Nixie Tubes on a Wristwatch

Everyone loves Nixie tube clocks, because the glowing retro tubes lend a vintage steampunk aesthetic that you just don’t get from modern…

Cameron Coward
5 years ago

Everyone loves Nixie tube clocks, because the glowing retro tubes lend a vintage steampunk aesthetic that you just don’t get from modern displays. But most are fairly large, and not exactly suitable for carrying around with you. That’s why Snekooei designed a Nixie tube wristwatch, and they’ve written up a tutorial detailing how you can build your own.

This four-digit wristwatch is built using “small size Nixie tubes” — though snekooei doesn’t specify which models he actually used. They appear to be IN-16 Nixie tubes, or something similar. An Arduino Pro Mini with an RTC is used to keep the time, and a button is used to cycle through the different information display modes. The rest of the components are used to drive the Nixie tubes from a pair of 300mAh LiPo batteries.

The wiring is “dead bug” style, which isn’t the most elegant-looking technique, but it keeps the watch compact without requiring a custom PCB. Soldering all of the components together is definitely the most time-consuming part of this build. After finishing that, you can 3D-print the watch’s case. Snekooei says that the batteries are enough to keep the display lit for a full hour, but you’ll definitely want to only turn it on when you actually need to check the time.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
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