Pvelectronics Nixie QTC User Manual Download

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Nixie Tube Clock ‘Nixie QTC’

Issue 10a (21 March 2014)

www.pvelectronics.co.uk

- 1 -

Assembly Instructions

And

User Guide

Nixie Clock Type

‘Nixie QTC’

Summary of Contents for Nixie QTC

Page 1: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 1 Assembly Instructions And User Guide Nixie Clock Type Nixie QTC ...

Page 2: ...Troubleshooting connections chart added ZM1177 tube procedure clarified 8a 09 September 2013 Improved IN14 cell details 8 21 October 2012 WWVB No Longer supported 7 8 October 2012 ZM1177 Tube details added 6 5 August 2012 Component designation errors corrected 5 27 July 2012 New PCB date 5 July 2012 4 14 June 2012 1st review 3 29 May 2012 Errors in component listing corrected 2 22 May 2012 Anode r...

Page 3: ... A single main board is capable of driving tens of different types of solder in Nixie Tube You can even completely change the tube type of your clock by installing new tube cells and tubes Software But at such a major change in direction we have also taken the opportunity to build on the solid software foundations of the predecessor Frank 2 format and add some truly useful and productive software ...

Page 4: ...leading zero blanking Five programmable neon colon settings Flashing AM PM indication illuminated AM PM indication both flashing both on both off 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 ...

Page 5: ...n the table below There are detailed and specific instructions for mounting each type of tube in sections 6 1 to 6 8 of this manual Tube types Cell type Code Configuration Section IN 14 IN 14 A 6 1 IN 8 2 ZM1177 IN 8 2 A 6 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 ZM1138R ...

Page 6: ...s 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 injury...

Page 7: ...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 between adjacent solder joints 2 3 Other items you will need The clock kit does not include a power adapter This is because the kit is sold to many countries around the world each with very different household main...

Page 8: ... Electrolytic C4 470uF 16 25V Electrolytic C5 33pF Ceramic C6 15pF Ceramic C7 100nF Ceramic C8 0 1F C9 C10 100nF Transistors Q1 IRFD220 MOSFET Q2 Q4 2N7000 MOSFET Q5 Q7 MPSA42 Q8 Q10 MPSA92 Q11 Q13 MPSA42 Diodes D1 D3 1N5819 D4 UF4004 D5 5mm Green LED D6 D7 5mm Yellow LED D8 D13 RGB 6 pin LED ZD1 62V Zener diode Integrated Circuits IC1 7805 5V voltage regulator IC2 PIC16F1936 8 bit microcontroller...

Page 9: ...QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 9 GPS RFT Surface mount 3 5mm jack socket LS1 Piezo sounder FUSE 500mA fuse Insulation Clear insulation for neons NX1 NX6 2X6 way 0 1 header plug X1 32 768KHz watch crystal ...

Page 10: ...N5819 3 UF4004 fast recovery diode 1 62V Zener diode 1 5mm Green LED 1 5mm Yellow LED 2 6 Pin RGB LED 6 Integrated Circuits 7805 5V voltage regulator 1 PIC16F1936 8 bit microcontroller 1 HV5812 1 Miscellaneous 100uH inductor 1 4mm wire ended neon lamp 2 Miniature push button 4 28 way narrow IC Socket for IC2 1 PLCC28 IC Socket for IC3 1 2 1mm PCB power socket 1 Surface mount 3 5mm jack socket 1 Pi...

Page 11: ...s as some component bags are shared between different kit types The resistors used in the kit are 1 tolerance metal film They are marked with 4 coloured bands to 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 multimeter Please note the fuse will look like the picture below It can easily b...

Page 12: ...e then black heat shrink tube is attached to each LED to form a light pipe to concentrate the light at the bases of the Nixie Tubes 4 1 Cut the heatshrink tubing to 11mm lengths Using a ruler and a pen mark the black and white tubing at 11mm intervals Then cut with scissors to make 6 white and 6 black pieces 4 2 Place the 6 RGB LEDs in their locations in the PCB BUT DO NOT SOLDER ...

Page 13: ...ED so it is touching the PCB 4 4 Using the hot air gun or hairdryer GENTLY shrink the tubing over the LEDs Using low heat setting and keep the gun far from the PCB and keep moving Rotate the PCB to shrink the back of the tubing as well Then let the PCB cool for 2 minutes at is will be quite warm It should now look like this ...

Page 14: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 14 4 5 Repeat with the black tubing 4 6 Finally remove the six LEDs and put to aside for later in the assembly ...

Page 15: ... MAY NOT LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE PICTURED 5 1 Low Voltage Power components J1 FUSE D1 D3 1N5819 IC1 7805 C1 C2 100nF Start by installing D1 D3 Align the white band on the components with the band marked on the PCB After placement IC1 can be placed and bent over these diodes to reduce the height of the assembled PCB Continue to mount C1 C2 J1 and FUSE ...

Page 16: ...h the black probe on the GND test point and the red probe on the 5V test point The voltage should measure between 5 1 and 5 3 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 5 3 High Voltage Generator components Socket for IC2 R1 R3 4 7 KΩ R2 R4 390 KΩ C3 1uF C4 470uF Q1 IRFD220 L1 100uH...

Page 17: ...end the leads of each resistor as shown and solder in to the correct postion making sure the component body is as close to the board as possible Take care that the notched end of the IC socket is at the end shown 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 inwards towards each other as shown below ...

Page 18: ...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 167 and 173 If this is in order disconnect the power supply Finally remove IC2 from its socket and replace on its static protective foam It is best kept safe until needed for the tube tests later in the assembly 5 5 C5 33pF C6 15pF X1 32 ...

Page 19: ...TC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 19 5 6 R6 R11 270 Ω R5 R12 R13 R14 R27 R28 4 7 KΩ R15 R17 R29 R30 390 KΩ R18 R26 10 KΩ 5 7 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q11 Q12 Q13 MPSA42 5 8 Q8 Q9 Q10 MPSA92 This is how the PCB should look now ...

Page 20: ... 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 5 10 NX1 NX6 6X2 way male pin header Ensure the connectors are soldered very close to the PCB ...

Page 21: ...er C8 0 1F 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 22: ...en solder in place with the body of the LED just touching the PCB Then place and solder the 4 push button switches 5 13 AM PM Neon Indicators It is a good idea to install these components at the very end of the assembly when you have a better idea of a suitable height that will look perfect with your design of case So do not install them now but remember to install them some time later Use small p...

Page 23: ... into the small holes it helps enormously to trim the flying leads with a pair of scissors as shown below Start by identifying the anode lead at the back of the tube It has a white coating where it enters the glass 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 Referring to the picture below identify th...

Page 24: ...have the two holes either side of the anode Simply clip off the two leads either side of the anode Now you can insert and solder in the tube Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Then solder on the connector which may be in two pieces The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 7 ...

Page 25: ...o 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 allow you to feed each lead in in turn Now you can insert and solder in the tube Insert the 1...

Page 26: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 26 The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 7 ...

Page 27: ...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 scissors as shown below Start at one of the leads at the back of the tube ...

Page 28: ...e 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 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 ...

Page 29: ...h 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 29 Insert from the side of the PCB with no markings Pay attention that the tube sits squarely on the PCB Then solder on the connector The tube cell is now complete Repeat for the other 5 tubes Then move on to step 7 ...

Page 30: ...y 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 ...

Page 31: ... co 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 7 ...

Page 32: ...te 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 33: ... co 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 7 ...

Page 34: ...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 35: ... co 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 7 ...

Page 36: ...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 37: ... co uk 37 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 7 ...

Page 38: ...te 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 39: ...ep as the microcontroller is programmed to this configuration as a factory default However it is still worth noting the procedure below in case for some reason you accidentally change the configuration you can then change it back To change the configuration be sure the supercapacitor is discharged If it is not discharged leave the clock unplugged for 6 hours to fully discharge it Then keep one of ...

Page 40: ...he clock should start counting 0 9 repeatedly on all tubes If this does not happen power off and check all tubes are connected correctly If the counting order is wrong go back and repeat step 7 2 Pressing SET will exit the tube test mode with a bleep and the clock will start time display Do not be tempted to press buttons without knowing the function If the clock bleeps shows the time and is incre...

Page 41: ...ose to install a single colour LED Step 9 or no LEDs at all 8 1 RGB LEDs D8 D13 Q2 Q4 2N7000 R31 R36 270 Ω Retrieve the 6 LEDs from earlier complete with light pipes Install an LED at each LED location looking carefully for the notched corner on each LED which is partially masked by the heat shrink but still visible This aligns with a corresponding PCB mark Solder in each LED and then the other co...

Page 42: ...n pairs This corresponds to the Green LED channel in the software settings You will use the Green values to set the LED brightness regardless of the actual colour of the LEDs installed The circuit uses 2 X 3 LEDs in series driven from 12V The current limiting resistors for the Green channel are R33 and R34 Calculate the value of the resistors needed and ensure the power rating of the resistor is s...

Page 43: ... 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 referrin...

Page 44: ... PM Indication flashing 1 AM PM Indication illuminated 2 Both flash default 3 Both illuminated 4 Both off 11 Colon neons during night dimmed mode 2 0 AM PM Indication flashing 1 AM PM Indication illuminated 2 Both flash 3 Both illuminated default 4 Both off 12 Radio time signal source 0 No Radio Time source default 3 1 DCF 2 not used 3 MSF 4 GPS 13 GPS Baud rate 0 4 8 Kbps default 1 9 6 Kbps 2 19 ...

Page 45: ...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 Set this parameter to 1 to restore original default settings Internal operations will then load all the original settings and restore the value to 0 22 Slots Mode5 0 Slots disabled 1 Slots every minute 2 Slots ev...

Page 46: ...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 overridden to see the time by brie...

Page 47: ...ST briefly to toggle between DST and standard time The indicator shows whether DST mode is active or not If time has been synchronised from DCF or MSF sources this light will be set or cleared automatically It can still be manually 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 wi...

Page 48: ...lour cycling effect at your choice of speed 11 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 RED GREEN and BLUE values from 0 colour off to 8 maximum brightness Mix the colours using the SET ADJ ALARM buttons Use low values 1 2 and 3 for low brightne...

Page 49: ...onics co uk 49 Colours are displayed live during RGB menu 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 50: ...fied 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 a...

Page 51: ...et 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 ha...

Page 52: ...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 ol...

Page 53: ...lash 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 54: ...e Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 54 12 4 Connecting a GPS receiver The clock has been designed for and tested with our Micro GPS Receiver available separately from PV Electronics ...

Page 55: ...n 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 S...

Page 56: ...d check 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 13 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 13 2 Cathode connections from IC3 to tube pin headers IC3 HV5812 Pin Number NX1 NX2 NX3 Cathode ...

Page 57: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 57 ...

Page 58: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 58 14 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM ...

Page 59: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 59 ...

Page 60: ...Nixie Tube Clock Nixie QTC Issue 10a 21 March 2014 www pvelectronics co uk 60 ...

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