Re: [neonixie-l] Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[Adrian Godwin]

This (free) software takes PCB artworks created in inkscape and generates
manufacturing files.

https://github.com/boldport/pcbmode

Some examples here :

https://github.com/boldport/circuit-board-photos


On Sun, Jan 31, 2021 at 11:07 PM Mac Doktor  wrote:

>
> On Jan 31, 2021, at 5:51 PM, Mac Doktor  wrote:
>
> I finally got a macro program and used it to do all of the mousing for me.
> LUXURY.
>
>
> I hit send too soon.
>
> At the time I was working for a local printer. My workflow was to draw the
> board at 200%, print it out on their 300DPI laser printer, and shoot a
> negative at 50% with their enormous old camera. This increased the
> resolution to 600DPI and smoothed out the edges of angled traces. Analog
> anti-aliasing.
>
> I used the negative to expose pre-sensitized blank boards and etch them.
> My etching tank was a deep Pyrex® (borosilicate glass) baking dish with a
> long aquarium aerator "bar" in the bottom. This was connected to an air
> pump with a bleeder valve that I used to vary the pressure and therefore
> the amount of bubbling. This in turn agitated the board so strongly and
> evenly that a perfect etch (with used ferric chloride) only took a few
> minutes—unattended.
>
> I set up my Unimat as a miniature drill press, clamped the board on the
> milling table, and used the precision feed-screws to drill perfectly spaced
> and aligned holes.
>
> Those were the days.
>
>
> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
> "The Mac Doctor"
>
> https://www.astarcloseup.com/
>
> “...the book said something astonishing, a very big thought. The stars, it
> said, were suns but very far away. The Sun was a star but close up.”—Carl
> Sagan, "The Backbone Of Night", *Cosmos*, 1980
>
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "neonixie-l" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web, visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2F747440-EBAD-46F4-8AAB-E62BB89209B4%40gmail.com
> 
> .
>

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CALiMYrt1o0r%2B0r%2BGMpjyxQY%2BhZymF9%2BXxnUGs_wyj6BgVQ0_2w%40mail.gmail.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[Mac Doktor]

> On Jan 31, 2021, at 5:51 PM, Mac Doktor  wrote:
> 
> I finally got a macro program and used it to do all of the mousing for me. 
> LUXURY.

I hit send too soon. 

At the time I was working for a local printer. My workflow was to draw the 
board at 200%, print it out on their 300DPI laser printer, and shoot a negative 
at 50% with their enormous old camera. This increased the resolution to 600DPI 
and smoothed out the edges of angled traces. Analog anti-aliasing. 

I used the negative to expose pre-sensitized blank boards and etch them. My 
etching tank was a deep Pyrex® (borosilicate glass) baking dish with a long 
aquarium aerator "bar" in the bottom. This was connected to an air pump with a 
bleeder valve that I used to vary the pressure and therefore the amount of 
bubbling. This in turn agitated the board so strongly and evenly that a perfect 
etch (with used ferric chloride) only took a few minutes—unattended.

I set up my Unimat as a miniature drill press, clamped the board on the milling 
table, and used the precision feed-screws to drill perfectly spaced and aligned 
holes.

Those were the days.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

https://www.astarcloseup.com/

“...the book said something astonishing, a very big thought. The stars, it 
said, were suns but very far away. The Sun was a star but close up.”—Carl 
Sagan, "The Backbone Of Night", Cosmos, 1980


-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2F747440-EBAD-46F4-8AAB-E62BB89209B4%40gmail.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[Mac Doktor]

> On Jan 31, 2021, at 9:18 AM, newxito  wrote:
> I remember making an amplifier board using a felt pen in the early seventies. 
> 
In the early Nineties I laid out PC boards with Illustrator. There were no 
user-definable style sheets. To change the width of a trace I had to bring up a 
dialog box that filled the entire screen on a Mac Plus and took over two 
seconds to draw on the screen. Then I had to mouse around to what I wanted to 
change, clicking on boxes, typing in numbers, clicking "OK". This got old very 
quickly. 

I finally got a macro program and used it to do all of the mousing for me. 
LUXURY.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe: attack ships on fire off the 
shoulder of Orion... beams...in the dark in the Tannhauser Gate. All those 
moments will be lost in time...like tears in the rain." — Roy Batty, Blade 
Runner

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/4AA052A2-1A85-4B05-8687-FF6763E5F6EB%40gmail.com.

[neonixie-l] Rodan Elfin MG-17F for trade

[Ryan B]

Hello folks,

I already posted this over at the facebook nixie clock fan group.

I have ten NOS MG-17F for trade. Ideally I'd like to trade four of them for 
four MG-17G tubes, though I'd take less, or for some LL-555 from Dolam.

Please let me know if anyone is interested.

Ryan[image: have want.jpg][image: 17F.jpg][image: 17f.1.jpg]

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/6aa5e051-5c86-44de-8e1e-9f499b10b719n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Interesting Nixie counter at auction

['Ian Vine' via neonixie-l]

 @John S Love the bit about the green teeth tea lady ..

On Sunday, 31 January 2021, 17:58:01 GMT, Ⓙⓞⓗⓝ Ⓢⓜⓞⓤⓣ  
wrote:  
 
  I worked in a printed circuit factory at one time, as a silk-screen printer. 
At times I'd do other jobs, like cutting the blanks, using the presses, 
drilling boards, flow-soldering. My work bench was right next to an open 
cyanide tank used for gold plating edge connectors. A hideous woman with green 
teeth did the electro-plating. If it was her turn to make the tea, I politely 
declined a cup.
 
 The boss upstairs was an EE. He designed and fabricated a lot of kit for the 
UK Post Office. It got known I could draw a bit (I'd studied as an architect) 
so I got to do many crêpe tape and stick-on pad layouts for the boss, who had 
yellow teeth - a slight improvement on the lady downstairs.
 
 John S
 

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/c1b94132-5053-d44f-5c01-eeb3fae5a14c%40jsdesign.co.uk.
  

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1502202720.491951.1612118211646%40mail.yahoo.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[Ⓙⓞⓗⓝ Ⓢⓜⓞⓤⓣ]

I worked in a printed circuit factory at one time, as a silk-screen 
printer. At times I'd do other jobs, like cutting the blanks, using the 
presses, drilling boards, flow-soldering. My work bench was right next 
to an open cyanide tank used for gold plating edge connectors. A hideous 
woman with green teeth did the electro-plating. If it was her turn to 
make the tea, I politely declined a cup.


The boss upstairs was an EE. He designed and fabricated a lot of kit for 
the UK Post Office. It got known I could draw a bit (I'd studied as an 
architect) so I got to do many crêpe tape and stick-on pad layouts for 
the boss, who had yellow teeth - a slight improvement on the lady 
downstairs.


John S

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/c1b94132-5053-d44f-5c01-eeb3fae5a14c%40jsdesign.co.uk.

[neonixie-l] Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[alb.001 alb.001]

 
  Back in the 1970's when the electronics magazines provided full and half sizes photos of PCB's for the articles, I developed my own way of laying out PCB's.  I photocopied the printed PCB full size, taped it onto the copper side of a single or double sided PB  board, and used a Dremel with fine carbide drill bits to drill all the holes required. 
   Then I got a glass tube 3-4 inches long and slightly less than 1/4 inch diameter which I heated up in the middle with a blowtorch and when the glass was soft I would stretch it out to form a jet in between the two thicker sections and snapped it off leaving the glass tube with a 2-3 inch very slim section.  I then poured a few drops of ladies nail polish into the tube and attached a rubber hose to the wider end of the glass tube.  I prepared the board by removing the paper and sanding the copper side smooth and dust free. I then painted on all the traces using my home-made resist pen while gently blowing into the rubber hose.  The whole process worked very well and I got to be good enough to run a line between the 0.1 inch IC pads.
   After a long and careful comparison of my layout with that in the magazine - it was easy to correct any errors with a fine blade scraper,  I etched the board using ammonium persulfate solution and a peristaltic pump to spray the etchant onto the board while it was in a plastic bowl.  I have made boards up to 10 inches square with hundreds of holes this way. I even did some double sided boards this way.  Modern boards with traces a fraction of a millimeter apart are out of reach for such hand-work.
  Pharma Phil 
  
   -- Original Message --
   From: newxito 
   Date: January 31, 2021 at 9:18 AM
   
   
   I remember making an amplifier board using a felt pen in the early seventies. 
    -- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to 
   neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
   https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/3506112f-cf4d-4ec4-a624-46800dc4bdc1n%40googlegroups.com.
   
  
   
 




-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1044174140.5987355.1612110253371.JavaMail.open-xchange%40mtlgui03.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[newxito]

I remember making an amplifier board using a felt pen in the early 
seventies. 

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/3506112f-cf4d-4ec4-a624-46800dc4bdc1n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Interesting Nixie counter at auction

['Ian Vine' via neonixie-l]

 I made a few boards using tape a loong way back. I never considered getting 
arty. Loving the wavey traces on that board
Ian
On Sunday, 31 January 2021, 10:46:21 GMT, Dekatron42 
 wrote:  
 
 A few PCB routing softwares are getting back curved traces, I have seen 
examples from KiCAD and Designspark but haven't tested them out myself but I 
sure will do when and if they are available!
/Martin

On Sunday, 31 January 2021 at 07:22:19 UTC+1 Richard Scales wrote:

I can remember laying out PCB designs using black tape and transfers at 2x or 
3x size on a light box back around 79-81 - those were the days - if only modern 
PCB routing software could achieve something similar, apply the 'human touch' 
perhaps! - Richard

On Sunday, 31 January 2021 at 03:48:25 UTC Terry S wrote:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-Nixie-Tube-Counter/174617954314?hash=item28a80a880a:g:AHEAAOSwmm1f-c7t
As a former career PCB designer -- I'm admiring the hand taped-out boards in 
this counter. They look amazing, so consistent and artful. I can tell they all 
bear the same signature, the same designer. Beautiful designs.
I hope someone here grabs this. Neat piece.




-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/57ffeda7-8ffc-4a0d-9167-ff19d748459bn%40googlegroups.com.
  

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/657723148.516333.1612098898635%40mail.yahoo.com.

[neonixie-l] Re: Interesting Nixie counter at auction

[Dekatron42]

A few PCB routing softwares are getting back curved traces, I have seen 
examples from KiCAD and Designspark but haven't tested them out myself but 
I sure will do when and if they are available!

/Martin

On Sunday, 31 January 2021 at 07:22:19 UTC+1 Richard Scales wrote:

> I can remember laying out PCB designs using black tape and transfers at 2x 
> or 3x size on a light box back around 79-81 - those were the days - if only 
> modern PCB routing software could achieve something similar, apply the 
> 'human touch' perhaps!
>  - Richard
>
>
> On Sunday, 31 January 2021 at 03:48:25 UTC Terry S wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-Nixie-Tube-Counter/174617954314?hash=item28a80a880a:g:AHEAAOSwmm1f-c7t
>>
>> As a former career PCB designer -- I'm admiring the hand taped-out boards 
>> in this counter. They look amazing, so consistent and artful. I can tell 
>> they all bear the same signature, the same designer. Beautiful designs.
>>
>> I hope someone here grabs this. Neat piece.
>>
>

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/57ffeda7-8ffc-4a0d-9167-ff19d748459bn%40googlegroups.com.