Hi!
After seeing Adafruits Ice Tube Clock I wanted to make my own clock based on a IV-18 tube.
The clock has the following features:
Clock mode
Alarm at specific time.
Timer mode (count down - alarm when zero)
Night light (3 LEDS PWM adjustable with trimpot)
The clock will automaticly fade out the VFD tube after some time. To light it up you put your hand above the clock (IR-LED + Photodiode).
I used the followning components:
ATMEGA328
IV-18 tube
MAX6921AWI driver IC
34063API switching regulator. Stepped up 5V to 27V.
27V multiplexed workes fine. Other clocks on internet use much higher voltage (>50V) but that seems unnecessary and will affect the tubes lifetime negative.
DS1307 clock IC.
The nice steel enclosure was made by my brother.
/Olof
