PV Electronics R568 Clock Project With Black R|Z568M Nixie Tubes

[Edward Van Belkom]

I am starting my new clock project and will be posting my build here.

For now this is what I will be ordering.

PV Electronics R568 Clock kit with black colon tubes

6  Black R|Z568M Nixie Tubes

PIR Kit

Azevedo NWTS with black case

I need to know what high quality 2 amp power supply  you would recommend to get?

With MichaelB help I have the preliminary stand design and color worked out and waiting till I get the clock kit to make the final drawings and prints.

His input really helped quite a bit as all the LED's, Switches, Power connector, GPS and PIR connectors will be mounted in the stand instead of the PCB board.

Jeff Walton is also helping me out with the NWTS and I thank him for that:)

Stay tuned and add any info that might help me out on this build.

Thanks Edward

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well the  PV Electronics R568 Clock kit was ordered today. Pete is a great guy to work with.

Jeff is getting my NWTS.

Dalibor  has my order for 6  Black R|Z568M Nixie Tubes.

I also have been working on the stand design. I have most of the hole spacing documented in a Excel file and have the dimensions for the arc's I need to cut out of the aluminum.

The plan right now is to see if I can find someone to convert the measurements of the Excel file to a  DWG. or DXF. file.

Then I probably will get the stock cut out on a CNC router with all the thru holes done. At the same time they can cut out a pattern in MDF as a tray  to let me finish the holes with a unibit. and to finish the part.

The holes to fasten it together will also be done at the same time. That way all I need to do is tap the holes and everything should fit perfectly with no gaps. There still will be a lot of work to do but this will insure that  the pieces fit correctly.

The case will be made from acrylic as I need to fabricate the prism ends.

Chomping on the bit for now until the kit is delivered.

Edward

 Robert L

Thanks for posting that mod. When I get to that point we can get together.

[Robert L]

Hi Edward,

Check out Autodesk Fusion 360... It's a very powerful 3D CAD/CAM program that I've recently started using. The learning curve is modest and there is excellent support from Autodesk as well as a large user community. Youtube videos and such...

Fusion 360 will also support laser cutting as the first step in this tool-chain: Fusion 360 > Slicer for Fusion 360 > Inkscape... I've successfully used this tool chain with Ponoko.

All of the design tools are free for makers... Autodesk charges for Fusion 360, but not for makers and very small business users.

For output from Fusion 360 to DXF or DWG format: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-export-a-design-in-Fusion-360.html

Best regards,

Bob

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Bob

I am still a paper pencil guy for right now. I made a couple prints with tracing paper to test the design. After some adjustments with a real eraser I overlapped them and the were identical. I made a spreadsheet in Excel  that shows the center point distance of each hole vertically from the top and from the center out horizontally.

I also calculated the arc radius for the main curve and arc radius for the last 1.25" on each end.

I also made a table in decimal and fraction equivalent for all the hole sizes.

The basic shape will fit a 3/8" x 22" x 2.3/4" of 6061 T6 Al plate. It will have 23 hole that 11 are a mirror image of the other side.

Making everything fit and look good took me a couple days but I am just about there. I just need someone to input the data in a CAD program to see how it looks and if I need to do any adjustments so the spacing between holes is exactly the same.

It is pretty simple for someone that is fluent and would not take that long. For me it would probably take over a week and to learn the basics. But to learn the shortcuts to move the holes ever so slightly so everything aligns properly is another story.

Don't get me wrong as I used a CNC milling machine before  but just did not understand the G code and CNC programing at that time.

The main thing is the design is going fit the R568 PCB board. Since the tubes overhang 1-2mm on each end and are flush with the front of the PCB, I needed the correct spacing for the Acrylic case so I had to rework the dimensions  a few times to make it fit the design and still look pleasing.

So the base stands 2-3/4" high. Looking from the front the bottom length is 22" and the top is 18". It has a 4-7/8" depth.

The Acrylic case will be 4-5/8 x 18" x 6" High. So the total size of the clock with Acrylic case  will be 8-3/4"  high x 22" long x  4-7/8" depth.

If anyone can help in the CNC program for a small donation let me know:) I can send the data and pictures of the prints to make it pretty clear.

The first thing is to get a accurate print made of the front view with corrected dimensions. The rest will be easy.

Regards 

Edward

[Edward Van Belkom]

Just an update where I am at.

My kit arrived safe and sound from Pete today.

I have the design pretty well finished up. I did not need a CAD program as outlined below.

A shop with a CNC mill  just wanted the X and Y coordinates for each hole, what size were the plates and where was "0" located.

They will use those coordinates to cut out the basic holes for me to finish tapping and countersinking.

I will use a 1/4"-1-3/8" Unibit to get the two step look. for the 23 front and rear holes in the 3/8" plates.

I am doing this all on paper but I have it just about done and will bring it to them to get the holes drilled. I just did not have the skill Michael has to be right on the mark for each hole so this should get me close.

I also was able to calculate the two radius needed for the curve on the bottom of the plates with the tangent points where they meet. When I get done with the plates the shop will stack all four of them together and cut out the curve and the angle on each end in one shot.

The rest will be up to me to finish.

It was funny that I did it in metric and they wanted everything in decimals. I had to convert everything over. The shop was very reasonable in the price as they will load my calculations into the CNC mill saving a lot of time for them. The shop also could of done all the other machining but that would drive the price up quite a bit so this was the best bank for the buck so to speak.

The full size drawings I drafted looks like everything fits well and should come together without too many problems.

I also got all the switches, Jacks and LED's and fitted them in a scrap piece of aluminum to see what panel thickness, clearance hole size and depth  would needed to be milled out from the back side of the plate for them to fit.  The shop would be able to do both operations per hole at one time if they drilled all the pilot holes from the backside of the plate.  I was able to get that included when they drill all the holes for each of the 4 plates. 

Any hints or comments are welcome:)

[Paul Andrews]

I always enjoy reading detailed descriptions of the process of making something. It is not something I have any real experience with, so it helps me start to understand the process and the options for when I finally get around to this.

[blkadder]

I have built a couple of Pete's kits, and now his are all that I will use.  I find them the easiest to put together, and with the replaceable tube feature, it makes the clocks almost endlessly customization.

I will be interested to see your housing when you get things machined.  I too am an analog guy, always writing things down and trying to do the work myself.  I have used emachineshop.com, and their very easy to use CAD software.

Keep us updated on your clock process.  Always glad to see Nixies put back in action.

Ron

[gregebert]

I'm very interested in the cost/workmanship of the machined items that you have done. Please post a picture when you receive it, and of course when you finish your clock.

I'm trying to find a sweet-spot mix of 3D-printed parts vs machined items for an upcoming project. The handmade wood cases I've made for all my other clocks look nice (except the one in the garage is freaky-ugly...), but they often take me as much time and effort  to build as the PCB design+debug. 

[Roddy Scott]

It will be good to see what you come up with, Edward. Those tubes are incredible looking and will make any design stand out.

 

I'm a pen and paper guy too although half the time I work straight from my head in creating casings for clocks built on Pete's kits. Don't always get it right but improving!

Bikeadder - thanks for that link to Emachineshop. I downloaded their easy cad to see if I can realise my next case design idea for a PV Spectrum based clock which will be in aluminium instead of wood and brass.

Gregebert  - the kits are always the easiest part and the teeth gnashing is the casings. One of mine was a month in build with over 250 parts to it, why can't I think simple?

 

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks everyone for your comments and support on this project.

I have my sister visiting this week so will get back on it next Wednesday .

I do have a couple questions.

What inexpensive soldering station will work well for this kit? I have soldered before so I have the skills but not the equipment to use before retiring.

For the brushed aluminum I am looking what most manufactures of separate audio components like Marantz use for their face plates?

Do they use a wire wheel or sandpaper and what grit to get that look? I will get to that stage before getting the pieces anodized so just wondering.

As soon as I get the 4 plates back from the shop that are drilling all the pilot holes in each one I will know if I did my math correctly.

There still is a lot of work to do with the Unibit  on the pre-drilled plates before I know the build is going to work and look pleasing when finished.

I also have an idea for the colon tubes but have to wait for a reply from some people to see if it will work.

And a big thank you for Jeff Walton for getting me a NWTS that he assembled and programmed for me! Thanks Jeff

I think I have everything figured out except the color of anodized gold for the two inner plates. I got some samples back but just not the right shade I am looking for.

That is it for now. I will post pictures when I get the plates back from the shop and when I start on the clock kit.

Edward

[Terry S]

The brushed aluminum (or stainless) effect can be achieved in a number of ways -- I suggest you get samples of the material and try a few. A wire brush is the obvious first choice. Try both steel and brass brushes. Also try steel wool, 3M pads, and wet sanding with very fine paper. Each makes a different effect. In all cases go lightly at first and in one direction only.

If you can, you may like the more uniform effect created by brushing the material before it is cut.

Terry

[gregebert]

Weller WESD51 is my favorite affordable soldering iron. I've done quite a bit of surface-mount assembly with it; having the adjustable temp is nice. And as the name implies, it's ESD-safe.

If you have extra money, by all means, get a Metcal. I used one about 25 years ago and I've never seen a better iron. Finest point, lightest handle, best thermal insulation.

[blkadder]

I have had great luck using Scotch Brite Pads to give the brushed look on aluminum, I find that wire brushes can leave deep scratches.  On one project I did, I used some Scotch Brite pads, and then used some flat clear spray paint to keep the look.

As for a soldering station, I would just get a good adjustable iron (Amazon or AliExpress) and a decent holder for the iron.  I have been thinking of getting one of the Hakko brand systems, but I just don't work on enough electronics to make the investment worthwhile.  I have set up a piece of scrap plywood to do my projects on.  This way I can either do work at my workbench, or when the wife is not looking, on the dining room table.  This way, should the iron fall, it won't burn its way through any furniture. 

Here is a fairly decent setup to get started.  I like this one mostly because it comes in a small tool box to keep all your stuff in one place; https://tinyurl.com/y7bnnagl.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Ron

[gregebert]

For aluminum, I just put 320 grit sandpaper on my electric vibrator (not THAT kind of vibrator...) and it leaves a nice swirly pattern. It's very easy to find surface imperfections by the blurry ring around them, so just sand that area a bit more.

I dont leave bare metal exposed on frontal areas; they get painted then I apply laser-printer decals.

A co-worker had a panel made thru frontpanelexpress.com, and he had it powder-coated. It was beyond awesome.

[Terry S]

I have a suspicion you will find the quality of the tools in a $20 kit disappointing. 

Terry

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well very good news. I stopped at Appleton Electronics a part supply house and talked to the owner. I wanted to see if he had a solder station I might be able to use. He took me to the back and showed me a full electronic repair workshop with solder/desolder SMS station and everything including scopes to repair equipment. He offered to let me use the shop to build the kit so I am all set in that department. 

Edward

[Terry Kennedy]

On Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 11:36:07 PM UTC-4, blkadder wrote:

As for a soldering station, I would just get a good adjustable iron (Amazon or AliExpress) and a decent holder for the iron.  I have been thinking of getting one of the Hakko brand systems, but I just don't work on enough electronics to make the investment worthwhile.

  If you're looking for a good quality iron but dont want to spend the $ for a Weller (or the $$$ for a Hakko) I'd suggest the Aoyue 937+. SRA Solder in the US has it for $59.99: http://www.sra-solder.com/aoyue-digital-soldering-station-937

  You can also go wild with a variety of tips. Most of them are under $4: http://www.sra-solder.com/soldering-equipment/soldering-iron-tips/soldering-iron-tips-conical-type

  I have been extremely please with the service I get from SRA Solder.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Terry

I figured by the time I got all the needed supply's I would be spending one bill at least. Thanks to John's kind offer to use his shop It

will be around a 1/4 of that and he likes chatting with me so all good.

Dalibor  is also helping me with the colon tube glass covers and bases so everything is coming together smoothly at this time.

I found out that taking your time and thinking through all the steps needed and how to get through each step one at a time usually creates success.

With the help and friends created here how can you not succeed.:)

Edward

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well I think I figured out how to do my colon tubes

With the PV kit I have two small round PCB boards with a RGB LED soldered in the middle of it. It has 8 pins that 4 are used by the  RGB LED.

I got some 1/16" brass tubing and with a #60 drill I was able to open up the hole to fit one of the pins perfectly.

Now with some clear heat shrink I can solder two short tubes on front pins and two longer ones one the back pins.

Since the spacing is wide enough between the two tubes. I can insert the neon bulb and twist the wire leads so the bulb is 90 degrees to the tubes. 

Then I can push the bulbs back so they will fit inside the glass covers that Dalibor is making.

This is a modification that Michael does with his designs but it will fit the PCB board's that PV electronics supplies with their kit. The bulb will also fit at a 90 degree angle to the glass covers Dalibor is making. Not as nice as the colon tubes Dalibor will be making but a good compromise. His are 3 pin and mine are 8 so not a quick swap.

This way if a bulb fails I can unplug the colon tube from the main PCB board. Then I can lift the base and glass cover from the PCB board that is plugged in the main PCB board as it is just a snug fit.. Then just unsolder the bulb from the top of the two brass tubes clip the leads on the new one and solder it on the two brass tubes. slip the glass cover and base back on the PCB board with the brass tubes and bulbs and plug it back in the 8 pin socket on the main PCB board.

I hope that makes sense.

It is the marriage of three designs to make it work for this particular application.

One reason for the PV kit is I can replace any part on the board if it fails. And the satisfaction of building the kit myself.

Any thoughts?

[Roddy Scott]

Edward,

you have obviously thought out this project very carefully and I am impressed with your solution for the colon indicators. Pete's kit for Dalibor's tubes  is very unique and presents the tubes excellently. I am sure that your finished clock will be amazing.

I have a couple of the Spectrum kit for Z566M tubes, one of them is built as per and is in my SARA clock. The other I am converting for an off board tube set up using ribbon cables to the tube bases for a mechanical clock that I have designed.

All of his kits, especially the DINK, give clock builders the possibility of creating individual designs that do not follow the norm. PV Electronics has brought Nixie clock building to so many people who otherwise not enter this realm.

I am not affiliated with PV Electronics, I just like Pete's kits for inclusion in my clocks!

Good luck with your continuing project.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Roddy

I gleamed most of the ideas from Michael's builds. He is a genius when it comes to Nixie clock frame designs. 

He gives you enough hints to use your creativity to build your clock without holding your hand along the way. Thanks Michael it is working:)

I hope everything goes right but I am sure a few hiccup's will occur.

Does anyone know how to post a picture here? Or even attach a file? I am having problems with both. 

Other than that still wondering for the Colon tubes to either Paint the 1/16" brass tubes to support the Neon bulbs Gloss black, heat shrink with black,or heat shrink with clear?

By turning the bulbs at 90 degrees I need some insulation on the rear taller brass tubes so the leads from the front bulb does not contact the rear taller brass tubes.

They will be covered with the glass cover but do not want any shorts in case the clock gets bumped.

When I get ready to solder the colon tubes PCB I just want a firm plan on what I will be doing.

I really would like to get a couple prototypes from Dalibor and modify those to fit the PCB boards that I have with the kits. The high voltage is at 170VDC going through a 270K resistor to ground for each bulb. I do not know if his prototype colon tubes fit that parameter.

Maybe that may happen in the future but I try to plan with what I have at this moment.

In the next couple days I will finish the final prints and bring them to the shop to get the 4 plates made and drilled. A week from now I will start assembling the kit and get it ready to do the trial fit to the stand and make the modifications needed to make it fit perfectly or as close as I can.

Then I will wait for the tubes to arrive and go from there. I will wait on doing anything on the colon tubes until then as they need to match perfectly to get the look that is in my mind.

Just to be clear I am borrowing most of the ideas from the members on this forum and thank them for the support that they have given me to pursue this project.

Edward

[Roddy Scott]

Edward, 

one method of retaining the brass as it is and to stop it shorting out is to coat it with a lacquer. You can either use a spray lacquer or paint on a clear gel coat nail varnish such as Sally Hansen's Double Duty. If you use the DD, give it a couple of days to get to a rock hard finish.

I have used this in various aspects for clocks, it makes great crystal clear lenses for LEDs embedded in brass mounts if you build it up slowly over a couple of days, to make diffuser lenses just agitate two part clear epoxy to include micro air bubbles in it and this gives great dispersion of the LED light.

I get some weird looks from the staff at my local pharmacy when I am asking them for clear nail varnish but they are getting used to me asking for strange stuff. It is a good place to get small amounts of chemicals for other applications too.

[Dekatron42]

I'd really appreciate a photo or two of the design in the different steps to a finished clock.

/Martin

[Edward Van Belkom]

Monday or Tuesday of next week I will start building the clock kit. I will start posting pictures of the build then.

I also finished the final prints and spreadsheet for the stand and brought them to the shop the get the four plates made and drilled with the pilot holes. They will also mill the backside of the inner and outer rear plates to .125" thickness so the switches , LED's , Power connector and PIR jack will fit properly.

After I get done the plates should look like this. Then back to the shop for getting the bottom curve and sides milled to the proper shape.

Ok finally figured out how to post the pictures.

Full steam ahead:)

[Edward Van Belkom]

I thought I would make a little jig to hold the board when soldering. Zero cost and just a little time to make. Any more hints before I start on Monday are welcome:)

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Roddy!  That should do the trick. The colon tubes will be the last thing I will construct. I just have to pick up a cheap magnifying head visor that I found for $5.00 tomorrow and I will be ready early next week to tackle the kit.

I will be using these 3mm LED's that are diffused and should look nice. I also have all the switches, jacks and power connector so I am ready to go. I appreciate the advice.

[Roddy Scott]

Edward,

now that is a nice and simple solution for builds! I have been using those ones with alligator clips for ages and you have to keep adjusting them. That idea of yours I am going to adapt for multiple board sizes. Nice one!

[Terry S]

I have a similar jig I made for working on radio chassis years ago -- similar in theory but think about it scaled up about 8x.

And I was inspired at the time by the guys over at rec.pinball who make similar jigs for working on pinball playfields.

Terry

[Nicholas Stock]

I bought one of these...

https://smile.amazon.com/Aven-17010-Adjustable-Circuit-Holder/dp/B00Q2TTQEE/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1503938056&sr=8-13&keywords=panavise

Couldn't be bothered to make my own at the price...;-)

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[Roddy Scott]

On Saturday, August 26, 2017 at 9:50:40 PM UTC+1, Edward Van Belkom wrote:

I thought I would make a little jig to hold the board when soldering. Zero cost and just a little time to make. Any more hints before I start on Monday are welcome:)

I hijacked your idea, Edward, and made this for working on PV Electronics boards. It is adjustable for Spectrum 18, QTC, DINK, IN-8 and FunKlock boards. The left hand side has an O ring between two washers for friction and the right hand side is spring loaded to put some pressure on the board to hold it in place. The feet are just medium grommets held by wood screws to stop it slipping.

Behind the board is another one of my daft ideas for a clock using this Spectrum board that will be revealed eventually!

[Edward Van Belkom]

I also added a parts holder so very easy to put part in, move foam pad over part , rotate board and solder;)

[gregebert]

Be careful with any plastic contraptions; they can create ESD problems. As long as no ESD-sensitive parts are on the board during handling, no worries.

If you do have ESD-sensitive parts, it's probably best to mount them last. 

[Edward Van Belkom]

How about add a piece of antistatic foam to the bottom of the foam?

[gregebert]

I dont think that would eliminate the potential problem. Antistatic foam is not prone to charge-accumulation from friction; beyond that it has no magical properties.

If you are using this to hold ESD-sensitive thru-hole parts, you're probably better-off wearing a wriststrap and slightly bending the pins to hold the part in-place so you can turn the board over and solder it. As long as you, the board, and the part are at the same potential there is no possibility of an ESD event or damage. It's perfectly OK to touch the pins of the device under those circumstances.

Kinda like the total eclipse we had last week; when everything is in perfect alignment, you can take off your glasses and look directly at the sun.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Greg.

I brought everything to the shop today and got the last few items to start building. I will start bright and early tomorrow morning and hopefully have most of it completed that day.

So far I will be mounting the inductor, Resistor networks. Piezo sounder, 3 MOSFET's, HV board and 2 way header on the bottom of the PCB to clean it up a bit.

I also got some 90% isopropanol alcohol to clean the rosin flux off the PC board while soldering.

[gregebert]

Good luck with the building. If you have a wrist-strap, shorting all of the power-supply connections, including gnd, together and tying this to your wrist-strap will usually keep you ESD-safe. If you dont have a wrist-strap, then be sure to touch the shorted connections with one hand, before you pickup/insert the MOSFETs with the other hand. Your body-resistance will equalize any charge between them. Once you've soldered them in-place, they are much safer; if you have a conductive (ESD) bag to store your board, even better.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Greg

 

 All the parts are in a (ESD) bag and the PIC is in conductive foam. I have a wrist strap that I can connect to the pads for the power supply input on the PCB.

I should be able to get it all done tomorrow except for all the wiring going to the remote switches and LED's. I will solder and heat shrink the wiring to the switches and LED's and do the final terminations to the PCB after everything is installed in the stand.

 

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well it took 7.5 hours but I got the kit assembled. I spent some time cleaning the flux off after soldering 3-6 components and seemed to work well. When I was all done I spent another half an hour cleaning the board with alcohol again to get ride of some streaks still left behind.

I did the voltage checks along the way and was able to dial the HV at exactly 170.0 VDC.

Pete did a great job on the kit and instructions. Tomorrow I will finish up soldering the wire leads to the LED's ,switches, PIR and GPS.

Then I will have to wait a few weeks before my aluminum plates are ready to be picked up from the shop.

I want to thank everyone for their input on this project so far. It has gone as smooth as silk so far. Fingers crossed:)

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well the video did not work. Let me try again.

Video

[Roddy Scott]

On Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 1:16:19 AM UTC+1, Edward Van Belkom wrote:

Well it took 7.5 hours but I got the kit assembled. I spent some time cleaning the flux off after soldering 3-6 components and seemed to work well. When I was all done I spent another half an hour cleaning the board with alcohol again to get ride of some streaks still left behind.

Great job so far, Edward.  Liking your work area.

When you have your tubes it will be a thing of beauty!

Pete's instructions are very clear and easy to follow to get a good result at the end. 

The IPA and toothbrush method is the one I prefer as IPA is readily available and gives a good result compared to Acetone which I find too aggressive as it can attack the solder mask. I worked in the PCB manufacturing industry for 10 years and we had probably one of the most dangerous to health solvents for stripping solder mask from reject boards, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane. I don't miss that smell at all!

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Roddy

I can't wait to see the tubes also :)

It was nice for John to let me use his shop to assemble it. A nice solder station is hard to beat. The cheap lighted magnifying visor was a great help and it would of been hard to do without it.

I will finish soldering all the wire leads to the LED's, Switches, GPS and PIR jack today and wait for the aluminum plates to be drilled so I can pick them up and start building the case.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Finished everything up today. Hooked up everything and got the NWTS connected to the network and have a Green locked sync signal LED lit.

 

I am as far as I can go until the plates come in to start on the base.

[Edward Van Belkom]

 If someone has one of Dalibor's  tubes can you get the exact measurement of the height of the black base?

Thanks

[Dalibor]

The height of the base is 25mm, 53mm outer diameter.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Dalibor. I sent you an e-mail:)

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well I picked up my brass and aluminum stock and brought it to the shop to get the holes drilled, so I can go to town on the unibit to enlarge the holes, with the double taper. I sure hope you will still be able to see the detail after anodizing the aluminum a black hard coat. The brass will be brushed in front and polished on the edges

   The aluminum will be brushed on all sides before the black hard coat.

   Man that brass is pricey! I went from $40 to $132 on just the change from all aluminum to aluminum and brass. The reason was I liked the look of brass better that the        bright dip gold anodizing and the cost at the end was the same going either way. It is hard to find a bright dip anodizer these days as it is being outlawed in many states.

 

[Roddy Scott]

That's funny you should be talking about the costs of brass versus andodising!

The case for the new ZM1040 clock I am building was originally going to be mirror finished brass 2 mm thick until I found out what it would cost! Instead of brass I am now making it in 2 mm aluminium that will be anodised once the final assembly is decided. 

It started off with a quote for 9 small parts being hard anodised for $110, adding the full casing plates to this was only another $65 so it ended up a lot cheaper than the brass as the main tube plate alone was going to be $120!

The kit from Pete has just arrived as I write so that will be getting assembled after lunch!

That base in your photograph looks excellent, Edward!

 

[Edward Van Belkom]

Those are pictures of Michael's base. I am using his design for reference.

The Hard coat black anodizing will be about $50 for the lot charge. The gold Bright dip anodizing is $75  lot charge plus shipping so ended up around $100. That is the same cost as the brass so that is why I decided to go with brass instead.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Before I get all my holes drilled I thought I would check the hole spacing and 1/4-40 tap for the switches. I was going to use nuts on the outside instead of tapping the holes but I think this will look cleaner overall. I also wanted to see what size fasteners I wanted and am going with stainless 8-32 flat head socket head screws. Here is the test piece I made from 1/8" thick aluminum angle I had laying around. I also brushed it with 80 grit

sandpaper to see how it would look. I just used a sharpie to color it black to get an idea how it would look. Everything looks like it will fit ok and the tap worked perfectly for the threads on the switches. 

[Terry S]

Edward,

Just be careful using stainless fasteners in aluminum. They may gall and you might have trouble removing them after a time. This is a bigger problem when using plated fasteners in stainless, but can happen anytime stainless is one of the components. A tiny dab of anti-seize should help.

Terry

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Terry

I also can get Black Anodized Aluminum flat head socket head screws. Or Black oxide steel. What would you prefer?

[Terry S]

 It's not what I prefer -- but what is safest for you. Either will be fine. Like materials are best of course. Stainless is the culprit. If your tapped holes are "generous" you may have no problems even with stainless.

Terry

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Terry

Easy enough to change as I have not ordered the screws yet.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well finally starting to move forward on the base.

I got the back plate back today from the shop and the front one will be done tomorrow.

 

I tapped the holes for the switches and did a final fit. I needed the nut on the toggle so I could tighten it to the right orientation. I indented the switches so they would not stick out so far.

 I ordered some tapping fluid and as soon as that arrives I can finish the holes with the unibit. Once both plates are done the shop will be able to finish cutting the angles and arch.

They decided to drill and tap the holes to hold the plates together and also the side plates to the inner plates as everything is on CAD and that way the parts will align perfectly. That will also save me time on sanding and getting a nice brushed finish before getting the aluminum plates anodized.

I will replace the right switch as it cracked a corner when installing it. Must of been bad from the start.

[Edward Van Belkom]

I got the back plate holes done with the unibit  today.  I did each hole individually without stops and that worked fine for me.

 

[JohnK]

Bit of a note re static. There is more to behaving properly than you might think.

 

-The IC tubes known as 'antistatic' were just coated so that the triboelectric effect was less. Those tubes were not protection against local static discharges.

 

- read up on Faraday shielding.  And the conductive and sealable bags/tubes.

 

- And the requirement for earthing/grounding parts and people properly.

 

- The common 'earth it or ground it ' practice causes dangerous situations.  Especially when not current limited..

Consider this experiment.

Earthing something and then moving it should be safe - right?

Set up a simple electrophorus.   eg a chargeable surface and a metal disk on an insulating handle.

Charge the surface, bring the disk near it and then momentarily earth the disk.

That disk is discharged and at earth potential, right? Momentarily earth it again to check - no spark.

Now move the disk away. Maybe bring it up to the end of your nose. Won't get a spark off it will you? Or will you?

Of course you will. The momentary earth was applied while the disk was in a strong electric field ['electrons' were pushed out of it or sucked into it].

 

I used to use that demonstration to get the bench techs to rethink their static procedures. The majority of techs guess that the disk stays 'discharged'.

 

I have mentioned only a tiny part of the topic of course. 'We' also used to have failures during wave soldering and the board handling before and after it too.

I built a small electroscope out of a coffee jar, tin lid and some thin conductive 'antistatic' plastic bag. I used that to demonstrate charged people and areas. Wasn't as sensitive as the electronic device procured from the ' static protection ' company BUT it had a much better influence on the workers. They could SEE the plastic move when it was charged.

 

Protecting static sensitive components during all the phases of their association with you is not as easy as you might think.

Probably the low failure rate is due to their actual robustness and not your procedures. But, by that, I don't mean stop being careful.

Note: when static is misunderstood though, some so-called intuitive procedures are making the situation worse. The guys who didn't guess right about the electrophorous can't be trusted to handle parts correctly. eg What if they did all the 'right' things and then when the job was finished they removed their earths/grounds etc whilst the product was actually in some degree of electric field. The product [or insulated conductive parts of it] is the 'disk' of the electrophorus

 

The above is just a nudge to read up on it; I am not an expert.

 

John Kaesehagen

Australia

 

 

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[Edward Van Belkom]

And now we have four! Tomorrow I will install the brass rails to support the PCB and countersink all the holes. Then one last trip to the shop where they will trim the plates to shape outlined on the brass plate below. I just had a small drill press to open up the holes with the unibit but it looks like it turned out ok for my first clock project:-)

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks John.

I have been careful with the board and so far everything is turning out OK. Once the rails are mounted and the board is installed for fit I will store it in a static free bag until the final assembly begins.

I am at awe how Roddy, Michael and everyone else can come up with these ideas and build them from scratch. Hat's off to all of you!

The next hurdle will be the sanding before going to the Anodizer. After that it should be a piece of cake to finish if that goes well.

Michael talked about using Everbrite ProtectaClear on the brushed brass. I was going to get a 4OZ bottle and wondered who else used it and what they thought of it?

[Roddy Scott]

Edward,

when putting protection on brass be careful as the surface has to be totally free of any moisture which could cause a slow patina due to oxidisation on it under the protection. One way to avoid this is to warm the plates to drive off any moisture before applying the protection. A hair dryer works well for this.

I used to put clear lacquer on brass but now leave it polished as it can 'age' to give a good effect or it can be polished back to a shine if required. The copper on the TME was aged with Liver of Sulphur to make it look older. I have used this before on a Steampunk lamp clock as it can give very good aging to pieces and if you scrub parts with fine steel wool you can get even more depth to the finish.

https://www.amazon.com/Liver-Sulphur-Gel-Ounce-Jar/dp/B00341129U

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Roddy

My goal is to get a bright brushed look with 220 grit sandpaper. Then I want to seal it as soon as I can to lock in that look. Every Brass part will have the coating before putting it all together for the last time. 

That is why I mentioned Everbrite ProtectaClear  as a sealant instead of  lacquer that can yellow over time.

Things are moving quickly now and by the end of the week the stand should be done ready to sand.

I found out I do like working with brass. It sands easily and will not take as much time as I thought to get to the perfect brushed finish before the coating goes on.

Any help on this to get the aluminum and brass to look even in the brushed finish would be greatly appreciated. Remember that the Aluminum will have a black anodized hard coat  after the brushed finish with 220 grit so take this in account. The brass most likely will have the Everbrite ProtectaClear coating as it is thin and will not change the look much from uncoated brass.

Unless someone has a better Idea;-)

[Edward Van Belkom]

Well great news.

Dalibor is shipping my tubes today! 

I am getting close to having the clock base done and ready for sanding and anodizing. I have a sample at the anodizer now to see what grit sandpaper I need to sand the aluminum. The hard coat will fill in some so I need to see that it matched the brushed brass properly.

I have the PV board set up at 180VDC with the 8.2K resistor for Dalibor's tubes.

What value resistor would be best for the 4mm wire end neon bulbs Pete supplied with the kit at this voltage?

Thanks everyone for helping me out on this.

 

[Jeff Walton]

Ed, the pads on the Spectrum PCB for the colons already have a series resistor on board for the neon tubes.  The clock addresses each of the neons individually. 

Jeff

-------- Original message --------

From: Edward Van Belkom <evanb...@new.rr.com>

Date: 10/4/17 7:24 AM (GMT-06:00)

To: neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: PV Electronics R568 Clock Project With Black R|Z568M Nixie Tubes

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[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Jeff

I am trying to adjust everything for optimum performance and reliability before my tubes arrive. I have not soldered in the 270K resistors for the colon neon bulbs so wondering if a different value would work better or if these would be fine at 180VDC instead of the 170VDC that was in the instruction manual?

Dalibor e-mailed me today and mentioned 170VDC on his Zen clock  for the RZ568M tubes but not the resistor value. He said the 180VDC with the 8.2K would be fine so just wondered what was the optimum voltage and resistor combination would be for his RZ568M tubes and at that voltage what the best resistor value would be for the neon bulbs or is that not critical?

[Edward Van Belkom]

I got my tubes today  and did a test on them with the NWTS and PIR hooked up. Everything is working well so I took everything apart and am ready to do the final finishing on the clock base. Hopefully next week I will do the final soldering of the last items left and start the final assembly.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsqV1P3MiKI&feature=youtu.be

 

[Edward Van Belkom]

I finished my clock today so here are a few pictures. My acrylic case will still take about a month to finish and I will post a picture with it installed. Hope you like it:-)

 

[Jon D.]

Really nice outcome !!!  Even without an acrylic case it is gorgeous...

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Jon

MichaelB gave me a lot of guidance to get to where it is.

I also want  to thank Jeff Walton for getting and assembling the NWTS.

Everyone here made me feel welcome and gave advice to get it the state it is in now. Thank you all!

[Jeff Walton]

Very nice!  Look forward the finished case.  Are those Pete's new colons? 

Jeff W

-------- Original message --------

From: Edward Van Belkom <evanb...@new.rr.com>

Date: 10/25/17 5:48 PM (GMT-06:00)

To: neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: PV Electronics R568 Clock Project With Black R|Z568M Nixie Tubes

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[jb-electronics]

Nice job! Also, this forum is probably one of the very few places on earth where you can say "Pete's colons" and nobody gets it wrong.

On 10/25/2017 4:48 PM, Edward Van Belkom wrote:

I finished my clock today so here are a few pictures. My acrylic case will still take about a month to finish and I will post a picture with it installed. Hope you like it:-)

 

[Nicholas Stock]

ha ha! Good one Jens.

Those aren't the standard colons from Pete, the containers are, but I'd hazard a guess that there's some formed copper pipe with heatshrink over it inside....they look very professional....nice job!

On Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 4:55 PM, jb-electronics <webm...@jb-electronics.de> wrote:

Nice job! Also, this forum is probably one of the very few places on earth where you can say "Pete's colons" and nobody gets it wrong.

On 10/25/2017 4:48 PM, Edward Van Belkom wrote:

I finished my clock today so here are a few pictures. My acrylic case will still take about a month to finish and I will post a picture with it installed. Hope you like it:-)

 

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[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Jeff!

Dalibor was kind enough to make two glass tubes and bases for me before shipping the tubes. I was able to adapt Pete's round colon PCB and designed the supports to hold the neon bulbs. Hopefully when he is in production he will send me a pair that I can adapt to Pete's PCB and make it work. I already have another set of PCB's  I got from Pete to do the job:-)

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Jens

Yea, I never though of it that way;-)  

[Edward Van Belkom]

I used 1mm brass rod for supports. This worked perfectly as it was the same diameter as the pins for the PCB . I made the supports and solder them to the PCB with enough sticking through to become the new pins for the neon bulbs. I put black heat shrink on before soldering and pre-tinned the top of the supports so I could solder the bulbs on. It worked pretty slick!  

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks Pramanican :-)

[dixter]

Very nice looking clock...  :-)

DB

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thank you Dixter.

 

It turned out better that I expected. Now if the acrylic cover turns out I will be a happy camper:-) 

[Roddy Scott]

Your clock is looking excellent, Edward, those colon tubes you made are in keeping with your overall design and make your clock stand out. The finish on the aluminium is fantastic and sets off the brass parts really well.

Great to see a project realised from start to finish. 

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thank you for the kind words Roddy!

 

MichaelB said I would have to re design his SlingBlade to fit the PV board and he was right. You just hope it will turn out right after spending all the money to get it fabricated to fit the PV board. The colon's was the fourth try when discussing with MichaelB on the look. He really liked this last design that I was able to fit in the glass envelopes Dalibor made for me.

The 1mm brass rod covered with black heat shrink made it work. I was able to form the tight circle for the lower neon bulb using a Wire Looper Pliers. After the supports were covered with the heat shrink and bent I was able to heat up the heat shrink and stick the supports together like glue. Then I just slipped the supports through the small round colon PC board until they were the same length as the other pins and soldered them in. Then I just tinned the top of the supports and the leads of the neon bulbs and soldered them on. I trimmed the leads and used a sharpie to cover the solder joints and slipped the glass envelopes over them after bending the leads to the correct shape and the neon bulb at the correct orientation . I used some clear tape on the glass envelopes to hold them snug.

Pete, even sent me some extra neon bulbs and a temp sensor when a lead broke from handling at no charge!

I am very happy how it turned out and am looking forward on seeing the acrylic cover installed when it is finished.

[Edward Van Belkom]

Grrr! One last time.

 

Well close to a year ago I started my version of a  Michael Barile SlingBlade  clock using  PV Electronics R568 Clock kit. Jeff Walton built a  NWTS from Manual Azevedo (sorry for his lost) for me. 

 

Everything went well and I have enjoyed the clock immensely including the MOD-SIX_Gen V   Michael Barile so generously built for me.

 

I wanted to get Dalibor to send me a couple of his colons unassembled so I could try to retrofit it to the PV  round PCB  board's Pete V used in his kits. Well as of today things are looking good.. Dalibor has sent me the colons and a few tubes that showed some leakage. He is unbelievable when it comes to customer service  and helping a guy out even without using his main Zen PC board. I really wanted to use  the ZEN board but the 3" more in length and narrowness just did not fit in the design of the SlingBlade .

 

Pete V also helped by providing some prints of the main R568 PC board  as what traces to cut if I would need to add the two 66K 1/4W metal film resistors on the cathode side of the colon's to make it work.

 

After E-mailing Dalibor quite a few times I think I will be able to fit the resistors in the colon base. If so this will be an easier mod to do as I just have to replace R8,R9,R10,R11  270K resistors with some wire jumpers and plug in the new modified colons.

 

With my current colons I made, I used a friction fit sleeve out of a nylon spacer about .250 high that I used to hold the round PCB colon tight to the black colon base as the flange is on the bottom of the colon base. I will wrap a few layer of cellophane tape around the base of the colon tube glass for a friction fit. I will solder the leads to the round PCB colon board having the nylon spacer go through the leads before soldering.  I will wrap the colon leads one turn around a pencil before soldering so I have enough length to push down the spacer over the round PCB and have it bottom out on the colon base using a flat blade screwdriver.

 

Then I will push the colon glass down into the base about .250  and twist slightly to align the colon dots to the front.

 

If anyone has a better idea let me know before the colon's arrive.

 

Thanks everyone for making this dream possible.

 

[dixter]

Would be nice if you can get Dalibors collin tubes to work...  let us know what we would need to do to make these part of the PV clock...  thanks

[Edward Van Belkom]

Thanks dixter

I will see when they get here. I have a couple ways to go but if the resistors fit in the colon base it should be fairly easy to do. I really got to thank Dalibor for helping me out on this. We will see soon as the shipment is in the states.