Hours on gas-discharge indicators k155. Do-it-yourself clock on gas-discharge indicators
Answer
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A simple watch is a thermometer on gas-discharge indicators.
Watch features
Time:
Date of:(Date - Month - Day of the week)
Temperature:
6 display modes and auto display of date and temperature every 35 seconds.
Press the "-" button to cycle through the display modes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QReDKfZJKd0
The clock is assembled on a minimum of chips:
PIC16F628A- clock controller.
DS1307- the watch itself.
BU2090- cathode decoder.
MAX1771- voltage transformer.
DS18B20- temperature sensor - If you don't need a thermometer, don't use it.
DS32KHz- generator chip for accuracy.
If accuracy is not needed and you just pick up the exact quartz at 32.768
then DS32KHz can be omitted.
Button description:
The "-" button in the clock setting mode and the button for switching display modes in the clock operating mode.
"OK" button - to enter the clock setting mode.
The "+" button in the clock setting mode and the button for displaying the date and temperature in the clock operating mode.
Display modes:
1 - the numbers go out smoothly and new ones appear smoothly.
2 - the clock works as usual in this mode the "pendulum" works.
3 - digits are changed by brute force when changing. In this mode, the "pendulum" works.
4 - numbers are superimposed on each other when changing.
5 - indication mode changes every day at 00:00.
6 - indication mode change every hour.
Enable / disable automatic display of date and temperature every 35 seconds.
Press and hold the "+" button for 3 seconds - display the date / temperature.
Time setting:
To set the time, press and hold the "OK" button for 3 seconds while the time is displayed.
The clock enters the time setting mode and the clock starts flashing.
Use the "-" and "+" buttons to set the hour and press the "OK" button and proceed to setting the minutes.
And so on in the sequence hour > minutes > day > month > day of the week.
With a long hold of the "-" or "+" buttons, the numbers automatically decrease or increase by themselves.
Setting the cathodes, that is, the order of the numbers.
The clock can use any lamp.
For the board that is included in the project, you can use any lamps with flexible leads
Type IN-8-2 or IN-14 or IN-16 or IN-17.
The project also contains a board and firmware for IN-12 - The firmware is different because the lamps are not in place, and a scarf for IN-18.
The controller firmware is designed for the use of IN-14 in the native board,
if you use other lamps or draw your board
you need to reassign the numbers after assembling the board and starting the clock.
Because their order is violated - for example, instead of 0 there will be 7 or instead of 5 - 3.
Assignment of numbers:
Required if you will use your board with other lamps.
Or other lamps for this board - for example, IN-8-2 or IN-16.
Cathodes can be connected to the BU2090 as convenient.
An exception is only for points if they are in the lamps (14 - right, 15 - left points - BU2090 terminals).
If there are no points, then they can not be connected.
Press and hold the OK button and turn on the clock.
In the 1st or 3rd digit, a number lights up.
We release the button and the enumeration of numbers begins.
Need to assign numbers 0 to 9.
When they appear, press the "+" button and so on sequentially from 0 to 9.
After that, the 4th digit lights up and 0 and 1 start flashing.
This is an on/off running dot.
If you press the "+" button to 0, the function is disabled.
Then the 5th digit lights up - this is the permission to flash the second lamps.
In case you place the second lamps in the center instead of the second points.
After that, the clock goes into working mode.
The boards are drawn using Sprint Layout 3.0
Photo of the top of the board with signed elements for clarity.
This article will focus on the manufacture of original and unusual watches. Their singularity lies in the fact that the time indication is carried out using digital indicator lamps. Once upon a time, a huge number of such lamps were produced, both here and abroad. They were used in many devices, ranging from watches to measuring equipment. But after the advent of LED indicators, the lamps gradually fell into disuse. And now, thanks to the development of microprocessor technology, it became possible to create watches with a relatively simple circuit on digital indicator lamps.
I think it would not be superfluous to say that two types of lamps were mainly used: fluorescent and gas discharge. The advantages of fluorescent indicators include low operating voltage and the presence of several discharges in one lamp (although such specimens are also found among gas-discharge ones, but finding them is much more difficult). But all the advantages of this type of lamp are covered by one huge minus - the presence of a phosphor, which burns out over time, and the glow dims or stops. For this reason, second-hand lamps cannot be used.
Gas-discharge indicators are free from this disadvantage, because. gas discharge glows in them. Essentially, this type of lamp is a neon lamp with multiple cathodes. Due to this, the service life of gas discharge indicators is much longer. In addition, both new and used lamps work equally well (and often used ones work better). Still, it was not without drawbacks - the operating voltage of gas-discharge indicators is more than 100 V. But solving the issue with voltage is much easier than with a burnable phosphor. On the Internet, such watches are distributed under the name NIXIE CLOCK: 
The indicators themselves look like this:
So, at the expense of design features, everything seems to be clear, now let's start designing the circuit of our watch. Let's start with the design of a high-voltage voltage source. There are two ways. The first is to use a transformer with a secondary winding of 110-120 V. But such a transformer will either be too bulky, or you will have to wind it yourself (the prospect is so-so). Yes, and the voltage is problematic to regulate. The second way is to build a step up converter. Well, there will be more pluses here: firstly, it will take up little space, secondly, it has short-circuit protection and, thirdly, you can easily adjust the output voltage. In general, there is everything that is necessary for happiness. I chose the second way, because. there was no desire to look for a transformer and a winding wire, and I also wanted miniature. It was decided to assemble the converter on the MC34063, because. I had experience with her. The result is this scheme:
At first it was assembled on a breadboard and showed excellent results. Everything started right away and no configuration was required. When powered by 12V. the output turned out to be 175V. The assembled clock power supply looks like this:
A linear stabilizer LM7805 was immediately installed on the board to power the clock electronics and a transformer.
The next stage of development was the design of the lamp switching circuit. In principle, the control of lamps is no different from the control of seven-segment indicators, with the exception of high voltage. Those. it is enough to apply a positive voltage to the anode, and connect the corresponding cathode to the minus power supply. At this stage, it is necessary to solve two problems: matching the levels of MK (5V) and lamps (170V), and switching the cathodes of the lamps (they are the numbers). After some time of reflection and experimentation, the following circuit was created to control the anodes of the lamps:
And cathode control is very easy, for this they came up with a special K155ID1 microcircuit. True, they have long been discontinued, like lamps, but buying them is not a problem. Those. to control the cathodes, you just need to connect them to the corresponding pins of the microcircuit and apply data in binary format to the input. Yes, I almost forgot, it is powered by 5V. (well, a very handy thing). It was decided to make the indication dynamic, because otherwise, you would have to put K155ID1 on each lamp, and there will be 6 of them. The general scheme turned out like this:
Under each lamp, I installed a bright red LED glow (it's more beautiful). The assembled board looks like this:
It was not possible to find sockets for the lamps, so I had to improvise. As a result, the old connectors, similar to modern COMs, were disassembled, the contacts were removed from them, and after some manipulations with wire cutters and a needle file, they were soldered into the board. I did not make sockets for IN-17, I did it only for IN-8.
The most difficult part is over, it remains to develop a diagram of the “brain” of the watch. For this, I chose the Mega8 microcontroller. Well, then everything is quite easy, just take it and connect everything to it in the way that is convenient for us. As a result, 3 control buttons appeared in the clock circuit, a DS1307 real-time clock chip, a DS18B20 digital thermometer, and a pair of transistors for backlight control. For convenience, we connect the anode keys to one port, in this case it is port C. When assembled, it looks like this:
There is a small error on the board, but it has been fixed in the attached board files. The connector for MK firmware is soldered with wires, after flashing the device it should be unsoldered.
Well, now it would be nice to draw a general scheme. No sooner said than done, here it is:
And this is how it all looks in its entirety:
Now it remains only to write the firmware for the microcontroller, which was done. The functionality is as follows:
Display of time, date and temperature. Pressing the MENU button briefly changes the display mode.
1 mode - only time.
2nd mode - time 2 min. date 10 sec.
3 mode - time 2 min. temperature 10 sec.
4 mode - time 2 min. date 10 sec. temperature 10 sec.
When held, the time and date setting is turned on, the transition through the settings by pressing the MENU button
The maximum number of DS18B20 sensors is 2. If the temperature is not needed, you can not install them at all, this will not affect the operation of the clock in any way. Hot connection of sensors is not provided.
By briefly pressing the UP button, the date is switched on for 2 seconds. When held, the backlight turns on/off.
By briefly pressing the DOWN button, the temperature is turned on for 2 seconds.
From 00:00 to 07:00 the brightness is reduced.
The whole thing works like this:
The source codes of the firmware are attached to the project. The code contains comments so it will not be difficult to change the functionality. The program is written in Eclipse, but the code compiles without any changes in AVR Studio. The MK operates from an internal oscillator at a frequency of 8 MHz. Fuzes are set like this:
And in hexadecimal it looks like this: HIGH: D9, LOW: D4
Also included are boards with bug fixes:
These clocks run for a month. No operational problems were identified. The LM7805 stabilizer and the converter transistor are barely warm. The transformer heats up to 40 degrees, so if you plan to install the clock in a case without ventilation holes, you will have to take a larger transformer. In my watch, it provides current in the region of 200mA. The accuracy of the movement is highly dependent on the applied quartz at 32.768 kHz. Store-bought quartz is not recommended. The best results were shown by quartz from motherboards and mobile phones. Add tags
Let's assemble a watch on gas-discharge indicators, as simple and accessible as possible, as much as possible.
The author of this homemade product is AlexGyver, the author of the YouTube channel of the same name.
Currently, most gas discharge indicators are no longer produced, and the remains of Soviet indicators can only be found at a flea market or radio market. It is very difficult to find them in stores. But the less these indicators become, the more interest in them grows. It grows with lovers of lamp, vintage and, of course, the post-apocalypse.
So, we want to make a clock based on them, and for the sake of simplicity and maximum accessibility, we will control the indicators using a microcontroller represented by the Arduino platform, which connects to the computer via USB and the firmware is loaded into it by clicking the mouse. Between the arduino and the indicators, we need some more electronics, which will distribute signals along the legs of the indicators. So, firstly, we need a generator that will create a high voltage to power the indicators.
The clock runs on a constant voltage of about 180V. This generator is very simple and works on inductive emissions. The generator frequency is set by the PWM controller, at a frequency of 16 kHz, we get a voltage of 180V at the output. But despite the high voltage, the generator is very, very weak, so don’t even think about its other applications, it is only capable of a glow discharge in an inert gas. This voltage, namely +, is sent to the indicators through high-voltage optocouplers. The optocouplers themselves are controlled by an arduino, that is, it can supply + 180V to any indicator. In order for the number in the indicator to light up, you need to apply ground to it, and this is done by a high-voltage decoder - a Soviet microcircuit. The decoder is also controlled by an arduino and can connect any number to the ground.
And now attention: we have 6 indicators, and 1 decoder. How does it work? In fact, the decoder is connected to all indicators at once, that is, to all their digits, and the operation of the decoder and optocouplers is synchronized in such a way that at one time the voltage is applied to only one digit of one indicator, that is, the optocoupler switches the indicators very quickly, and the decoder lights the numbers on them, and it seems to us that all the numbers are burning at the same time. In fact, each digit lights up for a little more than 2 milliseconds, then another immediately turns on, the total refresh rate of 6 indicators is about 60 Hz, that is, frames per second, and given the inertia of the process, the eye does not notice any flicker. Such a system is called dynamic indication and allows you to greatly simplify the circuit.
In general, the circuit of the clock turns out to be very, very complex, so it is reasonable to make a printed circuit board for it.
Universal board for indicators IN12 and IN14. On this board, in addition to all the strapping necessary for the indicators, there are places for the following pieces of iron: an alarm on / off button, an output for an alarm buzzer, a thermometer + a DHT22 hygrometer, a DS18b20 thermometer, a real-time module on a DS3231 chip and 3 buttons for controlling the clock.
All of the listed hardware is optional, and you can connect it, or you can not connect it, it's all configurable in the firmware. That is, on this board, you can just make a clock, without buttons at all and without anything, or you can make a clock with an alarm clock, displaying temperature and air humidity, such a universal board. Naturally, they decided to order a signet from the Chinese, because there are a lot of thin tracks and transitions to the other side of the board. The so-called gerber board file can be found in the archive, which can be downloaded at .
There are a lot of tracks in this project, especially thin ones on the board with indicators.
The board needs to be cut into pieces, since it is two-story. But it is better not to saw, glass dust is very harmful to the lungs. We scratch the board with a hardened self-tapping screw and carefully break it in a vice.
In general, now you need to solder all the components to the board according to the signatures and drawings on the silkscreen. You will also need to buy a rail with pins to connect the parts of the board.
The project uses a full-sized Arduino Nano. This is done to simplify the firmware download even for the most beginners.
So, we collected the bottom board. First you need to test the operation of the generator. If it is assembled incorrectly, then the capacitor may bang. So we cover it with something and turn on the power.
Nothing popped, which is good. We carefully measure the voltage at the legs of the capacitor, it should be 180V.
Great. We carefully look at how to solder the indicators. On all indicators, one leg is marked white - this is the anode.
The lamp must be inserted so that the anode leg gets into this hole, these are the anode roads.
After soldering, be sure to wash the flux, otherwise several numbers may burn instead of one. Next, we solder the remaining sensors and tweeters, if needed, and solder the wires to connect the buttons.
The temperature sensor had to be carried out on wires in order to place it away from heat sources.
We take out all the buttons and the alarm switch on the wires. We will also make the clock module on wires.
We download the archive, which contains the firmware and libraries. Loading the firmware.
We check.
Everything is working! Congratulations, we have made a tube clock.
Now, as for the body. The author has been looking for the most affordable and wooden option for a long time, and yet he found just such a blank for a home-made box, which is ideal in size for the board.
We also make holes for tweeters, wires, buttons and switches.
The board needs to be raised, the author uses ordinary PCB racks.
The author painted the body under the walnut. Not very successful, better use stain.
Ready! It remains to show how to use all this. Before the firmware, you can configure some points: the times of the clock mode and the temperature and humidity display mode. The author put 10 seconds on the clock and 5 on the temperature. Temperature, by the way, on the left, humidity on the right.
Good day to all dear Muscovites. I want to tell you about an interesting radio constructor for those who know from which end the soldering iron heats up. In short: the set delivered positive emotions, I recommend it to those interested in this topic.
Details below (carefully, a lot of photos).
I'll start from afar.
I myself do not consider myself a true radio amateur. But I am not alien to the soldering iron and sometimes I want to design / solder something, well, I try to carry out minor repairs of the electronics surrounding me first on my own (without causing irreparable harm to the experimental device), and in case of failure I turn to professionals.
Once, under the influence, I bought and assembled the same watch. The design itself is simple and the assembly did not cause any difficulties. I put the clock in my son's room and calmed down for a while.
Then, after reading, I wanted to try to assemble them too, at the same time practicing soldering smd components. In principle, everything worked here right away, only the beeper was silent, I bought it offline, replaced it and that's it. Gave the watch to a friend.
But I wanted something else, more interesting and more complicated.
Somehow, poking around in my father's garage, I came across the remains of some kind of electronic device of the Soviet era. Actually, the remains are a kind of construction of boards, which contained 9 gas-discharge indicator lamps IN-14.
Then the thought came to me - to collect watches on these indicators. Moreover, I have been observing such watches, once assembled by my father, in my parents' apartment for 30 years, if not more. I carefully unsoldered the board and became the owner of 9 lamps produced in early 1974. The desire to attach these rarities to the business intensified.
Through meticulous inquiries from Yandex, I went to the site, which turned out to be just a storehouse of wisdom on the topic of creating such watches. After looking at several diagrams of such designs, I realized that I wanted a clock controlled by a microcontroller, with a real-time chip (RTC). And if, repeating one of the clock designs, it would be possible for me to program the controller and solder the board, then the issue of manufacturing the printed circuit board itself puzzled me (I'm not a true radio amateur yet).
In general, it was decided to start by buying a designer of such watches.
this constructor is just being discussed, in fact this is the topic of the author (his nickname mss_ja) of this kit, where he himself helps with the assembly and launch of his kits. He also has, where there are a lot of photos of finished products. There you can buy not only kits for self-assembly, but also ready-made watches. Look, penetrate.
Some doubts were caused by the issue of delivery, because the respected author lives in Ukraine. But it turned out that war is war, and the post office works on schedule. Actually 14 days and I have the package.
delivery
Here is a box.
So what did I buy? And everything can be seen in the photo.
The set includes:
a printed circuit board (on which the author kindly unsoldered the controller so that I would not suffer, his legs were too small). The program was already hardwired into the controller;
Package with construction components. Large ones are clearly visible - microcircuits, electrolytic capacitors, a tweeter, etc., according to the diagram and description. Under this bag is another one, with small smd components - resistors, capacitors, transistors. All smd elements are pasted on paper with inscribed denominations, very convenient. Photo taken during assembly.
The blank for the watch case is not included in the default set, but after contacting the author, I bought it too. This is a reinsurance against its possible curvature, tk. I practically have nothing to do with a tree, and all the experience of processing it comes down to the periodic sawing of firewood for barbecue in the country. And I wanted a classic look - like “glass from a piece of wood”, as they say on the radio cat forum.
So let's get started.
That's actually all we need to start the assembly. And in order to complete it successfully, we still need a head and hands.
No, he didn't show everything. Without this thing, you can not even start. These smd elements are so small...
The assembly began strictly on the recommendation of the author - with power converters. And there are two of them in this design. 12V->3.3V to power the electronics and 12V->180V to operate the indicators themselves. It is necessary to assemble such things very carefully, first making sure that you are soldering exactly what you are doing, exactly there and not confusing the polarity of the components. The printed circuit board itself is of excellent quality, industrial production, soldering is a pleasure.
The power converters were assembled and tested for the appropriate voltages, then I began to install the remaining components.
Starting the assembly process, I made a promise to myself to photograph every step of it. But, carried away by this action, I remembered my desire to write a review only when the board was almost ready. Therefore, the following photo was taken when I started testing the indicators by simply plugging them into the board and applying power. 
Of the nine IN-14 lamps I got, one turned out to be completely non-working, but the rest were in excellent condition, all the numbers and commas glowed perfectly. 6 lamps went to the watch, and two went to the reserve. 
I deliberately did not wash off the date of manufacture from the lamps.
back side 
Here you can see a clumsily installed photoresistor, I was looking for its best position.
So, after making sure that the circuit worked and the clock started, I put it aside. And took care of the body. The lower part is made of a piece of fiberglass from which I tore off the foil. And the wooden blank was carefully sanded with fine sandpaper to a state of “pleasant smoothness”. Well, then it is varnished with stain in several layers with intermediate drying and polishing with fine sandpaper. 
It wasn't perfect, but I think it's good. Especially given my lack of experience with woodworking. 
At the back, you can see holes for connecting power and a temperature sensor, which I don’t have yet (yes, it can also show the temperature ...). 
Here are some shots of the interior. It’s impossible to take a picture sensibly, the photos don’t convey all the “beauty”. 
This is a date display. 
Lamp illumination. Well, where without her. It is disabled, if you don't like it, don't turn it on.
Remarkable running accuracy. I've been watching the clock for a week, it goes second by second. Of course, a week is not a deadline, but the trend is obvious.
In conclusion, I will give the characteristics of the watch that I copied and pasted directly from the site of the author of the project:
Watch features:
Hours, format: 12 / 24
Date, format: HH.MM.YY / HH.MM.D
Alarm clock adjustable by day.
Temperature measurement.
Hourly signal (can be disabled).
Automatic brightness adjustment depending on the lighting.
High running accuracy (DS3231).
indication effects.
--- no effects.
---smooth fading.
--- scroll.
--- overlay numbers.
Effects of dividing lamps.
---off.
--- flashing 1 hertz.
---smooth fading.
--- flashing 2 hertz.
---included.
Date display effects.
--- no effects.
---Shift.
--- Shift with scrolling.
---Scroll.
---Change numbers.
pendulum effect.
---simple.
---difficult.
backlights
---Blue
---Possibility of illumination of the case. (Optional)
So, let me summarize. I really liked the watch. Assembling a watch from a set is not difficult for a person of average curvature. After spending a few days on a very interesting activity, we get a beautiful and useful device, even with a touch of exclusivity.
Of course, by today's standards, the price is not very humane. But firstly, this is a hobby, it’s not a pity to spend money on it. And secondly, the author is not to blame for the fact that the ruble is now worth nothing.
Recently, watches on gas-discharge indicators have become very popular. These watches give a lot of people the warm light of their lamps, create comfort in the house and an indescribable feeling of the breath of the past. Let's see in this article what such watches are made of and how they work. I must say right away that this is a review article, so many incomprehensible places will be discussed in more detail in the following articles.
The clock can be divided into the following functional blocks:
1)High voltage unit
2)Display unit
3) Time counter
4) Backlight unit
Let's take a look at each of them in more detail.
High voltage block
In order for the number to light up inside the lamp, we need to apply voltage to it. The peculiarity of gas-discharge lamps is that the voltage needs to be quite high, about 200 volts of constant voltage. The current for the lamp, on the contrary, should be very small.
Where to get such tension? The first thing that comes to mind is a power outlet. Yes, you can use rectified mains voltage. The schema will look like this:
The disadvantages of this scheme are obvious. This is the lack of galvanic isolation, there is no security and protection of the circuit at all. Thus, it is better to check the lamps for operability, while observing the utmost care.
In watches, the designers went the other way, increasing the safe voltage to the desired level using a DC-DC converter. In short, such a converter works on the principle of a swing. After all, we can apply a slight effort of the hand to the swing to give them a sufficiently large acceleration, right? The DC-DC converter is the same: we swing a small voltage to a high one.
I will give one of the most common converter circuits (click to enlarge, the circuit will open in a new window)
A circuit with a so-called half-driver of a field-effect transistor. Provides enough power to power six lamps without getting as hot as an iron.
Display block
The next functional block is the display. It is a lamp in which the cathodes are connected in pairs, and the anodes are connected to optocouplers or transistor switches. Typically, clocks use dynamic indication to save space on the PCB, miniaturize the circuit, and simplify the layout of the board.
Time counter
The next block is the time counter. The easiest way to do this is on a specialized DS1307 chip.
It provides excellent time accuracy. Thanks to this chip, the clock keeps the correct time and date, despite a long power outage. The manufacturer promises up to 10 years (!) of battery life from a round CR2032 battery.
Here is a typical DS1307 chip connection diagram:
There are also similar microcircuits, which are produced by many companies manufacturing radio components. These microcircuits can provide special time accuracy, but they will be more expensive. Their use, as it seems to me, in household hours is not expedient.
Backlight block
The backlight block is the simplest part of the watch. It is set at will. It's just LEDs under each bulb that provide background lighting. These can be single color LEDs or RGB LEDs. In the latter case, you can choose any color of the backlight, or even make it smoothly changing. In the case of RGB, an appropriate controller is needed. Most often, this is done by the same microcontroller that counts the time, but to simplify programming, you can put an additional one.
Well, now some photos of a rather complex clock project. It uses two PIC16F628 microcontrollers to control time and lamps and one PIC12F692 controller to control RGB lighting.
Turquoise backlight color:
And now green:
Pink color:
All these colors are adjustable with one button. You can choose any. RGB diodes are capable of producing any color.
And this is a piece of a high-voltage converter. Below in the photo is a field effect transistor, an ultrafast diode and a storage capacitor of a DC-DC converter
The same transducer, bottom view. Applied SMD choke and SMD version of MC34063 chip. In the photo, the remains of the flux have not yet been washed off.
And this is a simplified four-lamp version of the watch. Also with RGB lighting
Well, this is already a classic of the structure of watches on Sunny Clock discharge lamps, static backlighting and a slightly unusual way to control lamps using a pair of K155ID1 decoders
In the next article, we will talk in more detail about DC-DC converters and getting high voltage. We will also analyze in detail the process of assembling such a converter and launch a lamp from it.
Thank you all, El Kotto was with you. Join the contact group
