Beckman Neon Column Counter | |
Written by AnubisTTP on 2010-01-28 |
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Before the invention of the Nixie tube, manufacturers came up with various clumsy ways to display numeric data electronically. This Beckman counter module shows one popular solution, output is displayed on a row of ten neon bulbs behind a digit shaped mask. Counting is performed by four 5963 tubes wired into a binary counter circuit, which drives the individual neon bulbs. The 5963 tubes are not present in this example, but in normal operation would have been plugged into a row of sockets in the rear of the module. Though somewhat bulky in appearance, these modules have enjoyed modest popularity among modern day collectors as they can be used to build reasonably accurate all-tube counters with little effort, and are much better documented than the rather more attractive beam switching tube counters shown below.
Beckman Counter Schematic (GIF)

Beckman neon bulb counter with tubes removed.

Beckman neon bulb counter, internal configuration.
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