Comments on: Woz’s watch makes air travelers nervous

By: t0ast

t0ast — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:30:07 +0000

Snow Crash :]

By: Dan Fruzzetti

Dan Fruzzetti — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:42:55 +0000

Steve – thanks for the info. In retrospect it seems idiotic to suggest a mercury switch considering this is 2010 and not 1969, but let me ask: does the angle-sensing switch work reliably for this even in motion? When driving does it exhibit the same occasional-on behavior you would expect from a mercury switch with its contents sloshing around?

By: bothersaidpooh

bothersaidpooh — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:47:16 +0000

fwiw you can now get FC30 sensors which take 300uA when running and can detect six distinct angles.

what would also work is the triple axis accelerometer from a demised macbook (haha) as these have analogue output.

By: bothersaidpooh

bothersaidpooh — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:45:11 +0000

another substitute for nixies is EL sheet.

i discovered by accident that its possible to “zap” areas of the sheet so that they no longer emit light by using a near UV laser.

(safety goggles required!)

with a little persuasion any piece of EL sheet such as a green backlight can be retasked into a numerical display.

By: Nicko

Nicko — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:23:10 +0000

I have one of the prototypes as there was much discussion among the technical types on neonixie-l about the best way to do the power management.
The case was designed by John Smout of http://www.jsdesign.co.uk/ who makes lovely things nixie-related – see http://www.clock-it.net/ – a very talented designer.
The case was machined by an on-line machining shop. Main problem is lack of tubes as they are not made any more.
I’ve had mine for a new years – since at least 2005 – here’s a very bad photo of John & I looking like hypnotised rabbits in headlights with our watches – mine hasn’t lit as my wrist angle was not correct when the photo was taken – http://www.desmith.net/NMdS/Shack/John%20&%20Nick%2008-Apr-06.jpg

By: Steve 3

Steve 3 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:10:32 +0000

There are no mercury switches. The tilt angle is read constantly by an angle sensing chip relative to gravitation angle and fed to the PIC microprocessor. The code is setup so you can self determine a good reference angle to hold the watch at to have it display. There are a few user settable options in the code, all set with the internal button switches. I know this from the manual that came with mine which is S/N 3 of the original production lot. I love mine, and wear it to special functions. My first battery lasted a year.

By: linus

linus — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:09:03 +0000

Hiro Protagonist would destroy the Woz.

By: dan fruzzetti

dan fruzzetti — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:02:35 +0000

You freakin kids… I can’t believe that… I haven’t read the link, so if the lift angle is software-configured rather than configured by a physical switch, then maybe there is.

but my guess? mercury switch.

By: Joel

Joel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:34:49 +0000

The knife he uses to cut steaks on a plane is actually his business card, I think I recall him saying it was made of stainless steel.

Austenitic stainless is non-magnetic, and the amount of metal in a buisiness card is, of course, not very much, so it does not have to be ceramic to pass security.

By: fred

fred — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:32:56 +0000

Want!
The batteries on this will probably last longer than the sinclair red-led watch I had in the 70′s!

By: Jeff Ledger

Jeff Ledger — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:17:20 +0000

The luxury of fame.. If one of us did this, we’d be taken by air marshals and never seen again.

By: Abbott

Abbott — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:31:36 +0000

@Stephen:
If you’ve posted several times before, your posts appear instantaneously. Otherwise they wait to I suppose moderate them.

Nice watch, though, as many others have stated, its been out for awhile. I’m working on a design for an alarm clock using nixies, and a decatron for tenths of a second. I’ll be trying to post it when it’s done. Won’t surprise me if it doesn’t make it, seeing as how its been done plenty now.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:43:54 +0000

It’s simultaneously funny and sad that people fear stuff like this. the panic over the Aqua teen “bomb” is another example. we live in a world run by this stuff, and yet it’s imprisoned in pretty little boxes with “do not open” stickers and so hacking is instantly assumed to be sinister. good on you, woz. have a danger-steak for me.

By: nope

nope — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:30:26 +0000

I sneak ceramic planes onto planes.

By: julian

julian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:02:39 +0000

i was sneaking ceramic knives onto planes right after 9/11. just saying…did steve photodocument it? because i did!