![]() The PIC code was written in MikroBasic but can easily be adapted. CircuitĪ ZIP file (500KB) is available here which contains the PCB artwork and PIC source code. I found an anode current of around 1mA to be satisfactory.īoth the tube and driver chip are widely used in Nixie clocks and are available on EBay. It's basically a binary-to-decimal converter with HV output transistors suitable for driving the cathodes of the Nixie. The driver chip is rather nice, a now-obsolete Russian K155ID1. The circuit comprises a HV power supply based on a 555 running a boost converter, a PIC to generate a binary signal, and a driver chip to convert the binary code into decimal for the Nixie tube. Quite a few other tubes use the same electrode pattern for the "5" as the "2" but just turn it upside down, which doesn't result in a nice-looking "5". It's the smallest vertical tube I could find easily which has properly-formed "2" and "5" digits. ![]() The particular tube I'm using here is the Russian IN-8. Nixie indicator tubes are small neon-filled discharge tubes with a single mesh anode and multiple wire cathodes in the shape of the digits to display. This stores sufficient charge to give a decent kick (I know) so leave the circuit for several minutes after running it before touching anything. The high-voltage supply for the tube is around 200V with a small smoothing capacitor across the rails.
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