Steps to solder components in order for Nixie6.2 ____________________________________________ Please look the board over carefully and read the instructions and parts list to familiarize yourself with the assembly procedure before you begin. Please also familiarize yourself with transistor orientation: looking at the front (flat side), the three leads are, left to right: emitter, base, collector. A diode has a + and - side, and IC's are marked on one end with a small indented "notch". The IC sockets are also notched. Electrolytic (cylindrical shape) capacitors have a + & - side . Solder all components on the bottom of the board (if possible), and insert the wires through holes & solder to bottom of board. For transistors, I find it helpful to let the transistor stand up above the board rather than pushing the leads through; this lets the transistor chip inside the case standoff from the heat of the soldering iron. I also find it helps to solder one lead at a time, pausing in between to allow the transistor to cool for a minute. This also applies to the leds, particularly the blue leds, which are sensitive. Please note that some extra components are silkscreened on the bottom layer board, these are for a different configuration and don't apply to this build, so there will be some "missing" components. Part 1 : The Nixie bottom layer board (power supply board) High voltage ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solder components in this order: Transformer - Primary side is next to fuse, solder leads to the top as well as the bottom. Fuse Four pin jumper - solder to the square marked with V1/V2 - only necessary to switch between 120VAC (U.S.) and 240VAC (some other countries) - If this is not necessary, you may solder a small jumper to the appropriate holes (120 or 240, marked as V1 & V2) to make a permanent connection. R1 - 220 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor. R9 - 1 Meg ohm C5 - 2.2 uF, 350V capacitor R7 - 220K resistor Large neon bulb, this one is different from the other four. D4 - 1N4007 diode NOTE ORIENTATION D5 - 1N4007 diode C4 - 2.2 uF, 350V capacitor white wire to NEUTRAL black wire to HOT Connect these to an AC power cord, and plug in. Neon bulb should light. Test for high voltage at the connection points in back marked GND (negative) and ~300VDC (positive) Part 2 : The Nixie bottom layer board (power supply board) Low voltage ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B1 - rectifier bridge, note orientation R4 - 100K resistor C3 - .01 uF ( 103 ) cap C6 - 1,000 uF 35V electrolytic cap D3 - 1N4001 diode R5 - 10K resistor Q12 - 2N3904 NPN transistor R6 - 1K resistor 7805 - 5V regulator 7812 - 12V regulator Attach the heat sink to both regulators D1 - 1N4001 diode D2 - 1N4001 diode C1 - 100 uF, 25V cap C2 - 100 uF, 6.3-10V cap R2 - 470 ohm resistor R3 - 470 ohm resistor LED - 12VDC indicator (Green) LED - 5VDC indicator (Red) Assemble the connecting wires and solder to the connection points at the back, labeled "GND, 60HZ, BB, 5VDC, 12VDC and ~300VDC" These will be the six connections to the six - wire "bus" that will connect to the top layer board. It is very important, of course, that these six connecting wires are connected correctly to the coresponding connections on the top layer pc board. Plug the power cord in, and the neon light & leds should light. Test for the correct voltages at the connecting wires, GND to 60HZ should read at ~2.5VDC, GND to the others should read as indicated. BATTERY BACKUP STEP (OPTIONAL) -------------------------------------------------------- If you are installing the battery backup option at this time: LED - BB (small blue) R8 - 10K resistor D6 - 1N4001 diode 78L05 regulator 5VDC relay Solder a jumper across the connection for 5VDC on the board near the battery clip area. Battery Clip - solder to + & - Part 3 : The Nixie top layer board (logic board) components ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solder the six - wire connector to the connection point outlined on the board. Be careful to orient this correctly - the points marked on the bottom layer correspond to the same points on the top layer. After connecting this, plug the cord back in and test for the correct voltages on the top layer at the connecting points. U1 - 28 pin IC socket - ORIENT CORRECTLY U3 - 16 pin IC socket - NOTE ORIENTATION R30 - 10K resistor Q15 - 2N3904 NPN transistor R31 - 10K resistor unmarked - 2N3904 transistor, this is the only unmarked transistor on the board, next to Q15 C2 - .01 uF (103) cap C3 - 10 uF, 6.3-10V cap X1 - 4MHZ crystal R1 - 2.2K resistor C1 - .01 uF (103) cap - NOTE: IF USING BATTERY BACKUP OPTION, THIS SHOULD BE A 1,000uF 6.3V cap instead R32 - 2.2K R22 - 2.2K R23 - 2.2K S3 - Toggle button S2 - Fast set button S1 - Slow set button PIEZO BUZZER - in the center of the board - if polarized, the positive should be on the right, when viewing the board with the printing right side up. R24, R25, R26, R27, R28, R29 - these are all 1K resistors. Don't solder the double hole side at this time, only the single hole side, and clip both leads. The blue leds will solder to these later. R41, R42, R51, R52 - these are all 180K resistors. They supply the neon bulb colons. Don't solder the double hole side at this time, that side will solder to the neon bulb later. Clip both leads on these resistors. D1 - 1N4001 diode (If battery backup, add D2 - 1N4001) R34, R38, R43, R48, R54, R58 - these are all 47K resistors R33, R37, R44, R47, R53, R57 - these are 33K resistors R35, R39, R45, R49, R55, R59 - these are 470K, don't solder the double hole side yet. R36, R40, R46, R50, R56, R60 - these are 100K, now solder the side adjoining the 470K's Relay - 12VDC relay Q9, Q18, Q20, Q10, Q24, Q23 - these are all MPSA44 NPN (or KSP44) transistors, they should be in a line parallel to the long side of the board. Q3, Q17, Q19, Q4, Q21, Q22 - these are all MPSA92 PNP transistors. Now, test the digit drivers by plugging the cord in (with the boards connected) and using a jumper wire to connect pin #1 on the 28 pin socket (U1) to pin # 25. This should actuate the relay, supplying ~300VDC to the board's drivers. Use a jumper wire to connect pin #20 on U1 to pin #23, then test for high voltage at the anode hole of the first nixie space. This is the one on the right when looking at the front of the board (ones seconds count) This should read about 285VDC relative to ground (0VDC) or pin # 19 on U1. Do the same after connecting pin #20 on U1 to pin #24, and test for HV at the second anode hole. Continue to the next (third anode hole) by connecting pin #20 on U1 to pin #15. Next connect pin #20 to pin#16 and test for HV at the fourth anode hole. Connect pin #20 to pin #17 to test the fifth anode hole. Connect pin #20 to pin#18 to test the sixth. Disconnect power and remove the jumper wires from the IC socket. Carefully insert the IC's into the sockets, noting proper orientation. You should now be ready to begin soldering in your nixie tubes. Part 4 : The Nixie top layer board (logic board) Nixie tubes, colons, blue leds ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The holes for the solder - in Nixie tubes are arranged from anode and then 0-9 in clockwise order (0,9,8,7...). There is an "A" next to the hole for the anode. The "0" is mistakenly marked "1" and "1" is marked "0", please disregard this and go by order from 0-9 clockwise starting with the hole marked "1" to the right of the anode "A" as "0". The IN-8-2 nixies work really well with this board, the decimal point lead can be trimmed (not needed) This suits IN-14 Nixies well, just trim the two leads on either side of the anode. They are the decimals (right & left). It's helpful to insert the nixie, leaving the tube about 1/4" to 1/2" above the board, and turn it, twisting the leads a bit to face it forward, then solder the anode and "0" lead, trim the leads and then (without soldering the other leads) plug the clock in and watch for the nixie to display the "0". This way you can be sure the tube is working before you solder the entire thing. They're difficult to remove so it's better to know if it works before soldering it entirely. The neon bulbs are used for colons, they can be soldered into the holes inside the area marked for them in between the nixies. The leads can be bent so they don't touch, and turned forward to display the round way, or just pointed up. The blue leds can be added by bending the leads to face backwards (please see the drawing in led.jpeg), so the led fits into the hole under the nixie and the leads solder to the ground holes (cathodes) and 1K resistors double hole side (anodes) (R24, R25, R26, R27, R28, R29) from Part 3.