Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Today I have a cool from a fellow Minnesotan - the company is called Cold War Creations and the clock is called the “Glass Clock #3.”  Watch the video below for the full review and be sure to check out the photos below.

Video Review

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The Enclosure

The stand out feature, in my opinion, is the enclosure for this clock.  I’ve reviewed clocks made from wood, from Plexiglas, from acrylic, and from metal but never one from glass.  I’m not an artist but it seems like glass would be a particularly difficult material to manage and that is exactly why this clock is so cool.

The glass is brand called Simax and is made in the Czech Republic.  Is it a borosilicate glass (similar to Pyrex) that is exceptionally clear and sturdy.  The construction of the enclosure is pretty unusual.  The glass is shipped in a tube shape but you cannot simply take a hack saw and cut it to length.

The main body is to a 150cm length and then smoothed out with a torch.  To relieve the stress created by heating the ends, the entire tube is placed in a kiln for several days in order to relieve internal stresses created.

The glass fee take even more work. Miachel had to cut this with a water-cooled glass saw and then grind down the edges using a special wet belt grinder using various grits.  This gives the feet a smooth edge that looks very clear.  The feet are adhered to the main tube using industrial glass glue.

The internal components are suspended in the tube using a piece of acrylic.  It is capped off using two circular pieces, one with the ColdWarCreations logo and one with the CCCP mark.

The net effect: this enclosure is awesome.

The Electronics

A lot of hobbyists prefer through-hole construction.  This method means that assembly for an end-user is easier but the drawback is that the components are more visible.  This design uses primarily surface mount components.  The means that the user is visually drawn to the tubes and not to the electronics.

There is a great attention to detail with this clock.  The SMD components take up less space and Michael even went as far as to use micro Molex connectors to keep the connectors as small as possible.  Apparently this takes special crimp tools to make a puny 30 gage wire is used to make them less visible.

The goal with the circuitry was to make it invisible and this design achieves it.  For being installed in a glass case, the “guts” are barely noticeable.

Powering the clock is an Atmel Mega 168 microprocessor.  The timing is provided by a temperature compensated 32kHz crystal and the backup power is provided by a super capacitor.  Analog inputs are used for the light sensor and the temperature sensors.  (More on those later)

The power supply is an isolated 9V DC wall transformer.  Internally, the power is boosted to Nixie-levels using an MC34063A power supply controller.

Do you want to know more about the electronics?  Michael posted the schematic here: http://coldwarcreations.com/nixieclk3.html

Clock Functions

Controlling the clock is surprisingly simple.  There are two buttons hidden in feet of the clock that are used to set the parameters.  Initially I was apprehensive about only having two buttons but, to my surprise, it is surprisingly intuitive.  The red switch sets the mode and the black switch is used to set the function.

This clock comes with a built in light sensor.  This is a cool feature - it adjusts the brightness of the tubes based on the ambient brightness. This allows for brightness when you need it but extends the life of the tubes.  The brightness is controlled via pulse width modulation and provides a maximum current of 3 mA.

Lastly, this device comes with a temperature sensor.  It continuously adjusts the algorithm to ensure an accuracy and can display the temperature along with the time and date.

Other features worth mentioning:

  • Anti-cathode poisoning mechanism
  • Digit cross fading
  • Automatic leap year correction
  • Night time display dimming

Internal Photos

One quick note: I'm sorry for the dirty photos.  I didn't want to try and open this device to better photograph the PCB.  It is on loan and I wanted to return it in working order.

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

External Photos

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

Cold War Creations Nixie Clock

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