Blog

Nixie Clock Firmware Issue Discovered

2013.1.30

We've received reports from some customers that there are issues with display ghosting on some Nixie Clocks.

Display ghosting means that in addition to showing the desired numeral inside a tube, a weak version of the neighboring numeral will also be visible.

If you see this effect on your Nixie clock, you should update the firmware.

If you see no ghosting on your clock, it is not neccesary to update the firmware, but doing so will do absolutely no harm.

Download the firmware:

The Akafugu Nixie Clock version firmware version 1.1 (recommended)
The Akafugu Nixie Clock version firmware version 1.0

The follow ourFirmware update guide

So far, the issue has only been discovered on someclocks delivered after mid-December 2012.

The optoisolator (TLP627-1) we use to drive the Nixie anodes (high-side drivers) were bought from two different manufacturers and have slightly different specifications.

The optoisolators from the two different manufacturers look slightly different:

We've never seen the ghosting issue on the left type, with weak print. The ghosting issue shows up on some, but not all clocks delivered with the right type, with strong print.

There is no need to change out the optoisolator as we've adjusted the firmware to be compatible with both types.

PS: If you have bought a Nixie clock with a ghosting issue and do not own an FTDI adapter, or have problems with the update procedure, please contact us by email and we will be happy to help.