Foah! Lot's of replies xD
@Kwass + Richard Crowley - That looks promising if they can be bent
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What sort of voltage are we talking about here? The ones I saw ran at around 50-60V at 15mA which I can probably drive with some BD139 or some mosfets if it comes to it (I'll figure out the details later
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) I've actually just ordered some to play around with xD Any idea how far they can be bent before they break?
As a side thought, it may actually be possible to make my own if I'm careful about the substrate I use to mount them on, and then coat them in a coloured resin (or better yet, it may be possible (though we're now branching into the experimental side of things, as I can't see much on the web about this idea) - to use some UV leds to trigger fluorescence in a chemical embedded in a transluscent polymer from within (i.e uv light inside, fluorescent material on the outside - brightness would be a problem though!))
Anyway, that last idea is definitely for a future project (my degree is in biochemistry despite working as an engineer (and having an EE hobby xD) - so getting hold of such a polymer wouldn't actually be too difficult nor costly. If I ever try it I'll be sure to post back, could actually get some interesting effects if it works.
@codeboy2k - Nah, that's no fun! Would be surprisingly easy to do though
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I want that retro feel: and I'm totally not making a replica time divergence meter from the Steins Gate anime to use as a mantelpiece in my new flat... honest! Plus, as I said, Nixie tubes look cool - if I were to fake it (which I think I'm going to do) I'd want at least a similar form factor
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@nctnico - That's not a bad idea! As calzap said it wouldn't be perfect as there'd be reflective/aural differences between a real nixie tube, but mini TFTs mounted inside glass tubes is definitely on the drawing board!
@sleemanj - Nice links - I saw something similar to that numeric display - my plan was to get in there with a V-Groove bit - but there's a catch. I'm going to etch it on both sides, and paint one etching black: so that it reflects when there's light but looks like a wire when there's not. We'll see how it turns out, Need to wait for the acrylic to arrive before I can test it (managed to grab an A4 sheet for £1 at 1mm thickness).
@calzap - Aye, I know =/ I figured if I can get something that looks good at even minor distances, it'd be the next best thing to real nixie tubes - even if they're not that realistic. It's a trade-off I'm afraid
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If I go with the LED filament idea, then the voltage wouldn't be too far off that of nixie tubes and I make make an optional bracket for replacing my fake tubes with real ones. We'll need to see how much engineering I can be bothered pouring into it first!
@CatalinaWOW - I think my friend would demand a fortune for the time required to embed all the wires through it
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It's not impossible though - but he does have his limits to what he considers a "favour" and what he considers to be "actual work"
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It is VERY tempting to make an actual nixie tube though... wonder if I could get him to teach me glassblowing...
The Vacuum Fluorescent idea is also an option, though either way I'd need to figure out a way to evacuate the tubes and/or substitute the gas for neon.
Actually both those ideas sounds kinda dangerous - never trust me with hot things
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No seriously, I have a resistor shaped scar on my finger after I ended up with a tiny solder bridge shorting onto it :S