Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-05-15 Thread Kiran Otter
No.. the clock is in view all day.. but I do have it shut down at night.

I did however get the GPS.

Kiran

On Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 10:36:01 PM UTC-4, Jeff Walton wrote:

 Did you get the motion sensor?  It's a good feature! I was pleased with 
 it. 

 Jeff Walton 



  Original message 
 From: Kiran Otter kiran...@gmail.com javascript: 
 Date: 05/14/2015 8:30 PM (GMT-06:00) 
 To: neoni...@googlegroups.com javascript: 
 Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating 

 Well after MUCH trials and tribulations.. I gave up. :)   I lack the 
 abilities to figure out what the problem is beyond what I've already done.

 I'm sending the boards to Nick tomorrow.. maybe he'll be able to figure 
 out.

 My ultimate solution: I spent $300 on a new clock, and used my IN-18s.  
 Took me 4 hours to build Pete's Spectrum 18 clock, and it's working 
 perfectly.  The PRISM case is just wonderful.  I was really unsure about 
 the multi-color LEDs at first, but now I really like them.

 I want to thank everyone for their input and time.  Especially JT for 
 sending the 7805 replacement, and Nick, for sending even more parts and 
 putting up with dozens of my emails!

 Kiran

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-20 Thread gregebert
Since I'm picky  stubborn, I do my own designs. That way I can only blame 
myself. Snarkiness aside, making a production-worthy design is not trivial 
and I'm sure that the few kits that are available are designed by engineers 
who have day-jobs as well. On top of that, kits need to be affordable, so 
that means the design will have tradeoffs. Lastly, many kits might not 
include 100% of the parts (again, for cost reasons), so substitutions are 
inevitable. All of these things combined will result in no 2 boards being 
100% identical, and that's an opportunity for things not to work as 
expected.
=
Fuzzy blue spots are a tube issue; spectra suggest it's mercury. But you 
definitely want tubes that contain mercury because they have a longer 
lifetime. I have yet to find any information that explains the low-level 
details why this is the case, such as chemical-reaction equations, etc. 
I've been watching a blue dot in one of my tubes for more than a year, and 
it has not changed in size, location, or brightness. I suspect there is an 
impurity on the cathode that attracts mercury.

Singing doesn't exist with direct-drive, but I suspect most designers avoid 
direct-drive for cost reasons.

Overheating can be caused by many factors, such as the case, and may have 
nothing at all to do with the circuit design.


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RE: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-20 Thread Jeff Walton
Dan,

 

For IN-18 tubes, the Nocrotec
http://www.nocrotec.com/shop/product_info.php/info/p127_IN-18-Blue-Dream-Ni
xie-Clock.html  Blue Dream Clock or the PV Electronics
http://www.pvelectronics.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_infocPath=18pr
oducts_id=157  Spectrum 18 clock are both very nice.  Both are direct drive
and run nice and cool.  The Nocrotec clock has a stainless case available
and the PV Electronics clock has three different cases with choices of clear
or smoke grey acrylic.  Among the differences - the Nocrotec clock is blue
backlit, whereas the PV Electronics clock has programmable colors on the
tube backlighting and also has a very nice motion sensor option to save the
tubes when no one is around.  Both have similar fading effects on the digits
but the Nocrotec clock also fades the colons to match.  The cathode
protection option on the PV Electronics clock is more interesting as the
digits cycle independently of each other rather than exactly the same.  Both
have good GPS support.  If you have daylight saving time, the PV Electronics
clock has a one button DST control for easy changes.  Both have robust
menus.  

 

I've built both and like both clocks very much!  

 

Jeff Walton 

 

-Original Message-
From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com [mailto:neonixie-l@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Dan Hollis
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2015 2:50 PM
To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

 

So what's the clock kit to get these days that doesn't have these problems?

 

1) overheating

2) blue spots

3) singing due to multiplex frequency being in audible range

 

-Dan

 

On Mon, 20 Apr 2015, Kiran Otter wrote:

 

 Just an update for those morbidly curious...

 

 I replaced several parts per Nick's suggestion.. (in fact Nick was nice

 enough to send me the parts!) but in the end, the MOSFET is still getting

 super hot.

 

 So today I'm sending the board to Nick for him to poke at it.

 

 Thanks Nick!

 

 Kiran

 

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-20 Thread Kiran Otter
Just an update for those morbidly curious...

I replaced several parts per Nick's suggestion.. (in fact Nick was nice 
enough to send me the parts!) but in the end, the MOSFET is still getting 
super hot.

So today I'm sending the board to Nick for him to poke at it.

Thanks Nick!

Kiran

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-12 Thread Charles MacDonald

On 15-04-12 10:53 AM, Kiran Otter wrote:


I can't find the 2SA1266 transistor.  Tried a cross-ref site and it gave
me 213 choices. x.x


http://www.futurlec.com/Transistors/2SA1266pr.shtml

It is a Japanese type. but their are probably hundreds that would work...

use the specs in the link above to screen on digikey for a similar one, 
or order some from futurlec, although they tend to take a while to ship.


--
Charles MacDonald Stittsville Ontario
cm...@zeusprune.ca  Just Beyond the Fringe
http://Charles.MacDonald.org/tubes
No Microsoft Products were used in sending this e-mail.

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-12 Thread Kiran Otter
Thanks Niek.. I'll try replacing those parts you mentioned.  The IN-18s are 
socketed.. I wouldn't expect to have much trouble moving them to a new 
clock. I'd hope not, anyway.

MichaelB.. I replaced C6 first, when I was having a problem with all of the 
tubes lighting up all sorts of numbers like crazy.. and then the fuse 
finally blew.  It was Jonas' suggestion it was C6, and it fixed that 
particular problem.

With the heatsink epoxied to both the voltage regulator and the mosfet, I 
wrongly assumed it was the voltage regulator getting so hot. (Hard to tell 
even with a infrared temp probe.)  But now that I've removed the heatsink 
and installed JT's voltage regulator board.. it's obvious it's the mosfet 
that's cooking.

I'll get these parts ordered and we'll see what happens!

Kiran

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-12 Thread Nicholas Stock
Kiran, PM me...I have all the parts you need and can send them to you for the 
price of postage only. 

Cheers,

Nick

Sent from my iPhone

 On Apr 12, 2015, at 07:53, Kiran Otter kiranot...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 Ok, I need some help to know which parts to order..
 
 The inductor; I know it's 'inductance' is 270uh.. but what current rating?  
 There's about 330 choices. :D  I wish I could tell these things by looking at 
 the schematic.
 
 Is 
 http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/RLB0914-271KL/RLB0914-271KL-ND/2352778
  correct?
 
 On the mosfet, there's only 2 choices.. one with a max power of 125W, the 
 other 150W.  I'm going on the assumption that the 150W would be better..?
 
 I can't find the 2SA1266 transistor.  Tried a cross-ref site and it gave me 
 213 choices. x.x
 
 On the diode, there's two; 5ua@1000V or 10ua@1000V?
 
 The capacitors I can figure out, at least.
 
 Kiran
 
 
 
 
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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-12 Thread Kiran Otter
Ok, I need some help to know which parts to order..

The inductor; I know it's 'inductance' is 270uh.. but what current rating?  
There's about 330 choices. :D  I wish I could tell these things by looking 
at the schematic.

Is 
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/RLB0914-271KL/RLB0914-271KL-ND/2352778 
correct?

On the mosfet, there's only 2 choices.. one with a max power of 125W, the 
other 150W.  I'm going on the assumption that the 150W would be better..?

I can't find the 2SA1266 transistor.  Tried a cross-ref site and it gave me 
213 choices. x.x

On the diode, there's two; 5ua@1000V or 10ua@1000V?

The capacitors I can figure out, at least.

Kiran




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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-11 Thread Niek
If you want to be sure that the high voltage power part is as good as it 
can be, then I would replace the most relevant parts, if you haven't 
already replaced them recently:

- L1 (inductor)
- M1 (mosfet)
- Q4 (transistor)
- D2 (diode)
- C6 (capacitor, but you already replaced it, so I wouldn't do it again).
- C2 and C7, just in case.

I would especially do this if you are sure that the mosfet used to be 
clearly much cooler before (which, from your description of it being so hot 
that it smells, sounds like it would be the case). Just get some flux, some 
desoldering wick, and you'll have it fixed in a fun hour or two.

I agree that it's annoying to have to pay $6 in shipping each time: but you 
can order these parts together - usually they're practically for free 
anyway (excl. shipping). Alternatively, try aliexpress.com, it's a great 
source of cheap components, often with free shipping (sort by price and 
select free shipping). But since it's shipped from China it can take a week 
or two to arrive. (that said, i've ordered countless of components through 
it, at least 50 separate shipments, and they always arrived). Sometimes on 
that site, you cannot order just 1, but you can order 10 or so for next to 
nothing. I wouldn't recommend it for all components though - capacitors 
especially can fail soon when they are low quality brands, but as far as 
transistors and resistors, there's not too much that can go wrong with 
those.

It's true that you can also get a new kit, but then your nixies won't 
easily fit to it - i.e. the board connector will be different, so you'll 
have some issues there. If you're willing to take the tubes out, or get new 
ones, then you can of course use any kit (most nixies are compatible with 
any kit).

Good luck!


On Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 4:16:42 PM UTC+2, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Niek, I don't see any problem with Q4, and it's been in there for 7+ 
 years.  If the recommendation is to replace it, I can do that.. the bummer 
 is every time I need a cap or some other part, it costs a dollar plus 
 another $6 to ship it.

 Sture, let me know if there's a way to test the inductor (270UH) somehow.  
 Or of course, I can just replace it too.

 This is kind of reaching the point where I might ditch this board and buy 
 a new kit.  I'd love to fix it, don't get me wrong, but I'm starting to 
 have doubts of it being resolved.

 Kiran


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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-11 Thread Sture Nystrom
A faulty inductor with some windings short cuted will make switching 
transistor go hot.


Kiran Otter skrev den 2015-04-10 17:12:
Well.. I replaced the voltage regulator with JT's part, it appears to 
be working perfectly.. a solid 5V right on the mark.  I also replaced C1.


The ghosting numbers are still there but very faint.. but the MOSFET 
(M1, an IRF640) is still getting extremely hot.  You know when a 
component gets so hot it has that hot-electronics smell? It's that 
hot.  The voltage to the tubes is right on 170V.  I didn't have to 
adjust it after replacing the two components.


Should I replace the MOSFET?  Any other suggestions? :)

Kiran
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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-11 Thread Kiran Otter
Niek, I don't see any problem with Q4, and it's been in there for 7+ 
years.  If the recommendation is to replace it, I can do that.. the bummer 
is every time I need a cap or some other part, it costs a dollar plus 
another $6 to ship it.

Sture, let me know if there's a way to test the inductor (270UH) somehow.  
Or of course, I can just replace it too.

This is kind of reaching the point where I might ditch this board and buy a 
new kit.  I'd love to fix it, don't get me wrong, but I'm starting to have 
doubts of it being resolved.

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-10 Thread Niek
Nice that the SMPS made it run cooler. I didn't expect it to fix the 
ghosting issue - that's probably a timing issue in the software, as I 
explained earlier. Would have been very strange if that had been related to 
the 7805. 

As for the hot mosfet: can you check Q4? It's the small transistor nearest 
to the mosfet. Is it connected correctly? Any issues with it? Can you check 
the solder joints, and touch it to see if it's hot at all? If that 
transistor isn't working (or if it wasn't installed correctly), then I 
would expect the mosfet to get hot. Check the part number on it (make sure 
it's the correct one), and also cross check with the datasheet of that 
component and the schematics of the clock, to see if it's correctly 
installed.

Let us know how it progresses! These posts are becoming like a good 
detective series ;)



On Friday, April 10, 2015 at 5:12:31 PM UTC+2, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Well.. I replaced the voltage regulator with JT's part, it appears to be 
 working perfectly.. a solid 5V right on the mark.  I also replaced C1.

 The ghosting numbers are still there but very faint.. but the MOSFET (M1, 
 an IRF640) is still getting extremely hot.  You know when a component gets 
 so hot it has that hot-electronics smell?  It's that hot.  The voltage to 
 the tubes is right on 170V.  I didn't have to adjust it after replacing the 
 two components.

 Should I replace the MOSFET?  Any other suggestions? :)

 Kiran


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RE: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-04 Thread Jeff Walton
Kiran,

 

A sawtooth waveform would point to a bad C1.  A waveform of a much higher 
frequency would be from an oscillation and more superimposed on the DC.  

 

As long as you are going to do some soldering anyway, you should just replace 
the 7805 with the drop-in switcher that you received from Tayloredge.  It is 
MUCH more efficient.  You could also replace C1 at the same time since you are 
already working on it.  Saves you the work later if it is deteriorating.  
Bypass caps are also a good practice for circuits with high frequencies.  Many 
modern board layouts that work with much higher frequencies (probably not in 
your clock) build-in circuit traces that are engineered to act in the same 
manner as a bypass but it won't hurt anything in a clock design to add the 
bypass caps to a power rail. 

 

Many years ago, during my time with Texas Instruments, I sold hundreds of 
thousands of the little 78xx and 79xx series regulators into a lot of different 
applications.  They were a new and novel solution for cheap and dirty 
regulation and efficiency was not a big deal back them.  Today, the small 
drop-in replacements for the 78xx series are a much more modern and elegant 
solution when there is a small power budget.   

 

Jeff Walton 

 

From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com [mailto:neonixie-l@googlegroups.com] On 
Behalf Of Kiran Otter
Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2015 1:52 PM
To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com
Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

 

I should have said if I see oscillation from the 7805 that Jeff mentioned, 
pointing to a bad C1.  I may just replace it regardless.

Kiran

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:55:48 AM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

Hi folks, glad to find this group!

I've had a Tubehobby clock for several years, the NCV2.1 with the IN-18 tubes.  
In the past Jonas has helped, and I even shipped him the main board for him to 
repair, but he hasn't responded to my last request for help, so I thought I 
would ask here.

Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were partially 
lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was that the K155ID1 
drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off eBay, and tried 
replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed.   Well it didn't 
help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6, which I did and it 
appeared to fix the problem.

Maybe a month later, I started to notice the left most digit was faintly 
showing numbers, and seemed to be influenced by the next to right digit.  So I 
thought perhaps the drivers I got from eBay weren't good, so I swapped them 
around, trying to see if it made any difference.  Unfortunately, I trashed the 
two original driver chips that came with the kit.  So far swapping the drivers 
around among the six I have, hasn't changed anything.. or if it has, the digits 
lighting that shouldn't be have moved from tube to tube.

Well I let the clock run like this for a week or so, and one day I just 
happened to feel around the voltage regulator U1 (L7805CV).. and it's blazing 
hot. I put a temp probe on it and it's running at 140F in open air, and when I 
built the clock, I epoxied a heatsink to it.  It never ever used to get this 
hot.  In fact the clock has run for years in a closed enclosure with very 
little ventilation.  It just never produced much heat at all.  I swapped both 
driver chips for two others, and it still gets just as hot.

When the clock shuts off the display at night, the temp drops to just above 
room temperature.

So my guess is has to be one of two things I replaced; C6, or the driver chips. 
 I think it's the drivers, and I'd like to get a pair from somewhere reputable 
so I can at least rule them out as the problem.  I've seen some that appear to 
be ceramic, instead of plastic cased.. claimed to be 'milspec' but I donno if 
that's BS or what.

Any help is appreciated!

Kiran





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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-04 Thread Kiran Otter
I should have said if I see oscillation from the 7805 that Jeff mentioned, 
pointing to a bad C1.  I may just replace it regardless.

Kiran

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:55:48 AM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Hi folks, glad to find this group!

 I've had a Tubehobby clock for several years, the NCV2.1 with the IN-18 
 tubes.  In the past Jonas has helped, and I even shipped him the main board 
 for him to repair, but he hasn't responded to my last request for help, so 
 I thought I would ask here.

 Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were 
 partially lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was 
 that the K155ID1 drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off 
 eBay, and tried replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed. 
   Well it didn't help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6, 
 which I did and it appeared to fix the problem.

 Maybe a month later, I started to notice the left most digit was faintly 
 showing numbers, and seemed to be influenced by the next to right digit.  
 So I thought perhaps the drivers I got from eBay weren't good, so I swapped 
 them around, trying to see if it made any difference.  Unfortunately, I 
 trashed the two original driver chips that came with the kit.  So far 
 swapping the drivers around among the six I have, hasn't changed anything.. 
 or if it has, the digits lighting that shouldn't be have moved from tube to 
 tube.

 Well I let the clock run like this for a week or so, and one day I just 
 happened to feel around the voltage regulator U1 (L7805CV).. and it's 
 blazing hot. I put a temp probe on it and it's running at 140F in open air, 
 and when I built the clock, I epoxied a heatsink to it.  It never ever used 
 to get this hot.  In fact the clock has run for years in a closed enclosure 
 with very little ventilation.  It just never produced much heat at all.  I 
 swapped both driver chips for two others, and it still gets just as hot.

 When the clock shuts off the display at night, the temp drops to just 
 above room temperature.

 So my guess is has to be one of two things I replaced; C6, or the driver 
 chips.  I think it's the drivers, and I'd like to get a pair from somewhere 
 reputable so I can at least rule them out as the problem.  I've seen some 
 that appear to be ceramic, instead of plastic cased.. claimed to be 
 'milspec' but I donno if that's BS or what.

 Any help is appreciated!

 Kiran






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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-04 Thread Kiran Otter
Well I finally got my scope out and gave my self a sort of crash course on 
how to use it.  It's a 1975 Tektronix 475.  Last calibrated in 1986. :D  I 
found it on eBay about 10 years ago and it was cheap enough, I figured I 
could at least play with it and learn something.  Bought probes and all, 
but never got around to using it.

At any rate, I'm not sure this scope will show me what I want to know;  if 
the 7805 is oscillating.  I can see it's putting out 5V by the scope, but I 
can't adjust it enough (or don't know how) to get it to show if it's 
oscillating.  I can *barely* see a wave form but I have no idea how to read 
the frequency.  If anyone wants to tell me what to set all the switches and 
knobs to, I'll give it a try.

Meanwhile JT was nice enough to send me one of his little 5V regulators.  
I'm waiting on a better desoldering iron to arrive before I butcher this 
clock any further.

Thanks for everyone's help so far!

Kiran


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-04-04 Thread gregebert
Easiest way to hunt for oscillations is to use AC coupling, and start with 
100mV/division, and 100usec/division. The exact frequency of the 
oscillation isn't important; what you want is less than 100mV peak-to-peak 
of noise. If you see 60Hz noise, either your 'large' electrolytic cap 
(usually  1000uF)  is too small or it dried-out. To get rid of 
high-frequency noise, start with small bypass-quality caps, around 0.01uF 
as close as possible to the regulator inputs  outputs. Large caps have 
parasitic resistance and inductance that limits their ability to attenuate 
higher frequencies compared to smaller-size (hence smaller-value) bypass 
caps.

BTW, the 475 is a very nice analog scope; when I was a tech in the 1980s, I 
debugged a lot of computer boards with a 475.

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-30 Thread Nick
Just to re-iterate - solder a small 100nF capacitor between pins 1  2, and 
another between pins 3  2, preferably on the underside of the PCB directly 
to the 7805's solder pads.

The symptoms you are seeing are almost certainly nothing to do with the 
heatsinks etc - I'd put good money on this being a very common  classic 
issue with 78xx  79xx linear regulators whereby they break into VHF 
oscillation and over-heat. This is extremely well documented and the 
manufacturer's datasheets all say that the two suppression caps are not a 
nice to have but are essential. Most of the datasheets actually specify a 
330nF input capacitor (between pins 1  2) but a 100nF works well too.

Nick


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-30 Thread Kiran Otter
Nick,

Would replacing the 7805 with a 'non-isolated dc/dc converter' like Jon 
suggested solve the problem too?  I ask because I was going to try the 
Traco TSR 1-2450, or the Murata part (though I'm not sure it will fit.)  I 
ordered both.

I'll get my scope out today and see what I can see.

Kiran

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:33:57 AM UTC-4, Nick wrote:

 Just to re-iterate - solder a small 100nF capacitor between pins 1  2, 
 and another between pins 3  2, preferably on the underside of the PCB 
 directly to the 7805's solder pads.

 The symptoms you are seeing are almost certainly nothing to do with the 
 heatsinks etc - I'd put good money on this being a very common  classic 
 issue with 78xx  79xx linear regulators whereby they break into VHF 
 oscillation and over-heat. This is extremely well documented and the 
 manufacturer's datasheets all say that the two suppression caps are not a 
 nice to have but are essential. Most of the datasheets actually specify a 
 330nF input capacitor (between pins 1  2) but a 100nF works well too.

 Missing out these two capacitors is a basic error.

 Nick



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-30 Thread GastonP
The one of suppression capacitors in the 7805's is a very interesting topic 
in itself... that values of input and output capacitors have been changing 
in the datasheets for years.
The LM340T series of regulators (of which the 7805 is a direct descendant) 
used to need one 10uF tantalum capacitor in the input and another in the 
output. Being tantalum caps  known for its flashy temperament, it drove 
some designs to very interesting failure modes. I have seen datasheets that 
put the capacitors as unnecessary and other as must-have. I feel much 
better with suppression as a must-have and with the small size of SMD 
components, it seems nonsense not to install them.

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 7:33:57 AM UTC-3, Nick wrote:

 Just to re-iterate - solder a small 100nF capacitor between pins 1  2, 
 and another between pins 3  2, preferably on the underside of the PCB 
 directly to the 7805's solder pads.

 The symptoms you are seeing are almost certainly nothing to do with the 
 heatsinks etc - I'd put good money on this being a very common  classic 
 issue with 78xx  79xx linear regulators whereby they break into VHF 
 oscillation and over-heat. This is extremely well documented and the 
 manufacturer's datasheets all say that the two suppression caps are not a 
 nice to have but are essential. Most of the datasheets actually specify a 
 330nF input capacitor (between pins 1  2) but a 100nF works well too.

 Missing out these two capacitors is a basic error.

 Nick




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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-30 Thread Nick de Smith
I suspect they will solve the problem but at considerably more cost than two 
small capacitors which should have been there in the first place. ...

Nick

On 30 March 2015 12:47:54 GMT+01:00, Kiran Otter kiranot...@gmail.com wrote:
Nick,

Would replacing the 7805 with a 'non-isolated dc/dc converter' like Jon

suggested solve the problem too?  I ask because I was going to try the 
Traco TSR 1-2450, or the Murata part (though I'm not sure it will fit.)
 I 
ordered both.

I'll get my scope out today and see what I can see.

Kiran

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 6:33:57 AM UTC-4, Nick wrote:

 Just to re-iterate - solder a small 100nF capacitor between pins 1 
2, 
 and another between pins 3  2, preferably on the underside of the
PCB 
 directly to the 7805's solder pads.

 The symptoms you are seeing are almost certainly nothing to do with
the 
 heatsinks etc - I'd put good money on this being a very common 
classic 
 issue with 78xx  79xx linear regulators whereby they break into VHF 
 oscillation and over-heat. This is extremely well documented and the 
 manufacturer's datasheets all say that the two suppression caps are
not a 
 nice to have but are essential. Most of the datasheets actually
specify a 
 330nF input capacitor (between pins 1  2) but a 100nF works well
too.

 Missing out these two capacitors is a basic error.

 Nick



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-30 Thread taylorjpt
If you send me your shipping address, I'll send you one of the 7805 drop 
in's that I built.  I used it on my TI App note clock and it was so 
efficient (95%) that I even hooked the HVPS to the 5V rail.

It is the same foot print as the 7805 and uses a 4-40 socket head cap screw 
for mounting.  It does not require any external capacitors.

5.25 to 25V in, 5V out at 1A, heat loss is 250mW at 5W out/5.25-25V in.  
Compare to 7W dissipated by a 7805 at 12V in.

j...@tayloredge.com


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-29 Thread 'Dave' via neonixie-l
I too was going to suggest the switchmode replacement approach.

Your heat will go away from the regulator, completely.

You can get one shipped to you for less than $9.
Click here: 
 Traco regulator 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Traco-module-TSR-1-2465-TSR1-2465/1942822301.html


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-29 Thread Jon
Have you thought about replacing the 7805 with a switch mode regulator? 
More expensive than cheap-as-chips 7805 but wyyy more efficient. That 
means they will run cold and you shouldn't need to worry about the ambient 
temperature in your case. Two to look at, both of which are pin-compatible 
with 7805 as I recall.

*Murata OKI-78SR-5/1.5-W36-C*

*Traco TSR 1-2450*

I've used the Traco one myself in a clock design, and it's fantastic - very 
small and straightforward to use. Likely around 90% efficient in your 
setting.

Cheers,

Jon.

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-29 Thread Kiran Otter
Something I want to note about how I used a heatsink; I epoxied it to the 
tops of the cases of M1  U1; traditionally you'd bolt it to the back of 
the component but at the time I couldn't figure out a better way, and I had 
heatsink epoxy, so I just plastered it to the tops of the two components.  
It's been like that ever since I built the clock, and never did it get so 
hot that you couldn't touch it.  Warm, yes.

I don't know how it could have become conductive across the cases of M1  
U1.. if it did, that's a neat trick.  But removing it certainly seems to 
have made some difference.

Using a laser temperature probe, M1 seems fine.. but U1 definitely seems 
cranky.. and it's heating the board up all around that entire end to 
~110F.  Again, I never noticed it getting this hot.

To answer Johnk's question; the heatsink and epoxy weren't touching 
anything metallic, and I originally added it because I thought M1  U1 were 
getting pretty warm from the start when I built it, and figured it wouldn't 
hurt to add it.  But maybe over time.. it started to conduct between them 
somehow.  I don't know.

Jon; thanks for that info. I'll try one of the 7805 alternatives you 
mentioned.

Nick; I'll drag out my scope and see if it even still works, and see if I 
can't check the 7805 with it.  I might have a question or two on using the 
scope. :D

So far, right now with a little fan blowing over the M1/U1 area.. the whole 
thing is keeping cool.  Barely running above 90F anywhere I check.  If I 
turn off the fan, it shoots up past 120F. I turned the fan back on at that 
point.

Niek; I re-enabled the leading zero, and still see the same thing.  In fact 
when going through the settings, I was able to catch the attached pic of 
the right most tube showing what was in the next-to-left tube.  So it seems 
to go both ways.

Kiran







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RE: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-29 Thread Jeff Walton
Kiran,

 

If you get your scope running, check the output of U1 (7805 regulator) and look 
for a very flat DC.  If you see any type of sawtooth or superimposed 
oscillation, replace C1.  You can use a any higher value than 10uF as long as 
it physically fits and has a high enough voltage rating.  Any visible 
oscillation superimposed on the output pin could cause the overheating and also 
could cause the phantom digit illumination as well as other issues.  Just as 
was mentioned in a previous post regarding C6, C1 could also have dried out and 
a heated board in the same area will accelerate the dryout of any nearby 
electrolytic caps.  C2 is also filtering the input to the 7805 and in the 
direct vicinity of your hot board.  If it is dried out, it will also cause 
unwanted behavior.

 

Jeff Walton

 

From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com [mailto:neonixie-l@googlegroups.com] On 
Behalf Of Kiran Otter
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 12:56 PM
To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com
Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

 

Something I want to note about how I used a heatsink; I epoxied it to the tops 
of the cases of M1  U1; traditionally you'd bolt it to the back of the 
component but at the time I couldn't figure out a better way, and I had 
heatsink epoxy, so I just plastered it to the tops of the two components.  It's 
been like that ever since I built the clock, and never did it get so hot that 
you couldn't touch it.  Warm, yes.

I don't know how it could have become conductive across the cases of M1  U1.. 
if it did, that's a neat trick.  But removing it certainly seems to have made 
some difference.

Using a laser temperature probe, M1 seems fine.. but U1 definitely seems 
cranky.. and it's heating the board up all around that entire end to ~110F.  
Again, I never noticed it getting this hot.

To answer Johnk's question; the heatsink and epoxy weren't touching anything 
metallic, and I originally added it because I thought M1  U1 were getting 
pretty warm from the start when I built it, and figured it wouldn't hurt to add 
it.  But maybe over time.. it started to conduct between them somehow.  I don't 
know.

Jon; thanks for that info. I'll try one of the 7805 alternatives you mentioned.

Nick; I'll drag out my scope and see if it even still works, and see if I can't 
check the 7805 with it.  I might have a question or two on using the scope. :D

So far, right now with a little fan blowing over the M1/U1 area.. the whole 
thing is keeping cool.  Barely running above 90F anywhere I check.  If I turn 
off the fan, it shoots up past 120F. I turned the fan back on at that point.

Niek; I re-enabled the leading zero, and still see the same thing.  In fact 
when going through the settings, I was able to catch the attached pic of the 
right most tube showing what was in the next-to-left tube.  So it seems to go 
both ways.

Kiran







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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-29 Thread Nick
Just looked at the schematic. There are no suppression capacitors on the 7805. 
That is, IMHO, a major flaw.

I would, as soon as possible, add those two 100n caps on the legs of the 7805.

Nick 

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RE: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-29 Thread Jeff Walton
Kiran,

 

If you get your scope running, check the output of U1 (7805 regulator) and look 
for a very flat DC.  If you see any type of sawtooth or superimposed 
oscillation, replace C1.  You can use a any higher value than 10uF as long as 
it physically fits and has a high enough voltage rating.  Any visible 
oscillation superimposed on the output pin could cause the overheating and also 
could cause the phantom digit illumination as well as other issues.  Just as 
was mentioned in a previous post regarding C6, C1 could also have dried out and 
a heated board in the same area will accelerate the dryout of any nearby 
electrolytic caps.

 

Jeff Walton

 

From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com [mailto:neonixie-l@googlegroups.com] On 
Behalf Of Kiran Otter
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 12:56 PM
To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com
Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

 

Something I want to note about how I used a heatsink; I epoxied it to the tops 
of the cases of M1  U1; traditionally you'd bolt it to the back of the 
component but at the time I couldn't figure out a better way, and I had 
heatsink epoxy, so I just plastered it to the tops of the two components.  It's 
been like that ever since I built the clock, and never did it get so hot that 
you couldn't touch it.  Warm, yes.

I don't know how it could have become conductive across the cases of M1  U1.. 
if it did, that's a neat trick.  But removing it certainly seems to have made 
some difference.

Using a laser temperature probe, M1 seems fine.. but U1 definitely seems 
cranky.. and it's heating the board up all around that entire end to ~110F.  
Again, I never noticed it getting this hot.

To answer Johnk's question; the heatsink and epoxy weren't touching anything 
metallic, and I originally added it because I thought M1  U1 were getting 
pretty warm from the start when I built it, and figured it wouldn't hurt to add 
it.  But maybe over time.. it started to conduct between them somehow.  I don't 
know.

Jon; thanks for that info. I'll try one of the 7805 alternatives you mentioned.

Nick; I'll drag out my scope and see if it even still works, and see if I can't 
check the 7805 with it.  I might have a question or two on using the scope. :D

So far, right now with a little fan blowing over the M1/U1 area.. the whole 
thing is keeping cool.  Barely running above 90F anywhere I check.  If I turn 
off the fan, it shoots up past 120F. I turned the fan back on at that point.

Niek; I re-enabled the leading zero, and still see the same thing.  In fact 
when going through the settings, I was able to catch the attached pic of the 
right most tube showing what was in the next-to-left tube.  So it seems to go 
both ways.

Kiran








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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread MichaelB
I would try replacing C6 again with a known good part and leave the clock 
out of it's case without the heat sink and see how it does.  This is the 
exact syndrome that mine exhibited twice on the one clock until I opened up 
the case and dropped the voltage and replaced C6. Then add a heat sink ,if 
you must, a la Nick's (Pramanicin) picture above and raise the voltage up a 
little. 

Seriously doubt you have bad driver chips. Those things are pretty bullet 
proof

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:37:48 PM UTC-7, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Yes, it is. I took that video after removing it.  I've also noticed the 
 same effect in the minute digit.  It also follows the seconds.

 I realize it's pretty faint, but this is the best it's been with the two 
 driver chips I have in there now.  With another pair, the left most tube 
 constantly displayed a digit based on the 10s of seconds. This is why I 
 think the drivers are a bit wonky.

 So far both M1 and U1 are around 105-108F.  I'll have to check it later 
 when it's after 10pm and all 6 digits are in use.

 Kiran


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
Well folks, I think I'm going to leave it like this for a while.  I've 
mounted a little 20mm fan to blow across U1  M1.  The extraneous digits 
lighting isn't significant enough to be an issue; I just assumed it had to 
do with the over-heating.

I appreciate everyone's input. We'll see how long it goes like this.

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread MichaelB
Is it still exhibiting the same symptoms as in your video without the 
heatsink?



On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:12:39 PM UTC-7, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Sorry, I think I was getting U1 and M1 mixed up in my earlier post. x.x

 U1 is ok, it's M1 that's getting quite hot.  109F now from the PCB side.  
 It's hard to hit it on top because of the other PCB on top.  But with the 
 heatsink gone nothing is anywhere near as hot as it was before.  Really 
 makes no sense to me.

 Kiran


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
Niek,

I do have a scope, however I'd be lying if I said I knew how to use it.  I 
bought it used with the intention of learning how to use it, and it's sat 
since then.  You could probably say I know enough about electronics to be 
dangerous.  I know what resisters and capacitors and transistors do.. and I 
can somewhat read a schematic, but I wouldn't say I know much more beyond 
that.

That being said; I put my meter on the 7805 and there's a solid 5.042V 
coming from it.  I then removed the fuse and measured the current across 
the fuse holder, and at most it peaked at 0.5A.

I've now snapped the heatsink off; the epoxy never came in contact with the 
leads to U1 or M1.  And now I think I've discovered that it's M1 that's 
getting hot, not U1.  Going from the solder side of the board, with the 
heatsink, the board was much hotter behind U1 before.. but with the 
heatsink gone, I can hit the case of U1 and M1 with the temp laser.. and M1 
is about 85F.. U1 is about 96F.

Now I've increased the voltage to the tubes back to 170V (from 165V) and U1 
seems maybe a degree cooler.

I'm going to kick myself if all it was was this heatsink I put on.. plus I 
don't understand how it was causing such a problem.

Here's a video of the numbers faintly lighting. In this case it matches the 
seconds.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ex4b070e2r3s5p/2015-03-28%2019.52.58.mp4?dl=0


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Niek
Glad removing the heatsink seemed to solved the issue.

It's interesting it has this behavior next to the blanked out tube: does it 
have the same behavior when using 24 hour mode? (if it has such a mode, or 
any other mode where it doesn't blank out any tubes). Blanking out a single 
tube (of a pair) is not really recommended by switching off only the 
cathode driver (the chip driver). It should be done by switching off the 
anode driver instead, but in this case you could only switch off a pair of 
two tubes that way (since this is a 3x2 multiplexed clock - each pair of 
tubes has a single, shared anode driver (the transistors)). The driver chip 
may be exposed to higher voltages this way, and this could lead to it 
failing sooner. 

However, in your case it seems to be showing the seconds in what I assume 
is the hours tube? So, this seems more like a timing issue to me, where the 
anode is switched to the next pair before or right at the same time as the 
cathode driver was switched to the next digits. To do this right, there 
should be some dead time between switching off the anode and switching to 
the next anode (see a recent (a month or so ago) thread in this group about 
a similar problem). Still - if this is a new issue (and you didn't change 
the firmware), that would also be strange. Are you sure it wasn't always 
like this?


On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 10:11:05 PM UTC+1, MichaelB wrote:

 I would try replacing C6 again with a known good part and leave the clock 
 out of it's case without the heat sink and see how it does.  This is the 
 exact syndrome that mine exhibited twice on the one clock until I opened up 
 the case and dropped the voltage and replaced C6. Then add a heat sink ,if 
 you must, a la Nick's (Pramanicin) picture above and raise the voltage up a 
 little. 

 Seriously doubt you have bad driver chips. Those things are pretty bullet 
 proof

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:37:48 PM UTC-7, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Yes, it is. I took that video after removing it.  I've also noticed the 
 same effect in the minute digit.  It also follows the seconds.

 I realize it's pretty faint, but this is the best it's been with the two 
 driver chips I have in there now.  With another pair, the left most tube 
 constantly displayed a digit based on the 10s of seconds. This is why I 
 think the drivers are a bit wonky.

 So far both M1 and U1 are around 105-108F.  I'll have to check it later 
 when it's after 10pm and all 6 digits are in use.

 Kiran



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
Sorry, I think I was getting U1 and M1 mixed up in my earlier post. x.x

U1 is ok, it's M1 that's getting quite hot.  109F now from the PCB side.  
It's hard to hit it on top because of the other PCB on top.  But with the 
heatsink gone nothing is anywhere near as hot as it was before.  Really 
makes no sense to me.

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
Now after running it a short while, U1 is about 98F and M1 is 112F.

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Niek
Hmm, well, to me it seems a firmware issue with the timing: if it were the 
drivers, then it would be random and probably more constant, not showing 
the seconds. The reason you see the seconds in the 2nd to left tube is that 
tube is driven by the same driver chip as the seconds (there are only two 
drivers, and three pairs driven by them in quick succession depending on 
the anode being driven - only one (of three) anode driver is active at any 
given time). So, you can imagine that if the anode driver is switching to 
the next tube set (the hours pair) while the driver chip hasn't been fully 
switched off yet or switched to the hours digits, then you will see the 
seconds on the hours pair. It may be that it works better for certain 
driver chips than others, if they switch off a teensy bit faster, but 
that's just bad design: it shouldn't be that critical.

It could almost certainly be fixed by a firmware fix quite easily. Maybe 
you can tell the designer to add some dead time. It would really tick me 
off having to look at this crappy faint seconds-in-hours where it should 
just all be solid. Every time you look at it, you get a little annoyed. 
That's not what you want in a clock. At some point it may be so bad that 
you smash it against the wall in frustration. You don't want to get to that 
point.

I'm not sure of any reliable source of driver chips, but you can try both 
the Russian equivalents of the 74141 as well as the 74141 itself. If you 
get them from two sources, surely one of them will be good (and most 
probably all will be good). Try disabling that leading 0 blanking in the 
future - it's not very good to do that.


On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 11:23:35 PM UTC+1, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Niek,

 Yes, it's showing the seconds in the hour digit, and in the minutes 
 digit.. though not as strongly.  If I force it to display the date or 
 number of hours on the tubes, I can see whatever is in the most-right tube, 
 faintly in the next to left tube.  And I swear I can see the 6 in the 
 seconds tube coming on for like 4-5 seconds.  Again, it's all really faint, 
 so I assume it's not really a problem.

 Before I swapped the driver chips around, I was getting faint digits in 
 the left most tube.  So it does seem to be driver related.  But I think 
 it's OK for now.

 Is there a known good source for the driver chips?  Someone on ebay?

 Kiran


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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread JohnK
I didn't look closely when I mentioned about how to properly use heatsink 
compound.
Was it hot before you added the heatsink?
Was it hotter after?

You pondered why the heatsink might make it hotter:-

Someone mentioned maybe glue conducting. 

I mentioned the glue might insulate the heat.
Overlapping a couple of components, maybe one didn't like being heated by the 
other?

And, what if the added heatsink is acting as an UNWANTED capacitor between 
various pieces of the circuit?  You didn't join the heatsink to earth/gnd or a 
rail, it was floating?   Gnd-ing pretty well removes the coupling effect. [And 
the rail is effectively grounded.]

John K/


  - Original Message - 
  From: Kiran Otter 
  To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 8:53 AM
  Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating


  Niek,

  Yes, it's showing the seconds in the hour digit, and in the minutes digit.. 
though not as strongly.  If I force it to display the date or number of hours 
on the tubes, I can see whatever is in the most-right tube, faintly in the next 
to left tube.  And I swear I can see the 6 in the seconds tube coming on for 
like 4-5 seconds.  Again, it's all really faint, so I assume it's not really a 
problem.

  Before I swapped the driver chips around, I was getting faint digits in the 
left most tube.  So it does seem to be driver related.  But I think it's OK for 
now.

  Is there a known good source for the driver chips?  Someone on ebay?

  Kiran


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RE: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Jeff Walton
 

Sorry, corrected link below.  Phones are fun...

 

Kiran, 

 

PV Electronics makes a nice kit.   Their Spectrum model uses the IN-18 nixies 
and accepts a GPS and also has a motion sensor that turns off the high voltage 
when no one is around to extend the life of the tubes.  Really nice feature! 

 

They also have a couple different cases available for the Spectrum model.   

 

I recently bought one and would recommend them. It runs nice and cool. 

 

http://www.pvelectronics.co.uk

 

 

Jeff Walton 

 

From: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com [mailto:neonixie-l@googlegroups.com] On 
Behalf Of Kiran Otter
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2015 12:51 PM
To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com
Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

 

By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that will use 
my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
Yes, it is. I took that video after removing it.  I've also noticed the 
same effect in the minute digit.  It also follows the seconds.

I realize it's pretty faint, but this is the best it's been with the two 
driver chips I have in there now.  With another pair, the left most tube 
constantly displayed a digit based on the 10s of seconds. This is why I 
think the drivers are a bit wonky.

So far both M1 and U1 are around 105-108F.  I'll have to check it later 
when it's after 10pm and all 6 digits are in use.

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
Niek,

Yes, it's showing the seconds in the hour digit, and in the minutes digit.. 
though not as strongly.  If I force it to display the date or number of 
hours on the tubes, I can see whatever is in the most-right tube, faintly 
in the next to left tube.  And I swear I can see the 6 in the seconds tube 
coming on for like 4-5 seconds.  Again, it's all really faint, so I assume 
it's not really a problem.

Before I swapped the driver chips around, I was getting faint digits in the 
left most tube.  So it does seem to be driver related.  But I think it's OK 
for now.

Is there a known good source for the driver chips?  Someone on ebay?

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Terry Kennedy
On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:55:48 AM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 I've had a Tubehobby clock for several years, the NCV2.1 with the IN-18 
 tubes.  In the past Jonas has helped, and I even shipped him the main board 
 for him to repair, but he hasn't responded to my last request for help, so 
 I thought I would ask here.

 Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were 
 partially lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was 
 that the K155ID1 drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off 
 eBay, and tried replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed. 
   Well it didn't help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6, 
 which I did and it appeared to fix the problem.


Yes, that kit tends to eat the HV filter cap. I've replaced it in 
multiple clocks multiple times. Eventually I suppose I'll just figure out 
how to get a Tayloredge HVPS module in there, and swap the supplies the 
next time the cap fails in each.

Jonas did have a bad batch of K155's way-back-when, which tended to have 
leakage between their output pins, but I'm pretty sure that would have 
manifested by now. It is possible your replacements have this or some other 
problem.

The IN-3 tubes used in the colons seem to be generally flakey. I've gone 
through a good chunk of a box of 100 to find good ones, which start 
acting up soon after being installed. I found some elongated NE-2 type 
tubes at Mendelson's years ago. They must have been very expensive as they 
were individually wrapped in foam with an inspection report and then 
packaged 1-per-box in cardboard boxes. Once I installed those, the colon 
indicators never gave me any more trouble.

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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Dan Hollis

On Sat, 28 Mar 2015, Terry Kennedy wrote:

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:55:48 AM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were
partially lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was
that the K155ID1 drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off
eBay, and tried replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed.
  Well it didn't help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6,
which I did and it appeared to fix the problem.

Yes, that kit tends to eat the HV filter cap. I've replaced it in
multiple clocks multiple times. Eventually I suppose I'll just figure out
how to get a Tayloredge HVPS module in there, and swap the supplies the
next time the cap fails in each.


Mine blew the fuse too, good to know i'm not the only one who had this 
problem. Also good to know C6 is the likely culprit. My clock has been 
sitting unused for a while.


-Dan


Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Nicholas Stock
Could you have a faulty DS1307? Would that cause a timing issue?

Nick

Sent from my iPhone

 On Mar 28, 2015, at 15:23, Kiran Otter kiranot...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 Niek,
 
 Yes, it's showing the seconds in the hour digit, and in the minutes digit.. 
 though not as strongly.  If I force it to display the date or number of hours 
 on the tubes, I can see whatever is in the most-right tube, faintly in the 
 next to left tube.  And I swear I can see the 6 in the seconds tube coming on 
 for like 4-5 seconds.  Again, it's all really faint, so I assume it's not 
 really a problem.
 
 Before I swapped the driver chips around, I was getting faint digits in the 
 left most tube.  So it does seem to be driver related.  But I think it's OK 
 for now.
 
 Is there a known good source for the driver chips?  Someone on ebay?
 
 Kiran
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Re: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread JohnK
Careful with epoxying a heatsink on. A heatconducting paste [dangerous chemical 
usually] OR a very thin layer of heatsink compound and a clip holding the 
heatsink is probably better. How much does the epoxy impede the heat flow?  
[and note I said very thin re the compound?Just enough to fill the tiny voids 
that exist. The usual compounds are heat insulators, but are still better than 
air filling the voids.]  
PS. I know you said the overheating is recent, but I use the opportunity to 
mention this topic.

John k.
  - Original Message - 
  From: Kiran Otter 
  To: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 2:44 AM
  Subject: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating


  The voltage from the wallwart (12V, 1A) is 11.8V under load.  The high 
voltage to the tubes is 172.8V.  It's very difficult to get it right at 170V 
when adjusting R26.

  Something else I wanted to mention; the separator tubes (separating hours 
from minutes, minutes from seconds,) one of them is mostly black, and neither 
of them light properly.  I'm wondering if they're the culprit.  I'm going to 
remove them and see if it makes any difference.

  Also, I have the heatsink epoxied to both U1 and M1; maybe it's M1 that's 
getting hot, not U1?  I'll use a infrared temp gun and see if I can distinguish 
which is getting so hot.

  Thank you for the replies!

  Kiran
   

  On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 11:45:02 AM UTC-4, blkadder wrote:
I was just having a look at the manual for the clock, and was thinking that 
the adjustable trimpot at R26 should also be checked.  Being it is adjustable, 
could it be that it may have failed somehow?  Just a thought.

Ron

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:55:48 AM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:
  Hi folks, glad to find this group!

  I've had a Tubehobby clock for several years, the NCV2.1 with the IN-18 
tubes.  In the past Jonas has helped, and I even shipped him the main board for 
him to repair, but he hasn't responded to my last request for help, so I 
thought I would ask here.

  Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were 
partially lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was that 
the K155ID1 drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off eBay, and 
tried replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed.   Well it 
didn't help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6, which I did 
and it appeared to fix the problem.

  Maybe a month later, I started to notice the left most digit was faintly 
showing numbers, and seemed to be influenced by the next to right digit.  So I 
thought perhaps the drivers I got from eBay weren't good, so I swapped them 
around, trying to see if it made any difference.  Unfortunately, I trashed the 
two original driver chips that came with the kit.  So far swapping the drivers 
around among the six I have, hasn't changed anything.. or if it has, the digits 
lighting that shouldn't be have moved from tube to tube.

  Well I let the clock run like this for a week or so, and one day I just 
happened to feel around the voltage regulator U1 (L7805CV).. and it's blazing 
hot. I put a temp probe on it and it's running at 140F in open air, and when I 
built the clock, I epoxied a heatsink to it.  It never ever used to get this 
hot.  In fact the clock has run for years in a closed enclosure with very 
little ventilation.  It just never produced much heat at all.  I swapped both 
driver chips for two others, and it still gets just as hot.

  When the clock shuts off the display at night, the temp drops to just 
above room temperature.

  So my guess is has to be one of two things I replaced; C6, or the driver 
chips.  I think it's the drivers, and I'd like to get a pair from somewhere 
reputable so I can at least rule them out as the problem.  I've seen some that 
appear to be ceramic, instead of plastic cased.. claimed to be 'milspec' but I 
donno if that's BS or what.

  Any help is appreciated!

  Kiran






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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread MichaelB
I have had this same issue with 3 of Jonas' clocks and each time the fix 
has been a combination of replacing C6 and a dropping the voltage a bit to 
keep the temperature down on that VREG. I also ended up changing the design 
of my enclosed cases to allow better cooling internally and this seemed to 
fix the issue. These clocks all seem to do this when there is inadequate 
cooling in an enclosed case. 

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 4:55:48 AM UTC-7, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Hi folks, glad to find this group!

 I've had a Tubehobby clock for several years, the NCV2.1 with the IN-18 
 tubes.  In the past Jonas has helped, and I even shipped him the main board 
 for him to repair, but he hasn't responded to my last request for help, so 
 I thought I would ask here.

 Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were 
 partially lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was 
 that the K155ID1 drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off 
 eBay, and tried replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed. 
   Well it didn't help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6, 
 which I did and it appeared to fix the problem.

 Maybe a month later, I started to notice the left most digit was faintly 
 showing numbers, and seemed to be influenced by the next to right digit.  
 So I thought perhaps the drivers I got from eBay weren't good, so I swapped 
 them around, trying to see if it made any difference.  Unfortunately, I 
 trashed the two original driver chips that came with the kit.  So far 
 swapping the drivers around among the six I have, hasn't changed anything.. 
 or if it has, the digits lighting that shouldn't be have moved from tube to 
 tube.

 Well I let the clock run like this for a week or so, and one day I just 
 happened to feel around the voltage regulator U1 (L7805CV).. and it's 
 blazing hot. I put a temp probe on it and it's running at 140F in open air, 
 and when I built the clock, I epoxied a heatsink to it.  It never ever used 
 to get this hot.  In fact the clock has run for years in a closed enclosure 
 with very little ventilation.  It just never produced much heat at all.  I 
 swapped both driver chips for two others, and it still gets just as hot.

 When the clock shuts off the display at night, the temp drops to just 
 above room temperature.

 So my guess is has to be one of two things I replaced; C6, or the driver 
 chips.  I think it's the drivers, and I'd like to get a pair from somewhere 
 reputable so I can at least rule them out as the problem.  I've seen some 
 that appear to be ceramic, instead of plastic cased.. claimed to be 
 'milspec' but I donno if that's BS or what.

 Any help is appreciated!

 Kiran






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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread blkadder
I was just having a look at the manual for the clock, and was thinking that 
the adjustable trimpot at R26 should also be checked.  Being it is 
adjustable, could it be that it may have failed somehow?  Just a thought.

Ron

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:55:48 AM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 Hi folks, glad to find this group!

 I've had a Tubehobby clock for several years, the NCV2.1 with the IN-18 
 tubes.  In the past Jonas has helped, and I even shipped him the main board 
 for him to repair, but he hasn't responded to my last request for help, so 
 I thought I would ask here.

 Recently, I started to notice that other digits in the tubes were 
 partially lighting up, and eventually the fuse blew.  My assumption was 
 that the K155ID1 drivers had started to go, so I ordered six of them off 
 eBay, and tried replacing them.. which isn't hard, everything is socketed. 
   Well it didn't help, so I contacted Jonas.  Jonas suggested replacing C6, 
 which I did and it appeared to fix the problem.

 Maybe a month later, I started to notice the left most digit was faintly 
 showing numbers, and seemed to be influenced by the next to right digit.  
 So I thought perhaps the drivers I got from eBay weren't good, so I swapped 
 them around, trying to see if it made any difference.  Unfortunately, I 
 trashed the two original driver chips that came with the kit.  So far 
 swapping the drivers around among the six I have, hasn't changed anything.. 
 or if it has, the digits lighting that shouldn't be have moved from tube to 
 tube.

 Well I let the clock run like this for a week or so, and one day I just 
 happened to feel around the voltage regulator U1 (L7805CV).. and it's 
 blazing hot. I put a temp probe on it and it's running at 140F in open air, 
 and when I built the clock, I epoxied a heatsink to it.  It never ever used 
 to get this hot.  In fact the clock has run for years in a closed enclosure 
 with very little ventilation.  It just never produced much heat at all.  I 
 swapped both driver chips for two others, and it still gets just as hot.

 When the clock shuts off the display at night, the temp drops to just 
 above room temperature.

 So my guess is has to be one of two things I replaced; C6, or the driver 
 chips.  I think it's the drivers, and I'd like to get a pair from somewhere 
 reputable so I can at least rule them out as the problem.  I've seen some 
 that appear to be ceramic, instead of plastic cased.. claimed to be 
 'milspec' but I donno if that's BS or what.

 Any help is appreciated!

 Kiran






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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
MichaelB, what did you lower the voltage to?  And I did replace C6.  Could 
I have a bad cap?  I had a hell of a time finding just one; got it shipped 
free from RS for for like a dollar.

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 12:46:24 PM UTC-4, MichaelB wrote:

 I have had this same issue with 3 of Jonas' clocks and each time the fix 
 has been a combination of replacing C6 and a dropping the voltage a bit to 
 keep the temperature down on that VREG. I also ended up changing the design 
 of my enclosed cases to allow better cooling internally and this seemed to 
 fix the issue. These clocks all seem to do this when there is inadequate 
 cooling in an enclosed case. 



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Kiran Otter
By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that will 
use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

Kiran

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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread blkadder
I have been using the kits from PV Electronics (www.pvelectronics.co.uk).  
He has kits that will use pretty much every tube manufactured.  He does 
have a few that use the big Nixies like you have.  All the kits I have used 
are his QTC line, and they seem to have all the features that your current 
clock has.  If you see his online chat button active, he actually answers 
things right away.  Hope this helps.

Ron

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:51:10 PM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that will 
 use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

 Kiran


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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Niek
Do you have a scope? Is the output of the 7805 still a clean 5V? How about 
the output of the HV regulator? Can you measure the current going into the 
clock? (with your multimeter)

I'd be a bit suprised if the cause is the driver chips, because after 
replacing them it didn't seem to improve a lot (if any) apparently. 

I wouldn't be too worried about 140F for the 7805 btw, it should be able to 
go up quite a bit higher than that, though with the big heatsink, if 
attached well, it's a bit surprising.

You can try lowering the input voltage to 9V, and see if this helps. Keep 
an eye on M1 in this case, as it will probably have to work a bit harder to 
pump up the HV. 



On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 6:57:28 PM UTC+1, blkadder wrote:

 I have been using the kits from PV Electronics (www.pvelectronics.co.uk).  
 He has kits that will use pretty much every tube manufactured.  He does 
 have a few that use the big Nixies like you have.  All the kits I have used 
 are his QTC line, and they seem to have all the features that your current 
 clock has.  If you see his online chat button active, he actually answers 
 things right away.  Hope this helps.

 Ron

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:51:10 PM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that 
 will use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

 Kiran



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread MichaelB
 Around 165, can’t remember exactly, but enough so as not to sacrifice tube 
brightness and yes you could have a bad cap. 
 

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 10:49:05 AM UTC-7, Kiran Otter wrote:

 MichaelB, what did you lower the voltage to?  And I did replace C6.  Could 
 I have a bad cap?  I had a hell of a time finding just one; got it shipped 
 free from RS for for like a dollar.

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 12:46:24 PM UTC-4, MichaelB wrote:

 I have had this same issue with 3 of Jonas' clocks and each time the fix 
 has been a combination of replacing C6 and a dropping the voltage a bit to 
 keep the temperature down on that VREG. I also ended up changing the design 
 of my enclosed cases to allow better cooling internally and this seemed to 
 fix the issue. These clocks all seem to do this when there is inadequate 
 cooling in an enclosed case. 



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread MichaelB
Very nice kits and Pete is very quick to help

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 10:57:28 AM UTC-7, blkadder wrote:

 I have been using the kits from PV Electronics (www.pvelectronics.co.uk).  
 He has kits that will use pretty much every tube manufactured.  He does 
 have a few that use the big Nixies like you have.  All the kits I have used 
 are his QTC line, and they seem to have all the features that your current 
 clock has.  If you see his online chat button active, he actually answers 
 things right away.  Hope this helps.

 Ron

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:51:10 PM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that 
 will use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

 Kiran



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RE: [neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Jeff Walton
Kiran, 

PV Electronics makes a nice kit.   Their Spectrum model uses the IN-18 nixies 
and accepts a GPS and also has a motion sensor that turns off the high voltage 
when no one is around to extend the life of the tubes.  Really nice feature! 

They also have a couple different cases available for the Spectrum model.   

I recently bought one and would recommend them. It runs nice and cool. 

www.pvelectroniccs.com 

Jeff Walton 

div Original message /divdivFrom: Kiran Otter 
kiranot...@gmail.com /divdivDate:03/28/2015  12:51 PM  (GMT-06:00) 
/divdivTo: neonixie-l@googlegroups.com /divdivCc:  /divdivSubject: 
[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating /divdiv
/divBy the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that 
will use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

Kiran
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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Niek
You can of course get a new kit, but it will be much more fun and give you 
a better sense of accomplishment if you fix this one - and since I don't 
see anything inherently wrong with the design, you should be able to fix it 
fairly easily. Try lowering that input voltage to 9V, and could you also 
post a video of the digits issue, so it's a bit more clear what's going 
wrong?

Thanks!

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:11:32 PM UTC+1, MichaelB wrote:

 Very nice kits and Pete is very quick to help

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 10:57:28 AM UTC-7, blkadder wrote:

 I have been using the kits from PV Electronics (www.pvelectronics.co.uk).  
 He has kits that will use pretty much every tube manufactured.  He does 
 have a few that use the big Nixies like you have.  All the kits I have used 
 are his QTC line, and they seem to have all the features that your current 
 clock has.  If you see his online chat button active, he actually answers 
 things right away.  Hope this helps.

 Ron

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:51:10 PM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that 
 will use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

 Kiran



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[neonixie-l] Re: Need help with a tubehobby clock overheating

2015-03-28 Thread Niek
One more thing: can you try completely removing that heatsink, and see if 
it makes any difference? I designed my own nixie clock with a 7805 (also 
3x2 multiplex), and it hardly gets warm at all (you can easily touch it), 
without any heatsink. I'd just like to exclude this heatsink as a cause, 
since it's not in the original design, and i'm wondering if your paste is 
electrically conductive at all (remember, the metal tab of the 7805 is 
connected to ground, and the one for the IRF640 is connected to the drain).

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:27:58 PM UTC+1, Niek wrote:

 You can of course get a new kit, but it will be much more fun and give you 
 a better sense of accomplishment if you fix this one - and since I don't 
 see anything inherently wrong with the design, you should be able to fix it 
 fairly easily. Try lowering that input voltage to 9V, and could you also 
 post a video of the digits issue, so it's a bit more clear what's going 
 wrong?

 Thanks!

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:11:32 PM UTC+1, MichaelB wrote:

 Very nice kits and Pete is very quick to help

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 10:57:28 AM UTC-7, blkadder wrote:

 I have been using the kits from PV Electronics (www.pvelectronics.co.uk).  
 He has kits that will use pretty much every tube manufactured.  He does 
 have a few that use the big Nixies like you have.  All the kits I have used 
 are his QTC line, and they seem to have all the features that your current 
 clock has.  If you see his online chat button active, he actually answers 
 things right away.  Hope this helps.

 Ron

 On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:51:10 PM UTC-4, Kiran Otter wrote:

 By the way, I'm open to recommendations on a different clock kit that 
 will use my IN-18s.  I haven't had much luck finding another make.

 Kiran



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