# Electronics Dopers: Jumper wires **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541 "2023-02-09T20:02:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/21 "2023-02-11T00:19:09Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > (does any call it **vero** any more?). That would be **V** ero, it was (is?) a tradename. I still call it that, well Veroboard. Habits die hard. I probably still have some real Veroboard lying about somewhere. I never really liked the stuff. But it is sometimes useful. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/22 "2023-02-11T00:29:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > So if I want to have this case printed, what files should I be looking for? The Downloading window still says ‘Downloading…’ I’m not much of a 3D printer enthusiast either. STL files are the usual formal needed to define the parts. The specific printer used will have support code to work out the final form of the printed part - working out things like supports and how interior fill is done if needed. I have no idea what that site expects you to be doing. Personally I hate 3D printed parts, they mostly just look cheap. The guy in the video had the right idea, just not the skill. Real wood or metal wins. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/23 "2023-02-11T00:34:53Z")
I could make it out of wood, though I was thinking something more ‘industrial’. (Think a crinkled metallic finish, like on a [Stanley thermos](https://smile.amazon.com/Stanley-Classic-Vacuum-Bottle-Hammertone/dp/B000FZX93K/).) But I could do wood. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/24 "2023-02-11T01:27:51Z")
Hammertone paint on wood could look pretty good. As always, with paint, prep work is what makes it work. Prepping cheap 3D parts is desperately awful. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/25 "2023-02-11T01:31:18Z")
Is it time to share our Nixie tube clocks? Here’s mine: [![](https://i.imgur.com/82fDfJG.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/82fDfJG.png) I designed the main PCB myself (below that are a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a pre-made power supply. Tubes came from some junked Russian equipment that I bought long before they shot up in price. Sorry Francis, the “case” is 3D printed. Though the main point is for it to be as unobtrusive as possible. It’s just there to mount the PCBs and to hide some of the ugliness at the base of the Nixies. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/26 "2023-02-11T01:52:06Z")
Man, nixie tubes are sexy, but I don’t need a clock. I wish I was ingenious/clever enough or knew someone who made a kit for these synth modules using nixie tubes. Ahhh, maybe someday. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NNQ6SGyIK8E/maxresdefault.jpg "Dekatrons Nixie Tubes Eurorack modular synth") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNQ6SGyIK8E) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/27 "2023-02-11T02:01:33Z")
I made the coolest Nixie tube clock ever, as a present. I token old HP frequency counter like this: [![](https://photos.smugmug.com/TEST-EQUIPMENT/HEWLET-PACKARD/HP-5245/i-k6qWK8P/0/52acbbb2/L/PA100007-L.jpg) ](https://photos.smugmug.com/TEST-EQUIPMENT/HEWLET-PACKARD/HP-5245/i-k6qWK8P/0/52acbbb2/L/PA100007-L.jpg) And then programmed a microcontroller to output the correct number of pulses every second to make it into a clock (10,000 pulses for 01:00:00 to 125,959 for 12:59:59) then toggled the strobe line. It worked perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/28 "2023-02-11T13:10:44Z")
The 2 .stl files are the ones you need for 3d printing. I clicked “download all files” and got a zipped file with the 2 .stl files in a folder called “files” and the .jpgs in a folder called “images”. I opened the .stl files using “3D Viewer” (Windows 10) and can manipulate them fine. (I don’t see anything saying “Locked”) The “Downloading” on the pop-up page is confusing…ignore it ! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/29 "2023-02-11T15:49:55Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > (I don’t see anything saying “Locked”) Might be a Mac Preview thing. I sent the files to a place in town for a quote. I’m not really thrilled with the design, but I might be able to make it industrial-looking with some paint. I’ve also thought of making a triangular box with a rectangle on top: A right triangle with the vertical side in the back and the hypotenuse in the front, then with a rectangular portion for the nixie tubes. And I’ve thought of Lego®, but I don’t know if they make flat pieces with holes on the bottom so that I can use one for the top(s). Or maybe plywood with the plies on the sides and top (i.e., vertical orientation). ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/30 "2023-02-11T16:28:41Z")
There are lots of other designs to chose from … [🔗](https://www.google.com/search?q=3d+printed+case++nixie+clock+in+12&newwindow=1&ei=67_nY9L6D-yNhbIP-fi4iA4&ved=0ahUKEwiSnM7B7439AhXsRkEAHXk8DuEQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=3d+printed+case++nixie+clock+in+12&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABMgUIIRCgATIFCCEQoAE6CggAEEcQ1gQQsAM6CAghEKABEMMEOgsIIRAWEB4Q8QQQHUoECEEYAEoECEYYAFD9B1jPMmCDOGgCcAF4AIABfIgBmAWSAQM1LjKYAQCgAQHIAQTAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/31 "2023-02-11T16:36:41Z")
Right now, I’m thinking a grey Lego® box. That would be 1) Easy to build; 2) ‘Retro’, because Lego® bricks are old-school; and 3) Kind of industrial-looking. I haven’t played with them since I was in single-digits, so I’m a little lost. I see on the Lego® site there are many, many more brick shapes than there were when I was a kid. There’s a store about 100 miles from here. Maybe I can go in to see what they have. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/32 "2023-02-11T16:55:06Z")
I love Nixie tubes. The original ones were essentially vacuum tubes, and today these are _really_ expensive. Most kits today have (what I would call) imitation Nixie tubes. The hardcore Nixie tube fans have contempt for these, but I have no problem with them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/33 "2023-02-11T17:19:04Z")
I would have preferred the upright, blown-glass ones pictured upthread; but I got the Polish kit because it _looked_ easy to build. (Ha!) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/34 "2023-02-11T17:22:37Z")
A coworker was retiring a few years ago, and we wanted to give her a gift. So we purchased [this](https://www.transistor-clock.com/) clock kit. We had to solder 194 transistors, 566 diodes, 400 resistors, and 87 capacitors. It took a while. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541/35 "2023-02-11T17:52:26Z")
I have 16 “British Flag” Nixies I need to do something with… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronics-dopers-jumper-wires/979541.md?page=1)