Pvelectronics Frank 3 Configuration guide

Nixie Tube Clock ‘Frank 3’
www.pvelectronics.co.uk
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Assembly Instructions
And
User Guide
Nixie Clock Type ‘Frank 3’
Software version: 2.4
PCB Version: 04 Nov 10
(Crystal Timebase version

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1 INTRODUCTION
1 1 About the clock
Nixie clock type ‘Frank 3’ is a compact design with all components and
tubes mounted on a single PCB. The efficient use of board space is
achieved by using a multiplex design to drive the display tubes. Only a
single high-voltage binary-to-decimal decoder IC (74141 is required, and
each tube is switched on in sequence very quickly to give the illusion that
all the tubes are actually lit.
The larger tubes for hours and minutes are type IN-12 with a digit height
of 18mm. The smaller tubes for the seconds are type IN-17 with a digit
height of 9mm. These tubes are Russian in origin and were produced
during the 1980’s, when the technology was at it’s most advanced. It is
expected that the tubes will last for very many years and should not need
replacing.
The optional wooden case and hardware pack (rear cover, screws ,
supplied rough-machined, can be finished to give a very attractive clock
for everyday living spaces. The quality of the final finish will reflect the
time and care that is taken to finish the wood with successively finer
grades of sandpaper. Alternatively, you may wish to design your own
enclosure for the clock.
1 2 Clock Features
Nixie clock type ‘Frank 3’ has the following features:
- Hours, Minutes and Seconds display
- 12 or 24 hour modes
- Date display in either DD.MM.YY or MM.DD.YY format
- Programmable date display each minute
- Uses a Quartz Crystal Oscillator as the timebase
- Optional DCF77,5 / WWVB / MSF synchronisation
- Supercapacitor backup. Keeps time during short power outages
- Simple time setting using two buttons
- Programmable leading zero blanking
- Five programmable neon colon settings (Flashing AM/PM indication,
illuminated AM/PM indication, both flashing, both on, both off
- Maintains time during setup mode, eg. When changing between
Standard Time and Daylight Savings Time
- Seconds can be reset to zero to precisely the set time
- Programmable night mode - blanked or dimmed display to save tubes
or prevent sleep disturbance
- Separate modes for colon neons during night mode
- Standard or fading change of digits
- All user preferences stored to non-volatile memory

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1 3 SAFETY
DANGER: The clock pcb includes a switched-mode voltage booster
circuit. This generates nominally 170 Volts DC, but is capable of
generating up to 300 Volts before adjustment. Assembly may only be
undertaken by individuals who are suitably qualified and experienced in
electronics assembly, and are familiar with safe procedures for working
with high voltages. If in doubt, refer to a suitably qualified engineer
before proceeding.
The voltages generated by this circuit can give a potentially
LETHAL ELECTRIC SHOCK
DISCLAIMER: This product is supplied as a kit of parts, intended only for
suitably qualified electronic engineers, who are suitably qualified and
experienced in electronics assembly, and are familiar with safe
procedures for working with high voltages. The supplier, his agents or
associates accept no liability for any damage, injury or death arising from
the use of this kit of parts.
This is not a finished product, and the person assembling the kit is
responsible for ensuring that the finished product complies with any
applicable local regulations governing electrical equipment, eg. UL, CE,
VDE.

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2 TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
2 1 Tools required to assemble the PCB
The following tools will be required to assemble the PCB:
- Soldering iron with a small tip (1-2 mm
- Wire cutters (TIP: A small pair of nail clippers works very well for this
function
- Wire strippers (TIP: A small pair of scissors is quite suitable
- Multimeter
- Small flat screwdriver for adjusting the high voltage supply
2 2 Materials you will need
Solder – lead / tin solder is preferred. Lead free solder, as now required
to be used in commercial products in Europe, has a much higher melting
point and can be very hard to work with.
Desoldering wick (braid can be useful if you accidentally create solder
bridges between adjacent solder joints.
2 3 Other items you will need
The clock kit does not include a power adapter. This is because the kit is
sold to many countries around the world, each with very different
household mains outlet socket types. It is more efficient for the user to
buy a suitable adapter locally. This saves shipping a heavy adapter with
the kit, and also the extra costs of managing stocks of many varied
power adapters.
The type of power adapter can be obtained at very low cost. The
following type of adapter should be obtained and used with the kit:
Output 9-12V DC
Minimum power output capability of 250 mA
Output plug: 2.1mm pin
A suitable adapter is shown in figure 1 below:
Figure 1

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3 LIST OF COMPONENTS
3 1 Table of components
Circuit Designation Part Description
Resistors
R1 390K, ¼ Watt
R2 4.3K, ¼ Watt
R3 100R, ¼ Watt
R4 5K6, ¼ Watt
R5 560R, ¼ Watt
R6 100R, ¼ Watt
R7 560R, ¼ Watt
R8, R9 10K, ¼ Watt
R10 33K, ¼ Watt
R11-R13 Not installed
R
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R17
2K7
, ¼ Watt
R18, R19 5K6, ¼ Watt
R20 – R25 390K, ¼ Watt
R26 – R31 10K, ¼ Watt
R32
, R33
33K
, ¼ Watt
R34, R35 390K, ¼ Watt
R36 – R42 560R, ¼ Watt
Capacitors
C1 470uF, 16-25V, Electrolytic
C2 100uF, 16-25V, Electrolytic
C3 1uF, 250V, Electrolytic
C4 33pF ceramic
C5 33pF ceramic
C6 0.1F
C7 100nF ceramic
Transistors
Q1 IRF730 or IRF630 MOSFET
Q2, Q3 MPSA42 NPN
Q4 – Q9 MPSA92 PNP
Q10 – Q17 MPSA42 NPN
Diodes
D1 1N5819
D2 UF4004
D3, D4 1N5819
D5 – D8 1N4148
D9
5mm Green LED
D10 3mm Orange LED
D11 – D16 3mm Blue LED
D17 Not installed
Integrated Circuits
IC1 7805 5V voltage regulator
IC2 PIC16F1936 8-bit Microcontroller
IC3 74141 / K155N Nixie driver
IC4 Not installed
Miscellaneous
L1 100uH – 470uH inductor
NE1, NE2 4mm wire ended neon lamp
SW1, SW2, SW3 Miniature push button
VR1 1K Potentiometer
IC Socket 28 Way IC Socket for IC2

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GPS / RFT Socket 6-Way Mini DIN connector
J1 2.1mm Chassis power socket
SKT1-44 1mm Harwin solder-in socket
LS1 Piezo Sounder
Insulation Silicone Insulation for Neons
X1 32.768KHz Watch Crystal

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3 2 Parts list / Packing sheet
Part Description Quantity
Resistors
100R, ¼ Watt 2
560R, ¼ Watt 9
2.7K, ¼ Watt 4
4.3K, ¼ Watt 1
5.6K, ¼ Watt 3
10K, ¼ Watt 8
33K, ¼ Watt 3
390K, ¼ Watt 9
Capacitors
470uF, 16-25V, Electrolytic 1
100uF, 16-25V, Electrolytic 1
1uF, 250V, Electrolytic
1
100nF, ceramic 1
33pF, ceramic 2
0.1F 1
Transistors
IRF730 or IRF630 MOSFET 1
MPSA92 PNP 6
MPSA42 NPN 10
Diodes
1N5819 3
UF4004 fast recovery diode 1
1N4148 4
5mm Green LED 1
3mm Orange LED 1
3mm Blue LED 6
Integrated Circuits
7805 5V voltage regulator 1
PIC16Fxxxx 8-bit Microcontroller 1
74141 / K155N Nixie driver 1
Miscellaneous
100uH – 470uH inductor 1
4mm wire ended neon lamp 2
Miniature push button 3
1K Potentiometer 1
28 Way IC Socket for IC2 1
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Way Mini DIN connector
1
2.1mm Chassis power socket 1
1mm Harwin solder-in socket 44
Piezo Sounder 1
25 cm clear Insulation 1
32.768KHz Watch Crystal 1
It is recommended that the kit is checked against the list above, to
ensure all parts are present before commencing assembly. Don’t be
alarmed if there are some extra components, as some component
bags are shared between different kit types.

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4 ASSEMBLY OF THE PCB
4 1 1mm Sockets For Nixie Tubes
There are 44 individual sockets that need to be soldered in. The
best method is a follows. Place all sockets into the holes, noting
that for each tube there is one hole that has no socket as show
below. When all sockets have been placed, place a flat and hard
object over the top of the sockets, and turn the PCB over so you
can solder from the underside. Be sure to insert the sockets FROM
the front side of the PCB – the side with the white component
markings. The photo below shows the solder side of the PCB after
all the sockets have been inserted and soldered in.
4 2 Capacitor C7
Mount C7 on the same side of the PCB as the white cross-hatched
markings for Q1 and IC1. See above.
Clip the leads on the main component side very short, as the IC
socket for IC2 will need to fit over the trimmed leads.
4 3 Diodes D1 – D8
pay attention to mount the correct diode type in the right place.
The black diodes have a white orientation band and the pink diodes
have a black orientation band. Place the diodes with the orientation
band aligned with the band marking on the PCB.

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4 4 IC3 and socket for IC2
Insert the 28 way IC socket into the PCB at the IC2 position,
ensuring that the notch at one end is aligned with the
corresponding marking on the PCB. Insert IC3 directly into the
PCB. Solder both components in place, but do NOT insert IC2 at
this stage. This will be inserted at the very end of the assembly.
Refer the picture below.

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4 5 Q3, Q10 – Q17 (MPSA42 Transistors)
Insert all the MPSA42 transistors as shown below. The PCB marking
shows how to orient the flat on the component body.
Important: Do not insert Q2 at this stage.
4 6 Q4 – Q9 (MPSA92 Transistors)
Now insert the six MPSA92 transistors as shown in figure below.
4 7 R1 – R11, R14 – R41
Note that R12 and R13 are not installed, and R42 is not installed
yet. These resistors, indeed all the resistors on the board need to
be mounted upright to save space. The leads need to be formed as
shown below. Bend the leads of each resistor as shown and solder
in to the correct postion, making sure the component body is as
close to the board as possible.

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R36 to R41 are the current limiting resistors for the tube backlight
LEDs. These need to be mounted on the reverse side of the PCB. If
you choose not to install backlight LEDs, you can omit these
resistors.
4 8 Q2 and R42
Due to a board error, R42 is missing from the board. It needs to be
inserted between the central pad for Q2 and the central pin of Q2.
Start by installing R42 (560 Ohm as shown below. Lay the body of
the resistor flat along the PCB:
Then bend back the central leg of Q42:

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Finally install Q2, and solder its middle pin to the end of the
resistor and clip the excess leads:

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4 9 C1, C2, and C3
Now it is time to solder in these three electrolytic capacitors. These
components must be placed the correct way round or else the
circuit will fail. Each capacitor has a positive lead, which has the
longer lead, and a negative lead, marked by a white or grey stripe
on the body. In the picture below, the longer lead (+ve and white
stripe (-VE can be clearly seen.
Place each component as shown, with the longer lead in the hole
marked ‘+’. Solder in and trim the leads

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4 10 Backup capacitor C6
C6 is a high capacity ‘Super Capacitor’, intended to keep the
processor powered for short periods in the event of a main power
failure. It is vital that it is placed in the correct orientation. See
below. There are arrows on the component that need to be pointing
the same way as the arrows on the PCB.
4 11 Inductor L1
Inductor L1 looks a little like a capacitor, but may well have no part
marking. Install as shown below:
4 12 Potentiometer VR1
VR1 will be used to tune the high voltage for the tubes to 170V.
If the leads do not exactly match the PCB spacing, gently bend to
fit into the holes.

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4 13 C4, C5, X1
Mount the Crystal as shown below, laying the body onto the silver
PCB pad area. Do not solder the body to the bad though.
4 14 IC1 and Q1
Be very careful to identify and install the correct component in the
right location. Start by bending the leads of each component as
shown below:
Then install as shown below, on the opposite side of the PCB to the
main components. Note that the metal heatsinks are facing
outwards.

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4 15 LS1, J1, D9, D10, GPS / RFT Connector
LS1 can be installed on either side of the PCB. If you have
purchased one of our cases, install LS1 on the same side of the
PCB as Q1 and IC1. D9 and the GPS / RFT connector are only
needed if you are using a WWVB, DCF or MSF receiver module,
however you may decide to install these components for possible
future use.
To install D9, and D10, the longer lead goes in the hole marked
(+ .
The PCB should now look like the picture below:

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4 16 Tube backlight LEDs D11 – D16
You can simply omit these LEDs if you do not wish to have Blue
LED backlighting. They emit blue light, but they appear clear and
colourless – NOT blue!
Cut some pieces of clear insulation approx 12mm / ½ inch long and
slide over the legs of the 3mm Blue LEDs. Then, referring to the
picture below, bend the legs of the Blue LEDs.
Especially note the orientation of the longer (+ lead with respect
to the bend.
Now insert each LED into its holes from on the PCB as shown
below. The longer lead goes in the (+ hole. Remember to clip the
leads on the other side of the PCB.
Position the LEDs so they are pointing through the holes in the
PCB. Their positions can be adjusted later under power to give a
uniform brighness.

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4 17 IN-17 Nixie tubes NX5, NX6
To facilitate easy insertion of the flying leads into the small holes, it
helps enormously to trim the flying leads at an angle with a pair of
scissors as shown below
Feed all the wires in progressively. It is not as hard as it seems at
first. Ensure the tubes are the correct way up. The part marking
IN-17 should be to the RIGHT, but also check above to see if you
can tell that the 5 and 3, which are visible, are the correct way up.
After soldering in, trim flying leads.
4 18 SET, ADJ, ALARM
Push buttons SET, ADJ and ALARM are mounted on the REVERSE
side of the PCB, so that the clock is adjusted from the back. You
can choose to mount them on the front face if you wish, depending
on your own particular clock case design.
4 19 NE1, NE2
The 2 neons can now be mounted at a suitable height. Use small
lengths of the clear insulation supplied on the leads to prevent
shorts.

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5 INITIAL TESTING OF CLOCK – BEFORE IC4 INSTALLATION
Make a final check that all components are well soldered in, and that
there are no solder bridges – unintentional solder links between
adjacent pins.
Insert IC2 (PIC16FXXXX , matching up the notch on the resin body
with the notch on the socket and the PCB markings. Insert the four
IN-12 Nixie tubes into their sockets. It is quite easy to tell which way
up they should be by looking into the glass at the numerals. Do not
insert too hard, or you may break the glass seal at their base.
Unscrew the adjustment screw on VR1 fully anticlockwise until it can
be hear to click. This will give the lowest possible tube driving voltage
at startup.
Identify the 3 voltage test points ‘GND’, ‘5V’ and ‘170V’ as shown in
the picture below.
On cold power up, a tube test routine will sequence all digits 0-9
repeatedly until the ‘Set’ button is pressed.
Power up the PCB, and check the voltages using a multimeter on DC
setting. Check the 5V and 170V points with respect to ground. The 5V
should read from 5.1-5.3V, and the 170V point from 140-160V.
If these values are good, slowly adjust the screw on VR1 to set the
voltage at the 170V point to 170-175V. When finished, disconnect the
power.
If you do not get these voltages, do not proceed as you may damage
the PCB. Contact [email protected]

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7 HOW TO OPERATE THE CLOCK
The three buttons have the following functions:
SET: Show date; set: time, date; enter configuration menu
ADJ: Adjust: time, date, alarm time, configuration parameters; reset
seconds
ALARM: Set alarm time; snooze; cancel snooze/alarm
Entering configuration mode:
The principal settings of the clock are stored in flash memory – your
preferred configuration is stored even after powering off the clock. To
access the configuration mode press and hold the ‘Set’ button. After 2
seconds the minutes will start to flash or be highlighted. Continue holding
the button a further 2 seconds until the clock displays in this format:
00-XX-
99. The ‘99’ in the seconds digits tells you that you are in the
configuration menu.
In configuration mode the hours digits diplay the current parameter
being adjusted, and the seconds digits display the current value stored
against the parameter.
For each parameter, and referring to the table below, scroll through the
range of possible values by pressing the ‘ADJ’ button. When the desired
value has been reached, move on to the next parameter by pressing the
‘SET’ button. When the last parameter has been set, pressing ‘SET’ one
more time will revert the clock back to time display mode. The first
parameter 0 cannot be changed as it is the software revision number. It
will show for several seconds and then move to parameter 1.
Parameter Description Values
0 Software revision 20 = version 2.1, 21 = version 2.1 etc
1 12 / 24 Hr mode 0 – 12 Hr (default
1 – 24 Hr
2 Date format 0 = MM.DD.YY (default
1 = DD.MM.YY
3 Leading zero blanking
eg. 01:54:32
0 – leading zero blanked (default
1 – leading zero displayed
4 Night mode start hour 0 - 23
5 Night mode end hour 0 - 23
6 LED backlights 0 - Always off
1 - Always on
2 - On, and follows tube nightblanking
(default
7 Display mode 0 – standard change of digits(default
1 – fading digits
8 Night mode override
period (minutes
0 – 50 (default 5
3
9 Snooze period 0 – 6 minutes (default
1 – 9 minutes
2 – 12 minutes
3 – 15 minutes