Re: [neonixie-l] Quick hello
On Wednesday, 27 November 2013 00:14:58 UTC, NeonJohn wrote: On 11/26/2013 06:06 PM, Matt Wetherill wrote: I thought I might try something driven by an Arduino - it'll be quite a learning curve but should keep me busy ;) Hi Matt, Welcome back. Mine may not be a real popular opinion but I do NOT like the Arduino. It's mangled sorta-C++ is a pain, though you can program in C except for some libraries. It's expensive for what you get and quite short on I/O pins. Incidentally, if you just want to play with the Arduino style of doing things, Digikey sells the programmed chip for $5. Just add 5 volts, a TTL serial interface and a clock and there you go. I suggest looking at one of the several chips that have battery-backed RTCs built-in. Get one in DIP format and assemble something on a proto board. BTW, in the next week or two I'm going to be open sourcing (hardware and software) a nifty little count-down counter that I designed for one of our products. It uses the ATmega8515 which isn't a very interesting chip but it has lots of I/O pins which is what I needed. I heavily document my code, especially that which gets released so it would be a good starting point. I'll announce here when I get it finished (boards to be here on Black Friday :-) John Hi John, Thanks for the reply - good to have your advice on this. I'm very new to electronic / microprocessor design - not so bad with coding (I come from an IT background) but I've got a lot of learning to do with regards to hardware :) I guess I'll look out some reference designs and try to build enough understanding to start hacking some stuff together on proto boards. The countdown counter you mention above sounds very interesting - I look forward to reading more about it. cheers Matt -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/ae7f89c9-691f-4ce0-a23e-9e9e25db682b%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [neonixie-l] Quick hello
On 27 Nov 2013, at 14:03, John Rehwinkel jreh...@mac.com wrote: If I were you, I'd go a step at a time. Looks like you have all you need, aside from an HV supply. First, I'd grab a tube, anode resistor, and one of those driver chips, and try direct driving a single digit. Then I'd add more digits until I ran out of I/O pins. Then I'd either try a shift register as an I/O expander, or look into a multiplexed design using anode switches. But getting that first digit lit is a real thrill! Here's a pic of my first try with an Arduino: http://www.vitriol.com/images/tech/nixies/nixie-firstlight.jpg - John Many thanks John - sound advice about walking before I run! As you say, I'll find an HV powersupply design / schematic, get it built and work on that first digit! Cheers Matt -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/-6785252363072483065%40unknownmsgid. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [neonixie-l] Quick hello
On 11/26/2013 06:06 PM, Matt Wetherill wrote: I thought I might try something driven by an Arduino - it'll be quite a learning curve but should keep me busy ;) Hi Matt, Welcome back. Mine may not be a real popular opinion but I do NOT like the Arduino. It's mangled sorta-C++ is a pain, though you can program in C except for some libraries. It's expensive for what you get and quite short on I/O pins. Incidentally, if you just want to play with the Arduino style of doing things, Digikey sells the programmed chip for $5. Just add 5 volts, a TTL serial interface and a clock and there you go. I suggest looking at one of the several chips that have battery-backed RTCs built-in. Get one in DIP format and assemble something on a proto board. BTW, in the next week or two I'm going to be open sourcing (hardware and software) a nifty little count-down counter that I designed for one of our products. It uses the ATmega8515 which isn't a very interesting chip but it has lots of I/O pins which is what I needed. I heavily document my code, especially that which gets released so it would be a good starting point. I'll announce here when I get it finished (boards to be here on Black Friday :-) John -- John DeArmond Tellico Plains, Occupied TN http://www.fluxeon.com -- THE source for induction heaters http://www.neon-john.com-- email from here http://www.johndearmond.com -- Best damned Blog on the net PGP key: wwwkeys.pgp.net: BCB68D77 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/52953982.5070506%40neon-john.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [neonixie-l] Quick hello
John, do you have a chip with a built in RTC you'd recommend? I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know about them, and have typically used a cheap Dallas RTC on the protoboard clocks I have built as xmas gifts. On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 7:14 PM, NeonJohn j...@neon-john.com wrote: On 11/26/2013 06:06 PM, Matt Wetherill wrote: I thought I might try something driven by an Arduino - it'll be quite a learning curve but should keep me busy ;) Hi Matt, Welcome back. Mine may not be a real popular opinion but I do NOT like the Arduino. It's mangled sorta-C++ is a pain, though you can program in C except for some libraries. It's expensive for what you get and quite short on I/O pins. Incidentally, if you just want to play with the Arduino style of doing things, Digikey sells the programmed chip for $5. Just add 5 volts, a TTL serial interface and a clock and there you go. I suggest looking at one of the several chips that have battery-backed RTCs built-in. Get one in DIP format and assemble something on a proto board. BTW, in the next week or two I'm going to be open sourcing (hardware and software) a nifty little count-down counter that I designed for one of our products. It uses the ATmega8515 which isn't a very interesting chip but it has lots of I/O pins which is what I needed. I heavily document my code, especially that which gets released so it would be a good starting point. I'll announce here when I get it finished (boards to be here on Black Friday :-) John -- John DeArmond Tellico Plains, Occupied TN http://www.fluxeon.com -- THE source for induction heaters http://www.neon-john.com-- email from here http://www.johndearmond.com -- Best damned Blog on the net PGP key: wwwkeys.pgp.net: BCB68D77 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/52953982.5070506%40neon-john.com . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/CAJrqPH_b1xZ8v_XfzaojsBj_06_o6PptNtzU%2BKqZXdq6WMcQpQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [neonixie-l] Quick hello
Sorry but I don't know right now. Next on my project list. Others here are sure to know, though. John On 11/26/2013 08:08 PM, Dylan Distasio wrote: John, do you have a chip with a built in RTC you'd recommend? I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know about them, and have typically used a cheap Dallas RTC on the protoboard clocks I have built as xmas gifts. On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 7:14 PM, NeonJohn j...@neon-john.com wrote: On 11/26/2013 06:06 PM, Matt Wetherill wrote: I thought I might try something driven by an Arduino - it'll be quite a learning curve but should keep me busy ;) Hi Matt, Welcome back. Mine may not be a real popular opinion but I do NOT like the Arduino. It's mangled sorta-C++ is a pain, though you can program in C except for some libraries. It's expensive for what you get and quite short on I/O pins. Incidentally, if you just want to play with the Arduino style of doing things, Digikey sells the programmed chip for $5. Just add 5 volts, a TTL serial interface and a clock and there you go. I suggest looking at one of the several chips that have battery-backed RTCs built-in. Get one in DIP format and assemble something on a proto board. BTW, in the next week or two I'm going to be open sourcing (hardware and software) a nifty little count-down counter that I designed for one of our products. It uses the ATmega8515 which isn't a very interesting chip but it has lots of I/O pins which is what I needed. I heavily document my code, especially that which gets released so it would be a good starting point. I'll announce here when I get it finished (boards to be here on Black Friday :-) John -- John DeArmond Tellico Plains, Occupied TN http://www.fluxeon.com -- THE source for induction heaters http://www.neon-john.com-- email from here http://www.johndearmond.com -- Best damned Blog on the net PGP key: wwwkeys.pgp.net: BCB68D77 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/52953982.5070506%40neon-john.com . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- John DeArmond Tellico Plains, Occupied TN http://www.fluxeon.com -- THE source for induction heaters http://www.neon-john.com-- email from here http://www.johndearmond.com -- Best damned Blog on the net PGP key: wwwkeys.pgp.net: BCB68D77 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups neonixie-l group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/529555D4.9000708%40neon-john.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
