Some time ago I ordered interesting kit from share brained technologies www.sharebrained.com
It is meter clock driven by TI microcontroller MSP430F2002. Very simple, coffee brake project.
Even It looks very cool as is, I wanted to do extreme customization. The most critical job was disassembling meter and taking out all delicate parts so I can trim it in order to screw both meters to the panel that is going to be back illuminated for extra coolness. The project is almost finished… I need back door wih 2 LEDs for illumination. The back panel on pictures is illuminated by daylight not LEDs.
I need to get a laser guy! I met someone last week who gave me details for a local company so hopefully I can become his best friend
What material did you use for the case… polystyrene??? It looks like the stuff we used to use at school for cases (and thinner for the vacuum former), but I’ve not managed to come across any for sale in this country.
Ive been dreaming of building scope clock since Ive seen it for the first time. Such a cool looking clock. Ofcourse it must be standalone and not just plug-in for oscilloscope.
I’ve saved an old 3 inch (75mm) 'scope tube for just that reason. A lot of the hard part of a scope design is not needed, (no time-base or triggering), but interpreting the data sheet for a CRT is not easy, and I still can’t work out how the focus electrodes need to work. The deflection voltage needs to swing something like 400 Volts. With a small tube, the Final Anode Voltage is not that high, (If I remember right, about 1.5 - 2 KV), so a simple inverter and multiplier would do it. Sadly, it has to be a 'scope tube; the ones from those little cheap televisions are magnetic deflection, and there would be far too many problems, for me, in making one linear and fast enough.
These guys have a lot, though not cheap! I got mine in some surplus scrap. You might be able to pull some of the Russian ones, which are, if I remember, pretty good.
I’ve bought them from the “nixiestore”. a Lot of 20, NOS with sockets.
I like the way the guys from the Sowjet Union just turned the “2” 180° to make a “5” ;D
the only “simple” designs I’ve found for complete DIY (open schematic, etc) are working with a 1Hz clock source and several 4017 CMOS chips to divide the clock signal and control the MPSA42 transistors.
Strange it that nixie clocks are so popular and there are still no some open source PIC based design. The commercial kits are too expensive. One German guy is selling just preprogramed PIC for some 50 EUR >:(
The project is almost finished… I need back door wih 2 LEDs for illumination. The back panel on pictures is illuminated by daylight not LEDs.
