Michael Black wrote:

snip

I am blank about how they worked. It may be like a synchronized
oscillator, using the crystal oscillator to sync a free running
neon bulb multivibrator.

Neon bulb bistable multivibrators were staples of low speed digital
counters and of course electronic organs; the circuit relies on
hysteresis of twin bulbs connected through a common (cathode)
resistor. I may post links to some example implementation diagrams.

There were also pulse counters, collect pulses until they voltage
of the collected pulses trigger something and it starts over again.


One can use a charge pump (diode pump) to accumulate (constant
width and amplitude) pulses until neon bulb breakdown potential
is reached and the bulb discharges the output capacitor restarting
the cycle.

Regards,

Michael