See this Nixie tube thing? How do I do this with an Arduino?
if you use an arduino with enough outputs (20) then you can drive the 10 segments of each nixie directly, without any decoder. so you can do it by driving 20 high-voltage transistors using the trick shown here.
more info at http://renaud.schleck.free.fr/nixie.php
>>971432
>http://renaud.schleck.free.fr/nixie.php
Thanks Andrea. But this sounds wicked complicated. Perhaps you could help me with something else. In the same gif, you see the charging/spooling up animation? Could you help me with that?
I was thinking of using a neopixel ring but i can't buy one here so i ordered one of these for experimentation. I trawled google but couldn't find jack.
>>971427
I assume you're doing it for the looks and not the authenticity?
Tubes are Nixie tubes are expensive and complicated to run compared to the alternative.
There are LED nixie lookalikes. They only need around 3 V and depending on the batch you buy look the same and function a lot longer.
Even so you cold get a halogen display in amber and have that in a glass dome to look like a nixie. Again needing less voltage altho you might want to invest in a driver.
If you really want to do it with nixie tubes, build an inverter hook it up to a appropriate transformer and than use your arduio and a transistor to control a bunch relay switches. This is however an expensive solution.
>>971439
I don't think i have the skills for Nixies. LED Nixie lookalikes however sound very interesting. Do you have a link?
>>971440
seven segment digital display amber
And you'll have plenty to work with. Put that in a test tube and you got yourself a nixie tube if you look at it from really really far away or drunk.
I'm not sure how you wanted to used the neoplex ring. those things light up all leds at once. You could program in a random flicker animation with your arduino. if you set a really fast blink interval it looks like it's dimmer. so you could have it switch between a few blink settings to get the effect you like.
>>971442
Thanks Eunice. I was going to google but didn't know specifically what i was looking for.
I want the animation to spool like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsssoCC8Y7w
But not stop and rotate around the ring speeding up a certain point - basically charging up/spooling up
Problem is I don't know what to look for. Could you help?
>>971438
>81.6% positive feedback
>>971451
It will be a test piece. I'm not worried
>>971454
81% at 307 sales means they are shit.
even the shittest sellers have 98% minimum.
try googling "neopixel ring"
>>971463
>neopixel ring
Did that. That's why I'm here. If you could point me the right direction, I'll do the rest myself.
>>971464
"neopixel ring instructables"
>>971466
Tried that too..
HALP
>>971427
if you are doing it with an arduino then you dont deserve nixie tubes.
>>971442
>I'm not sure how you wanted to used the neoplex ring. those things light up all leds at once. ...
neopixels are individually controllable, each has an 8-bit value for red/green/blue that you set to get it to shine in whatever color and brightness you want
I dunno who started calling them "neopixels". I saw that on Adafruit first, but they didn't invent the things.
The "normal" name for these components is WS2812 LEDs, but there are some (prior) variants with different features on them. It is important to know which ones you are buying because they have different driving (data) requirements.
See here-
https://digistump.com/board/index.php?topic=991.0
>>971442
>Put that in a test tube and you got yourself a nixie tube if you look at it from really really far away or drunk.
I think it could look pretty close if you put a thin piece of plastic film over it to "fog" the view a bit, and then put a piece of fine metal mesh over that.
Nixies are delicate and expensive; I would not recommend them for anything that might get dropped occasionally (like a cosplay-type gun).
7-segment displays are dirt cheap and indestructible
(...why is it always that everything cheap is tough, and damn near everything expensive is delicate?,,, )
>>971449
>I want the animation to spool like this
>But not stop and rotate around the ring speeding up a certain point - basically charging up/spooling up
>Problem is I don't know what to look for. Could you help?
that guy used two neopixel rings, with a group of 7 regular LEDs in the very center. The center LEDs might be RGB's too, but they don't look like ws2812's
Adafruit is one place that sells the rings you want, but they may not be the cheapest place.
neopixels can be animated, plus they are RGB leds so they can change colors too.
>>971588
>>971592
I've abandoned the nixie idea, sound like too much work, too expensive and too delicate. I'll go with segment displays connected to the 'duino.
There are 12 capacitors on the gun. The idea is to embed the 12 WS2812 rings into the capacitors. I'll be running them off the same arduino, and when the trigger is pulled, the WS2812 rings 'spool up' as in get each LED light up one after the other and gradually speed up till it reaches a constant speed, like in the gif.
Any ideas how to go about this?
>>971885
>Any ideas how to go about this?
This is just one person's advice; there is different ways it could be done...
1. I would use an Arduino Nano clone for this, since it is physically smaller than a regular Uno. Get a version-3 board, with the ATmega328 chip.
2. you need the neopixel rings you want to use (or at least one or two rings, to just get started)
3. I would get a 12-volt battery setup; in particular I would use four battery trays that each hold 8 D-size batteries. Each tray needs a diode to prevent current from flowing backward into it. You want a rectifier diode for this, such as a 1N4007.
4. The arduino needs 9 volts to work well, and the LEDs need 5 volts. To convert the battery 12 volts to lower voltage amounts, you need to get some DC-DC bucking converters. These convert a higher-amount of DC voltage to a lower-amount. The lower amount (that you want) is adjustable.
One example:
http://www.oddwires.com/lm2596-dc-dc-buck-converter-module-power-supply-output-1-23v-30v/?gclid=CPnp3Nn59MsCFdgcgQodagQNAQ
,,,
You would need at least one bucking converter for the arduino's 9 volts. I don't know how many converters you'd need for the LEDs, that depends on how much current they draw and how much current a buck can put out.
For tools you would need a soldering iron + solder. A multimeter will be enormously helpful also, and there's cheap ones around.
Adafruit has a guide with a code example of how to make chasing patterns on these rings:
https://learn.adafruit.com/kaleidoscope-eyes-neopixel-led-goggles-trinket-gemma/overview
>971427
Hey dude, today is your lucky day. I'm an autist when it comes to illumination and such. Driving a Nixie or multiple Nixies with Arduino is super easy.
First, you don't need 10 outputs per Nixie. You need a K155LD1 or similar driver. Here's a link to some Russian surplus drivers that you can get for about $1 per driver.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/K155ID1-NIXIE-CLOCK-TUBE-DRIVER-IC-74141-BRAND-NEW-FAST-SHIP-/161751690119
With these you only need 4 outputs on an Arduino to control the tubes. Next, you're going to need a high voltage power source and luckily ebay also saves the day.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authorized-Dealer-NCH6100HV-High-Voltage-DC-Power-Supply-for-Nixie-Tubes-/182031863746?hash=item2a61f1cfc2:g:L2IAAOSw~gRVkVSI
The sketch is quite easy and I'll post mine with some screen shots when I get home (I'm at school right now). I'll show you the wiring of everything and all that.
>>971592
Nixie tubes are neither expensive nor fragile. The most expensive part about Nixies are the shipping price from the Ukraine to the States. Trust me on that.
>>972528
You don't need to convert any voltage if you're using an Arduino with this setup because the Arduino has a 5V out. Depending on how many LEDs you're going to use though you might want to power the Arduino and LEDs separately.
>>972534
>Nixie tubes are neither expensive nor fragile.
The only cheap nixie tubes (in the USA) are tiny ones that are used.
And nixies are vacuum tubes, they're all fragile.... especially compared to a 7-segment LED display
>>972536
>You don't need to convert any voltage if you're using an Arduino with this setup because the Arduino has a 5V out. Depending on how many LEDs you're going to use though you might want to power the Arduino and LEDs separately.
WS2812's each pull about 60mA when fully lit, and basically zero when not lit.
The max you're supposed to draw off the Arduino (Uno) onboard 5v regulator is 200mA, and the arduino itself uses ~30mA of that--and the LED data line will use a bit also. So what's left would run two ws2812 LEDs.
If the Arduino is connected to a PC then the limit jumps to 500mA, but only because the onboard power regulator isn't supplying that--the PCs USB port/power supply is.
So yea,,,,, you are going to need a separate 5v power supply to run a bunch of neopixels. I would guess OP would want to be able to get at least a couple amps total out of the 5v power supply.
Hmmm...
--figuring 12 rings of 12 LEDs each, enough current to run half of them at 100% brightness would need 4.32 amps. :o
--for chasing, assume 4 leds on each ring, lit up 100/75/50/25%, then you would need 1.8 amps. (150mA x 12 rings). -And that is still kind of a lot for D cells.
mebbe go find a monster battery first. Or alter the quantity or blink pattern of the LEDs.
>>971427
>arduino
>/v/
>>971427
this may be a good place to learn.
what is a Nixie?
what differentiates it from other alternatives?
what set it apart from other things when it was a new idea?
>>972589
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IN-12-B-BEST-NIXIE-TUBES-FOR-CLOCK-6-NEW-NOS-TESTED-/162020139567?hash=item25b927222f:g:V1IAAOSw1ZBUtV2c
$2/per tube is dirt cheap. I have dropped 2 by accident on tile floor at about 3 ft and never had a problem. All the tubes I have ordered (~20) have never had a problem even being shipped from Ukraine.
On the point of the LEDs that's why I said depending on how many he wants to power he should use a separate power source. I have LED strips that definitely require their own source.
OP, if you want to power Nixies by battery you're going to have to find a way to step up a battery voltage from 9V (or whatever) to 200V. From what I have seen there aren't any for sale commercially, but maybe I'm searching the wrong term.
>>971544
>if you are doing it with an arduino then you dont deserve nixie tubes
dont use meme hipster "electronics" to drive my meme hipster tubes!
>>972612
Here is where I did a test for a Nixie clock I'm building using an Arduino. The toughest challenge you would face is powering them because Nixies are hogs when it comes to power. You would constantly have to change out batteries.
>>972913
Actually I just have these two hooked up directly for some reason. I don't remember what I was doing this for...
