Dekatrons are decade pulse counters that indicate the current
count by means of a neon glow around a pin. The glow transfers
from pin to pin on each input pulse. They can be used as decimal
dividers by taking the pulses from one pin as the input to the
next stage.
They were some of the earliest fast counters, capable of speeds
in the tens to hundreds of kilohertz, several orders of magnitude
faster than the alternative relays. They were frequently used
in radiation or other decade counters, but also in some early
decimal calculators. |