While I agree with some of this, I don't necessarily agree entirely. There are lots of things about the PCB that could be improved (eg using ground planes/fills) and simple starting experiments - eg a trial single-digit-nixie is a good place to start, to work out where the gaps in your understanding are, and you can then incorporate what you learn into the clock.
What I don't necessarily agree with is starting by a clock using discrete ICs and not a microcontroller. *IF* you come from the generation where arduino/rPi Pico are more familiar to you than large numbers of chained 74-series ICs (like me), then you might well find it easier to use an MCU to drive your clock. If you're 'old school' and MCUs are also new to you, then sticking to that should flatten out the learning curve a bit. David On Mon, 22 Sept 2025 at 20:38, Leroy Jones <[email protected]> wrote: > For a 21 year old guy with no previous electronics experience, in my > humble opinion, you are jumping in far far deeper > than your present skill level is capable of producing any meaningful > results. > > First of all, you have NEVER even fired up a nixie tube yet. Nor have > you studied and worked with logic gates. > If you want success, the first thing to do is get a nixie tube and a 170 > volt DC power supply and a 15k anode resistor, then start > experimenting lighting the tube digits. Next, get a 74141 or a 7441 > nixie driver IC, and connect it up to an appropriate 4-bit switch of come > sort > so that you can feed it binary bits at the 5 volt level, and light the > tube digits. Next thing then is to switch those bits using a counter such > as 74LS160. > > As for a nixie clock, I would strongly suggest making one that uses no > processor of any sort. Use TTL or CMOS logic to run counters that drive > the 74141 nixie driver ICs. A very nice nixie clock can be made using > about 16 to 20 ICs. > > Learning electronics and learning to use digital ICs and nixie tubes > requires many, many practical tests and experiments. > Jumping right in cold, with no prior experience right away thinking that a > complex PCB can be designed and a clock made to operate > without doing any experiments to prove the fundamental concepts is THE > classic recipe for failure. > > I can help with book recommendations, parts lists to experiment with, and > experiments to do. > Take it slow. Stay down at the level of reality. > > -Chuck > > On Monday, September 22, 2025 at 3:02:23 PM UTC-4 Adrian Godwin wrote: > >> Also, put 100n capacitors between supply (5v or 3v3) and gnd near >> each and every IC. >> >> >> On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM Adrian Godwin <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Thanks for the pdf. Yes, the schematic wasn't usable. >>> >>> The first problem I've found is that SCLK and SDATA are connected to 3v3 >>> and then have resistors in line. I'm pretty sure you had the right idea but >>> made an error on the wiring, but if it's not obvious the resistors should >>> be between 3v3 and the clk/data lines. >>> >>> You will likely need a pullup resistor on the light sensor., unless the >>> Pi has one internally that can be enabled on analog inputs. They normally >>> just measure voltages and you want to measure resistance. >>> >>> Overall, it's pretty good for a first try ! >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM Mac Doktor <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> On Sep 22, 2025, at 2:43 PM, Florian van der Dussen < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> Current schematic: >>>> >>>> The schematic is too small to read. Please share a larger copy. >>>> >>>> >>>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH >>>> "The Mac Doctor" >>>> >>>> https://www.astarcloseup.com >>>> >>>> "If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes."—Roy Batty, *Blade >>>> Runner* >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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/33D10011-0F75-49D6-81B7-8049459EDE45%40gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/33D10011-0F75-49D6-81B7-8049459EDE45%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- > 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/022b559a-12fd-4b3c-ac21-73224c815c0dn%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/022b559a-12fd-4b3c-ac21-73224c815c0dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- 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/CAOQ6x0F0SW2VBfrn_faayVgjODgXE%2BHNaOBrXhF_vB4xH79GVg%40mail.gmail.com.
