Nixie Clock 2

Nixie Clock 2 is a partly assembled clock kit I can offer now.

Nixie Clock 2 is ideal for people who have very specific ideas what their nixie clock should look like, but don't have the time or resources to put their own together from scratch.

Nixie clock 2 consists of a profesionally made PCB assembly with plated through holes, and uses special sockets to accept the Nixie Tubes. The nixies used here are Z566M, which is a coated nixie. It will also accept the uncoated equivalent, the Z5660M.

The PCB measures 160 by 60 mm. The Nixies are 62 mm high and 29 mm in diameter. The actual numbers are 30 mm high, and according to the datasheet can be seen from 18 metes away. I think this is probably a bit optimistic, but 10 m is no problem at all.

In the standard configuration the display intensity can be adjusted to suit the ambient light conditions.

Details about obtaining a kit, which includes a fully assembled PCB, can be found here I suggest you right-click this link and select 'save as'.

This picture shows a rear view of the PCB assembly

Everything is contained on the PCB. There is a low voltage power supply, a high voltage (200V) switch mode power supply for the Nixies, a PIC microcontroller and the interface circuitry to drive the Nixies from the PIC. Everything is readily assembled.

What you will need to add is:

The PCB can be assembled with the taller components either on the top or the bottom of the PCB. Having the taller components on the top is ideal for displaying the Nixie Clock under a glass dome or in a display case, as is often done. Placing the taller components on the bottom of the PCB reduces the hight above the PCB of the other components to only 4.5mm and makes it possible to mount the PCB inside a box or behind a panel. This is another common method of building a nixie clock.

A complete instruction manual for this kit can be found here. Warning: this PDF file is 1.2 MB!

Here you can see the difference between top and bottom mounted components.

The PCB at the rear, which has the higher components mounted on the bottom side, can be installed much closer behind a panel than the PCB at the front. The PCB at the front is more suitable for mounting on something like a wooden base with a glass display case covering it.

This picture also shows the sockets used to connect the tube to the PCB. They are single sockets per pin soldered into the PCB. Internally they have gold plated contacts for long term reliability. If the PCB is required for use with different nixies it can be supplied without the sockets installed. All details can be found here.

Coated or non-coated tubes: you decide

Here you can see the difference between coated (left) and non-coated (right) tubes. Which one to prefer is very much a case of personal preference. The uncoated tube is brighter, but the coated tube has a higher contrast and can actually be seen from a greater distance. Coating on tubes can be removed by leaving them in warm (not hot!) water for 20-30 minutes. After that the coating can be rubbed off without the use of any tools.

*AC is required, because this clock uses the mains supply as its time base. It can accept either 50 or 60 Herz. A modification is possible which will make the clock accept a DC supply. It will then require an external 1 PPS signal, which is commonly derived from a GPS receiver.