Powering up the complete parts

[Tony]

NOTE: This information only applies to the first 20 kits supplied with plain copper engraved PCBs not the later etched boards and is left here for those who may not yet have started on the old kits.

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When you receive the kit there should be one completed display PCB and one board PCB with enough parts fitted to power up one coil.
Connect it to a 12V supply, preferably through a milliammeter to the points marked in this picture, + to either of the red circled holes and - to either of the black circled holes. You only need to connect to one of each.
When powered up you should have a reading of about 24-26mA. if it's about 6mA one end of the coil may have worked loose, tighten up the nuts a little and try again. if it's over 30mA check for shorts or lumps of metal nearby.

Plug one of the IN7 nixies into the display PCB and put it on top of the powered base PCB coil. The current reading should now be about 40mA and it should display a 'm'. You will notice the display is brighter if held slightly above the coil - this is due to the coil being designed for the top board to be in between them.

At this point it's probably worth building the display PCBs first and testing them all against this one coil, if you've missed any turns when winding them it will show up in a higher/lower than average current reading.

[fdastoor]

What do you mean by connection up a power supply 'thru a milliampmeter'? Could you please post a circuit picture.

Also, what type of power supply is being used? AC? DC?

[Tony]

You'll need to have a multimeter set to measure current in series with the +12v supply. The supply needs to be DC and preferably regulated as the safety limit is just over 14V.

[The_Ed]

I have power supplies out the ass, and a fluke 87-V so I'm good on that shit. 2v over is all it can take? I would have put in an over-volt circuit at the power connection to avoid that issue. But I guess it's too late for another revision now.

[Tony]

14V is where the over-voltage protection cuts in.

[The_Ed]

Great, so it's fully protected in-case I hook up the wrong power supply cause they all have the same metal case. Maybe I should get a nice looking one as the ones I got are more for function than looks.

So when are you "really" going to send out the invoices? You just keep crossing out the days in your post...

[Tony]

I know all the first batch of kits have been received and no posts.... was the shock that bad?

[The_Ed]

Maybe people just don't bother to make "another" account? Or maybe the instructions are good enough to keep them occupied in the building stage.

Do you know of any "good looking" power supplies? Or do I just have to use an ugly one...

*The edit/delete issue still hasn't been fixed.

[Salt Maple]

I had a little time tonight and went through the whole kit. Organized and separated almost everything, the nut and bolt bag will get done when I empty a suitable tray. I was thinking I want to wet sand everything to start. Give all the pieces a nice polished look. That will give me a little time to think about how to tackle this monster

I did find one nixie base piece that was broken. The open end had 1-2 mm broken off 80% around. I could cut the rest off but it will sit lower then the others. Guess this is why you sent two extra.

Tony, could you send me, or post a picture of a close up shot of one of your finished chess piece, from the side please? I have a grand idea for a finish for them but I am not sure if it is suitable.

I think you are worrying to much. Your kit is great and is exactly as advertised. We all got a warning. I would think most people would wait a few days to a few months before they start putting it together. Not many people I know have much free time, I only get an hour or two a night a few nights a week. I am not sure where I will find the time, but I will eventually and I look forward to it.

[SpankyMcSpank]

I know all the first batch of kits have been received and no posts.... was the shock that bad?

<envy>

Any indication of when next batch will be shipped??