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#nixietube#vacuumtube#manufacturing

The Art of Making a Nixie Tube

Dalibor Farný

84K subscribers • 1 video on Hallway

YouTube
  • Recommended by 7 people: 6 on Hacker News and 1 on Lobsters.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2016 to 2023.
  • Presented by Dalibor Farný

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

6.2M views10 years ago7 recommendations

HardwareHistory and cultureRetro computingElectronics

Dalibor Farný documents the step-by-step hand manufacturing process of a Nixie tube, from glassblowing to final testing.

Link to my website: daliborfarny.com Our newsletter: daliborfarny.com/newsletter/ The nixie tube is a vintage display device which had been used until 70s when it was replaced with LED displays. The complex knowledge of manufacture of nixie tubes literally died with tube factory's engineers, glassblowers and machine operators. I discovered nixie tubes in 2011 and since then, I've devoted all my time to studies of nixie tubes and its manufacturing processes. After years of intensive work, with help of many people, I eventually succeeded and have revived the knowledge and equipment for production of nixie tubes. Dalibor Farny Read more on: Our website: daliborfarny.com/ Facebook page: facebook.com/daliborfarnycom Thanks for attention!

Why it's here

7 people recommend this

What people say. Highly recommended as a mesmerizing and detailed look at the revived craft of artisanal Nixie tube and vacuum display manufacturing.

inactive-useron Lobsters • Recommends

The Art of Making a Nixie Tube
18View on Lobsters

dustinmooreneton Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Nixie Tube Story: The Neon Display Tech That Engineers Can’t Quit”

The video in the article is just amazing. You don't normally get to see the exact details of how things get made. link to this video
View on Hacker News

brokenmachineon Hacker News • Recommends

On “List of Special Elevator Modes”

Going even more OT, I watched a mesmerizing and beautiful youtube video about making nixie tubes. I love craftsman videos. link to this video
View on Hacker News

dymkon Hacker News • Recommends

On “One Man’s Quest to Revive the Great American Vacuum Tube”

I came to comment about Dalibor as well - amazing youtube channel. Recommended viewing for anyone who loves home-ish-scale, high-quality manufacturing: link to this video He's got to be one of the world's experts on nixie tube manufacturing, at this point.
View on Hacker News

zxcvgmon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Hand Made Vacuum Tubes by Claude Paillard (2012) [video]”

if you liked watching this, then maybe you'd also like these videos, which i watched some time ago: making a miniature vacuum tube triode link The Art of Making a Nixie Tube link to this video
View on Hacker News

janekmon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Casio CQ-1 calculator and clock”

Getting a custom VFD made would be a very expensive process indeed. If you need a very small number of segments then Dalibor Farny can make a custom Nixie tube, which is similar technology: link Also a good introduction to how they are made (making a VFD would be similar but more difficult): link to this video Otherwise Noritake itron still make VFD monitors for industrial applications (seems they have high temp advantages over LCDs): link
View on Hacker News

jkingsmanon Hacker News • Recommends

On “IoT Nixie Tubes”

Tangentially, this is a beautiful (with no music or narration; text notes only) high quality video of modern artisanal (i.e. all by hand) nixie tube manufacturing. link to this video
View on Hacker News

mmaginon Hacker News • Mentions

On “What the death of the CRT display technology means for classic arcade machines”

CRT production is a much more complex bit of modern manufacturing than making vinyl LPs. This youtube video documents what a rather dedicated individual does to resurrect small-scale Nixie tube manufacturing: link to this video And technologically, color CRTs are way beyond that. link
View on Hacker News

CaliforniaKarlon Hacker News • Mentions

On “The Vacuum Tube’s Many Modern-Day Uses”

And of course, there's the Nixie tube. link to this video (Previously posted in link , the maker's web site via link , and covered in an IEEE article via link )
View on Hacker News

alnwlsnon Hacker News • Mentions

On “The Cathode Ray Tube site”

In some ways it's never been easier to get all the equipment you will need. But if you're wanting to make ones even half as good as the ones on this page, you'd probably want to become a skilled glassblower and outfit a lab that looks something like this: link to this video
View on Hacker News