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CPLD replacement for 74141 decoder

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jmw:
Russian clones of the 74141 are still cheap at the moment, but at times I have thought about building a BCD to decimal decoder in a PLD. The logic part is easy enough, but the high-voltage output driver is not. The 74141 is rated to withstand 60 V on its outputs, whereas no CPLD will tolerate that on a tri-stated pin. Is there a more cost-effective way to do this than 10 discrete driver transistors per digit?

Kleinstein:
The main difficulty is the high voltage drive, not the logic.  Just 10 discrete transistors and resistors is probably the best bet. For the logic one may not even need an CPLD. A more normal 74 series chip (74HC42 should work) should be sufficient with NPN transistors in base circuit.

The transistor solution is just using quite a few parts and board space.

SiliconWizard:
You're not saying anything about the end application. Do you just want a generic drop-in replacement, or do you have a specific use in mind (such as driving LEDs)?
If you're going to drive LEDs/LED displays, one suggestion would be to use an integrated LED driver as the output stage. You can find many with multiple outputs. Benefit is a lot of them are constant current drivers. Then the logic decoding can be done with pretty much anything you see fit (discrete logic, cpld, MCU, ...)

jmw:
Application would be driving Nixie tubes, as was typical of the 74141 and hence the point about high voltage drive. The hoped for advantage of a CPLD would be the high pin count so you can cram 6-10 decoders in a single package without multiplexing. But if you need 10x(# of digits) in discrete low-power MOSFETs to protect those pins it's probably not saving money or space...

SiliconWizard:
You could take a look at this: https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/products/power/display-power-control/MAX6921.html

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