21 Dec
2007
21 Dec
'07
5:58 p.m.
This is off-topic in terms of the industry involved, but not too far off in
the time period this stuff dates from.
I've got some very nice, rather large Burroughs nixies- 7971 types. They're
4.8" high, "British flag" display which looks to be 2.5" high inside
the
glass. They have 15 segments each-- 14 in the alphanumeric display part of
the tube and one sort-of cursor, an underline character with the ends bent
downwards.
I hear one can dismember D-shell connectors to get some sockets to solder
to a pc board to connect to these. But my problem is driving them.
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six of them in an array? I
need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma any individual
cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort-of a character
generator that would take an ascii code and drive the right segments. Some
sort of escape code would let you send 16 bits to be interpreted literally,
i.e. turn on the literal segments corresponding to the bits set, for more
fanciful displays.
-T
-----
994. I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. --
Thomas
Edison
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
21 Dec
21 Dec
7:53 p.m.
On Dec 21, 2007, at 8:58 PM, Tom Peters wrote:
This is off-topic in terms of the industry involved,
but not too
far off in the time period this stuff dates from.
I've got some very nice, rather large Burroughs nixies- 7971 types.
They're 4.8" high, "British flag" display which looks to be 2.5"
high inside the glass. They have 15 segments each-- 14 in the
alphanumeric display part of the tube and one sort-of cursor, an
underline character with the ends bent downwards.
I hear one can dismember D-shell connectors to get some sockets to
solder to a pc board to connect to these. But my problem is driving
them.
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six of them in an
array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma
any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort-
of a character generator that would take an ascii code and drive
the right segments. Some sort of escape code would let you send 16
bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on the literal segments
corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful displays.
B7971 tubes are very nice indeed. A PIC with lookup tables in
code memory is a reasonable approach.
You can gate the 170VDC to the cathodes with MPSA42 transistors
(NPN, Vceo=300V). If you'll be multiplexing, you can drive the
anodes with MPSA92s (PNP, Vceo=300V, effectively the PNP version of
the MPSA42). Both are available new in lots on eBay for next to
nothing.
I generate the 170VDC for Nixie (and similar) applications from
12VDC using an MC34063-based step-up switching regulator, the design
of which is based on a circuit from one of the chip's app notes. I
can send you the schematic if that'd be helpful.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
22 Dec
22 Dec
9:38 a.m.
At 10:53 PM 12/21/2007 -0500, you wrote:
On Dec 21, 2007, at 8:58 PM, Tom Peters wrote:
Ah! Good information, thanks very much.
This is off-topic in terms of the industry
involved, but not too
far off in the time period this stuff dates from.
I've got some very nice, rather large Burroughs nixies- 7971 types.
They're 4.8" high, "British flag" display which looks to be 2.5"
high inside the glass. They have 15 segments each-- 14 in the
alphanumeric display part of the tube and one sort-of cursor, an
underline character with the ends bent downwards.
I hear one can dismember D-shell connectors to get some sockets to
solder to a pc board to connect to these. But my problem is driving
them.
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six of them in an
array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma
any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort- of a
character generator that would take an ascii code and drive
the right segments. Some sort of escape code would let you send 16
bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on the literal segments
corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful displays.
B7971 tubes are very nice indeed. A PIC with lookup tables in
code memory is a reasonable approach.
You can gate the 170VDC to the cathodes with MPSA42 transistors
(NPN, Vceo=300V). If you'll be multiplexing, you can drive the
anodes with MPSA92s (PNP, Vceo=300V, effectively the PNP version of
the MPSA42). Both are available new in lots on eBay for next to
nothing. I generate the 170VDC for Nixie (and similar)
applications from
12VDC using an MC34063-based step-up switching regulator, the design
of which is based on a circuit from one of the chip's app notes. I
can send you the schematic if that'd be helpful.
Please send schematic, thanks. Who makes the MC34063? Something I could get
at DigiKey or Mouser?
I did some reading last year and I read something about driving Nixies with
DC, is that what's usually done, rather than AC?
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
-----
536. [Love] When a young man complains that a young lady has no heart, it
is a
pretty certain sign that she has his. --George D. Prentice (1802-1870)
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
11:46 p.m.
On Dec 22, 2007, at 12:38 PM, Tom Peters wrote:
Here's the schematic:
http://www.neurotica.com/misc/step-up-regulator.png
I'll see about writing up some better docs for it later. The
values of the timing capacitor (C3) and the gate pulldown resistor
(R4) could probably use some optimization; I've not done much tuning
there. It works well as-is though; I've powered four IN-17 tubes
with it at 100% duty cycle with no heating or other issues.
The power inductor (L2) needs to be able to handle the current,
and have low DC resistance and good core saturation
characteristics...I used a Murata 2200R series unit, Mouser part
number 580-22R334C.
The MOSFET, fast-recovery diode, and low-ESR capacitors are
readily available in small lots via eBay, very cheaply.
I generate
the 170VDC for Nixie (and similar) applications from
12VDC using an MC34063-based step-up switching regulator, the design
of which is based on a circuit from one of the chip's app notes. I
can send you the schematic if that'd be helpful.
Please send schematic, thanks. 
Who makes the MC34063? Something I could get at
DigiKey or Mouser?
Yes, Mouser stocks them. It's originally a Motorola design, but
it has been second-sourced by lots of companies. The ones I have on
hand here are from STMicro, and were purchased from Mouser.
I did some reading last year and I read something
about driving
Nixies with DC, is that what's usually done, rather than AC?
Yes, Nixie tubes are usually driven with DC.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
23 Dec
23 Dec
11:55 a.m.
Thanks very much for the circuit; doesn't look as complex as I thought it
might. Looks like something even I might be able to build.
At 02:46 AM 12/23/2007 -0500, you wrote:
On Dec 22, 2007, at 12:38 PM, Tom Peters wrote:
Here's the schematic:
http://www.neurotica.com/misc/step-up-regulator.png
I'll see about writing up some better docs for it later. The
values of the timing capacitor (C3) and the gate pulldown resistor
(R4) could probably use some optimization; I've not done much tuning
there. It works well as-is though; I've powered four IN-17 tubes
with it at 100% duty cycle with no heating or other issues.
The power inductor (L2) needs to be able to handle the current,
and have low DC resistance and good core saturation
characteristics...I used a Murata 2200R series unit, Mouser part
number 580-22R334C.
The MOSFET, fast-recovery diode, and low-ESR capacitors are
readily available in small lots via eBay, very cheaply.
-----
875. [Government]Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey
and car keys to teenage boys. --P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
I
generate the 170VDC for Nixie (and similar) applications from
12VDC using an MC34063-based step-up switching regulator, the design
of which is based on a circuit from one of the chip's app notes. I
can send you the schematic if that'd be helpful.
Please send schematic, thanks. Who makes the MC34063? Something I could get at
DigiKey or Mouser?
Yes, Mouser stocks them. It's originally a Motorola design, but
it has been second-sourced by lots of companies. The ones I have on
hand here are from STMicro, and were purchased from Mouser.
I did some reading last year and I read something
about driving
Nixies with DC, is that what's usually done, rather than AC?
Yes, Nixie tubes are usually driven with DC.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
21 Dec
21 Dec
11:19 p.m.
On Dec 21, 2007, at 5:58 PM, Tom Peters wrote:
This is off-topic in terms of the industry involved,
but not too
far off in the time period this stuff dates from.
I've got some very nice, rather large Burroughs nixies- 7971 types.
They're 4.8" high, "British flag" display which looks to be 2.5"
high inside the glass. They have 15 segments each-- 14 in the
alphanumeric display part of the tube and one sort-of cursor, an
underline character with the ends bent downwards.
I hear one can dismember D-shell connectors to get some sockets to
solder to a pc board to connect to these. But my problem is driving
them.
For the sockets I'd recommend the Mill-max pin approach; I've used
these for Russian IN-18 and IN-1 tubes in clocks.
Digikey carries a wide selection; see http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/
T073/P0462.pdf for info.
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six of
them in an
array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma
any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort-
of a character generator that would take an ascii code and drive
the right segments. Some sort of escape code would let you send 16
bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on the literal segments
corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful displays.
11:25 p.m.
New subject: WD 1797 ...
I'm in dire need of at least one WD 1797 floppy controller chip. Could
someone point me to where I could find these things?
thkx!
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
22 Dec
22 Dec
8:04 a.m.
New subject: WD 1797 ...
On Dec 21, 2007 11:25 PM, Gene Buckle <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote:
I'm in dire need of at least one WD 1797 floppy controller chip. Could
someone point me to where I could find these things?
thkx!
One of the first places I look for old ICs...
http://www.unicornelectronics.com/
1791* 40 Single/Double Density Controller (Inverted) 3.99
1793* 40 Single/Double Density Controller 4.99
1797* 40 Single/Double Density Cont. with Side Select 1.89
* Discontinued by manufacturer - stock conditions may vary
8:26 a.m.
New subject: WD 1797 ...
One of the first places I look for old ICs...
http://www.unicornelectronics.com/
Ahhh! I thought I'd gone there already, but apparently there is another
Unicorn electronics out there as the site looks nothing like the last
place I looked!
Thanks!
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
4:33 a.m.
Anyone know a
good way to drive these, four or six
of them in an
array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes,
between 4.0 and 6.0ma
any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic
at
each tube, sort-
of a character generator that would take an ascii
code and drive
the right segments. Some sort of escape code
would
let you send 16
bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on
the
literal segments
corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful
displays.
9:42 a.m.
At 04:33 AM 12/22/2007 -0800, you wrote:
To actually drive the tubes. you need something that
can handle the volage/current. Use MPSA42 transistors
- they're cheap, about 8 cents each. One transistor
per cathode. Tie the anode of the tube to the power
source of 200v or whatever. Connect each cathode to
the collector of a MPSA42, tie the emitters all to
ground. To drive a segment, drive the base high
through a 33k resistor.
Great information, thanks. Someone else suggested MPSA42's and '92's as
well. The Burroughs spec sheets talk about the series anode R recommended
for each of three types of tubes; for the B-7971 they say 1.8k. Does your
suggestion eliminate the need for a anode resistor?
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six
of them in an
array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes,
between 4.0 and 6.0ma
any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic
at
each tube, sort-
of a character generator that would take an ascii
code and drive
the right segments. Some sort of escape code
would
let you send 16
bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on
the
literal segments
corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful
displays. -Ian
-----
294. [Internet] "The Wittenberg church door was Usenet for Luther's
community."
--Nick Arnett <nicka at mccmedia.com>
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
10:58 a.m.
--- Tom Peters <tpeters at mixcom.com> wrote:
At 04:33 AM 12/22/2007 -0800, you wrote:
that
No, you still need the anode resistor. That's a
current limiting resistor. It's purpose is to prevent
too much current from damaging the tubes - you need
that. It's actual value will vary depending on supply
voltage. Since the tubes you have are rather large,
and may draw more current, I'd suggest using at least
a half watt resistor for this purpose. Adjust the
value until you get a good, solid glow from the tubes.
If it looks too bright or has a weird haze, increase
the value of the resistor. If the digit isn't
completely lit, decrease it. Start with the
recommended 1.8k and work from there.
Remember, you don't need any fancy power IC's or DC-DC
converters - you can just rectify line voltage (an
isolation transformer is good if you do this...) and
use a simple voltage doubler circuit (two
electrolytics capable of the voltage, and two 1N4006
diodes). You can get a good 250-300v this way.
-Ian
> > Anyone know a good way to drive these,
four or
six
> of them in an
> > array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes,
> between 4.0 and 6.0ma
> > any individual cathode. I was thinking of a
pic at
> each tube, sort-
> > of a character generator that would take an
ascii
> code and drive
> > the right segments. Some sort of escape code
would
> let you send 16
> > bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on
the
> literal segments
> > corresponding to the bits set, for more
fanciful
displays.
To actually drive the tubes. you need something can handle the volage/current. Use MPSA42
transistors
- they're cheap, about 8 cents each. One
transistor
per cathode. Tie the anode of the tube to the power
source of 200v or whatever. Connect each cathode to
the collector of a MPSA42, tie the emitters all to
ground. To drive a segment, drive the base high
through a 33k resistor.
Great information, thanks. Someone else suggested
MPSA42's and '92's as
well. The Burroughs spec sheets talk about the
series anode R recommended
for each of three types of tubes; for the B-7971
they say 1.8k. Does your
suggestion eliminate the need for a anode resistor? 
11:04 a.m.
On Sat, 22 Dec 2007, Tom Peters wrote:
Peter Wallace
Mesa Electronics
(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination.
Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:42:13 -0600
From: Tom Peters <tpeters at mixcom.com>
Reply-To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: OT sockets for Nixies
At 04:33 AM 12/22/2007 -0800, you wrote:
To actually drive the tubes. you need something that
can handle the volage/current. Use MPSA42 transistors
- they're cheap, about 8 cents each. One transistor
per cathode. Tie the anode of the tube to the power
source of 200v or whatever. Connect each cathode to
the collector of a MPSA42, tie the emitters all to
ground. To drive a segment, drive the base high
through a 33k resistor.
Great information, thanks. Someone else suggested MPSA42's and '92's as well.
The Burroughs spec sheets talk about the series anode R recommended for each
of three types of tubes; for the B-7971 they say 1.8k. Does your suggestion
eliminate the need for a anode resistor?
You need the series resistor because of the negative resistance of the glow
discharge.
Many years ago I made a clock with a National MM5316 clock chip and 4 of those
Burroughs Nixies (connected as 7 segmant). I used a PNP transistor to switch
the anode voltage with variable pulse width determined by a CDS light sensor
so the Nixie brighness adjusted automatically to room light. The Nixies
eventually wore out (in about 25 years...)
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six
of them in an
array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes,
between 4.0 and 6.0ma
any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic
at
each tube, sort-
of a character generator that would take an ascii
code and drive
the right segments. Some sort of escape code
would
let you send 16
bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on
the
literal segments
corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful
displays. -Ian
-----
294. [Internet] "The Wittenberg church door was Usenet for Luther's
community."
--Nick Arnett <nicka at mccmedia.com>
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
1:46 p.m.
On Sat, 22 Dec 2007, Tom Peters wrote:
The Burroughs spec sheets talk about the series anode
R recommended for each
of three types of tubes; for the B-7971 they say 1.8k. Does your suggestion
eliminate the need for a anode resistor?
I don't know about the spec sheet, but typically with segmented gas discharge
displays like this, one uses a series resistor for each segment/cathode so that
each segment gets a uniform current regardless of how many segments are on.
With a single anode resistor each segment gets a variable current for
different characters/segment-patterns (unless the tube has somehow been
designed to limit this variability within the typical character set).
With NIXIEs - where there is only one of the 10 cathodes on at any given time
- a single anode resistor can service all 10 cathodes. (Arguably, or
pedantically speaking, the 7971 isn't a NIXIE.)
.. experiment with just the tube, power supply, some resistors, some
switches/breadboard, and a (milli-)ammeter to see how it looks lit up,
.. a little fun in-and-of-itself.
.. then replace the switches with transistors.
Note that if you do anode switching for multiplexing you also need some high
voltage isolation (another transistor&c. or a capacitor) between the logic and
the base of the anode driver transistor.
11:35 a.m.
To actually drive the tubes. you need something that
can handle the volage/current. Use MPSA42 transistors
- they're cheap, about 8 cents each. One transistor
per cathode. Tie the anode of the tube to the power
source of 200v or whatever. Connect each cathode to
the collector of a MPSA42, tie the emitters all to
ground. To drive a segment, drive the base high
through a 33k resistor.
Now if only I could find some nixie tubes... :o)
11:47 p.m.
On Dec 22, 2007, at 2:35 PM, Alexandre Souza wrote:
Good heavens, man. There are gazillions of them on eBay on any
given day.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
To actually
drive the tubes. you need something that
can handle the volage/current. Use MPSA42 transistors
- they're cheap, about 8 cents each. One transistor
per cathode. Tie the anode of the tube to the power
source of 200v or whatever. Connect each cathode to
the collector of a MPSA42, tie the emitters all to
ground. To drive a segment, drive the base high
through a 33k resistor.
Now if only I could find some nixie tubes... :o)
23 Dec
23 Dec
6:28 a.m.
Now if only
I could find some nixie tubes... :o)
Good heavens, man. There are gazillions of
them on eBay on any given
day.
8:55 a.m.
On Dec 23, 2007, at 9:28 AM, Alexandre Souza wrote:
Sure it has, but I live in Brazil, and things from other
countries are a little bit expensive to arrive here :o)
It happens... :o(
I've purchased quite a few Nixie tubes from Russia; the shipping
hasn't been unreasonable at all. Do take a look, you might be
surprised.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
Now if only I could find some nixie tubes... :o)
Good heavens, man. There are gazillions of them on eBay on any
given day.
22 Dec
22 Dec
9:39 a.m.
At 11:19 PM 12/21/2007 -0800, you wrote:
On Dec 21, 2007, at 5:58 PM, Tom Peters wrote:
Ok, thanks, I'll check into that. Wow, there's a lot of experience out here.
This is off-topic in terms of the industry
involved, but not too
far off in the time period this stuff dates from.
I've got some very nice, rather large Burroughs nixies- 7971 types.
They're 4.8" high, "British flag" display which looks to be 2.5"
high inside the glass. They have 15 segments each-- 14 in the
alphanumeric display part of the tube and one sort-of cursor, an
underline character with the ends bent downwards.
I hear one can dismember D-shell connectors to get some sockets to
solder to a pc board to connect to these. But my problem is driving
them.
For the sockets I'd recommend the Mill-max pin approach; I've used
these for Russian IN-18 and IN-1 tubes in clocks.
Digikey carries a wide selection; see http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/
T073/P0462.pdf for info. >Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six
of them in an
>array? I need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma
>any individual cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort- of a
>character generator that would take an ascii code and drive
>the right segments. Some sort of escape code would let you send 16
>bits to be interpreted literally, i.e. turn on the literal segments
>corresponding to the bits set, for more fanciful displays.
-----
398. [SF] No hyperdrive? It's not my fault! --Princess Leia and Han Solo: The
Empire Strikes Back
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
9:30 a.m.
On Dec 21, 2007 8:58 PM, Tom Peters <tpeters at mixcom.com> wrote:
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or six of
them in an array? I
need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma any individual
cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort-of a character
generator that would take an ascii code and drive the right segments. Some
sort of escape code would let you send 16 bits to be interpreted literally,
i.e. turn on the literal segments corresponding to the bits set, for more
fanciful displays.
Check the Microchip app note TB053 "Generating High Voltage Using the
PIC16C781/782", the HV is generated from 9V using some discrete
components and the PWM output (+analog in) of a PIC.
Joe.
9:43 a.m.
At 12:30 PM 12/22/2007 -0500, you wrote:
On Dec 21, 2007 8:58 PM, Tom Peters <tpeters at
mixcom.com> wrote:
Thanks! Looks like a good approach.
-----
330. [Commentary] There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole
government working for you. --Will Rodgers
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB: http://www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
Anyone know a good way to drive these, four or
six of them in an array? I
need 170 volts, 21ma all cathodes, between 4.0 and 6.0ma any individual
cathode. I was thinking of a pic at each tube, sort-of a character
generator that would take an ascii code and drive the right segments. Some
sort of escape code would let you send 16 bits to be interpreted literally,
i.e. turn on the literal segments corresponding to the bits set, for more
fanciful displays.
Check the Microchip app note TB053 "Generating High Voltage Using the
PIC16C781/782", the HV is generated from 9V using some discrete
components and the PWM output (+analog in) of a PIC.
Joe.
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