Hi Hannah, Really enjoyed reading about this project.
It's got a large number of interesting bits, including design, 3D printing, casting, machining etc, and looks excellent. I had seen a few of these interesting VFDs for sale via eBay and had a couple of questions and would be really interested to hear your thoughts if you have time. 1) is it possible to use a simple H bridge to provide a rough AC drive to operate the heater? I presume originally it was spec'd for AC rather than pulsed DC. 2) for the grid control, was there a reason you needed such powerful transistors? I did wonder whether you could have used one of the high side driver ICs you used for the segments but I am sure you must have considered that! Another idea I have considered for grid multiplexing was a pullup resistor on the grid to pull up to whatever voltage, and then just an NPN transistor to pull it down to ground to turn it off. Do you know if that would work? I ask as I am planning a VFD multiplex design (my current designs are direct drive but for 18 segment tubes it gets a bit unmanageable!) Regards David On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 12:42 Hannah Mishin, <hannah.mis...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello! > I'm Hannah and I am in NYC. I am really interested in old technologies as > they correlate to modern ideas. > I am currently working on a VFD build (no Nixie specific experience) and > playing with a flying spot scanner! > Here is a blog on my VFD project. > https://hannahmishin.com/blog/2017/4/30/russian-tri-color-vfd-indicator-clock > I am an Open Source Hardware supporter and believe in the sharing of > knowledge (its how I know so much of what I do). > Cheers! > > On Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:07:28 PM UTC-4, Mahdi Al Husseini wrote: >> >> Hi, there, >> >> I'm Al, from the States. I've been lurking around here for a few months, >> but thought to introduce myself. I'm certainly no electrical engineer, but >> I fell in love early with vacuum tubes of all shapes and sizes. I've messed >> with Nixies, Boroughs, Magic Eyes, Dekatrons, the list goes on. I started >> out buying and assembling a few of Pete's kits, then slowly began building >> my own clocks, calculators, and radios from the PCB up, mostly using >> Dalibor's tubes. It's been a real great journey so far, and i've got a long >> way to go. It's great to be here >> >> mahdialhusseini.com >> >> On Thu, Apr 4, 2019 at 11:25 AM Richard Scales <ric...@scalesweb.co.uk> >> wrote: >> >>> Greetings all, >>> >>> I have been an addict for over two years now. I started in electronics >>> in 1980 then moved to software, Mostly Z80 Assembler and 6502 (as a hobby). >>> I spent the rest of my career in supporting laser printers until I became >>> self employed in 1997. In recent years I discovered Arduino and combined >>> that with my hobbyist interest in electronics. When looking for something >>> else (and I cannot remember what) I discovered Nixie Tubes and am now >>> totally addicted. >>> I started with a PV QTC Kit and have built several more since as well as >>> Spectrum 1040, 1080 and 568, Elite, DINK, Quattro, Halo and FunKlock I >>> have also built kits from Ian Sparkes and Paul Andrews and I also have a >>> few Paul Andrews Single Tube clocks, Now I have started my own tube >>> collection. I am the proud owner of a MOD-6 and have some spare tubes and a >>> stack of 'Smart Sockets' that I will be putting together at some point. >>> Along the way I have learnt to use KiCad, EeasyEDA, Solid Edge 2019 and >>> CNC Routers (handy for case designs). >>> I have also been lucky to meet many talented and helpful individuals in >>> several corners of the globe that have helped me with my stupid questions >>> and ideas and have helped bring my ideas to life. >>> I am of course running out of organs to sell. The recent post regarding >>> the sale of two B-7971's for over $500 is staggering, especially when I >>> hear the tales of those who purchased them for around $7 a pair back in the >>> day. >>> In the UK, as a youngster I used to purchase Practical Wireless magazine >>> before moving on to Electronics Today International and it was a PW project >>> that was my first ever clock build - it was a 4 x 7 segment LED clock based >>> on the AY-5-1224 clock IC. I don't remember seeing any adds for Nixie Tubes >>> at that time, but, if I knew then what I know now! >>> >>> >>> On Wednesday, 19 September 2018 16:03:23 UTC+1, neonixie-l wrote: >>>> >>>> Ladies & Gentlemen,,, >>>> >>>> We are getting a steady stream of new members - it'd be great if, >>>> instead of just lurking, you could introduce yourselves with a bit of >>>> detail about your interests, what you've built or intend to build/dream of >>>> building. Even what gets you up the morning and makes you smile! >>>> >>>> Even existing members (there are over 1,000) could chip in - there's >>>> some great stuff around... >>>> >>>> Welcome, one and all to this great community! >>>> >>>> Nick >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>> 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 neoni...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to neoni...@googlegroups.com. >>> To view this discussion on the web, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1567e684-16b7-4103-a4f7-2952c26f985f%40googlegroups.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1567e684-16b7-4103-a4f7-2952c26f985f%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> -- > 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 neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/e4af1a4d-fc74-458f-9a9c-22a4a3efaf74%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/e4af1a4d-fc74-458f-9a9c-22a4a3efaf74%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- 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 neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAOQ6x0He_N%3Dmik7-iq7hBw7iHP-bQgUUHg3-VgEYiVq5mPu_ng%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
