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Chronulator (cool meter clock kit)


Sasha
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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.

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chronulator3.jpg

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For more pix of building process check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fibra/sets/72157605121536800/

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Nice!

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 :D

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.

              G

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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.

http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/crts.html

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.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Awesome clock!  :o

I've got to say that I'm a bit of a clock fetishist, too.

at the moment I'm planning a Nixie-clock.

(just in case any one is looking for some sowjet IN-12B Nixies with sockets, I've got some spares I can sell)

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Awesome clock!  :o

I've got to say that I'm a bit of a clock fetishist, too.

at the moment I'm planning a Nixie-clock.

(just in case any one is looking for some sowjet IN-12B Nixies with sockets, I've got some spares I can sell)

You mean these

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These I bought from ebay for a low price but without socket, so I started to build PCB for it out of pins frim DB connectors.

I still didn`t find good nixie clock design but I build started with some design I find interesting. We`ll see.

If you know some good design with accurate timing or some inexpensive kit please let me know.

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exactly!

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.

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/nixclock.html

and that's a german one with easy to understand schematics:

http://www.mcamafia.de/nixie/ncp_dt/ncp.htm

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Hehe, that`s the one I`m building.  :D

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  >:(

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But it isn`t published yet AFAIK. Is it?

What it takes to decode segments to single number signals that are needed by nixies?

I was thinking of making some steampunk clock with individual lights for each number, very similar what needed for nixies but just plain light bulbs.

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  • 9 years later...

How would you go about setting up a nixie display for Midi timecode? I know there are drivers and boards available online for interfacing nixie tubes with arduinos. I am thinking if I used that to connect to a dout module, then maybe it would just be a matter of coding? Has anyone tried doing this?

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I'm not sure I know how to answer, but it seems like the common method is to connect the nixie to a sn74141 or similar, with 4 connections ultimately, to the arduino. here is a diagram for what seems like the most simple way to do it

 

FV4MTFDI8PQUCNO.LARGE.jpg

 

from this page:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Control-a-Nixie-Tube-with-an-Arduino/

the arduino sends basically a 4 digit binary value to the ic that corresponds for each number, 0 through 9, in the nixie. So I am thinking maybe, if it is possible to connect this to a dout module, that the mtc digits could somehow be programmed to send this 4 digit code instead of the 7 segment values. possibly with senders and receivers?

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