Troubleshooting
If not everything goes as you expect, please refer to the test steps during the construction and
the associated troubleshooting tips. If that does not cover the problem you have, please see
below. If you still can't find the answer, contact us!
Trouble
shooting
The tubes flash (or blink) on and off.
This could be a symptom that the external power supply can't deliver the power
needed to drive the circuit.
On start up, the High Voltage generator needs to draw significantly more power
than when it is running normally, and in some cases this might overload the
external power supply.
Try a different external power supply and see if the problem persists.
Trouble
shooting
The tube display brightness is not constant, and appears to “pulse”
rapidly.
This is a symptom that the High Voltage generator or the external power supply
is overloaded.
Trouble
shooting
The display is too dim.
Check if the auto-dimming is working. If the display does not change in low or
high ambient light, your LDR does not appear to be working. Check the
connections to the LDR.
If the LDR is correct, perform a factory reset to make sure that no strange
values have been left in the EEPROM.
Check the LDR reading by pressing the button three times in quick succession
when the clock is on. You should see a value between “01 00 00” and “09 99
00”. Changing the light conditions should change this value. It is normal that
the value is not stable when it is in the middle of the range. We read the LDR
many times a second, and it is unusual that two readings are identical.
Trouble
shooting
I can see some “ghosting”.
“Ghosting” is where you can see a very faint image of another number at the
same time as the one that should be shown. Some tubes are more sensitive
than others, and depending on the construction and components, it might show
up more.
If you see ghosting, increase the “anti-ghosting” setting, but only to the point
where the ghosting is no longer visible or irritating.
The “anti-ghosting” setting decreases the overall brightness of the display
slightly, and not all tubes (even of the same sort) need it, so anti-ghosting
should only be used when there is a real need to use it.
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