with some small modifications to the clock circuit and with a transformer isolating the circuit from the mains. I'd be happy to share my modifications with your reader if you'd like to point them towards me. The Nixie clock is WAY cool and is one of my most smile-inducing projects: I saw one that a friend had built and I just HAD to have one. It was not terribly difficult to build, even point-to-point. A little patience is all that is necessary when soldering all the "three-legged fuses" in there. You are right that there were IC drivers made to handle these tubes but I am told they are few and far between these days so discrete transistors are spec'd in the design I cribbed from, and that is what I used.
   4) PDF's: PLEASE!!!!!!! I"M BEGGIN' YA!! DO IT!!!!!

Thanks as always for the great magazine,

-j

   4)  Starting in reverse order, I tried to create a usable PDF for over a week, but no success. The schematics looked terrible. The problem might have been my Acrobat Distiller being old, version 3. And my refusal to use Page Maker 6.5 only added to it. I plan on buying a copy of Indesign soon, which my solve everything.
   3) Thank you for your willingness to help others with the nixie tubes. I will send on any e-mail.
   2)  I am sure you are right. And I would dearly like to give his work a listen.
   1) I am going to build my own version of this circuit before this year is out.
   

Subject: Article request: Tube stereo decoder
   Loved the latest issue - thanks! I suppose I am not eligible for an other article request, but here goes anyway:
   An FM stereo decoder that uses valves, preferably for both rectification (That is

necessary, right? Finally a use for those old 6AL5s lying around, perhaps?) and for the other bits.
   Being too young to have been around in the valve era, I've never heard valve stereo decoding. The old circuits may be considered lacking (some used Paleolithic transistors), but I can't see why it shouldn't be possible to "get it right" with valves. I love the line-out mono sound from my various valve receivers, but the current market only offers silicon decoders. What a shame!
   By the way, that article on the Mono (L+R) and Differential (L-R) circuit was very interesting, but I never really understood how it could be applied. Any use in a stereo decoder? And for QUOD sound, are the rear speakers fed opposite-polarity Differential signals?
   One last thing: do you know/think that there is an advantage to using vacuum diodes for FM detection? Any difference at all?? OK, that's another article request, perhaps - sorry!

-Morgan

    I am sending the radio questions to John Atwood, as he is the expert on these topics. The (L + R) and (L - R) circuit can be used where ever decoding is needed. In the 70s when quadraphonics looked as if it had a future, I played with the following arrangement. Five identical speakers were used. They were all powered by  just two Dynaco ST-70s.

    The two outside speakers share the same signal, but are wired out of phase with each other, so that only one channel of a ST-70 was needed to drive them and the other was used to