FAQ

Q: Your clocks look great, why are they so expensive?

A: Nixie tubes are produced from 1954 to 1991, and start to get very rare these days. Although it is an american invention, Nixie tubes were produced in bulk in the Soviet Union. Nixie tubes are still sold from storage buildings over there, NOS (New Old Stock). The prices went up as they became rare, Tinytime managed to get enough Nixie tubes to create clocks to sell. All Nixie tubes in the clocks are NOS.

Q: What is the life expectancy of Nixie tubes?

A: It depends, the early Nixie types have a rather short lifespan, later types (used in Tinytime clocks) can run up to 200.000 hours. To 'save' the Nixie tubes a default setting in the menu will switch of the Nixie tubes at night, default between 00:00 and 07:00. Ofcourse you can change this, or even switch it off. Examples are known from Nixie clocks which runs now for 25 years without a problem, and even measurement equipment with Nixie tubes which is 50 years old seems to run still perfectly. If a Nixie tube will break short after purchase, see guarantee.

Q: What about guarantee?

A: Guarantee is 1 year after purchase.

Q: The glass tubes look fragile, how are the clocks shipped?

A: The clocks are shipped in a solid wooden Tinytime box. The wooden box wil be placed in a carboard box with shock absorbing filling, so it can resist all shipping services! (Tinytime cares about the environment, the filling is biodegradable and will dissolve in water)   

Q: Do you ship outside EU?

A: No, EU only.

Q: Do I have to connect them to Wifi, GPS or network?

A: No, the clocks run stand alone.

Q: Stand alone? What about the accuracy then?

A:  The clocks have a DS3231 Real Time Clock (RTC) inside. This RTC is a clock with an internal Temprature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (TCXO) which is almost not affected by temperature, making it accurate down to 1 or 2 minutes per year at the most.

Q: Do the clocks adjust theirselfs for summer- and wintertime?

A: No, the clocks run stand alone, summer- and winter time is not equal everywhere and might be derated in Europe. Setting the time 1 hour forward or ahead can be done very easy though.

Q: What is included when I buy a clock?

A: The prices in the webshop include VAT and shipping in EU. A 12V Power Adapter is included, and a Tinytime USB stick with the users manual.