Thanks for that info, I'll definitely consider the PIR approach. If I were to run the tubes static, how would I go about driving 120 cathodes?
Craig On Tuesday, 12 September 2023 at 00:07:04 UTC+1 gregebert wrote: > I'm not a fan of multiplexing nixies because of the additional current > that can lead to shorter lifespan. Multiplexing was common when components > for driving tubes were expensive and tubes were plentiful; today it's the > opposite. As long as the tubes dont run 24/7, you will probably get a lot > of enjoyment from your display. A lot of us use passive IR (PIR) sensors to > activate our displays only when someone is there to look at it. > > I would use 12mA for 1msec as your starting point, and if it's bright > enough, try reducing the current. > > On Monday, September 11, 2023 at 11:23:20 AM UTC-7 Craig Garnett wrote: > >> Hi, I'm Craig from the north of England. >> >> A friend of mine has had a liking for nixies for a while and we've spoke >> about building clock kits before. However, he bought 12 x Z570m tubes and >> after a (probably drunken) conversation that I wasn't involved in, it was >> decided to build a device that displays the distance from Earth of the two >> Voyager spacecraft and display it on the nixies. >> >> So the question was asked, "do you think you could build it?" to which >> the obvious answer was "I don't know but I'll have a go" >> >> A couple of months later we have a working prototype displaying the >> distances of both craft in miles and km on multiplexed 12x7 segment leds. >> >> Next step it to get it working on the nixies, >> >> I know from the datasheets (google translated from German) that typical >> anode current is 2mA and I think that the max multiplexed current is 12mA >> for no more than 2mS although I've seen elsewhere that it could be 2mA >> averaged over the duty cycle which would be 24mA >> >> My output routine can do all 12 tubes in 1mS but I can insert microsecond >> delays to slow it to whatever works best. >> >> I'm sure that I'll be back with questions soon. >> >> Nice to meet you all, >> >> Craig >> > -- 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 view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/ae4f16b2-0269-45d0-bccb-a4f1c9f8c988n%40googlegroups.com.
