rare elektronika-7 vacuum tube clock shows up on ebay

November 5th, 2008 comments stumble it! digg it! by: technabob

When I first spotted this dot-matrix numbers on this clock I thought it was a modern-day blue LED display. But lurking beneath the surface of this timepiece is something far more interesting.

What we actually have here is a very rare Russian relic from the early 1980s. The Elektronika-7 (Электроника-7) clock was built using vacuum tubes, not LEDs to drive its unique bluish-green display.

The old industrial clock uses 16 segmented tubular vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs) to form its digits.

This extreme rarity can be yours if you manage to score the winning bid in the next few hours (currently at $150 plus shipping). Check out the auction over on eBay for more details.

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filed under: retro timepieces