Arduino nixie v41 Operating Instructions Manual
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Arduino nixie v41 Operating Instructions Manual

Arduino nixie v41 Operating Instructions Manual

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Arduino Nixie Clock v41

Operating Instructions

&
Construction Manual
Document V0041a

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  • Page 1: Operating Instructions

    Arduino Nixie Clock v41 Operating Instructions & Construction Manual Document V0041a...

  • Page 2: Contact Information

    Contact Information If you want to get in contact with us, please email to: nixie@protonmail.ch We'll usually get back to you right away. We can help you with kits or construction. We also offer discounts for direct purchases, we save the Ebay fees, and share this with you. Contact us for information.
  • Page 3 Description The Arduino Nixie Clock is a beautiful mix of old and new, resulting in a high accuracy, low power clock which will be a talking point in your home. The clock has the following features: Battery backed, temperature compensated, high accuracy clock. The accuracy is Accuracy ±2ppm •...
  • Page 4 General The clock has different modes of operation, which you select using the pushbutton. When you start the clock up th very first time, it will start in “Time Display Mode”. We set it up to be the right time for where the clock is being shipped to, so in the best case you will not even need to set the clock the first time! The other modes of operation are described in the following sections.

  • Page 5: Time Display Mode

    Time Display Mode Normally, the clock will show the time. To show additional information press the button with a “short” press. Each press cycles through the following information. After 5 seconds, the display will revert to the normal time display. Mode Description Values...
  • Page 6 Mode Description Values Time mode. This is the normal mode and displays the time. It is the normal start up mode of the clock. If you do nothing. The clock is in this mode. In this mode a short press cycles through the values given in “Time Display Mode”, but always returns to the standard time display after 5 seconds.
  • Page 7 “06” Blanking Hour End. Hour blanking will end at this hour, on the Default: 07 flashing days set by the Display Blanking Mode. If the display blanking mode does not use hours, this setting is not shown. “07” Anti Cathode Poisoning night suppression. The ACP which runs “1”...
  • Page 8 “18” HV Target Voltage Lower. Each press sets the HV target voltage Default: 180 flashing lower by 5V. Max: 200 Min: 150 “19” PWM On Time Longer. This setting controls how long the PWM On Default: 150 flashing pulse is. Normally you should not have to change this, but you can Max: 50 try changing this is the HV generation is noisy or you have unusual Min: 500...

  • Page 9: Display Blanking Mode

    Display Blanking Mode During display blanking mode the tubes will be off depending on the display blanking settings, but the LEDs will continue to work as usual, telling you that the clock is still running. You can configure the display to blank at weekends, during week days, always or never (the default). Also you are able to define hours during which to blank.

  • Page 10: Board Layout

    Board layout For reference, the board layout is as shown (viewed from the top): The connections are: Connector Description Values POWER External power should be applied to the board with this connector. Any DC input source is possible, from 7.5V – 12V. Higher voltages may be possible, but could cause the digits to flicker if the voltage is too high, and you might have to provide a heat sink for the the MOSFET and voltage regulator.
  • Page 11 FRONT These are the controls that go on the front panel: The input button and the Light Dependent Resistor to detect ambient light. GND: The “ground”. One lead of the button and one lead of the LDR and one lead of the button are connected to this. BTN1: The other lead of the button is connected to this input DLS: “Dimming LDR Sense”: The other lead of the LDR is connected to this...
  • Page 12 Schematic Below is the schematic for the clock.
  • Page 13 And for the external components, showing how they are connected. One side of the LDR and switch are connected to ground (pin 1, SV2). The LEDs are driven from VCC or VIN, depending on the configuration. Here are some suggestions: 1 TICK LED: Run the TICK LED directly from the board, either from VCC or VIN.

  • Page 14: Kit Contents

    Construction Preparation: You should have a small tipped soldering iron, some thin (< 1mm) solder, and electronic side cutters. Kit Contents: When you unpack the kit, you should find the following contents as listed in the BOM (Bill of Materials). It is best to check the contents before you start, and notify me straight away if you are missing any components.
  • Page 15 Once all the components are on the board, hook up the power, and check that the power LED comes on. Check also that the voltage is 5V between the “GND” test point and the “VCC” test point Test Step and at the power connector. If the LED does not come on, turn off immediately to avoid damage to the components.
  • Page 16 At the end of the low voltage circuit build, your board should look like this: Low Voltage Circuit...

  • Page 17: High Voltage Circuit

    High Voltage Circuit: Parts List: 22pF 22pF 2.2uF 450V 100nF 100nF UF4004 SOCKET 28 16MHz 100uH 2.7k IRF740 390k 4.7k MEGA8-P The high voltage circuit uses the micro-controller to drive the boost circuit with a high frequency square wave, and has a feedback loop in which the controller reads the voltage produced via an analogue input, and regulates the brightness of the tubes so that there is no flickering or unwanted dimming.
  • Page 18 If you hear any angry sounding buzzing turn the power off immediately and check the orientation of C1! The circuit should run almost silently, with only a very faint “crackling” sound. Trouble If you can't reach the target voltage, turn off and check the polarity of your components, shooting especially C1.
  • Page 19 At the end of the high voltage circuit build, your board should look like this: High Voltage Circuit...
  • Page 20 “TICK LED” Circuit: Parts List: RTC (see note) CONN_RTC (see note) 2N7000 TICK LED LED 5mm CONN_LED CONN_FRONT This step will check that the Micro-controller can talk to the RTC module, and that the time counting is working properly. The flashing rhythm of the “tick” LED comes from the RTC module, and we want to check that we are able to communicate with the RTC module..
  • Page 21 Hint: Trimming the extra pins on the RTC module ONLY if you want to mount the RTC module directly onto the main board (you can also do it via flying leads), trim off the pins “32K” and “SQW” using a pair of precision side cutters.

  • Page 22: Anode Control Circuit

    Anode Control Circuit: Parts List: SOCKET 24 EL817 EL817 EL817 EL817 EL817 EL817 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k CONN_ANODE This circuit controls passing the HV to the anodes of the tubes. The micro-controller multiplexes the anodes by turning each of them on it turn for a very short period of time. The software controls the rate of the multiplexing and the order in which the anodes are activated.
  • Page 23 Hint: Putting the resistors in A trick that can speed assembly up is to use a piece of normal sticky tape to hold things in place while you solder them. This makes is easier to solder and gives a better result. Place the components, and then temporarily tape them into place.

  • Page 24: Cathode Control Circuit

    Cathode Control Circuit: Parts List: 74141N/K155 SOCKET 16 CONN_DIGIT This part of the circuit controls which cathode will be lit. Each time the digit to be displayed, the correct cathodes have to be set. Notes: Instead of the 74141, you might have the Russian equivalent “K155”. •...
  • Page 25 LEDs and front panel Parts List: 1k (*) 1k (*) 1k (*) 2N7000 2N7000 2N7000 SWITCH LED RGB LED RGB Common anode These are the final parts of the clock apart from the tubes, and are intended as the elements which the user sees and touches.

  • Page 26: Front Panel Components

    use the following formula to calculate the current: / 1k For example, with a V of 2.2V, the current is: = 5 – 2.2 / 1k = 2.8mA In this case, you can safely run 6 LEDs off the channel. Front Panel components When all the components are installed, you are finished with the board.

  • Page 27: Connecting The Tubes

    Connecting the tubes When all the components are installed, you are now ready to install the tubes. Either you can wire then by hand or you have a board to put them on. I prefer hand wiring, because I think it has a more “retro” feel. The anodes are arranged like this: Anode “1”...

  • Page 28: Tube Wiring

    Tube wiring If you bought a kit without a display board, there is the task of wiring the tubes to be done. It can take a long time, but if you do it carefully, it can give a very beautiful “retro” feel. There are a number of small tricks to make the task easier and the result better: Plan how long you want the lead to the board to be and how far apart the groups of digits “hours”, •...
  • Page 29 You should have a result like this: • Turn on the clock and check that you can clearly see the digits “0” and then “1” light up in sequence • on the seconds tube every 10 seconds. Don't worry if there is “ghosting” on other digits at the moment –...
  • Page 30 After you connected all the wires of the seconds group, you should have a result that looks like • this: Turn the clock on, and you should now see the seconds counting correctly. • Complete the other groups in the same way, keeping the cathode connection colors and the order •...
  • Page 31 The wiring for the tubes is this: Here is a picture of a plaited loom in action. This particular version of the clock has two blue “tick” LEDs in series and three RGB LEDs (one for each digit group):...

  • Page 32: Hacks And Alternatives

    Hacks and alternatives There are a number of options which can be built into the board easily. Using Neons instead of LEDs for the “Tick” LED. This is a very simple modification. Replace the 2N7777 (Q6) with an MPSA42. The MPSA42 transistor has a compatible pin out to the FET (drain = collector, gate = base, source = emitter), but can withstand 300V.

  • Page 33: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting If not everything goes as you expect, please refer to the test steps during the construction and the associated troubleshooting tips. If that does not cover the problem you have, please see below. If you still can't find the answer, contact us! The tubes flash (or blink) on and off.
  • Page 34 One or more of the RGB LEDs will not go out completely One of the LEDs (either one of the R, G or B channels, or the TICK LED) does not go out completely when it is configured to be dark or at the darkest point of the “pulse” flash. Trouble The FETs which drive the LEDs are very sensitive, and can pick up the stray voltages which shooting...

  • Page 35: Programming The Micro-Controller

    Arduino UNO is enough. To program the 328P, simply remove it from the clock board, and place it in the Arduino UNO. Then you will be able to program the controller as you would any other Arduino UNO, simply upload the software onto the controller.

  • Page 36: Component Identification

    Component Identification We can't always guarantee to get exactly the the same components. Where we have alternatives, they are listed separately under the same heading. 10k resistor Alternative 1 The color code for the 10k resistor is: BROWN = 1 BLACK = 0 BLACK = 0 RED = 2 (2 zeros in this case)
  • Page 37 390k resistor Alternative 1 The color code for the 390k resistor is: ORANGE = 3 WHITE = 9 BLACK = 0 ORANGE = 3 (3 zeros in this case) BROWN = 1 (1% Tolerance) 390k resistor = 3 9 0 0 0 0 with 1% tolerance Alternative 2 The color code for the 390k resistor is: ORANGE = 3...
  • Page 38 100nF capacitor The coding on the 100nF capactor is “104”. It does not matter which way round it goes. This is decoded as: = “1” then a “0” and then 4 more zeros = 100000 pF 100nF capacitor = 100 nF (1 nF = 1000 pF) 22pF capacitor The coding on the 22pF capactor is simply “22”.

  • Page 39: Parts List / Bom

    Parts list / BOM Here is the list of the parts needed Low Voltage Circuit Anode Control Circuit SOCKET 24 IN4001 EL817 100nF EL817 220uF EL817 7805TV EL817 220uF EL817 2.7k EL817 LED1 LED3MM CONN_PWR High Voltage Circuit 22pF 22pF 2.2uF 400V 2.7k 100nF...
  • Page 40 Revisions: V0007a: 20May2015: Change C4 and C9 to 220uF V0008a: 06Jun2015: Add HV target voltage setting. V0008b: 09Jun2015: Clarify input voltage requirements. V0008c: 17Jun2015: Correct LED orientation. V0009a: 30Aug2015: Updated for board Rev2 V0010a: 04Sep2015: Updated for board Rev3 V0010b: 14Sep2015: Added options and more troubleshooting tips V0010c: 01Oct2015: Change GitHub software versioning V0010d: 23Oct2015: Move C4 into LV section, correct 1uF to 2.2uF in HV section V0035a: 09Dec2015: Add cycle speed setting...

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