Tony Smith wrote:

> > Fascinating instrument, a real gem as you say.  I'm not sure
> > I agree with the authors suggestion that "Display technology
> > has improved only slightly" though!
>
> What to do when Nixies haven't been invented yet.  Years ago I came across
> Nixies, and figured I could emulate the display by, you guessed it, etching
> numbers in glass, edge lit & stacked.  Worked nicely as a clock, and I was
> suitably chuffed at my technical progress.
>
> I was less chuffed when I discovered voltmeters like this, and even less
> when I found out the Russians did it 30 or so years before that.
>
> I've been meaning to make a 7 seg version, you only need 7 pieces of
> glass/plastic per digit then.

I spent a summer working at a government calibration lab in the 60's one of the
digital voltmeters in that lab had an interesting display. A motor drove a drum
with 4 strips of the numbers 0..9 on it. The drum was spun and a strobe
assigned to each digit illuminated the designed number when it passed the
display window. It actually worked quite well was reasonably accurate
but had an annoying hum when running.

w..



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