Troubleshooting - Arduino IN-14 Nixie Operating Instructions Manual

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.
This could be a symptom that the external power supply can't deliver the power needed
to drive the circuit.
Trouble
On start up, the High Voltage generator needs to draw significantly more power than
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when it is running normally, and in some cases this might overload the external power
supply.
Try a different external power supply and see if the problem persists.
The tube display brightness is not constant, and appears to "pulse" rapidly.
This is a symptom that the High Voltage generator or the external power supply is
overloaded.
Trouble
First perform a factory reset to make sure that no strange values have been left in the
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EEPROM.
Next, check the value of the PWM On Time configuration. Try increasing this until the
brightness is constant, but be careful not to set the value too high. The longer the On
Time, the more the MOSFET has to conduct current, and this will cause it to heat up. A
good value for small tubes is 120-150, larger tubes may require 150-200.
The display is too dim.
Check if the auto-dimming is working. If the display does not change in low or high
ambient light, your LDR does not appear to be working. Check the connections to the LDR.
Trouble
If the LDR is correct, perform a factory reset to make sure that no strange values have
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been left in the EEPROM.
Check the LDR reading by pressing the button three times in quick succession when the
clock is on. You should see a value between "01 00 00" and "09 99 00". Changing the light
conditions should change this value. It is normal that the value is not stable when it is in
the middle of the range. We read the LDR many times a second, and it is unusual that two
readings are identical.
The display does not come on, but I do have a high voltage.
Try pressing the button. If the display comes on, you probably have display blanking
mode set. Check the configuration.
Trouble
Check the orientation of the opto-couplers.
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Check the LDR connection. In some cases, the dimming algorithm does not start up as
expected when no LDR is present. Shine a bright light on the LDR.
In some cases, a factory reset can help.