Hi, You can use bistable relays with one coil, they change state for every pulse, so to turn them on you pulse them once and to turn them off again you pulse them once again - there are also bistable relays with two coils where one coil is used to turn them on and the other to turn them off. This way you will not draw any power when the relays are not switching states. You can also use uniselectors, relay coils that move a rotating arm across several contacts. These are harder to find but turn up now and again on eBay. There is a movie here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUB_CUab5gY , and another one here ( close to 40 seconds in the movie) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YajwGdbXV1w These types of clocks where built during the 60's and 70's and you can find circuit diagrams for them in old magazines. There were even clocks which where driven by motors which turned rotary switches, with a set of gears they made it possible for seconds, minutes and hours and even AM/PM indicators. /Martin
On Wednesday, 7 August 2013 11:50:11 UTC+2, ahochan wrote: > Hi, > > I'm thinking of creating a Nixie clock controlled by mechanical 5V relays. > > I won't do anything fancy, just static drive with the Nixie anode connected > to 180VDC through a resistor and one relay for each cathode. The relay > coils > will be connected to uC pins via either individual transistors or perhaps > a darlington array. Like so: > > 180V > | > R (anode resistor) > | > Nixie > | ... | > 1 relay for each cathode (connected to GND) > > Schematic here: > https://www.dropbox.com/s/r67bnrz09b4xivv/relay-nixie-test-board.png > > I'll probably use IN-4 tubes, but that may change. > > I have two questions: > > * Does my schematic look sane? > > * Can anyone recommend a relay to use? > I'm looking for a relay that can be switched from 5VDC. There are many > available in small form factors, but most seem to be rated for > 250VAC/30VDC > or similar. (I guess a relay rated for a lower DC voltage might be ok > too, > since it will only pull 3-4mA) > > I want a mechanical relay... since the main point of this exercise is to > get > the clicking sound when the relays switch. > > Thanks in advance. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/fbb6beb5-e768-4912-a332-42f206a1bb94%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
