Raspberry Pi and Nixie Tubes Beautifully Mounted in Antique Enclosure

What do you get when you shove a Raspberry Pi into an antique ringer box, along with six Nixie tubes to display the time and a speaker for music? The answer — to that heretofore unasked question — can be found in this Imgur set and in the video available here.

Hacker “bobsalt” started out this build by obtaining an antique telephone ringer box, which after quite a bit of refinishing work made a great-looking electronics enclosure. He slotted one of the longer walls in order to accommodate the Nixie tubes, and cut another rectangular hole to hold a speaker for the device. A USB microphone attached to the lid allows for Alexa voice interface via the Pi, and a pair of buttons and LEDs next to it complete the project. A Sony PS2 infrared remote is implemented in addition to voice control, and a PIR sensor allows it to automatically turn the Nixie tubes on at night.

Given the Raspberry Pi’s versatility, the completed box will function as a very nice alarm clock, juke box, sound machine, and radio. As it turns out it’s meant for bobsalt’s wife as a very thoughtful Mother’s Day present — coming up Sunday in case you’ve forgotten!