seven segment display history

[Jules Richardson]

M H Stein wrote:
> --------Original Messages:
> Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:22:16 -0800
> From: Brent Hilpert <hilpert at cs.ubc.ca>
> Subject: Re: seven segment display history
> To: General at priv-edmwaa04.telusplanet.net,
> 	"Discussion at priv-edmwaa04.telusplanet.net":On-Topic and Off-Topic
> 	Posts	<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> Message-ID: <47C90428.4A52403B at cs.ubc.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> Ethan Dicks wrote:
>> I have something like that with me here in my bag-o-parts... approx 20mm
>> by 30mm, with a 2mm-thick body made of a rough, dark ceramic, with a 1mm
>> thick glass top.  It's a 2.5 digit display with + and -.  All the leads
>> come through the back of the package in what appears to be a straight-
>> through fashion (making it easy to figure out how to hook it up).
> 
> Your description sounds like the Sperry/Beckman gas-discharge displays, e.g.:
>   http://www.tube-tester.com/sites/nixie/trade08-panaplex.htm
> I think your part number is in there.
 >
 > ----------------Reply:
 > A little tricky to interface because of the high voltage, keep-alive 
anodes, > etc.
 > I may have some of the driver chips though if you're serious.

I actually have a bunch of those too, culled from the guts of an old gas pump. 
I remember rigging up something with a bunch of transistors a couple of years 
ago just to interface them to some LS-TTL and try them. Nice glow to them.

In the context of Apollo displays, I'd figured them to be a lot later - mid 
'70s or so. (the biggest ones I have are about 3/4" for the actual digits too, 
  a lot smaller than the mocked-up ones on the Apollo computer I saw)

cheers

Jules