Hey Benoit! Long time no chat! Yes, setting the display via an mqtt topic should be pretty easy. The latest firmware for the other clocks has a topic that it can monitor for brightness changes.. easy modification to control the rest of the display.
I've been drawing up the PCB in my spare time.. my main issue now is the estimated BOM is going to be about $35 for low quantities (100 or so). A bit more then I expected. The VFD drivers are the main culprit.. the max6921 is about $14 for two! Does anyone know of a cheaper option for driving VFDs? Even if I tie all the segments (8) together I still have 18 grids to deal with, so at minimum I need a chip with 26 channels, and preferably in a larger pitch (SOIC?) so soldering won't be a issue for most folks. Regards, -Moses On Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 7:39:56 AM UTC-8 Benoit Tourret wrote: > I like the idea of a dual display, could it be possible to send data on a > mqtt topic do feed the display when needed ? > > Please, count me for one kit. > Regards, > Benoit. > > Le mardi 14 janvier 2025 à 06:47:44 UTC+1, Moses a écrit : > >> Folks, >> >> I started working on a prototype IV-21 clock sometime last year. I got to >> the point of an advanced prototype, ready to move to a PCB.. but life got >> in the way. >> >> I never really bothered with VFD displays much before, but now they are >> growing on me. This one is a good size for a more close up clock, it's been >> my "desk" clock for about a year now. >> >> I can put this into production, I have plenty of tubes on hand, but would >> like to see if there is any interest from the group. If I can get 10-20 >> interested parties, I would pursue it to a production kit. My design is as >> follows: >> >> Dual IV-21 tubes, as seen in the cardboard mockup. >> ESP32 Xiao controller (NTP/wifi software based on my other clocks >> www.neonixie.com) >> Onboard DC-DC step up controlled by the ESP >> Modern max6921 serial VFD drivers >> >> I like to see the date and/or UTC time along with local, so I like the >> dual tube idea. >> >> Anyone interested? >> >> Regards, >> -Moses >> >> >> >> [image: IMG_20250113_210103655-smaller.jpg][image: >> IMG_20250113_210210178-smaller.jpg] >> > -- 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 view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/87dde80a-efa1-42e1-ac40-12147c481655n%40googlegroups.com.
