Tekka's Den

Here we are... What are the criteria to choose the "good" controller? - Price of the IC => this one is not a problem, those components are just so... Cheap !! Oo' - Number of pins for this project - Easy to code, as it is a first for me - Size - Availability of the coding software & kit Regarding the size, the idea is to be able to program the controller and install it on the board, or install the controller on the board and upload the code. For this reason, I do not think Arduino is a good idea. Don't get me wrong, I don't say it is not good (I am not an expert) and I should give it a try for another project, just that it does not appear the best solution to have a stand-alone controller for this project without any interface/ intermediary card. Then we have mainly two options: PIC controllers from Microchip or AVR from Atmel. After having spent a long time reading different articles, comparatives, forums, etc etc... Well... Both solutions can

In this post, we will see how to build the anode driver: - principle, - basic components, - how that works, - how to calculate the proper values The anodes of the Nixie gas tubes need a driver when multiplexed in order to switch the appropriate digit. This driver is built using two transistors (1 NPN and 1 PNP) able to withstand high voltage (the Nixie tubes need 170VDC to switch on). MPSA42 (NPN) and MPSA92 (PNP) are commonly used, as they are available and cheap components. The circuit for the anode driver should be as follow: The resistor R4 is there to limit the current that flows to the Nixie. The tricky part, at least for me was to properly choose the resistors R1 to R4. Let's start with R4, obviously the easiest one. You need to know your Nixie tube characteristics: - voltage to ignite the gas in the tube, - the maximal current the gas tube needs to glow properly. and also how many digits you would multiplex with one anode driver. I have chosen c

Hello! This is the second post related to the Nixie clock project. Here we will set the architecture of our system. Basically, in order to have a proper clock, from end to start: #1: display device => Nixie tubes #2: cathode driver (in order to select the figure to display) => K555ID1 microchip #3: anode driver (in order to select the tube to switch on) => MPSA42 & MPSA92 #4: oscillator (quartz) #5: controller => PIC 16F1828 #6: interface for setting time on the clock #7: power supply (at least +170V are requested for the tubes and +5V for the different microchips) #3 is requested as we want to have multiplexed Nixie: Multiplexing Nixie means control several tubes with only 1 cathode driver (the straight design would request one driver per tube). This way, one chip will switch on the same cathode on 2 or more tubes. It is necessary then to select which tube to apply voltage on, through the anode driver. Circuit architecture can be summarised as follo

This time I aim to build a clock using Nixie tubes and if possible old electronics components and microchips. The final clock should have a nice retro aspect (steampunk-like) just... Because I like it. Main steps are: #1: understand the architecture of the electronic circuit #2: choose the main components (Nixie, microchips, etc) #3: design the circuit #4: test the circuit #5: when validated, produce the definitive PCB carrying the components #6: design the case #7: manufacture the case #8: proceed to the final assembly #9: adjust details I am a real beginner in electronics. Obviously, I am going to build my knowledge from different sources available across the internet. I will try to post the links to the sources as much as I can. However, if I were to miss an obvious source, please let me know so that I can correct the post! See you soon!