PV Electronics Nixie QTC Plus Assembly Instructions And User Manual Download Page 49 | Manualshive

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Nixie Tube Clock ‘Nixie QTC+’

2 (01 October 2018)

www.pvelectronics.co.uk

- 49 -

9.

XTERNA FUNCTIONS

9.1

About the XTERNA Module

XTERNA is our new concept for synchronising time and capturing
outdoor temperature for display on our clock and thermometer
kits. Driven by a PIC microcontroller with advanced low power
modes, the XTERNA captures time from GPS satellites every 6
hours, and stores in an on-board Temperature Controlled Crystal
Oscillator (TCXO). Further, the device captures outdoor
temperature every 10 minutes from an on-board DS18B20 digital
temperature sensor. Every 10 minutes XTERNA transmits the time
and temperature data, which can be received by our XTERNA
compatible clocks.

Additional data is transmitted such as battery voltage and GPS fix
time.

Supplied as a complete hobby kit of parts (For shipping reasons,
batteries are not included), the kit takes approx 30-40 minutes to
comfortably assemble. The TCXO IC is pre-soldered, so there is no
fiddly SMD soldering to worry about.

Naturally, XTERNA is sealed against rain ingress. Battery life is
estimated between 6 to 12 months. We recommend high quality
branded batteries for the longest operation between battery
changes.

The module should be placed outdoors. But as close as possible to
the indoor clock or thermometer and away from direct sunlight.

9.2

Specification

Working Temperature Range: -40 °C to +60 °C. (-40 °F to
+140 °F)
Typical Reception Range: 10 to 30 Metres (30 to 100 ft).

9.3

Configuring for XTERNA Reception

Elite Class Nixie Clocks are configured by default for XTERNA
reception. If you have changed your configuration settings, you
need to set parameter 12 to value 5. Also parameters 14, 15, 16
need to be set to specify your location’s offset from UTC.

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Summary of Contents for Nixie QTC Plus

Page 1: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 1 Assembly Instructions And User Guide Nixie Clock Type Nixie QTC Plus ...

Page 2: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 2 REVISION HISTORY Issue Number Date Reason for Issue 2 01 October 2018 C5 changed to 15pF Draft 1 29 August 2018 New document ...

Page 3: ...ht 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 dim at night to prevent sleep disturbance Weekday aware Master Blank function to turn off tubes and LEDs on weekends or during working hours Separate modes for colon neons during night mode Standard fadi...

Page 4: ...f solder in tubes as detailed in the table below There are detailed and specific instructions for mounting each type of tube in sections 5 1 to 5 8 of this manual Tube types Code Configuration Section IN 14 A 5 1 IN 8 2 ZM1177 A 5 2 Z570M Z5700M Z573M Z5730M Z574M Z5740M GN 9A B570M TAF1317A TAU7030 F9080B F9080BA TAF1093A ZM1080 ZM1082 ZM1134 ZM1135 ZM1136 ZM1136A ZM1136L ZM1136R ZM1138A ZM1138L ...

Page 5: ...enerated 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 injury or...

Page 6: ...r 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 betwee...

Page 7: ...ic Transistors Q1 IRFD220 MOSFET Q2 Q4 EL817 Optocoupler Q5 MPSA42 Q11 Q14 MPSA42 Diodes D1 D3 1N5819 D4 1N4148 D5 UF4004 D6 5mm Yellow LED D7 5mm Green LED D8 5mm Yellow LED RGB1 RGB6 APA106 RGB LED Integrated Circuits IC1 LM2576 5V voltage regulator IC2 PIC16F1938 8 bit microcontroller IC3 HV5812 Miscellaneous L1 L2 100uH inductor AM1 AM2 PM1 PM2 4mm wire ended neon lamp ALARM SET ADJ DST Miniat...

Page 8: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 8 NX1 NX6 2X6 way 0 1 header plug X1 32 768KHz watch crystal ...

Page 9: ... 5 EL817 Optocoupler 3 Diodes 1N5819 3 UF4004 fast recovery diode 1 1N4148 1 5mm Green LED 1 5mm Yellow LED 2 APA106 RGB LED 6 Integrated Circuits LM2576 5V voltage regulator 1 PIC16F1938 8 bit microcontroller 1 HV5812 1 Miscellaneous 100uH inductor 2 4mm wire ended neon lamp 4 Miniature push button 4 28 way narrow IC Socket for IC2 1 PLCC28 IC Socket for IC3 1 12 Way SIL socket strip 1 2 1mm PCB ...

Page 10: ...identify the value However it is sometimes unclear in which direction the bands should be read Therefore we recommend that the resistors be identified with a the fuse will look like the picture below It can easily be confused for a capacitor It is a self resetting fuse he 10pF and 33pF capacitors will be marked 10 and 33 respectively The 100nF capacitors will be marked 104 Q1 IRFD220 is in a very ...

Page 11: ...B DUE TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENTS YOUR PCB MAY NOT LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE PICTURED 4 1 Low Voltage Power components J1 FUSE D1 D3 1N5819 D4 1N4148 IC1 LM2576 L2 100uH Inductor C1 C2 220uF Start by installing D1 D4 Align the band on the components with the band marked on the PCB ...

Page 12: ...co uk 12 Bend the leads of IC1 as shown below then solder in place Continue to mount C1 C2 L2 J1 and FUSE C1 and C2 are polarized The longer lead goes in the hole marked 4 2 Testing Low Voltage Power Supply Identify the test GND 5V and HV test points as shown below ...

Page 13: ...e red probe on the 5V test point The voltage should measure between 5 6 and 5 9 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 3 High Voltage Generator components Socket for IC2 R1 R2 4 7 KΩ R3 R4 390 KΩ R5 300 KΩ C3 1uF C4 220uF Q1 IRFD220 L1 100uH Inductor D5 UF4004 ...

Page 14: ...ed it with the wrong orientation do not try to remove it It is perfectly fine with the notch at the wrong end just be sure to place the IC in the socket with the IC s notch in the correct position Also the MOSFET needs to be placed with the two joined pins at the position shown below Ensure that the light stripes on C3 and C4 are facing towards each other as shown below ...

Page 15: ... and the PCB marking Power up the PCB and using the GND and HV test points measure the high voltage generated using a voltmeter on DC setting It should be between 164 and 176 Volts If this is in order disconnect the power supply If you do not get this voltage do not proceed Refer to the troubleshooting section 4 5 C5 15pF C6 33pF X1 32 768KHz Crystal C7 C9 C10 100nF but marked 104 C7 C9 and C10 ma...

Page 16: ...ocket Strip You will either receive 2 X 6 Way sockets or a strip of 12 sockets If the latter clip in the middle to get two 6 way socket strips Assemble the parts as shown below paying attention to the orientation of the dot on the body of the parts Then solder the sockets in place Don t solder the parts to the sockets ...

Page 17: ...lign the notch on one corner of the socket with the marking on the PCB Be careful not to force in the socket if all pins are not aligned Ensure all pins are fully pushed through the holes before soldering in place If you find you soldered it in the wrong orientation don t try to remove it See the troubleshooting section 4 10 NX1 NX6 6X2 way male pin header ...

Page 18: ...B insert IC3 into its socket with to the front of the PCB Nixie QTC Ensure the connectors are soldered very close to the PCB insert IC3 into its socket with the dot on the bevelled face pointing to the front of the PCB 18 Ensure the connectors are soldered very close to the PCB Also now the dot on the bevelled face pointing ...

Page 19: ...ying the anode lead at the back of the tube It has a white coating where it enters the glass Then remove the wires each side of the anode To facilitate easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors as shown below Start at the anode lead then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the pre...

Page 20: ...cture below identify the anode pad Now you can insert and solder in the tube Pay attention that th tube sits squarely on the PCB Then solder on the connector Keep the tube 5mm 0 2 from the PCB Failure to keep this separation will invalidate any tube warranty claim The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 20 e below identify the anode pad on the tube attenti...

Page 21: ... at either side will fit into adjacent holes on the PCB Remember 12 wires into 12 holes To facilitate easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors as shown below Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube Then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the previous one This will allo...

Page 22: ...018 www pvelectronics co uk 22 Note that there is one hole without a pad that is unused simply trim off this lead without soldering Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 23: ...nfiguration A see page 36 Cell PCB Type It is necessary to clip off two of the Z570M and equivalent tube leads Clip off the two leads as shown below This is how the tube will look after removing the leads To facilitate easy insertion of the flying leads into the PCB holes it helps enormously to trim the remaining flying leads with a pair of ...

Page 24: ...pprox 2mm shorter than the previous one This will allow you to feed each lead in in turn Now you can insert and solder in the tube There are 11 leads on the trimmed tube and 12 pads on the PCB One of the pads on the PCB is unconnected DO NOT INSERT A LEAD INTO THIS HOLE Insert from the side of the PCB with no markings Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Then solder on the connecto...

Page 25: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 25 The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 26: ... insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube Then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the previous one This will allow you to feed each lead in in turn Now you can insert and solder in the tube Insert the 11 leads into the 11 holes with p...

Page 27: ... uk 27 Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Ensure the tube is facing perfectly forwards before soldering you may need to twist it a little Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 28: ...e easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube Then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the previous one This will allow you to feed each lead in in turn Now you can insert and solder in the tube Insert the 11 leads into the 11 holes ...

Page 29: ... uk 29 Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Ensure the tube is facing perfectly forwards before soldering you may need to twist it a little Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 30: ... easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube Then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the previous one This will allow you to feed each lead in in turn Now you can insert and solder in the tube Insert the 11 leads into the 11 holes w...

Page 31: ... uk 31 Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Ensure the tube is facing perfectly forwards before soldering you may need to twist it a little Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 32: ...w Use the back of the tube to correctly orient the tube To facilitate easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube Then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the previous one This will allow you to feed each lead in in turn Now you can ...

Page 33: ... uk 33 Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Ensure the tube is facing perfectly forwards before soldering you may need to twist it a little Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 34: ...ube Proceed as for XN11 and XN12 below XN11 and XN12 These tubes have 11 leads and a gap at the very back of the tube To facilitate easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube Then working around the tube cut each sucessive lead approx 2mm shorter than the previous one...

Page 35: ... uk 35 Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Ensure the tube is facing perfectly forwards before soldering you may need to twist it a little Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 6 ...

Page 36: ... not discharged leave the clock unplugged for 4 hours to fully discharge it Then keep one of the following buttons pressed whilst re connecting power This will reconfigure the controller and the change will be stored to non volatile memory If your tubes require configuration B or C you will need to solder either the ADJ or ALARM button before changing the configuration Configuration A Press the SE...

Page 37: ...m is with the tube or the location Please make these basic tests before contacting us for help and have the results to hand 7 PCB ASSEMBLY CONTINUED 7 1 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 270 Ω These resistors need to be soldered vertically The leads need to be formed as shown below Bend the leads of each resistor as shown and solder in to the correct postion making sure the component body is as close to the boa...

Page 38: ...ctor LS1 Piezo Buzzer C8 0 22F To solder the GPS RFT connector 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 Ensure the arrows on C8 are aligned with the corresponding arrows on the PCB ...

Page 39: ...en LED D6 D8 5mm Yellow LED SET ADJ ALARM DST Push switches First bend the leads of the LEDs as shown below paying attention to the longer lead being on the left hand side Then solder in place with the body of the LED just touching the PCB Then place and solder the 4 push button switches ...

Page 40: ...shown and solder in to the correct postion making sure the component body is as close to the board as possible 7 5 AM1 AM2 PM1 PM2 4mm neon lamp Each neon is separately addressable and many flashing and indication modes are implemented see the configuration setup later in the manual Cut the clear heat shrink tubing into 8 lengths acording to the tube type Tube Type Long Pieces Short Pieces IN 14 3...

Page 41: ...Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 41 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 ...

Page 42: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 42 7 6 RGB1 RGB6 APA106 RGB LED To install the RGB LEDs first note the 2 longer of the 4 leads and insert as shown below ...

Page 43: ...be Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 43 Then place a Nixie Tube assembly into position on the 6X2 connectors Push the RGB LED gently into position under the tube and then solder in place ...

Page 44: ...he 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 referr...

Page 45: ...ation 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 source3 0 to 3 reserved 4 GPS 5 XTERNA 13 GPS Baud rate 0 4 8 Kbps 1 9 6 Kbps ...

Page 46: ...ed each minute between 50 and 55 seconds past the minute 7 Press SET briefly during Night Mode to show time for prescribed period 8 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 1 Slots every minute 2 Slots every 10 minutes default 3 Slots every hour 4 Slots at midnight 23 Reserved 24 Reserv...

Page 47: ...tton to set the hours Proceed in this fashion to set the calendar Year Month and 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 ...

Page 48: ...p To force a Cold Start do the following Toggle the DST on by pressing the DST button if necessary From time display press ALARM once Press ADJ once to illuminate the ALARM LED Immediately disconnect power The power sensing sleep routine is not called from within the Alarm setup so the clock will drain the supercapacitor via the DST and ALARM LEDs Wait 2 3 minutes until the LEDs are fully off On p...

Page 49: ... Supplied as a complete hobby kit of parts For shipping reasons batteries are not included the kit takes approx 30 40 minutes to comfortably assemble The TCXO IC is pre soldered so there is no fiddly SMD soldering to worry about Naturally XTERNA is sealed against rain ingress Battery life is estimated between 6 to 12 months We recommend high quality branded batteries for the longest operation betw...

Page 50: ...erature will not be displayed until after the first synchronisation Set Celsius or Fahrenheit using parameter 29 Fahrenheit 1 Celsius 2 Temperature is displayed between 30 and 35 seconds past each minute Celsius is displayed with 0 5 C resolution Fahrenheit is displayed with 1 F resolution Positive and negative temperature is indicated by the left hand neons Neon indicator PM2 acts as a decimal po...

Page 51: ...sequentially and finally exiting back to time display Please see the table below Stats Menu Item Description Range of Values Example 1 Minimum Temperature in last 24 hours 40 C to 60 C 40 F to 140 F 2 Maximum Temperature in last 24 hours 40 C to 60 C 40 F to 140 F 3 Voltage of XTERNA Battery 2 5V to 5 0V 4 Time required for last GPS fix loaded into the TCXO 0 to 98 sec 99 no fix at last attempt 5 ...

Page 52: ...lour cycling effect at your choice of speed 10 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 brightne...

Page 53: ...nics co uk 53 Colours are displayed live during RGB menu In the example above between 11 and 12 hours the LEDs will be purple 8 blue 0 green 8 red In the example below between 19 and 20 hours the LEDs will be blue with a hint of green 8 blue 2 green and 0 red ...

Page 54: ...d 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 and ...

Page 55: ...sentence 11 1 Configuring for GPS Synchronisation Set parameter 12 to value 4 Set the baud rate in parameter 13 Set parameters 14 and 15 for the hours and minutes your time zone is offset from UTC Time This is usually only whole hours Set parameter 16 to identify whether the offset is minus 0 or positive 1 of the time source D7 will light when the clock has received a recent GPS or XTERNA synchron...

Page 56: ...heck all connections to the HV5812 IC using the chart below Set your meter to continuity setting This is the setting where it bleeps when you touch the two probes together 12 1 Data connections from IC2 to IC3 IC3 HV5812 Pin Number IC2 PIC 16F1936 Pin Number Function 27 3 Data 15 4 Clock 16 5 Strobe 12 2 Cathode connections from IC3 to tube pin headers IC3 HV5812 Pin Number NX1 NX2 NX3 Cathode IC3...

Page 57: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 57 ...

Page 58: ...with IC2 out of its socket 5V test Point Should be 5 6V HV test point Should be approx 12V IC2 Socket Pin 1 Should be 5 6V IC2 Socket Pin 2 Should be 0 14V IC2 Socket Pin 13 Should be 0V IC2 Socket Pin 20 Should be 5 2V If pin 2 is not to spec check the feedback resistors R2 and R3 are correct and correctly soldered If pin 20 is not to spec check why the PIC is not getting power via D3 Orientation...

Page 59: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 59 13 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM ...

Page 60: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 60 ...

Page 61: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC 2 01 October 2018 www pvelectronics co uk 61 ...

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