Nixie Tube clocks, temperature/humidity displays, and the like look beautiful, and bring a little bit of joy to our lives. On the other hand, you can check the time and weather on your phone or computer, or possibly even the watch that you wear every day, arguably making them unnecessary.
Taking this one step further, if you enjoy the warm glow of Nixie tubes, but don’t necessarily want another timekeeping device, then this Useless Nixie Device Kit may be just the thing for you. This device claims no temporal measurement services but lists its main function as being “good looking.” You might even say it’s the Derek Zoolander of the Nixie world.
To its credit, the device does look great, with a red and white housing and transparent socket. A red or clear tube can also be included as an option. It comes as a kit—so it does at least have some educational value—and the build process is beautifully photographed in its assembly instructions. When completed, it cycles through the characters with a constant speed.
For other Tindie Nixie Tube options, you might check out the driver board that we featured here, or you can see how I assembled my own Nixie clock in this post.
