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Arduino Nixie Clock v6
Operating Instructions
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
from 0°C to +40°C. (Maximum 1 minute per year).
The battery life should be 3 years in normal use.
Retains the date and time even when turned off (not just for a few minutes, but for as long as the
battery lasts)
Leap Year Compensation Valid Up to the year 2100
Based on the Arduino micro-controller: Easy to program an well documented.
Open source hardware and software. Nothing is hidden in this clock.
You may modify and load the software with a normal PC
Low power consumption.
Anti Cathode Poisoning (ACP) makes sure that the tubes will stay healthy for many years with no
intervention from you.
All settings are stored in non-volatile memory. Once they are set, they are remembered forever, or
until you change them again.
RGB back lighting allows you to set the the color of the back lighting to practically any color you
desire.
Ambient light sensing, with automatic tube dimming, which sets the tube and LED brightness
according to the light conditions. The tubes could be disturbing during the night if they are left at
full brightness.
Absolutely silent operation. Some Nixie clocks emit an irritating "buzz" or "hiss" which is especially
annoying if you keep the clock in a bedroom.
Long tube life: The multiplexed display and automatic dimming used in this design extends the life
of the tubes indefinitely. Other designs run the tubes too "hard", and this causes a rapid
degradation in the useful life of the tube.

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  • Page 1 Arduino Nixie Clock v6 Operating Instructions 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.
  • Page 2: Time Display Mode

    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 3 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 4: Display Blanking Mode

    Scroll back. Use the scroll back (rapid count down) effect when “1” = enable changing from “9” to “0”. “0” = disable Red Channel Intensity. Sets the maximum intensity of the red Default: 255 channel back light. This will be dimmed according to the display Max: 255 dimming.
  • Page 5: Board Layout

    Board layout For reference, the board layout is as shown (viewed from the top): The connections are: Connector Description Values POWER Power. External power should be applied to the board with this connector. Any DC input source is possible, from 7V – 12V. Higher voltages may be possible, but could cause the digits to flicker is the voltage is too high.
  • Page 6 VIN: The positive side of the input supply FRONT Front Panel. 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 are connected to this.
  • Page 7 Schematic Below is the schematic for the clock.
  • Page 8 And for the external components, showing how they are connected. The LDR and switch are connected to ground (pin 1). The LEDs are driven preferably from VCC (regulated 5V).
  • Page 9: Kit Contents

    Construction Kit Contents: When you unpack the kit, you should find the following contents:...
  • Page 10: Low Voltage Circuit

    Low Voltage Circuit: Parts List: IN4001 100nF 7805TV 100uF 2.7k LED1 LED3MM CONN_POWER The Low Voltage circuit is a very traditional voltage regulator using a linear regulator. It's job is to reduce the external voltage from the power adapter down to a known and stable 5V to drive the micro-controller. Put the parts on the board in the marked locations in the order they appear on the list.
  • Page 11 If the LED does not come on, turn off immediately to avoid damage to the components. If all is well, proceed to the next step. If not, check carefully the orientation of the components and the power leads. Diode D1 protects the board from having the power connected inverted. If the LED comes on, check for a few seconds that the 7805 does not heat up.
  • Page 12 At the end of the low voltage circuit build, your board should look like this: Low Voltage Circuit...
  • Page 13: High Voltage Circuit

    High Voltage Circuit: Parts List: 22pF 22pF 100nF 100nF 100uF - 470uF UF4004 MEGA8-P 16MHz 100uH SOCKET 28 IRF740 390k 4.7k 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 14 Notes: C4 must go the right way round. The negative side is marked with a stripe (see hint). • Put Q1 so that the metal portion lines up with the white stripe on the board. The metal side faces • to the outside of the board.
  • Page 15 Hint: The 10 k resistor The color code for the 10k resistor is: BROWN = 1 BLACK = 0 BLACK = 0 RED = 2 (2 zeros in this case) Brown = 1 (1% Tolerance) 10k resistor = 1 0 0 0 0 with 1% tolerance Hint: The 4.7 k resistor The color code for the 4.7k resistor is: YELLOW = 4...
  • Page 16 At the end of the high voltage circuit build, your board should look like this: High Voltage Circuit...
  • Page 17 “TICK LED” Circuit: Parts List: CONN_RTC 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. Notes: Q6 should be orientated with the flat side as shown on the board. Some FETs come with the leds in •...
  • Page 18 After you have wired everything up, it should look like this: Note that here I have put the RTC module directly onto the main board. The battery goes in the RTC module with the back upwards.
  • Page 19: Anode Control Circuit

    Anode Control Circuit: Parts List: EL817 EL817 EL817 EL817 EL817 EL817 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k 2.7k SOCKET 24 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. Notes: The Opto-Isolators fit into the 24 pin socket snugly.
  • Page 20 After you have installed the Anode controls, that part of the board should look this:...
  • Page 21: Cathode Control Circuit

    Cathode Control Circuit: Parts List: 74141N 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 22 LEDs and front panel Parts List: 1k (*) 1k (*) 1k (*) 2N7000 2N7000 2N7000 SWITCH LED RGB LED RGB 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 23: 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 24 The wiring for the tubes is this:...

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