Make a clock using fluorescent lamps with your own hands. Turning on vacuum fluorescent indicators Clock with indicators 12

Vacuum luminescent indicators are switched on according to a triode circuit, and segments are used as anodes, with the help of which signs can be synthesized.

The most commonly used control is anode control in grid circuits. The indicators can withstand a large number of switchings (3X10^8-10^10 or more in anodes and grid circuits) during their durability and shelf life.

It is recommended to supply the filament circuits of vacuum luminescent indicators with alternating current of a sinusoidal or rectangular shape from the winding of a transformer with a midpoint (Fig. 1), which is also a common output point

cathode It is allowed to power the filament circuit from a transformer without a midpoint, which in this case can be created artificially by a voltage divider R1, R2 (Fig. 2). It should be taken into account that the voltage drop across the divider resistors R1, R2 from the total current of the anodes and grid reduces the voltage between the cathodes and the anode, which can lead to a decrease in brightness or the need to increase the voltage at the anode. The filament circuit can also be powered from a DC source. It is recommended to select the cathode terminal connected to the negative pole of the power source as the common point (Fig. 3). The anode and grid circuits can be powered, as shown in the diagrams described above, from a constant or pulsating voltage source. To avoid image flickering, the pulse repetition rate must be at least 40 Hz with a duty cycle of no more than 10 (in some cases even 5).

As a rule, indicators are used with the same anode and

grid voltage. At constant voltage, their maximum operating value is 30 V (nominal voltage 20 V - 27 V), and at pulse voltage - 70 V (nominal 30 V - 50 V). The indicators can operate at different anode and grid voltages. In this case, it is recommended to choose a power mode in which the anode voltage is higher than the grid voltage, which allows, at the same brightness, to reduce power consumption, since the grid current noticeably decreases, and the current of the anode segments increases slightly. The presence of two operating modes of luminescent indicators and several circuits for controlling the glow of anode segments allows for the implementation of two control modes: static and dynamic.

In static control mode, only single-digit indicators can operate. In this mode, each indicator electrode (segment anodes, grid, cathode) is separately connected to a power source (constant or pulsed voltage for anodes and grids) and control can be carried out via any of the three control circuits (Fig. 1-3).

In dynamic control mode, both single-digit and multi-digit indicators can be used. This mode is characterized by: that the corresponding electrodes of each double-digit indicator and each familiarity in multi-digit indicators have a common connection to power sources and control can be carried out through circuits of grids and anodes (Fig. 4). The grid circuits turn on the selected indicator (familiarity), and the anode circuits turn on the segment anodes in the selected indicator (familiarity). To reliably lock the indicator during the absence of a control signal on the grid, it is necessary to apply a blocking voltage to it from a separate source or from a voltage divider for the indicator anodes. For the same purpose, in the common circuit of emitters of transistor switches (Fig. 5),

controlling grids of luminescent indicators, two silicon diodes are included in the forward direction.

When using several indicators, it is recommended to connect the filament circuits in parallel.

Indicators of increased reliability are produced in various colors, and there are experimental samples of multi-color indicators.

The characteristics of single-digit indicators are given in table. 1. To control indicators, converters of binary decimal code into indicator position code with built-in anode switches and a matrix for turning on indicator grids in dynamic control mode are produced. Multi-digit indicators are available in flat or cylindrical designs.

Table 1.

indicator

Symbols

Voltage

filament, V

filament, mA

Voltage

anode, mA

mesh, mA

red letters numbers

The characteristics of multi-digit indicators are given in table. 2.

Table 2.

indicator

Symbols

ranks

Voltage

filament, V

Voltage

anode, mA

mesh, mA

matrix column

In table Table 3 shows the characteristics of decoders for vacuum fluorescent indicators, and table. 4 — states of inputs and outputs of the K161PR2 decoder.

Table 3.

microcircuits

Purpose

Voltage

power supply, V

consumption,

Voltage

switch,

Convert code

Commut. 7-channel

Same, but direct outputs

Table 4.

Meaningful	Information code				Signals on segments
Meaningful	8	4	2	1	a	b	c	d	e	f	g

The numbering of the pins of the K161PR1, K161PR2, K161PRZ, K161KN1, K161KN2 microcircuits is shown in Fig. 6.

Source - Partin A.I. Popular about digital chips (1989)

Quite a long time ago, the idea of replacing my old watch was ripe - it was not distinguished either by its accuracy or its special appearance. The idea is there, but with the incentive - either there is no time, or there is no desire to make the Chinese out of a standard remake... in general, a complete mess. And then, one day, on the way home, going into a store selling illiquid goods, a display case with radio tubes from the times of the USSR caught my eye. Among other things, I was interested in the IV-12 light bulb lying forlornly in the corner. Remembering the seller’s remarks in the past: “everything that is there is on display,” I asked even without enthusiasm. … “Miracle, miracle, a miracle has happened!” - it turned out that they had a whole box of these indicators! Damn, I wish I hadn’t sooner.... in general, I did some shopping...

In anticipation, when I returned home, the first thing I did was apply voltage to them - they were working! Here, here is a kick in the shaggy tail, here is an incentive to see this miracle in action - the work is in full swing.

Terms of reference:

1. The actual watch;
2. Alarm clock;
3. Built-in calendar (we take into account the number of days in February, including in a leap year) + calculation of the day of the week;
4. Automatic adjustment of indicator brightness.

Anode/grid transistors - BC856, PNP with a maximum operating voltage of 80V. To indicate the seconds, I installed a smaller IV-6 that was lying around, since it also has a lower filament voltage - a 5.9 Ohm quenching resistor will help it.

For an alarm signal - a piezo emitter with a built-in generator HCM1206X. The board is wired for: resistors 390K 1206 in size, the rest 0805, transistors in SOT23, stabilizer 78L05 in SOT89, protective diodes in SOD80, three-volt battery 2032, ATmega8 and DS1307 in a DIP package. From the power supply, the entire circuit consumes +9V up to 50mA along the line, the heat is 1.5V 450mA, the heat relative to ground is at a potential of -40V, consumption is up to 50mA. Total total maximum 3W.

It was not possible to get a socket for the indicators - the thing was too scarce even to order; instead I used “bushings” from a pair of broken connectors of the RS-232 modem cable. We cut off the “tail” of them - it turns out more compact than the original panels. (note - drill the seat carefully, the spots are small)

First samples:

The accuracy of the DS1307 quartz oscillator leaves much to be desired - after washing the board and selecting quartz piping containers, we managed to achieve something like +/-2 seconds per day. More precisely, the frequency fluctuates depending on temperature, humidity and the position of the planets - not at all what we wanted. After thinking a little about the problem, I decided to order a DS32KHZ microcircuit - a fairly popular temperature-compensated quartz oscillator.
We solder the quartz and this animal is conveniently placed in the free space on a piece of PCB. Connection - now by wiring to the nearby DS1307.

It’s not for nothing that the generator is so expensive - according to the reference book, the manufacturer promises to increase the accuracy of the clock to +/- 0.28 seconds per day. In reality, under acceptable power conditions and temperature ranges, I was not able to see a change in frequency due to external factors. In test mode, in a room, the clock worked for about a week, 2 days of which it was in a lethargic sleep, powered by a standard battery - after that, the error, if you believe the exact time services, did not exceed... +0.043 seconds per day!!! This is happiness! Unfortunately, it was not possible to measure it more precisely in such a short period of time.

Housing assembly:

After assembling the case and “combing” the firmware, the watch has 3 buttons left: let’s call them “A” “B” “C”.

In the normal state, the "C" button is responsible for switching the mode from displaying the time "hours - minutes" to the date "day - month", the second indicator displays the day of the week, then by year, then to the "minutes - seconds" mode, in the fourth pressing - to the original state. Button "A" quickly switches to the time display.

From the “hours - minutes” mode, button “A” switches in a circle to the “alarm clock setting” / “time and date setting” / “indicator brightness setting” mode. In this case, the “B” button switches between digits, and the “C” button actually changes the selected digit.

The “alarm clock setting” mode, the letter A (Alarm) on the middle indicator means that the alarm clock is on.

Mode “setting time, date” - when the “seconds” digit is selected, the “C” button rounds them (from 00 to 29 resets them to 00, from 30 to 59 resets them to 00 and adds +1 to the minute).

In the “time and date setting” mode, at the SQW output of m/s DS1307 there is a meander of 32.768 kHz - necessary when selecting quartz/capacitors for the generator; in other modes it is 1Hz.

Mode "adjusting the brightness of the indicator": "AU" - automatic, shows the measured illumination in cu. "US" - manual setting in the same units. Phew, looks like I haven’t forgotten anything.

Complete watch:

Firmware and PCB can be downloaded from this link:

Terms of reference:
1. The actual watch;
2. Alarm clock;
3. Built-in calendar (we take into account the number of days in February, including in a leap year) + calculation of the day of the week;
4. Automatic adjustment of indicator brightness.

There is nothing new or supernatural in the circuit: a DS1307 real-time clock, dynamic display, several control buttons, all controlled by ATmega8.
To measure the illumination in the room, a photodiode FD-263-01 was used, as the most sensitive one available. True, it has a small problem with spectral sensitivity - the peak of sensitivity is in the infrared range and, as a result, it senses the light of the sun/incandescent lamps very well, and fluorescent lamps/LED lighting - with a C grade.
Anode/grid transistors - BC856, PNP with a maximum operating voltage of 80V.
To indicate the seconds, I installed a smaller IV-6 that was lying around, since it also has a lower filament voltage - a 5.9 Ohm quenching resistor will help it.
For an alarm signal - a piezo emitter with a built-in generator HCM1206X.
The board is wired for: resistors 390K 1206 in size, the rest 0805, transistors in SOT23, stabilizer 78L05 in SOT89, protective diodes in SOD80, three-volt battery 2032, ATmega8 and DS1307 in a DIP package.
From the power supply, the entire circuit consumes +9V up to 50mA along the line, the heat is 1.5V 450mA, the heat relative to ground is at a potential of -40V, consumption is up to 50mA. Total total maximum 3W.

First samples:

Housing assembly:

After assembling the case and “combing” the firmware, the watch has 3 buttons left: let’s call them “A” “B” “C”.
In the normal state, the "C" button is responsible for switching the mode from displaying the time "hours - minutes" to the date "day - month", the second indicator displays the day of the week, then by year, then to the "minutes - seconds" mode, in the fourth pressing - to the original state. Button "A" quickly switches to the time display.
From the “hours - minutes” mode, button “A” switches in a circle to the “alarm clock setting” / “time and date setting” / “indicator brightness setting” mode. In this case, the “B” button switches between digits, and the “C” button actually changes the selected digit.
The “alarm clock setting” mode, the letter A (Alarm) on the middle indicator means that the alarm clock is on.
Mode “setting time, date” - when the “seconds” digit is selected, the “C” button rounds them (from 00 to 29 resets them to 00, from 30 to 59 resets them to 00 and adds +1 to the minute).
In the “time and date setting” mode, at the SQW output of m/s DS1307 there is a meander of 32.768 kHz - necessary when selecting quartz/capacitors for the generator; in other modes it is 1Hz.
Mode "adjusting the brightness of the indicator": "AU" - automatic, shows the measured illumination in cu. ;) "US" - manual setting in the same units.
Phew, looks like I haven’t forgotten anything.

LEDs, which were previously enthusiastically perceived in any electronic display devices, have recently become sour and have begun to noticeably lose out to retro indicators, such as vacuum tubes, which look much nicer. Therefore, a version of the electronic clock was created that shows the time using IN-12 gas dischargers.

Features of homemade watches

the display is made using IN-12 lamps (nixie),
small body,
circuit without microcontrollers,
powered by 9 volt power supply adapter
current consumption 150 mA.

The basis of the design is the universal housing Z5A. Four such lamps fit perfectly in width in such a housing. According to the original design, clock pulses for the clock were taken from the 220 V network, which was also a high voltage source for the lamp anodes.

It’s true that it’s risky to use a device in which everything is under network potential. Therefore, in the second option, the power was taken from a step-up voltage converter, and the clock frequency was changed to a typical generator circuit: quartz 32.768 kHz, CD4060, divider CD4013.

The final diagram is a few other diagrams from the internet, slightly modified and combined into one. Above is a schematic electrical diagram, which can be enlarged by clicking on the picture. Next comes the printed circuit board for the homemade clock.

The cost is difficult to determine, the lamps were bought a long time ago, but even if you buy all the radio components now, you can keep it under 1000 rubles, which is naturally a good price for such a fashionable retro gadget.

Installation view from above and below.

For those who want to repeat the design, we recommend making cases for watches with gas-discharge indicators from aluminum, copper, brass or wood (to emphasize the vintage look). As a last resort, cover the plastic with self-adhesive wood-like film. And instead of a red color filter in front, it is better to put transparent plexiglass - then the natural color of the IN-12 lamps will remain.

.

I'm talking about this watchMoto_v3x(from Radiokot) they said 2 years ago. A year ago I managed to buy indicators (inexpensively) and make an indication board, which lay on my desk until December last year. You can see what cleaning the box entailed in this article.
The clock consists of 3 boards: display board, main board, sensor board.
For now we will talk about the first two, because... I'm going to do the latter at the stage of body production.
The boards are single-sided, of course with jumpers. Some of them were carried out by MGTF. Divorced in Sprint- Layout 6.

Payment made a year ago:

Tracks 0.3mm. LUT.

Main board:

Tracks 0.6, also LUT.

A few words about the scheme.
Stone chose the PIC16F887 mainly due to the number of pins. Its presence was a plus. Numbering of pins on the diagram for the DIP-40 housing.
The filament power supply is alternating, with a frequency of 3 kHz (set by capacitor C11). The circuit is cheap, all components are available, and does not require configuration.
I get negative voltage using the available MC34063.
Why such a scheme? Because I have my own cockroaches in my head.
Low-voltage power supply could also be implemented on 78l33 (perhaps the cheapest), but I have a desire to attach the NS-05 to the clock and control it from Android, but it consumes 40-60 mA. I made DC-DC using... guess what? That's right, MC34063 :) .
I bought DS3231 on Ali for $0.8, as many as 10 pieces. The choice of RTS is obvious.
By the way, it’s not for nothing that our “enterprising friends” sell them inexpensively in China. Dska sometimes does not start the first time, which has never been observed on MS purchased for $3.5.

I collected the power and checked how the lamp was shining.

And a great disappointment awaited me:(! All the lamps were used and they all lit differently. Therefore, you need to take lamps with a reserve, so that there is plenty to choose from. The difference in the intensity of the glow is colossal, there is no point in making software correction:(.

Then I put off making this clock a little :), and decided to try all the proposed parts of the circuit on a simpler project. We got it.
Taking into account the experience gained, a circuit board was made, which was later renamed the main one and an improved version of which can be seen in this project.

So what is present in the watch( wired on the board):
- accuracy of movement is ensured by DS3231;
- night mode;
- LED backlight (single color) with adjustable intensity;
- time indication;
- date indication;
- indication of the day of the week.
- bluetooth control;
- touch on/off

For the first version, perhaps, it is enough, because perhaps there will be a second one.

Control:

time setting

left button (short press) enters the installation menu;
average - plus;
left - minus;

backlight control

middle (short press) - increases the backlight;
left (short press) - decreases;

Turn bluetooth on/off - long press the left button.

It's time to talk about assembly.

We start the assembly, as always, with power supplies.
The first on our list is IP -27 Volt.

The part of the board occupied by the circuit is highlighted below.
At the points indicated in the figure you should observe -27V.

Then it’s time for a change to heat.
Part of the board occupied by the circuit:

A correctly assembled circuit does not require configuration. Its performance can be checked with a tester. On my old DT-838 it shows ~2.3 volts AC.

And in the final IP at 3.3 volts:

As a result, we check the collected IPs at the points indicated in the figure:

If everything matches, then solder jumpers A and B.

I won’t go into detail on how to assemble the display board. All you need is accuracy and attentiveness. LEDs must be installed before installing lamps :).
The indicators can be checked by connecting the filament to pins 11, 1 two lamps, connected in series and +5V to the grid and anode. You should see the lamp segment burning.

Assembling the keys requires care and upon completion it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the board so that there are no glares. I would also recommend checking the adjacent tracks with a tester in the 2Moh range :) .

Next, I connected the assembled display board and checked each key.

After everything was adjusted, I soldered the MK.

I’ll dwell a little on the MK firmware. I flashed it on the board. The programming outputs are signed:

You can stitch, for example, Extra-PIC(software PICPgm) or PICkit-2 lite, factory PICkit-2 or PICkit-3. The choice is yours.
If you are not going to flash the MK anymore, then after flashing the Schottky diode can be replaced with a jumper and a 100-470 μF capacitor shown in the picture above can be installed.

We assemble the rest of the circuit, turn it on and you should see this:

Happy building!

Update 2015\09\27:
Owners of TL866CS programmers may have difficulty programming and verifying the firmware. This is due to the fact that the MK has a bus width 14 bit, and these 14 bits are stored in 2 bytes ( 16 bit) => 2 bits are not significant. Some compilers fill them with zeros, some with ones. In my firmware they are filled with units, which causes difficulties for the TL866CS software.
Solution: download WinPic800 (the program is free), select a controller, download the firmware, File- Save as and save it again. All:).

Update 2015\10\04:

Added support for DS18b20 temperature sensor to firmware v 1.1. Both positive and negative temperatures are processed.

Added support for DS18b20 temperature sensor and BMP085(BMP180) atmospheric pressure sensor to firmware v 1.2.
The thermometer processes both positive and negative temperatures.

They are added to the board by mounted mounting.
Don't forget that the BMP085 or BMP180 module already has pull-up resistors on the I2C bus, so resistors R86 and R87 on the board must be removed.

The temperature sensor must be moved outside the housing.

A new number font has been added to both firmwares (in the clock setting menu).
Fixed issue with freezing when turning on.

Connection diagram:
Modified board for firmware 1.1 and 1.2 (added holes for connecting sensors)
Firmware file v 1.01 (additional font)
Firmware file v 1.1 (temperature sensor support + additional font)
Firmware file v 1.2 (support for temperature sensor + pressure sensor + additional font)

Firmware 1.1 temperature readings (photo Nikolay V.):

Update 2015\10\17:
Re-uploaded firmware 1.1 and 1.2!
Fixed the letter "U" in firmware 1.2
Fixed the letter "U" and symbols for the day of the week before displaying the temperature in firmware 1.1

The contact email has changed, so those who wrote to me on Rambler please note. I don't have access to my old email :(.

Update 2015\12\17:

Spoiler:

Oh, due to the influx of work, unfortunately (or fortunately:)), I now have no time to indulge in hobbies.
It’s been a month (!) making a new scarf for the IV-17 watch.
I wanted to be in time even with the building for the New Year, but....
The board implements:
- everything that was in v 1.2;
- touch button on/off on TTP223 (directly on the board);
- powered by USB;
- alarm clock with backup battery;
- there is a beeper (alarm clock, key press):
- RGB backlight WS2812B (allows you to set each lamp its own color);
- humidity sensor;
- if possible, push a trainable IR receiver into the body;
- and ESP8266 on board (clock setting via browser, NTP synchronization);
- heh, only the radio is missing :)))))))))) (although if you try hard, you can make an online radio).

Watch in the case from Maxim M.

Update 2016\02\27:
Anyone want to try WEB-face and NTP synchronization on an ESP-12/ESP-12E module or a module with 2 free legs that can be controlled?
In addition to desire, you need to have the assembled watch and the module itself in stock.
Email me.

Update 2016\03\07:

Time setting:
Setting up NTP communication:
Select polling period:

WiFi client settings:
WiFi server setup:

ESP-12(ESP-12E) is located on a separate board. The module connection diagram is shown below.

The module itself is attached to the board with double-sided tape or glue.
It will look something like this:

In the photo the module already has an SD card. It was supposed to collect more statistics, but this is still in the distant future.
Bottom ESP-12 required isolate from the board.

We flash the clock processor with firmware 1.35 before installing the module, because Usually programmers flash the MK with a supply voltage of 5V, which can have a detrimental effect on the ESP pins!

About the module firmware.

When you receive the ESP-12 from China, it will be in AT command mode.
We need to find out at what speed it operates via UART.
How to do this is described in.
Separately, I note that programming the module requires 3.3V levels => you need to use either a level matcher (I use ADM3202 because I have them) or USB<-->com (there are plenty of them on ALI) with a 3.3V output.

Upload the firmware to the module using esptool.exe
The utility comes bundled with the ESP library for Arduino.
Paranoids can install the Arduino environment (how to do it is described in the article linked above) and find it along the path:
C:\Documents and Settings\Your account name\Application Data\Arduino15\packages\esp8266\tools\esptool\0.4.6\
You can look at the sources.

Command for uploading firmware:
c:\esptool.exe -vv -cd ck -cb 115200 -cp COM1 -ca 0x00000 -cf c:\ESPweb20160301.bin

Parameters that you need to change for yourself:
To switch the module to firmware upload mode, you need to short-circuit GPIO0 to ground.

During the firmware, this will appear on the screen:

After completing the firmware, turn off the power and remove the jumper from GPIO0.

Job:
When turned on, the ESP-12 (if possible) connects to the NTP server and receives the exact time.
By long pressing the middle button of the watch, the web interface is activated and the user can configure the watch settings.

Everything in the menu seems to be intuitive.
I’ll just focus on the item on the menu WiFi server - WiFi mode

Choice:
-client only. ESP will raise the soft access point "esp8266" with the password "1234567890"). This option is enabled by default. In the browser to connect the watch you need to dial the address - 192.168.4.1;

-server only. The ESP will be available within your home network. The connection address can be found by long pressing the left button of the watch. ;

You can also disable the WEB interface by long pressing the middle button (NTP synchronization is not disabled).

Time synchronization via NTP occurs: when turned on at the end of the first minute (if the corresponding item is selected in the menu " Setting the clock"), when the selected time in the menu " External time server".
Video:
<будет позже>