The driver that @M1 mentions is certainly a nice way to treat the tubes - it avoids the inrush surge when a segment is first switched on. For some projects I use a little board that comprises the tube and a small processor (an AT89C2051); with that setup, I PWM the segments that are off to just below the level of visibility so that they are pre-warmed to avoid that shock, but the LED driver chip is easier (more expensive than the '595s, but still cheap enough not to matter).
I have clocks that have been running for a decade using the '595s, and have had exactly zero failures (no seconds digits, though), using PWM on the Output Enable for brightness control. Perhaps I should expand my horizons and try some of these drivers; I might look at the TLC5923 - it's the bigger brother at 16 channels instead of 8. ~~ Mark Moulding On Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 3:27:53 PM UTC-7 LB wrote: > Maybe take the numitron idea even further and use minitrons? You can find > them pretty easily in old avionics equipment, and they’d probably last > longer in that type of environment anyway. > > On Apr 2, 2022, at 2:02 PM, Michail Wilson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I agree with, well, almost everything. > > > > I build several items using Numitrons (specifically) IV-9 (of which I have > a hoard of them), but I don’t use 595’s to drive them, but I don’t remember > specifically why I chose a diff driver. Well, you’re supposed to use them. > > > > Instead, I use TCL5916 > > TLC5916 data sheet, product information and support | TI.com > <https://www.ti.com/product/TLC5916> > > It’s specifically an LED sink driver. Single resistor sets current draw > on the LEDs / Numitron connected. > > > > I guess it’s just a preference. > > > > Michail Wilson > > 206-920-6312 <(206)%20920-6312> > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf > Of *Mark Moulding > *Sent:* Saturday, April 2, 2022 12:24 PM > *To:* neonixie-l <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [neonixie-l] New to arduino and nixie projects, looking > for advice > > > > I agree fairly strongly with Pramancin - I think Numitrons would be the > way to go. They are exceedingly rugged (originally used in fighter planes, > among many other applications), long-lived (10,000+ hours at maximum > brightness, converging to infinity at reduced drive voltages), and are very > easy to drive. I've built both clocks and dashboard instruments with > nothing more than the Numitrons (or the Russian clones - IV-9 and IV-16,), > a string of 74HC595s as the output port expander, direct-driving the tubes, > and whatever processor I was using at the time (some were AT89C4051s, some > were AVRs - Arduinos, but on my own circuit board). > > > > You might be giving up the charm of fully-formed digits, but in exchange, > in addition to the points above, the Numitrons are brighter (easily > sunlight-readable), can be filtered to any color, and you can produce a > surprisingly workable alpha-numeric character set using the seven > segments. There is no high-voltage generator or circuitry to worry about > either - just the 5-volt logic supply. I used a bunch on a Burning Man art > car, and that's where I suffered the only failure I've ever had, when an > errant beer can hit the tube full on. It still worked for a little while > even with the envelope broken (this was at night, so I had the brightness > way down). > > ~~ > Mark Moulding > > On Friday, April 1, 2022 at 4:43:51 PM UTC-7 Codi Wiersma wrote: > > Thanks for the suggestions. I have an in tank speedo that I was going to > recreate the case, and add some extra supports, with tpu from my 3d > printer. That, combined with a minimally vibrating bike (Yamaha > stratoliner), do you think I'll still have issues? > > > > On Fri, Apr 1, 2022, 3:56 PM Nicholas Stock <[email protected]> wrote: > > You could use numitrons instead, they're a lot more vibration resistant, > but not the same charm as a nixie ...... > > > > On Fri, Apr 1, 2022 at 12:51 PM Bill van Dijk <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Codi > > > > As a long time biker and Nixie guy, I would like to give you some advice. > The severe vibrations of a motorcycle WILL destroy any nixie in very short > order. As great as the project sounds now, you will be disappointed with > that. > > > > Sorry, > > > > Bill v > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *Codi Wiersma > *Sent:* Friday, April 01, 2022 1:43 PM > *To:* neonixie-l <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [neonixie-l] New to arduino and nixie projects, looking for > advice > > > > Hello! As the subject says, new to both arduino and nixie tube projects. > I'm looking to make a Hall Effect based speedometer for my motorcycle, and > I'm hoping to get some advice. Looking for a 3 tube set up for speed, and > maybe a 5 or 6 tube set up for an odometer, and was curious if I have > enough connections on an Elegoo Uno to run that many tubes? If not, could > I run programs on two different Unos using inputs from the same sensor? > I'm unsure on the first question, but I'm fairly certain there wouldn't be > an issue with the second. 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