display,a device that uses a 5x7 array of magnetic coils to store and display data on a matrix of rotating dots. * Gas Discharge Displays: The minuscule B4998, one of the worlds tiniest Nixie tubes. * Detection Tubes: A gigantic Hamamatsu R1250, a fourteen-stage photomultiplier used in scintillation counters. * Solid State Displays: Two similar LED displays - the MAN2185 and DL2185, eight-digit, 15-segment devices with integrated magnifiers.

2010-06-22 Objects Not to Scale
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have gone a slight bit off topic and posted a new project to the Articles page, describing the construction of a gigantic 5x7 LED matrix out of pink foam insulation and various other commonly available items. With a digit height of just over 32 inches, this is one display that even people with severe eye damage should be able to read. Speaking of projects, one of our customers has constructed an interesting dekatron-based lamp for the Coachella music festival that is definitely worth checking out. It contains an eclectic medley of vintage display technology, including an AR-1 argon filled lamp, three OG-4 dekatrons, an OG-3 dekatron and four IN-13 neon bargraphs. The Coachella lamp also uses a fistful of drivers, including one of our own Yilane YS-610 universal dekatron computers and an Arduino development board.

2010-06-03 Forty-Eight Chromosomes
Posted by AnubisTTP

The Monsanto MV2 is a part number recognizable to any LED collector. The world's first production LED, with its iconic gold package and dim red output, was the centerpiece of any collector's stash. People trolled Internet electronics forums, searching for someone with a sample to trade. In a world of ChinaCorp 5mm LEDs, eBay auctions for MV2s commanded sobering prices. The electronics world wanted the MV2, with all its dim-red-gold-plated pedigree. There is one big problem with this though: the Monsanto MV2 is a green LED. Sometimes mistakes are made. There are no datasheets available for the early Monsanto LEDs, no handy lists at Digi-Key, no dead links in worthless partminer sites. With no source of reference, it only takes one site inadvertently posting wrong information for a guess to magically change into iron-clad fact. The red LED that people have commonly considered the MV2 up to this point is actually the Monsanto MV1. They are still rare, and still hold the pedigree of being Monsanto's first LED part number. We have long suspected that the MV2 was a falsely identified part, but until we recently obtained sealed examples of both the Monsanto MV1 and MV2, we did not have the proof to make such an allegation. We have of course updated our website to contain the correct information and photos for both the Monsanto MV1 and MV2, which can be viewed on the Solid State Indicators page.

2010-04-30 Things are Made of Stuff
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have recently added several new items to the site, including a sample of the hard-to-find Monsanto MAN-4 to our Solid State Displays page. The MAN-4 is an early low-cost seven segment display, one which has been packaged in a standard plastic DIP instead of the PCB-and-epoxy packages of some earlier Monsanto displays like the MAN-1 and MAN-2. In other news, we have also added the rather common Soviet IV-4, and correspondingly uncommon General Electric Y4075 display tubes to the Vacuum Fluorescent Displays page, as well as a gold plated Delco 2DV4 Nuvistor to the Diodes, Triodes, Tetrodes & Pentodes page. If you are looking for vacuum electronics that will not clash with your ill-conceived tooth jewelry, this could be the Nuvistor for you.

2010-03-21 Pixel Art
Posted by AnubisTTP

As part of our continuing campaign to prevent the heat-death of the universe, we have been busy adding a number of quite rare devices to the Technology Museum: * Imaging Tubes: The rarely seen Futaba TL-3508XA, a monstrous eight pixel flood beam CRT, used in Sony's iconic 'Jumbotron' stadium displays. * Gas Discharge Displays: The completely bizzare Soviet ITM2M, a four color, 16 pixel gas display tube also for use in 'jumbotron' style displays. * Display & Counting Circuits: The rare Burroughs 'BIPCO' BIP-8001, an unusual Nixie display driver that incorporates custom Burroughs glassivated semiconductors. * Solid State Indicators: Two early orange LEDs, both misguided attempts to create an orange LED device by mixing dies and epoxy of differing colors.

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