Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!ut-sally!husc6!think!ames!sdcsvax!ucbvax!dual!paul From: paul@dual.UUCP (Baker) Newsgroups: sci.electronics,talk.bizarre Subject: Re: "Magic Eye" tubes Message-ID: <10018@dual.UUCP> Date: Wed, 15-Jul-87 11:06:58 EDT Article-I.D.: dual.10018 Posted: Wed Jul 15 11:06:58 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jul-87 06:22:00 EDT References: <1495@frog.UUCP> <35ffa63b.b8ab@apollo.uucp> <6@spar.SPAR.SLB.COM> <1841@kitty.UUCP> Organization: Dual Systems, Berkeley, CA Lines: 24 Xref: mnetor sci.electronics:975 talk.bizarre:2507 < The "Decatron" tube, which consisted of a round tube with ten < anodes, equally spaced about a circle. It was nothing more than < a multiple neon lamp, since it displayed no digits, but each anode < was labeled on the panel. Example: a Baird-Atomic nuclear scaler < that I once used. Actually the Decatron was quite ingenious. It not only indicated, but also did the counting. A major plus in pre-IC days. They were not particularly fast, I seem to recall a figure of a few hundred KHz. They consumed little power, just a few mA at hundreds of volts. There was a whole range of rather odd neon type devices available at one time, that could be used for counting and other logic. These typically had a trigger electrode that "fired" the device and started conduction between the main electrodes. Reducing the current through the main path would turn the device off again. There must be some people on the net who actually designed with these things. Paul Wilcox-Baker Tel 415 549 3854 Telex ITT 470844 Dual Systems Corp 2530 San Pablo Ave Berkeley CA 94702