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Nixie Clock Spectrum 18 Assembly Instructions And User Manual Download Page 25

Nixie Tube Clock ‘Spectrum 18’ 

 

Issue 2 (15 February 2015)

 

 

www.pvelectronics.co.uk

 

- 25 - 

Notes: 

 

1. Master Blanking Mode has priority over Night Mode. Use to disable the clock on 
weekends (eg clock is in office), or during office hours (eg clock is at home). Complete 
HV shutdown to save power and tube life.  
2. Night time neons mode is active when night mode is set to dim. During night time 
blanking the tubes AND neons are disabled. 
3. Clock is fully functional without  DCF / MSF / GPS synchronisation. Set time 
manually. 
4. Enter your time zone offset from the synchronisation source. Note that GPS transmits 
UTC. 
5. Visual effect / cathode poisoning prevention – all digits on all tubes are cycled for 10 
seconds. This setting overrides night blanking or dimming for the duration of the effect 
(10 seconds). 
6. DCF / MSF synchronisation takes place on the hour. If no valid frame is received in 6 
minutes, the clock reverts to normal operation. 
7. Date will be displayed each minute between 50 and 55 seconds past the minute. 
8. Press ‘SET’ briefly during Night Mode to show time for prescribed period. 
9. Applies a fixed negative offset to the temperature display, to compensate for self-
heating of the sensor. 
10. Set this parameter to ‘1’ to restore factory configuration settings. Internal 
operations will then load all the original settings and restore the value to ‘0’ You can 
also restore factory configuration settings by pressing and holding ‘SET’ as you power 
up from a cold start. A cold start is a startup with a fully discharged Supercapacitor, or 
with the Supercapacitor jumper removed. 
 

 

 
 

Summary of Contents for Spectrum 18

Page 1: ...Nixie Tube Clock Spectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 1 Assembly Instructions And User Guide Nixie Clock Type Spectrum 18 ...

Page 2: ...ectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 2 REVISION HISTORY Issue Number Date Reason for Issue 2 15 Feb 2015 Errors in Resistor values corrected Resistor networks not polarized 1 10 Feb 2015 New document ...

Page 3: ...nute every 10 minutes every hour Simple time setting using two buttons Programmable leading zero blanking Double dot colon neon lamps 11 colon neon modes including AM PM indication top bottom or left right railroad slow or fast etc Seconds can be reset to zero to precisely the set time Programmable night mode blanked or dimmed display to save tubes or prevent sleep disturbance Rear Indicator LEDs ...

Page 4: ...es generated by this circuit can give a potentially LETHAL ELECTRIC SHOCK DISCLAIMER This product is supplied as a kit of parts intended only for suitably qualified electronic engineers who are suitably qualified and experienced in electronics assembly and are familiar with safe procedures for working with high voltages The supplier his agents or associates accept no liability for any damage injur...

Page 5: ...hot air gun will be needed to shrink the heat shrink tubing over the neon lamp wires 2 2 Materials you will need Solder lead tin solder is highly recommended USE LEAD TIN SOLDER Lead free solder as now required to be used in commercial products in Europe has a much higher melting point and can be very hard to work with Desoldering wick braid can be useful if you accidentally create solder bridges ...

Page 6: ...s Q1 MPSA42 Q2 Q4 2N7000 MOSFET Q15 MPSA42 Diodes D1 D3 1N5819 D4 5mm Yellow LED D5 5mm Green LED D6 5mm Yellow LED RGB1 RGB8 RGB 5mm LED common anode Integrated Circuits IC1 LM2576 5V voltage regulator IC2 PIC16F1938 in socket IC3 IC4 HV5622 in socket IC5 DS18B20 Miscellaneous L1 100uH inductor AM1 PM1 AM2 PM2 6mm wire ended neon lamp ALARM SET ADJ DST Miniature push button IC2 Socket 28 Way narr...

Page 7: ...0 1F or 0 22F 1 Transistors MPSA42 2 2N7000 MOSFET 3 Diodes 1N5819 3 5mm Green LED 1 5mm Yellow LED 2 5mm RGB LED 6 Integrated Circuits LM2576 5V voltage regulator 1 PIC16F1938 8 bit microcontroller 1 HV5622 2 DS18B20 1 Miscellaneous 100uH inductor 1 6mm wire ended neon lamp 4 Miniature push button 4 28 way narrow IC Socket for IC2 1 PLCC44 IC Socket 2 2 1mm PCB power socket 1 Surface mount 3 5mm ...

Page 8: ... fuse will look like one of the pictures below It can easily be confused for a capacitor It is a self resetting fuse 3 4 Special Note Please note that several components can be possibly mounted on either side of the PCB and white component print for the part is on both sides of the PCB This is to offer maxiumum flexibility of the kit For our clear cases most components will be soldered on the top ...

Page 9: ... LIKE THE ONE PICTURED 4 1 Assembly of the tube sockets Remove the protective film from both sides of the six laser cut tube socket holders and identify the side that is engraved SOCKETS THIS SIDE For each socket holder you need to push in 11 socket receptacles Push them in from the SOCKETS THIS SIDE side Push them with the 2 open jaws going in first Look at the photo below ...

Page 10: ...s firmly into place until they stop You will end up with 6 socket assemblies Put them to one side Do not solder them to the PCB yet 4 2 Resistor Networks RN1 RN6 Solder the 6 resistor networks on the bottom side of the PCB as shown below These parts are not polarized so the orientation does not matter ...

Page 11: ...older the 6 Nixie sockets that you assembled in step 4 1 Push each socket assembly into the PCB so that the flat is aligned as shown below There is only one way the socket can be inserted so it should be impossible to orient incorrectly After soldering all 66 contacts clip off the lower very thin part of the connector ...

Page 12: ...of IC1 to a 90 degree angle so that the component lies along the PCB Solder it so it does not quite touch the PCB But is approx 2 3 mm from it 1 8 C1 and C2 are polarized The light stripe on the body of the component indicates the negative side This must match the cross hatched side on the PCB Marking Please note that J1 and L1 must be soldered on the bottom of the PCB is all cases ...

Page 13: ...robe on the GND test point and the red probe on the 5V test point The voltage should measure between 4 8 and 5 2 Volts If not disconnect power and check your work Do not proceed with the assembly until the error is corrected Once the test is completed disconnect the power 4 6 High Voltage Generator Components 6 Way female header 28 Way IC socket for IC2 R1 6 8 KΩ VR1 1 KΩ Potentiometer HV Module S...

Page 14: ...s to the main PCB 6 way female header on bottom of PCB and VR1 and R1 on the top of the PCB Also solder the socket for IC2 noting the orientation of the small notch at one end Here you can see how the 6 way female header is soldered on the bottom of the PCB And now you can push the HV Module into place ...

Page 15: ...dule can still hold charge at 170V carefully remove the HV module and place it safely away until later 4 8 Tube Drive Components R2 R7 10 KΩ C5 C8 C9 100nF Sockets for IC3 and IC4 Be very careful when inserting the two IC sockets Make sure the flattened corner of the IC socket is oriented with the matching flattened corener marking on the PCB 4 9 C3 10pF C4 15pF X1 32 768KHz Crystal 4 10 First Tub...

Page 16: ...ube to check if it is the tube or the location that is faulty Once all is well power off carefully remove the tubes and with care remove the HV module 4 11 R8 R11 4 X 270 KΩ R12 R14 R17 R19 6 X 270 Ω R15 R20 2 X 6 8 KΩ R16 15 KΩ 4 12 Q1 Q15 MPSA42 Q2 Q4 3 X 2N7000 4 13 C6 0 22F C7 100nF 2 Way pin header and jumper Take care that C6 is mounted with its arrows matching the arrows on the PCB Note C6 ...

Page 17: ... and PIR connectors First wet one pad on the PCB with solder Then place the connector in position and re touch the pad with the soldering iron This will anchor the component and then you can solder the remaining pads 4 16 LS1 Piezo Buzzer The Piezo Buzzer is soldered on the bottom of the PCB 4 17 RGB LEDs There are 6 RGB LEDs one under each Nixie Tube Note that there are a further 2 locations for ...

Page 18: ...ue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 18 If you follow the bending instructions above then the longest lead should go into the hole marked with 2 small circles at each RGB LED location Solder each LED and clip the leads short ...

Page 19: ...trude through a hole in the bottom of the Visio or Prisma cases 4 19 AM1 AM2 PM1 PM2 4 X 6mm Neon lamps Each neon is separately addressable and many flashing and indicatation modes are implemented see the configuration setup later in the manual The AM1 and PM1 neons are taller and mounted on the rear 2 locations The leads of the two rear neons need to be extended Use pieces of wire cut from leads ...

Page 20: ...ary 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 20 Slip the insulation over the neon lamp leads and with a hot air gun shrink the tubing Finally solder the neons in place on the PCB with the taller neons at the back The glass cover tubes can be placed over later ...

Page 21: ...pectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 21 4 20 Wire Link This is only applicable if your PCB is dated 6th January 2015 Solder a wire link as shown below between the middle pin of Q4 and pin 10 on IC2 ...

Page 22: ...e seconds will become highlighted Continue holding the button a further 2 seconds until the clock displays in this format 00 XX 99 The 99 in the seconds digits tells you that you are in the configuration menu In configuration mode the hours digits diplay the current parameter being adjusted and the minutes digits display the current value stored against the parameter For each parameter and referri...

Page 23: ...s 10 Colon neons mode 0 Both off 1 AM PM Indication left right 2 AM PM Indication left right flashing 3 AM PM Indication top bottom 4 AM PM Indication top bottom flashing 5 All slow flashing 6 Slow flashing left right 7 All flashing 8 Both illuminated 9 Railroad fast 10 Railroad slow 11 Colon neons during night dimmed mode 2 As per parameter 10 12 Radio time signal source 0 No Radio Time source de...

Page 24: ...ly as per parameter 24 default 1 DCF MSF Sync every hour 24 RFT Daily Sync Hour 0 23 default 2 25 RFT Seek Blanking 0 Keep tubes lit for DCF MSF seek 1 Blank tubes for DCF MSF seek default 26 Display Mode 0 standard change of digits 1 fading digits 2 fading digits with scrollback effect default 27 Auto date display each minute 0 Off 1 Static display of date 2 Scrolling display of date default 7 28...

Page 25: ...r 10 seconds This setting overrides night blanking or dimming for the duration of the effect 10 seconds 6 DCF MSF synchronisation takes place on the hour If no valid frame is received in 6 minutes the clock reverts to normal operation 7 Date will be displayed each minute between 50 and 55 seconds past the minute 8 Press SET briefly during Night Mode to show time for prescribed period 9 Applies a f...

Page 26: ... Day Finally briefly Press SET again to revert to normal clock operation Showing Date From time display mode briefly press SET button Date will be shown for 5 seconds then revert to time display Auto Date Display Setting parameter 27 to 1 or 2 will enable auto display of date between 50 and 55 seconds past each minute Night Blanking Override During programmed night blanking the blanking may be ove...

Page 27: ...y overridden however the system will re set the DST status again at the next valid time sync Note that GPS time data does not contain DST information so the DST status will need to be set manually in GPS sync mode as well as manual time set mode Calibration of Timekeeping Accuracy Over time you may observe the clock runs faster or slower than an accurate time standard You can finely adjust the tim...

Page 28: ...at your choice of speed 6 1 Entering RGB LED menu Press and hold the DST button until the display shows 00 0 00 NX3 will not be lit For each hour 0 23 you can set a custom colour Each custom colour can have your choice of BLUE GREEN and RED values from 0 colour off to 8 maximum brightness Mix the colours using the ALARM ADJ SET buttons Use low values 1 2 and 3 for low brightness eg For night time ...

Page 29: ...ruary 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 29 In the example above between 11 and 12 hours the LEDs will be purple 8 red 0 green and 8 blue In the example below between 19 and 20 hours the LEDs will be blue with a hint of green 0 red 2 green and 8 blue ...

Page 30: ...ified hour The speed of the cycling will then be governed by the GREEN value 0 very slow change 9 very fast change This auto colour cycling mode is explained in the picture below Red 9 therefore Auto Colour Cycling is enabled for 12 13 hours Green 3 so speed is 3 Blue value has no effect Note The colours do not cycle live during Auto Colour Cycling setup The cycling starts only during normal time ...

Page 31: ...set from the synchronisation source This is usually only whole hours Examples o UK is 1 hour offset from the time transmitted by the DCF transmitter o France has no offset from the time transmitted by the DCF transmitter Set parameter 16 to identify whether the offset is minus 0 or positive 1 of the time source Set parameter 23 to select between hourly seek and daily seek in DCF MSF modes If you h...

Page 32: ... at Anthorn UK Reception is possible within the UK Eire Northern France and Norway Please note 1 The long wave signals propagate further at night so the clock is configured by default to synchronize at 2am 2 Suitable Power Supplies If using a switching power supply it must have an earth connection Cheap Chinese switching adapters cause too much interference and will not work Alternatively use an o...

Page 33: ...flash regularly showing the one pulse per second data from the transmitter If your Module s red LED does not start to flash regularly go back and check 1 6 of this section If the red LED does not flash regularly you will not get synchronisation 7 At the start of the minute the clock should start collecting data and if so it will start flashing the green LED rapidly Look for any LED activity at the...

Page 34: ... Clock Spectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 34 7 4 Connecting a GPS receiver The clock has been designed for and tested with our Micro GPS Receiver available separately from PV Electronics ...

Page 35: ...en 2 hours and 24 hours ago and off if the last synchronisation is older than 24 hours If DCF or MSF mode is selected the indicator will flash rapidly whilst the clock is actually receiving and processing a valid time frame Additionally the indicator will flash very briefly each second whilst seeking a RFT frame The function of the RFT indicator LED may be summarised in the table below Radio Time ...

Page 36: ...n installed and configured configuration parameter 17 the sensor will sense motion in the room and switch off the High Voltage generator tubes and RGB LEDs when the PIR time period has expired Configuration Parameter 17 0 No PIR installed default 1 15 seconds 2 30 seconds 3 1 minute 4 2 minutes 5 5 minutes 6 10 minutes 7 15 minutes 8 20 minutes 9 30 minutes It is important to remember that the fun...

Page 37: ... configuration parameter 19 as follows 0 No Aux Output default 1 1 second 2 2 seconds 3 5 seconds 4 10 seconds 5 20 seconds 6 30 seconds 7 40 seconds 8 50 seconds 9 60 seconds The ALARM AUX pads at the rear of the PCB are provided as follows 12V Main connection to clock s fused 12V line 5V Main connection to clock s 5V line O C Connection to an open collector output transistor is MPSA42 GND Main c...

Page 38: ... LED OVERRIDE Pads are provided at the rear of the PCB to allow a user to connect a remote switch for switching off the RGB LEDs or the Tubes Shorting the two RGB pads will switch off the RGB LEDs Shorting the two TUBES pads will switch off the High Voltage and therefore the tubes will extinguish ...

Page 39: ...Nixie Tube Clock Spectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 39 11 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM ...

Page 40: ...Nixie Tube Clock Spectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 40 ...

Page 41: ...Nixie Tube Clock Spectrum 18 Issue 2 15 February 2015 www pvelectronics co uk 41 ...

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