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.
First perform a factory reset to make sure that no strange values have been left
in the EEPROM.
Next, check the value of the
PWM On Time
configuration. Try increasing this
until the brightness is constant, but be careful not to set the value too high. The
longer the On Time, the more the MOSFET has to conduct current, and this will
cause it to heat up. A good value for small tubes is 120-150, larger tubes may
require 150-200.
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
The display does not come on, but I do have a high voltage.
Try pressing the button. If the display comes on, you probably have display
blanking mode set. Check the configuration.
Check the orientation of the opto-couplers.
Check the LDR connection. In some cases, the dimming algorithm does not start
