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Electronics => Open Source Hardware => Topic started by: dino on July 08, 2018, 09:10:30 am

Title: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: dino on July 08, 2018, 09:10:30 am
Yes, I know, another Nixie clock :)

This one came out of desire to manufacture something that I can put on my desk. No to RGB lights, yes to orange glow and walnut.
Project is almost complete, there needs to be one more revision of the PCB (to increase DC-DC efficiency), and then I'm happy.

Features:


To be implemented:

Project page on Hackaday.io: https://hackaday.io/project/27349-nixie-tap
Gerbers and schematics on: https://github.com/mladendinic/nixietap
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: NivagSwerdna on July 08, 2018, 10:11:16 am
Nice. HV5812s  :-+
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: Rolo on July 08, 2018, 10:15:46 am
Nice! Not having blue or rgb leds is a wise decision. There are just to many of those around.
How do you display weather information on 4 numeric display's?
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: knapik on July 08, 2018, 10:32:15 am
Wow, that's a nice looking case. How was it made?
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: dino on July 08, 2018, 11:30:59 am
Quote from: Rolo on July 08, 2018, 10:15:46 am
Nice! Not having blue or rgb leds is a wise decision. There are just to many of those around.
How do you display weather information on 4 numeric display's?

Weather displayed is only temperature, for example by calling openweathermap API and parsing the resulting JSON.
It could be programmed, for example to blink if there is rain.

Quote from: knapik on July 08, 2018, 10:32:15 am
Wow, that's a nice looking case. How was it made?
Thanks! The case was designed in Fusion 360. First, a few prototypes were 3D printed, and then I ordered some CNC machining service from Alibaba. Walnut is sealed with oil.
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: knapik on July 08, 2018, 01:31:21 pm
You've got me rather interested with how elegant and compact the design is. I've never had any custom work done through alibaba, how much did the wooden case end up costing you?
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: dino on July 09, 2018, 07:46:16 am
I ordered from a few suppliers (to qualify them for the crowdfunding campaign), and all had similar quality. Price was also similar, ranging from $150 - $200 @ 1 pc.
This includes cost of material, and final polishing and oiling.

Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: Rolo on July 16, 2018, 04:11:41 pm
Looking at the schematic I see you use a RTC chip in this design. I'm curious if you thought/tryed to make the clock work without this RTC. Having WiFi and NTP sync should work, or did you want the clock still working when "stand alone" ?


 
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: dino on July 23, 2018, 03:33:55 pm
Quote from: Rolo on July 16, 2018, 04:11:41 pm
Looking at the schematic I see you use a RTC chip in this design. I'm curious if you thought/tryed to make the clock work without this RTC. Having WiFi and NTP sync should work, or did you want the clock still working when "stand alone" ?

Yes, I wanted it to work standalone, when the WiFi is down. And it's easier to structure the code around external RTC, because the ESP will already be encumbered by a lot of stuff (wifi connection, timers for dot scrolling and display updating, serial communication).
There is also a supercap backup, however I'm not sure whether I need this one.
Title: Re: Nixie Tap - an ESP8266 Nixie clock
Post by: radiokot on August 02, 2018, 09:29:45 am
Very beautiful watch case. I want to assemble a clock on an in-14.