in 18 blue dream nixie clock assembly instructions · in‐18 blue dream nixie clock ‐ assembly...

IN‐18 Blue Dream Nixie Clock ‐ Assembly Instructions

The construction of the clock is very simple because only very few components need to be soldered. You need the following components to assemble the IN‐18 Blue Dream Nixie Clock circuit bard: Number Part Description

1 BRD1 Circuit Board IN‐18 Blue Dream 1 B1 Battery holder 1 B1a Lithium‐battery CR2032 1 BZ1 Electromagnetic buzzer

1 or 0 C30 Capacitor, 100nF (only if you use the DCF77 receiver!)

1 C50 Electrolytic capacitor, 4.7µF/250V 1 L2 Inductor, 10 mH 1 L3 Inductor, 3 µH 2 LD20‐LD21 LED, 3mm, blue 3 R02‐R04 Resistor, 1.5 Ohm 3 S1‐S3 Tactile switch 1 TR1 Nixie transformer, type: NIXTRA‐18 6 V1‐V6 Nixie tube IN‐18 2 V7‐V8 Colon tube, type: CT‐IN‐18 2 V7‐V8 Colon tube holder 1 X1 Power socket 1 X2 PS/2 socket

Soldering instructions for the IN‐18 Blue Dream Nixie Clock circuit board Solder B1, BZ1, C50, L2, L3, R02‐R04, S1‐S3, X1, X2 (see table above) to the board according to the marked positions on the board. Make sure that the power socket X1 exceeds 1mm over the boards edge. Attention! The polarity of the components BZ1 and C50 must be observed! (plus and minus) The polarity of the components must match the print on the board! If you want to use a DCF receiver, C30 must be soldered additionally. If you use a GPS receiver, C30 must not be soldered. Then solder TR1 into the board. Make sure that the red dot on the transformer points to the power socket X1. The result should now look like this:

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Now mount the colon tube holder into the holes for V7 and V8 at the board. See the details on the next pictures.

Now insert the colon tubes into the colon tube holders. The neon lamps must point to the front of the circuit board.



Solder the wires of the colon tubes as shown. Make sure the colour markings on the wires match the circuit board markings as follows:

- Black wire soldered to solder pad „BLK“ - Green wire soldered to solder pad „GRN“ - Red soldered to solder pad „RED“ - Blue wire soldered to solder pad „BLU“

Bend up the wires of the two LEDs 90° as sown in the 2 following pictures. (7mm from the top of the LED to the 90° angle) Make sure to solder them correctly (Anode = long wire / cathode = short wire of the LED)

Solder the LEDs into the board and adjust the height of the colon tubes (60.5mm) – see picture below.



Your colon tubes and the LEDs should look like this:



Place the battery into the battery holder and remove the protection sticker from the buzzer.

Now carefully place the 6 IN‐18 tubes into their sockets. Make sure the tubes are pressed in totally until they touch the receptacle. Be careful in doing so. Please note the following here: • Please be careful when pushing the Nixie tubes into their sockets. Hold the sockets from the bottom to prevent bending of the board! • Press the tubes COMPLETELY into the holders. When the tubes are fully inserted, the distance between the tube and the bottom plate is approximately 2.1 mm, as shown in the sketch here:

Your IN‐18 Blue Dream circuit board is now completed. Congratulations!



Case Installation of the IN‐18 Blue Dream Nixie Clock The following components are needed: Quantity Description

1 Stainless steel case top 1 Stainless steel bottom plate 4 Rubber bumpon 6 Spacer, 5mm height 6 Washer for M3 3 Cap for switch S1‐S3 6 Hexagon spacer, 15mm length 6 Screw, M3×6mm, stainless steel

To prevent fingerprints and dirt on the surface of the housing please wear the cotton gloves while the assembling procedure. Place the 5mm spacers on the 6 screw bolts:

Carefully place the board in the case, assemble the 6 washers and finally mount the 15mm hexagon spacers. Do not tighten the too firm:



Place the caps on the plungers of the tactile switches:

Apply the rubber bumpons on the bottom plate at the positions shown here. Do that before you mount the bottom plate on the case:

Now mount the bottom plate on the case using the 6 stainless steel screws. Do not tighten them too firm:

Now it’s time to test your beautiful new IN‐18 Blue Dream Nixie Clock!! Have fun!!



To clean the surface of the housing and the tubes use the microfiber cloth that was delivered together with the kit. Notes on the AUX output: The AUX output is an open collector output and is on pin 3 of the Mini DIN connector. The circuit is as follows:

You can either use the open collector output, or install a pull up resistor for R90. The maximum current to be drawn from the +5 V source, is 100 mA. The maximum load current of the transistor is 100 mA as well!



Notes on the Mini DIN Socket Here is some information about the MINI DIN Socket that is mounted on the back of the clock. Viewing direction is towards the socket

Pin Connection

Shield GND 1 GND 2 +5V DC (100 mA maximal) 3 AUX out (open Collector) 4 Not used 5 TxT (DCF and GPS Input) 6 Not used

Notes on cables switch or switched outlet If you want the clock to run only occasionally, you may do so via a switched outlet or cord switch. Plug in the power supply into a switched outlet or simply build up a cord switch in the power supply cable. The internal battery is not discharged faster than normal and it has absolutely no negative effects on the circuit or the tubes.


in 18 blue dream nixie clock assembly instructions · in‐18 blue dream nixie clock ‐ assembly...

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