Nixie Clock Kit

IN-12B color L

E D

backlit

Operation Manual

Nixie Clock Kit IN-12B V6.0 ( All Right Reserved 2015 )

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Operation Manual IN-12B Nixie Clock

Power for your Nixie Clock

The clock does not include a wall adapter. You should get a universal adapter yourself, these are not very expensive. The preferred voltage is 12VDC, but often 12VDC – 14VDC will do nicely too. The middle pin of the plug is the positive. Universal adapters often come with a set of various plugs, choose one that fits. If none them fits, you can use the dc-plug is included with the clock. If the clock does not work, you may have gotten the polarity wrong. Change the polarity and try again.

Setting the Nixie Clock

Turn on the clock by plugging in the wall adapter. The time will start at 12:00:00 and blinks.

Press and hold the Set button ( Located at the Top side, see photo ), for about 5-6 seconds until the first tube DP ( decimal point ) will turn on and starts blinking. Release the button.

Now, with each short press of the button, you can advance the first digit. The format is 24hours, so the first tube only changes from 0-1-2 etcetera. After the digit is set correct, press the button again for 2 seconds, and see that the second tube DP will turn on. Set all the other tubes in the same way.

Once you have set all digits, press and hold the button for 5-6 seconds, and the clock will resume normal operation.

At first, this may seem a bit of a hassle, but after a while you will notice that it is remarkably easy to set the clock.

Color LED ON/OFF Switch DC plug 2.1mm12V

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Setup push button

Calibrating the Nixie Clock

Press and hold the set button, for about 7-8 seconds. While you hold it, you will first see that the first tube turns on its DP, and then the second tube will turn on its DP. Now release the button. There should be 4 digits displayed now.

Here you can set a new calibration value for the timing of the clock. First set this value at 5000.

After setting this value, press and hold the button for 5-6 seconds, to return to normal mode.

This value will be stored inside the microcontroller. Turn off the clock, and turn it on again.

Now set the clock, using a reliable time reference. Set the clock as described earlier, and wait until your time reference matches the time you have set. Now press and hold the set button for

5-6 seconds, and notice that the clock now runs synchronous with your reference, both displaying the same time.

Using the standard calibration value of 5000, the clock should run with a better accuracy than

+/- 10 seconds per day. Let the clock run for a couple of days, and note the time difference between the nixieclock and the reference clock you have used. Calculate the number of milliseconds per hour the clock runs too fast or too slow.

Example: after 2 days, the nixieclock seems 7 seconds too fast. Divide by 48 hours, and multiply by 1000. That’s 145 millisecond per hour. The clock needs to run 145 milliseconds per hour slower, so the new calibration value will be 5000 - 145 = 4855.

Enter the new calibration value, turn off the clock, and turn it on again. Now you can set the clock, and it will be more accurate now. Repeat the procedure if need be.

Setting Display Off Time

Nixie tubes last very long, but possibly not forever. You may want to use this option, to turn the tubes off during the night. Press and hold the set button, for about 9 seconds. You will first see that the first tube turns on its DP, and then the second tube will turn on its DP, and then the third tube turns on its DP. Now release the button. There should be 2 values displayed now, the two middle tubes are off. These values tell you at what hour the display goes off, and at what hour it turns on again.

Adjust the values to your preferences. To save the values, hold the button for 5-6 seconds, to return to normal mode. The value will be stored automatically inside the clock. If you don’t want to use this option, put both hours at 00. (or set them at equal values).

For your information, rumour tells the tubes last for 50000 hours. I have reasons to believe it will be actually longer than that, as the current at which the tubes are driven is very low and well regulated in this design. 50000 hours equals to more than 5 years. Lifetime is defined as the time it takes for the nixies to fade to 50% of their initial brightness.

Setting General Options

In this option setup you can select ‘fading’ display of the tubes, and also you can turn off the flashing neon bulbs. Press and hold the set button, for about 11 seconds. You will first see that the first tube turns on its DP, and then the second tube, the third, and the fourth tube.

Now release the button. There should be 6 values displayed now, either ‘1’ or ‘0’. A ‘1’ means the option is turned on, a ‘0’ means the option is turned off.

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Adjust the values to your preferences:-

The 1st digit sets the ‘fading’ NO or OFF.

The 2nd digit turns the flashing Neons ON or OFF.

The 3rd option is Not Use ( Reserved ).

The 4th option applies if you have the real time clock option installed, using a DS1302 RTC clock chip.

The 5th option selects 12/24 hour format, 0 means 24 hour format, 1 means 12 hour format.

This option only affects the time displayed during normal operation; setting the time is always in 24 hour format.

The 6th option is Not Use ( Reserved ).

To save the settings, hold the button for 5-6 seconds, to return to normal mode. The settings will be stored automatically inside the clock.

If you have any further questions, please contact me at [email protected]

Have fun with your new NixieClock !

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Assembly Instructions IN-12B

NOTE:

Before start to soldering the clock PCB board. Please read the following instruction carefully.

As this kit is equipped with PCB made Nixie Tubes adapter board to rework the IN-12B pins layout to vertical insertion, some job for adapter board will be done before start soldering the clock components.

The building of this Nixie Clock consist of 2 portions :-

1) The Tubes & Neon bulbs Adapter portion - making with PCB fiber boards.

2) The clock portion - Clock control and tubes drive PCB.

The kit come with whole set of PCB as shown below.

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Tools for the adapter boards :

A small size FLAT file for trimming process

6 pcs. of 7 pins 0.254 dual in line header pins are used for connect the Nixie Tube adapter board.

Use the Flat file to trim the Neon adapter board & clock control board where with red circle marked. In order to make both parts has good insertion.

-- Be careful DON'T TRIM excessive --

Make sure all the insertion parts are fitted into the main board slot as shown as photos

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Assembly Instructions IN-12B

-- Electronic Section --

Traditional PTH (Plate Through Holes) components are used and make the soldering job and component handling simpler and easier. Also only SMT resistors and diodes are used because of no need to bend and cutoff the resistors and diodes lead before soldering more convenience and comfort.

Unless you are very experienced with kit-building, it is highly recommended that you follow the steps below. First read the entire document twice, before starting.

First step is to solder the resistors, capacitors, diodes, ….. etc. The resistors have color code printed on them can be identified the value from the BOM list and you should not mix them up.

When you are in doubt, use a multimeter and simply measure the value.

The resistors are numbered in increasing order, using designators like R1, R2, R3 etc. Their values can be found in the schematic and/or component list.

After you have done all the resistors …., you can do the transistors. The orientation of transistors, regulator IC102 and diodes just follow the patterns printed on the PCB. (Don’t mix them up or damaged components will result). Don’t overheat the transistors, you should not spend more than a couple of seconds on each pad.

Mount the electrolytic capacitors, the square hole indicates the (+) connection. Take care to mount these correctly. A reversed capacitor will certainly fail and your clock won’t work.

Mount all other parts on the PCB exclusive the 6 x Nixie Tubes.

Do not insert the PIC processor yet !

Connect the 12VDC/200mA (or better) adapter to the board. Test and measure if you have 5V on the 78L05 regulator. If you don’t have 5V, check the polarity of your DC-adapter, you may need to reverse the +/- and check things again. Proceed if you have a clear +5V.

Put the screw of the potentiometer in the middle. Connect the DC adapter, but be careful not to touch any parts, after all there is a high voltage converter on the circuit board !!! Although it won’t kill you immediately, it can be very uncomfortable. Check the high voltage generator; adjust it for 145V with a voltmeter. If you don’t have 145V, disconnect the adapter, closely examine the entire board and check the board for shorts. Check if all parts have all their pins soldered.

The next step is to insert the PIC processor. Be careful to align the pins, not to bend them as you insert the IC in its socket (the 28 pin socket is placed on the bottom layer ). All pins first should go in about one millimeter, without any brute force needed, then you may press a bit harder until the PIC firmly sits in the socket.

Please don’t insert the PIC in the wrong way, there is a little notch on one end, that should match the notch on the PCB/Socket itself. Inserting it wrong will damage the PIC for 100% sure, your clock will never work, and you have to contact me for a replacement.

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If the 142V is normal, you can adjust the high voltage for the nixie tubes. Later, you can always turn up the brightness adj.(HV) located at bottom side of enclosure if you find the display is too dim. A high voltage tends to show some ghosting effects before it is fixed by the employed anti-ghosting circuitry; you can adjust the brightness to suit your need. Too high voltage will shorten the life of the tubes so beware!

5V TP HV adjust VR

Installing Neon Colon Bulbs to the PCB holder

Trim the Bulbs lead to about 2.00mm long insert to the holder and solder on the pad as shown at photo below for next installation

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Installation Blacklit LED & Tubes adapter Board Header pins

As shown at Photos

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Mounting The Nixie Tubes & Neon Bulbs

The last step is mounting the Nixie Tubes & Neon Bulbs after finished the components soldering and voltage checked normal.

Start with U6, the tube for the display of the seconds. After installing this tube, you can now connect the DC adapter. The U6 tube should display the seconds from 0-9. If this tube does not have a display or if you are missing one or more digits, check the board again, maybe you forgot to solder one or more legs or some transistor or nixie tube wire. It is important to check this with only one tube mounted, because it makes is easier to find a fault if one exists.

Mount the other five tubes and Neon colon bulbs, but do this one by one. Check the operation each and every time you add a tube. If a specific tube does not work, check the anode driver for that tube and fix the problem before proceeding further.

As Shown as below photos

If you got any question about the Nixie Clock just send me an email at [email protected]

ENJOY !

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D

C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

HV

R7

2K7

T1

MMBTA92

R19

47K

R13

470K

T7

MMBTA42

GND

R1

4K7

U1 IN-12B

NIXIE TUBE

R20

47K

MMBTA42

GND

R8

2K7

R14

470K

T8

T2

MMBTA92

R2

4K7

U2 IN-12B

NIXIE TUBE

R9

2K7

R10

2K7

T3

MMBTA92

T4

MMBTA92

R25

100K

R21

47K

R15

470K

T9

MMBTA42

R3

4K7

GND

NL1 NL3

U3 IN-12B

NIXIE TUBE

R22

47K

MMBTA42

GND

R16

470K

T10

R4

4K7

U4 IN-12B

NIXIE TUBE

R11

2K7

R12

2K7

T5

MMBTA92

T6

MMBTA92

R26

100K

R23

47K

R17

470K

T11

GND

MMBTA42

R5

4K7

NL2 NL4

U5 IN-12B

NIXIE TUBE

R24

47K

R18

470K

MMBTA42

GND

T12

R6

4K7

U6 IN-12B

NIXIE TUBE

8

D

C

B

A

1

R28

47K

T13

MMBTA42

T14

MMBTA42

R29

47K

R30

47K

T15

MMBTA42

T16

MMBTA42

T17

MMBTA42

T18

MMBTA42

T19

MMBTA42

R31

47K

R32

47K

R33

47K

R34

47K

R35

47K

T20

MMBTA42

T21

MMBTA42

T22

MMBTA42

R36

47K

R37

47K

R38

47K

T23

MMBTA42

R39

47K

GND

T24

MMBTA42

2

B

12VDC

C1

100U/35v

P1

2K5

R43

4K7

8

7

6

5

IC1

MC34063A

DRVC SWC

IPK

VCC

CI

SWE

TC

GND

C4

100N

REF 1.25V

1

2

3

4

C3

470P

R41

330

GND

L1

330uH

T26

IRFR320B

D103

BYV27-400

C2

2u2/250V

R42

680K

HV

140-160V adjustable

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D0 DP

R201

47K

HV

R200

47K

GND

3 4 5 6

Title

Size

A3

Number

Date: 22-Oct-2005

File: D:\Nixie Clock IN-16_V3.5.ddb

7

Sheet of

Revision

8

A

D

C

B

A

1

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

D

S1

VCC

R104

10K

GND

SELDP

R107

10K

R103

10K

GND

XT101

16MHZ

C104

33P

SEL4

SEL3

SEL2

SELSEMICOLON

6

7

GND

8

9

10

GND

C105

33P

SEL8

SEL9

SEL7

SEL6

11

12

13

14

3

4

5

1

2

IC101

MCLR

RA0/AN0

RA1/AN2

RA2/AN2

RA3/AN3/VREF

RA4/T0CKI

RA5/AN4/SS

VSS

RB7

RB6

RB5

RB4

RB3

RB2

RB1

RB0/INT

OSC1/CLKIN

OSC2/CLKOUT

RC2/CCP1

RC3/SCK/SCL

PIC 16F876

VDD

VSS

RC0/T1OSO/T1CKI RC7/RX/DT

RC1/T1OSI/CCP2 RC6/TX/CK

RC5/SDO

RC4/SDI/SDA

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15 SEL5

SELTUBE2

SELTUBE1

SELTUBE4

SELTUBE3

SELTUBE6

SELTUBE5

SEL1

SEL0

VCC

GND

R111

10K

C110

100N

GND

DS1302

5

6

7

RST

I/O

SCLK

VCC

IC104

X

X

BATT

8

2

3

XT102

32.768KHZ

C109

0.1F 5.5V

GND

J101

DC JACK

1

2

3

D101

1N4002 12VDC

1

IC102

78M05

Vin OUT

3

C101

100N

C107

100N

VCC

C108

100U/16V

GND

2 3 4 5

C

B

6

Title

Size

A3

Date:

File:

Number

21-Sep-2005

D:\Nixie Clock IN-16_V3.5.ddb

7

Sheet of

Revision

8

A

Bill of Material for Nixie Clock IN-12B

Part Type Color Code

Used

1 0.047F 5.5V

1 1N4002

1 2K

Designator

C109

D101

P1

6 2.7K

R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12

1 4.7u/400V or 2.2u/250V C2

7 4.7K

1 16.0000MHZ

4 10K

1 32.768KHZ

2 330 (33P)

20 47K

R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R43

XT101

R103 R104 R107 R111

XT102

C104 C105

R19 R20 R21 R22 R23 R24 R28 R29 R30 R31 R32

R33 R34 R35 R36 R37 R38 R39 R201 R200

1 78M05 IC102

0 100K

4 104 (0.1u)

2 100u/16V

1 330

R25 R26

C4 C101 C107 C110

C1 C108

R41 R27

1 330uH L1

6 470K R13 R14 R15 R16 R17 R18

C3 1 471 (470P)

1

1

1

680K

BYV27-200

DC JACK

R42

D103

J101

11 DIODE IN4148 D0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 DP

1 DS1302

6 IN-12B

1 IRFR320B

1 MC34063A

18 MPSA42 (NPN)

6

MPSA92 (PNP)

1 PIC 16F876A

IC104

U1 U2 U3 U4 U5 U6 (Depend on Kit Option)

T26

IC1

T7 T8 T9 T10 T11 T12 T13 T14 T15 T16 T17 T18

T19 T20 T21 T22 T23 T24

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

IC101

1 SW-PB S1

1 DIP SOCKET 28 PINS (0.3") IC101

2 DIP SOCKET 8 PINS IC1 IC104

2 NEON BULBS

6 Metal Studs With M3 screws x 6