NIXT CLOCK - DIY IV11 VFD Clock DIY Electronic Soldering Kit Nixie era VFD Tube

This is the case-less version of similar w/case kits or fully assembled 6-digit VFD clocks with colorful LED lighting.As a very experienced EE, I would not recommend this to the first-time kit builder, at least without mentoring.• Very rudimentary, yet oddly useful, instruction sheet, in "acceptable" English.• No parts list, but board silkscreen adequate for parts locations.• You’ll have several passive parts leftover.• Schematic on an obscure Google Drive share. Useful, if not 100% accurate.Otherwise, yes, it worked for me first-time after (careful) assembly.Tip: Assemble and check in stages: 27V boost section, LEDs/resistors, logic & first 3, then last 3 IV-11s.A multimeter comes in handy for resistor and voltage checking.You *will* need, not supplied:1. A very fine-tipped soldering iron. Although the two SMD ICs come pre-installed, the nine “gumdrop” RGB LEDs’ leads are *very* close together. Tip: Solder one lead, adjust the LED’s position, clip the leads, then solder the other three. Also, give thought to how high to mount the two “colon” LEDs. Do these after IV-11 installation.2. A CR2032 and a CR1220 coin cell, for the remote and battery backup respectively.3. A solidly regulated 5VDC, solid >=1A, source. This is critical. With all the LEDs going, unit draws ~800ma. The standard 5.5/2.1mm barrel jack expects 5V. There’s no on-board regulator. Running off my lab supply, clock will freeze up at 4.8V and not start at 4.9V. Attempting to connect, say, an Arduino's 9V or 12V wall wart will no doubt result in a bad outcome.Tip: To mitigate IV-11 installation frustration, pre-trim each IV-11 lead to be slightly shorter than the next lead.What I liked:• As I mentioned. it actually works as advertised.• Uses a DS3231, a very accurate (& battery-backed) clock chip. You should expect +/- a few seconds per month.• All ICs socketed, save of course the two pre-installed SMD ones.• Somewhat hackable, non-exotic design uses a 28-pin STC15F2K16S2 microcontroller and as-you’d-expect 74HC595N shift registers & ULN2803 Darlington drivers.• PCB quality very good, with the cool-looking opaque-white soldermask. On the other hand, makes following traces without a schematic pretty impossible.Meh:• Uses a “NXN6803S” SMD to run the six under-tube RGB LEDs. Seems to be one of those China-specials. Google “LPD6803” for poorly-translated datasheet.• The MC34063 DC boost IC runs quite hot. Its included tiny heatsink seems barely adequate.• The six IV-11s appear to be NOS, but each anode a,d&g segments’ illumination isn’t perfectly uniform. Perhaps a filament-cathode issue? Not a dealbreaker.Overall, recommended for the experienced hobbyist looking to add a VFD clock to his/her collection.—

This kit doesn’t have detailed instructions, but the booklet enclosed says it will work if parts are installed as printed on the circuit board, and I found this to be true. No parts were missing. Kit is beautifully designed and everything mounts neatly and precisely on the board. Finished unit works perfectly. Requires careful soldering. You will need a magnifier. Probably not for beginners or those learning soldering, but if you have some experience you should be very pleased with this product.

Ican build this thing.