The Quick Tube Change concept.
The first Nixie Tube Clock that I built was a QTC Kit from PV Electronics. QTC standing for Quick Tube Change.
This is a method whereby single tubes (mostly the ones which come with wire leads such as ZM1177, ZM1210 etc) are mounted on to small PCB’s which then plug in to the main clock PCB. This method continues with the QTC+ kit and the Remote Tube kit (both available from PV Electronics).
I also adopted the same approach for my ‘Gemini’ Two Tube Clock.
The concepts allows for quick and easy changing of individual tubes as and when required.
Tube cells are available to cover virtaully all tube types though some require subtle twisting of the tube to ‘face the front’ correctly.
I found that I was acquiring pre-loved nixie tubes which were often supplied with relatively short leads. Not only that but the process of removing a tube from existing equipment can sometimes be brutal and on more than one occasion I have had wires break off at the tube base – rendering the tube somewhat less than totally functional.
I decided to design my own tube cells to be compatible with the QTC concept but each one would have locations for the required pins in the right places and the tube would be facing the front without the need to twist it either way.
In doing this, the process would give the pre-loved tube the best possible chance of survival during re-deployment before starting a new life as a clock display as all you need to do is to get each wire from the tube straight.
Each tube cell is designed specifically for each tube type so the need is driven by the tubes that I managed to collect / harvest.
So far I have produced cells for the following tubes:
XN-3
XN-12
ZM1000
GNP-7A
ZM1175
ZM1177
CD-66(DL)
ZIN-18 *
Z566M *
RJ568M *
IN-18 *
Those marked ‘*’ are specifically for my Two Tube Clock but will also work with the PV Electroncis Remote kit.
If you have a tube type for which you would like some tube cell PCB’s then message me and I will see what I can come up with.
