Nixie Bargraph Arduino Shield

Today if you need to display numbers or characters quickly, there are a wide range of options, involving LEDs and various types of screens. In the 1960s, however, display types were somewhat more limited, and many electrical indicators were made with gas-filled indicators called Nixie tubes. While something of a novelty today, they provide a nice warm glow that’s difficult to replicate using modern electronics. Naturally, makers have started using them as clocks and other display devices, but they require over 100 VDC for operation, making implementation difficult.

You could hack together your own driver board, but this shield — available on Kickstarter— takes care of everything for you, driving a pair of IN-9 bargraph tubes. It plugs directly into an Arduino Uno and includes an RTC module, so all you have to do is set up a physical housing for your gadget and program it, possible using already-written example sketches.

The shield is also compatible with other hardware, such as the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black and , though you may have to do some breadboard adaptation. While the RTC module makes it very convenient, these tubes don’t just work for time, they can show temperature, Internet speed, or anything else you can imagine.