A self-made kit "Smart Nixie Tube" that can be controlled freely by combining LEDs with Nixie tube

It is used for calculators, etc. to display numbers7 segment LEDHas appeared Even more previously used electronic componentsNixie tubeAnd some people remember the scenery in which orange numbers dimly lit in a small glass tube. From around 1980 it was almost unnecessary to arrange the Nixie tube, modernly using open source "Smart Nixie Tube"is.

Smart Nixie Tube by Tyler Nehowig - Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/popshields/smart-nixie-tube

Switchmode Design - Welcome
http://switchmodedesign.com/

The Nixie tube is a kind of small vacuum tube, in which a number shaped electrode is enclosed in a glass tube. It is an old electronic component that was able to light numbers from 0 to 9 and was used as a price display window of the ticket vending machine of the station till mid-mid Showa era and it was used for the floor number display at the elevator.

ByChris D 2006

It looks like Smart Nixie Tube is on. LEDs are added to the bottom of the Nixie tube and it is possible to turn on as a backlight.


You can see how Smart Nixie Tube works by looking at the following movie.


Here is the appearance of Smart Nixie Tube. Nixie tube is mounted on the upper and lower two layers of electronic board.


Numerals from 0 to 9 can be displayed, and backlights using LEDs can be turned on.


To operate it, first attach the power cable to the board connector.


Next, attaching the FTDI adapter programmed with the lighting pattern in the connector enables control from the PC connected with the USB cable.


Also, if you replace with an optional Bluetooth adapter, wireless control is also possible.


In addition, the Smart Nixie Tube has been designed with horizontal connection in mind.


More and more connected


In theory it is possible to consolidate as much as possible.


I joined the six units and tried it a little retro "Nixie watch". The display shows "2:08:59".


It can also be used as a score board of the game.


The board being used is like this. On the left is the upper board used on the side where the Nixie tube is to be mounted, the lower board to attach the power supply and the FTDI adapter in the middle. The picture on the far right has actually been loaded with various parts. As you can see from reflection on the magnifying glasses, it is an open source development environmentArduinoIt is possible to program based on.


Although details are omitted, the data of the lighting pattern will be handed over from the leftmost board towards the right as it goes. Therefore, even if the number of units to be connected increases, only one cable is OK.


Necessary for productionList of partsYamanualYou can download materials such as internet via the Internet.

This Smart Nixie Tube is a cloud funding siteKickstarterWe are looking for investment, and about 5000 dollars (about 510,000 yen) of the target amount is invested by about 12,000 dollars (about 1.22 million yen) at the time of writing the article. It is possible to get 1 set of assembly kit including Nixie tube with a capital of 60 dollars (about 6100 yen), but if you want assembled finished products, you can get 100 dollars (about 10,200 yen) It is also possible to get it. On the contrary, in the case of a person who buys the parts by myself, it is possible to get only the board for 20 dollars (about 2050 yen). To ship outside the United States, a shipping fee of 25 to 60 dollars (about 2500 to 6100 yen) is required separately.

The deadline of investment is 6:26 AM on Friday, February 21 in Japan time.

Smart Nixie Tube by Tyler Nehowig - Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/popshields/smart-nixie-tube