Nixie Clock

2007
by Brian Parkinson

Project Description

Nixie tubes are old vacuum tube displays - each tube contains the digits 0 to 9. The Nixie Clock creates a clock with nixie tubes.

The Nixie Clock uses the Make Controller's Ethernet capabilities to go online and check what the time is, via a protocol called NTP (Network Time Protocol).  Once it determines the current time, it uses the digital outs on the Make Controller to communicate with a pair of custom circuit boards that drives the nixies and updates the time.

Each custom board drives a pair of nixie tubes - they use a few ICs to allow 3 digital outputs from the Make controller to generate the 8 outputs needed for each pair of tubes. So, 4 nixie tubes (2 for hours, 2 for minutes) use 6 digital outputs from the Make controller.

The cabinet is constructed from cocobolo wood, which is a super-dense wood with a nice grain. The top is frosted plexiglass. In the two front corners, there are two white LEDs (the final two outputs on the Make controller) which turn on when the time is between 12:00 and 23:59 (PM).

Project Resources

• Check Brian's page at http://push-pull-twist-turn.com/clocks/nixie.html for more info and other projects.
• Circuit diagram of Brian's custom nixie drivers [pdf]
  
• Modified firmware used on the Make Controller to run the Nixie Clock (coming soon)
• Another clock, made in much the same way - http://push-pull-twist-turn.com/clocks/prayer.html