[Dekatron]

That will probably be impossible unless you get hold of another VCM163 or get very lucky that someone has one for sale - I've never seen one for sale and I've never found any when looking through surplus sale sites or eBay or anywhere else.

If you ever find one you are more than welcome to let us know where you found it and if more are available.

There are similar modern glass bead thermistors but they don't have exactly the same curve as the old type has, but for a normal room temperature range they work quite well.

Both thermistors (R14-TH2 and A14-TH1) have a value of 10k at 20 degrees Celsius and some 8.25-8.3k at 25 degrees Celsius. If you replace them with a modern glass bead thermistor you need to make sure that you isolate the pins so they don't make contact with the aluminum housing and also that the glass bead makes good contact with the aluminum so that they see the same temperature.

The characteristic temperature value B (in degrees Kelvin) are 3250 for the R14 and 3400 for the A14 thermistor.

/Martin