Safety
The voltages produced in the High Voltage circuit can reach peaks of 400V! Take precautions
not to electrocute yourself! If you are not sure what this means, please do not use this clock
and return it for a full refund.
A shock from the clock high voltage circuit is at least a nasty bite. At worst it can kill you.
We decline any responsibility in the case of injury or death. You must be qualified to use this
clock, it is not intended for anyone unqualified.
REPEAT: If you are not sure what this means, do not use the clock!
General
The clock has different modes of operation, which you select using the pushbutton.
First Start and calibration
When you start the clock up th very first time, it will start in “First Start Mode”. This mode is
intended to simplify the set up of the hardware. It cycles through the digits “0” - “9” and drives
the High Voltage Generator with a basic setting which does no dimming.
To
EXIT First Start Mode, press the pushbutton when the display shows “88:88:88”,
and the clock will enter calibration mode!
The clock will display “88:88:88” for several seconds. This is for the calibration of the High
Voltage Generator to match the power adapter you have attached. During this time you might
hear some faint crackling noises from the generator. This is normal.
After finishing the calibration, the version number (“00:47:07”) will be displayed for about a
second. The clock will then go into normal operating mode.
You will use this function when you are building the High Voltage circuit.
For a video of the startup process, please see:
Once you have exited First Start Mode, it will not enter it again until you do a factory reset (See
below).
Clock Mode
After the first start, each time you start up the unit, the clock will go into normal clock mode
and will display the time. In normal clock mode, the time will be displayed.
Every 10 minutes (at “xx:x9:15”, the clock will do “Anti-Cathode Poisoning”, which will cycle all
the digits for about 15 seconds.
This is not an error! It is important to keep the tubes healthy in the long term.
