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Incandescent Displays |
The pantheon of incandescent displays includes a wide range of display types whose illumination is provided by an array of incandescent filaments. Projection displays, light pipe displays and other similar devices use traditional incandescent lamps to illuminate the display elements, while Numitron and Minitron displays are discrete multi-filament lamps, with filaments arranged to display a segmented digit or other character. Incandescent displays have a significant advantage over Nixie tubes, Panaplex displays and VFDs, as they are typically driven at +5VDC or other similarly convenient voltages. Minitrons were once particularly popular in aerospace applications due to their ruggedness, wide viewing angle and long operational lifespan, and a brightness significantly higher than competing LED displays. Additionally, the wide spectral output of incandescent illumination allows for extreme versatility in color filtering.
Fuji Minitron 3015F | |
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The Fuji 3015F is the archetypal example of Minitron-style filament display technology. Unlike Numitrons which are packaged in a tubular glass envelope, Minitrons have a planar envelope, consructed from a glass window hermetically sealed to a sheet metal bathtub enclosure. This improvement mirrors a similar transition in gas discharge displays, from the tubular envelope Nixie tube, to the planar Panaplex display. Several internal variations of this device are known to exist, including a variation which omits the internal digit mask. The 3015F has a 14-pin DIP outline, and is rated for 50,000 hours of continuous operation. |
IEE Apollo DA-2000 Series | |
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Devices included in this entry: |
IEE Apollo DA-2110 | |
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The Apollo DA-2110 is the flagship of IEE's DA-2100 series of miniature Numitrons. Like its full-size counterpart, the DA-2010, the DA-2110 is a seven-segment numerical display with a cross-shaped decimal point. The DA-2110 is packaged in a miniature envelope with a nine-pin base, occupying less than half the volume of a DA-2000 series device. |
IEE Aurora FFD21 | |
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The IEE Aurora FFD21 is a large Minitron-style seven-segment numerical display wtih a decimal point. With a 17mm digit height and a 100,000-hour operational rating, the FFD21 doubles both the size and longevity of the Fuji 3015F. IEE also manufactured the FFD51, a high brightness variant of the FFD21 rated at 40,000 hours of operation. |
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