Ongoing project: 12 tube date + time clock

[Oyvind]

So, i made a slightly overkilled thingy. It started as an idea a year ago, and a colleague insisted that I use ESP-8266. 

It kinda escalated a little bit, so I ended up making a 12 tube clock. I actually left it for a few months while doing other things. Started over again this fall, and spent a fair amount of time on the power supply (flyback, seen in foreground).

This is just a prototype, but I hope to do the final touch on the board before x-mas. I have a friend with a 3D-printer who will make a casing, and still got some programming to do.

Otherwise, got a PWM dimmer (using an LDR). It will adjust time automagickaly via WiFi, perhaps add some web based options / menus. Will probably add some digit-juggling etc.

Ridiculous, but fun to make :)

PS these are IN-8-2 and IN-16.

- Oyvind

[Nicholas Stock]

Bravo! 6 digit clocks are so pedestrian.....:-)

Nick

Sent from my iPhone

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[blkadder]

Wow, that is one amazing clock.  I would bet if you made a kit, they would sell like crazy.  Great job.

[Oyvind Idland]

On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 7:53 PM blkadder <mgb...@bellsouth.net> wrote:

Wow, that is one amazing clock.  I would bet if you made a kit, they would sell like crazy.  Great job.

Thanks !

I could make a kit, but I not sure how well a pure SMD kit would sell ? 

I could make a through-hole version, but some components needs to sit tight (especially the power supply).

- Øyvind

 

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[Oyvind Idland]

On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 7:37 PM Nicholas Stock <nick...@gmail.com> wrote:

Bravo! 6 digit clocks are so pedestrian.....:-)

 

Haha.. yes, anything less than 12 is just no option ! 

[lokn...@gmail.com]

I would love one depending on affordability. I used to be afraid but after learning the techniques and discover flux pens that all changed. ;-)

The kits that GRA-AFCH sells are all SMD. I think they have nice kits which sell pretty well and they must since they have two stores on eBay.
Collin

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[Ron Walsh]

I would personally be afraid of the smd stuff, as I have had no experience with them.  Through hole is pretty much all I have done.

...Semper Fidelis...

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[Nicholas Stock]

SMD (of reasonable sizes, not the really tiny stuff) is actually pretty straightforward with a good iron and small tip. As mentioned previously, for chips with small pin spacing, a flux pen is a life saver....

Cheers,

(Pharma) Nick

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[Tyler Bourne]

Cool project.  I've done a bit of SMD and it wasn't too bad.  My soldering iron tip isn't the smallest but it was still doable.  The flux pen helped a lot.

That flyback power supply looks neat.  You could do that as a separate kit.  People are always looking for a good Nixie PSU. 

Would you be willing to release the schematics of the PSU?  I understand keeping it private if you would like to sell the modules.

[Oyvind Idland]

Flux (of some form) is definitely a must, personally I use a no-clean flux gel. A loupe, good light and a reasonably 

sized solder tip does the trick.

Most of the components are 0805 (resistors, caps, LED's), they are also the smallest. The LT3757 chip in the power supply 

is a bit tricky; small pin pitch and it has a pad on the bottom that needs to be soldered to ground. I could eventually pre-solder 

it on a kit, if I make one. Also, the 5V buck converter IC is pretty small (SOT-23-6), but slightly easier to solder than the LT3757.

Maybe I'll release the schematics. It is based on the LT3757 datasheet, with some modifications. Certainly not the cheapest supply, but it

runs smooth without significant heating.. 

- Øyvind

[Tomasz Kowalczyk]

I was afraid of SMD components, too. But later I've discovered, that 0805 resistors and SOT-23 transistors are actually very easy to solder, easier than THT (no way to mistakenly place a transistor backwards and no need to flip the board for every component). With 1206 resistors it is really straightforward. 
The only challenge in fully SMD boards are microcontrollers, as they rarely come in SOP packages, which have nice and easy 1,27mm pitch and you have to learn how to solder 0,5mm pitch. Basically, add flux :)

Another positive side of using SMD is that if you're making your own PCBs at home, then you have way less holes to drill.

[Oyvind Idland]

...not to mention all the wire cutting mess with through-hole...

Solder-wick is a must when dealing with small pitch !  (there are good and bad wicks though..)

- Øyvind

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[Tomasz Kowalczyk]

There is no "bad" wick, there is only wick with too little flux on it (either because the manufacturer was cheap or it evaporated). I use a liquid flux, so I just recoat the wick before using - that way it can absorb A LOT more tin than originally and can clean metalized 1mm holes to the point of looking almost like never used!

[Oyvind Idland]

I bought some wick on eBay (China). Comparing to the one I get in the shop here, it's kinda fluffy and absorbs way worse. 

The one I get here is more tightly knitted, while the other one is more sloppy. Flux could play a role too, but there is definitely a difference in quality!

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