4728123, 700 PM 1970's TL Ninle Clock and 1970's TTL Nixie Clock Introduction: ve aleady successily built a Nui clack without misosonuall Now Ihave decided to go even further and construct a Nixie Clock with TTL logic fom ‘Caschoslovak Tesla. Jus ik it would have ben bul in the 1970, the pak o se ea 18 acl not ayeplica of any mass-produced device (ite coeks have never boon produced ava household eppliance) Ics rather animation of homemade ipl loc fom 190s period. Las ake a travel back in tne nto the pod od days ‘an build dghal lock ike th enbusnsts Rave heen doing i the 1970s the TT. and mae ines, "Abit of history: Acie beginning of he 1970, Czechoslovak amateurs got old ofthe miracle of this ca ~ TTL logic ICs. A interesting application ofthese circuits is a digital lack, ‘Around 1970, Tesla National Corporation arte wo produce decimal counter MET490 (aes MINT490A) and hexadesmal courier MH493 laler MH?S93A) which are ‘eres or the consrastion ofa dg lack. Those re cones of he Texat Insrument SNT490N, SN7S90AN, SN7A95N, SNT&9SAN, At that the fst amateur ‘onstictions of cooks appeared. Asa display, ise tes wete commonly use. la iterate fom: 1969, he Tesla 2M1020 nei st mentioned. Then Tesla stared to produce ZMIO8OT (in 1971) and ZMIO40 (in 1973. In eatly 1970s Tesla also began producing the famous ceeit ME TAL, the BCD tn 10 decode with outputs ‘esigned to diretly deve nine ‘Schematic Digital clock is essentially composed of several chained counting cgi, where the overflowing counter increments the next one. The counters ae inthis Sequence: Ones ‘ofseconds, ons of conds ones of minutes ens of mate, ones of hours ad ters of hour. Ones of seconds abd ones of minutes coun! 09 (atoll of 10 sales), and therefore decade counter MI7490(A) is mos sulable. Tens of seconds and fens of mutes, counting for 0-5 (6 states) require bas- counter That doesnot exis, Buti isposibe wo creat itby limiting the counting ecle of a higher-base counter. This maybe for example octal, decade or hexadecimal counter. Limiaton of counting ‘yo is dane using the eet inputs. These inputs ate conteted tthe oupits so that when they each a certain tate, the counter erst Ifthe cour bast cunt fom 0 16, thea the tate 6 must rigger a eset, Two reset npurs ROA (Which act at AND gate) ae eomected tothe opus Band C (second ad hid lowest it), When t reaches 6 (binary 110) both ofthese outputs are og. | and the counter almost immediately resets 00. “A lite more complicated isthe eouting mechaism of hou and eas of hours. I lat o9, utr incremeataion must et ones of houts oO and increment eas of| hours. But also a3 the nex intementation mus ead to OO, The best solution it se decade counter MHT490(A) for ones of hur, which alone skips oO afer 9, To count es of hur, any counter capable of slates 0 02 ean be sed. The ene pat of counters has tobe reset when reaching 24 (nthe BCD code 10 100), Te reset inputs of te wo counters thus conpect at the second bi tens of hours output B) andthe hid bit f oes of hours outptC). ‘Now we havea system to count ime. We also nesdasoure of pulses witha frequeny a acurtely as posible 1H namely with a ptiod of Is. Since the accuracy ‘©FRC or LC onilators sno enough fora clock, thre we basically two viable sollons: Using eystal or mans fequsncy Crystals were ill expensive and had fo Find in the 1970). Moreover, the cys frequency relatively high teal tens of Kl). To obtain a feuney of | H you need large murber of counter connected 4s frequency divider. For 100kiz crystal, for example, you need S decimal counters MHHT490/ MHT7490A, Counters wets, of cars, also very expensive an rte) 80d Therefore a SOH2 power grid fequeacy was usualy used asa standard T obtain Iz you only need two counters and no crystal or crystal scllaorcucat The 80 division wil requite onl one decimal counter pd one bas'S counter. Mains frequency fom a eansformer secondary is shaped using cei that converts asin wave lo'recangulse waveform compatible wit TTL levels “Te al "ertbook" clock contains 8 decimal covntere Tela MII7490 (or MEA7490A), Fr, he SOx mains frequency is shaped and divide by’ 5 and by’ 10 (in any ‘rd then divided by 10 6,10, 6 abd ally by 24 using «pir f counters. ut this extbook” cru canbe optinized to omit one IC package. Well use some of exadacimal counters MH7493 (oe MHT495A), Decimal counter MH490(A) i artually composed of two independently usable counters = binaty and bases Hexadecimal couner MH7483(A) ssmilriy composed of wo counters binary and octal. This s sel fr cre optalizatio, For ones of seconds, ops of minutes land ones of hours we use full decimal counters For tens of seconds and ens of minutes we use octal counters in M7493, limited to Base-. Binary ones wl esa for ‘ther use For counting tens of Rous, wo binary counters of to MHT490s ae used, thereby forming abas-4 couste For the purposes of counting tes of hous itis “Sulicint The vo unused bates counters willbe used to divide the grid frequency rom SUH doves to 2H (30''S~ 2) One ofthe unused binary counts ip cies 'MH7493 i used to divide the resulting 2Hz frequency to TH, which ea already ents the seconds stage. The 2 binary counter (in the other M7493) remains umusel, Tecan posily be used as an additonal divider if we wanted to clock the clock using 100H om abridge rectifier. Binary and bass (or base) counters sone package Shae eet inpus, ute dos not matter as Tong asthe Yess funtion is used inthe higher-order courte. Durig rest, counter of lower det woul have advanced 0 ‘nya (Higher counter advances only steaton when al lower counters overflowed i 0) The erty for counting hows and tes of hours consi of tree 'MII7490. Rese ints of all three are hus connected together. “Aferopsmizaon the nuniber of couming cecutsisfeduced fom eight to seven (Give MH7490 and two MEV493). Reset inputs in oes of Seconds and ones of| minutes age not used so they have be connected to GND. MH7490 crcl additionally contin ipuls ROW, presen vals 9, which ae also ot used, and therfore onnesed o GND too. I the ciruils MH only inp ROA: represent When counter re chine the inp fs higher counters alway cones 10 the highest ‘sed output ofa lower coutner “Any wef lock also has o have a method tose i. This nisi clock is set using wo buttons. One button to et hous and then one to set minutes. During setting of hours, the SOHL signal passat trough base part ofthe minute counter and thea though tens of minutes. The Slt fequeney is dvided by 30 and generates 1 666 Hz, naling yo se the hours camforaby Simic, when you sel miles, the SOI reguency pases through the base part ofthe anes of seconds stage ad hen through es of seconds stage. Therefore, the fequency whe sting minuess also 1.666 Ha, Some ofthe more elaborate clock designs tse Exclusive OR (KOR) MH7#86 wit debounced buon. Such cui, howeves i somewbat more complicated and rquises more negated cieats For smi, therefore, mest clocks were Tula shown inthe diagram blow Normal operation fegueny ene the counter ia a eit apd fast Frequency Via bullon With series In eapaior. The signal pissing though the contacts of the baton x dived by 30 belore reaching the eunter beings. Ti in practice ely slficen Lo eiminate bouncing buns Btlon Bouncing sfurkher reduced using the I capaci is seis ~ the seting impulses shor and unlikely tobe sated into more impulses. ‘Malas fequeacyhas wo be propel shape. Its necessary to creat TTL compatible sguare wave fom the sine Wave. Since the power grids fl of random pulses, harmonic Fequoncis and interferences, ith nacesary to uke low pass ile (RC network) and alo Shni cicut wi hysteresis Without hist is italy impossible to syne the cick using mains frequency. low pss filler oa Sekt gger alone are ot suficient, we need a combination of bat. Some designers have ‘come tos rong constsion tha the maine fequency i unussble, they Bave ued improper shaping ct Ite sterference ples are no fered, they will be cuted in counters and the clock may nu faster, Shaping eu is created using & Tesla M7400, which contin four 2-input NAND gate, Tn digital clock, the imei obviouly not only counted, ut lo displayed nthe 197 and eal 8s, xis were the mos commen snl affordable nner dip. Seven-segment LED displays were sil eaively unavailable and expensive. Ther minows nasty was very low ad the charter displayed small, Additionally, BCD 107 segments decoreds Were had find in Czechoslovakia. In coma xis were aeady established and proves ype of cspla). The MHTAV41 ders designed for nis were alteady pat of Tesla production. Fo this rasa, the ies were vicually the only choice Tesla roduced basically only thee types of suitable nies (unless you count the oles versions as another type: 241020, 2911080 and ZMLOBOT. Big rxies ZM1040 (STzum digit, side view) mostly did get into the ands of “amateurs before 1980s, when they got moses fra few ems, or even ite dumpster, due o their obsolescence. Smal ies ZMIOAOT (Lim digit, ie view) were a ‘itmore accessible. They don't use a socke, they are soldered dzeclty into te PCB. Ifyou need the possibly to replace the xe (rt seit elsewhere Inte) only one ‘option enans-ZMI020, ls top view nisi wih 15 Siam igh ntalled into BSR socket. alo chose tis ype The 241020 isthe very fie type of nae be Prodaced by Tesla, nd this bes fora retro clock), ‘Seconds dont have tobe displayed. The oles clocks wally displayed only hours and minutes for economical reasons. Ths saves two nies and wo MH74141 suivers. During the 1970s the MH7ALAI was stl elatvely expensive abso constuctrs vied to reduce their cous to a minimus. To contol the aie a tens hours dus, instead ofthis diver, they cleverly used jas wo Uaisors, Only digits | and? ever apear this place. The leading ro sna played, which amo for bad. BCD ‘decoding not necessary, beeuse only states 0, 1 and 2 are possible. The lowest bi (A) of BCD always denotes number I and the second lowes bt (B) number 2 Replacing he MH74181 by 2 transistors and vero blanking slo lends to es power consumption. I seconds ae not displayed only 3 MHTA14 drives are needed. The ‘uasistrs ae high volage low power types. nthe old das, the most appropiate were wanistos designed fo vdeo ampli, fr example, BF2S0,SESS9, BEASS, KF A22, KF459, Volpe deop ofthe nine bos sublrctd from the ano sup, so the voltage rating demand onthe wanisor i slighlly reduced, IF no highvoliage hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_ enh 194728123, 700 PM 1970's TL Ninle Clock ‘uansisos wer avaable, cnginers solved a problem using a small tytisior (SCR), for example. KTSQ6 or KTSOR/400.Tayisos may be used oly whee the nic ‘anode supply pulsating (hslewave or fllewave cies AC volae without south epactor), not when smooth DC vollage tuted or completeness wo can ald blisking) dot o separate hours and mites. This an be miniatre tongs lt, eon glow lamp, or 8 very moder) fst ‘Czechoslovak lightemiting diode (LED) Tesla LQUOO ina Beall golépated metal case. The fed ight-miting ods has a lamisous intensity oa) 0-8medat 200A ‘nade ens, tha tens al fF jas fom wry glace (o eutse, with ep), bts simply our fst LED ever) Max. curent i SO mA and max. peak catent according 1 the dataset sincredible SA. The forward voltae dop is oly 1.65V and hence it ean be powered die rom tbe log, The digital clock naturally needs a pote suppy. Fs, the supply of reulaed SV DC and also anode voltage supply fr tices which must be at least ITOV (however, for beter subilityofnxiecutent, itis beter to use even higher volage). The SV is obtained using mains uansfome, bridge rectifier and aepulatr. Te oldest. regulators used 2 Zeer diode anda power atsnior. Abit tote moder design wses monolith egulator affixed SV vole - Tesla MATAOS sn TO-3 metal housing eis rmovnled on small heatsink. Ate np ad out of the regulator closet the pins are ceramic bypass capciors witha value of about 100m. On herp side ted ‘Tesla TK7AS rated at 32V. On the ouput sdeTesia TR782 (uted 125V) i enough. Same capciors wil also be used to block the supply voltage on the logic boa Consuaption of logic citcat MHTA90A i329 A (A2O.A), MET&93A 26 A (<30mA), MHALAL 27 mA (eS2MA) abd M400 [2A (<22008), Total consumption of te cioek lope without seconds dvpay (3x M7814 usc) i this 290mA typical, ASA maximum. We also have toad he corsuption of oer omponents as MA780S own consumprion, LED, base resistors and sye resistor, together about 28 mA. Maximal tal cuten dawn fom the secondary ofthe ‘uansformer is therefore cea 431 mA. The MA7S0S regulator requis an inp voltage of least 7V. Adding voltage drop atross the filter capacitors around 1.2 (forthe ‘spactyof3000uF and curren 431 mA) and the drop ofrecer diodes mex. 2x L1V the nim ample ofthe secondary AC vokage has tobe 10A4V. Tis orrespond othe ns valu of about 7.3V~ Ie eosider the 10% er of mains, the minimal tecondry voltage i 8V™, Well use a ansformer 89 ON, cca SOOMA, ‘Asan anode soply for ies, you can use DC voltage (wth a smoothing capacitor ora pulsating voltage from a al- wave of full-wave reife without smoothing ‘capacitor The vltge can be obtained ether fram a wansforner,o dicey trom the mains. Tus single nalfwave operation dsclly from mans (220- 240V), anode Foust are 68k 1W. When tinea powered dictly fom the mains without isolating tasformer, the ctr cet ofthe clock including the SV lgie) is {alsanically connected othe mains and mast therefore be suitably protected against contact wih Ive pars. Aso, he bulls mst be sitable for operation wth mains oltage.Inall cases use an appropriate fur inthe mains np, especialy rede he rik ofc ‘Long term operation experienc 28,6 2019-3 years’ months of opestion with no fluor ‘Warning: The nie cock operates with deadly vllage. Allis components must be suitably insulated be designed for mains voltage, because ther contacts are ot isolated from onstruction sony suitable for skilled persons who are competent {ake no responsiblity for any of your damage, injuries or death. ot accesible from the outside. The buttons must The device must be fited with suitable fae to reduce the risk of ie. The fe mork with dangerous voltage, You de everything only at your owa risk, The 2x by s2fon its a0 104 oe val Mie4 00 re) (arse oo, at 00) (rox) (Gro ‘TTL ini lock schematic - Power suply and SOHa shaping eicuit hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm 219472823, 700 PM 4970's TTL Nine Clock Lo tT oat i! ¥ rats pei to re Tha oaanee ct 5 re, auth . iy \ a wat: pee i 5 , z a % BS) REE aes (Ube) a & g BoR ma) |p _ Dyk tek OP [econ RB ay cb a m won oh A L | zi ‘TTL ini clock schematic - TTL logis (counters, drives) nsies (The seconds canbe omit). ‘Completed nixie clock Photos coming soon Nixie clock during construction hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm ane1970's TL Ninle Clock 4128123, 700 PM an hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm4728123, 700 PM hitpsiidanykezthodiny. 1970's TTL Ninle Clock TESLA MII7490A TT log and vinige Kablo Kladno wie) “Tala DIPY# god plated voces4128123, 700 PM 1970's TL Ninle Clock ‘Tesla has bon producing only 31ypos of standard numeric nises: 211020, 21040 and ZMONOT (ifthe versions ZMION2 and ZM1082T without red iter don't count hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm ‘ak oler ype, 0 the eee snot 0 aed) Ts ert of te TTL Nixie Clock4728123, 700 PM 1970's TL Ninle Clock ‘word miracle «Fas Cechoslovak LED diode Te hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm m9472823, 700 PM 1970's TTL Nine Clock TIL Nini Clk -nixe hoard and 1970s TT logic board “Tesla LQ 100 LED de operating. Iie Barto photograph nd prodoses vc w dep relight, the photo just can't reproduc hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm ane4728123, 700 PM 1970's TTL Ninle Clock ‘Rolated SY suppy with Tesla MA780S, - ~~ Tes ofthe clock before puting i into abo. hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm one4728123, 700 PM 1970's TTL Ninle Clock hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm s0n94728123, 700 PM 1970's TTL Ninle Clock hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm ne4728123, 700 PM 1970's TTL Ninle Clock Assrbled fas hitps:idanyk cthodiny_tosla sae4728123, 700 PM 1970's TL Ninle Clock pom ‘Aliest finished nti clock. ouly have 1 ila ole forthe fuse holst and puta ont plexiglass oa hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm san94728123, 700 PM 1970's TTL Nine Clock & aa oa ZED ni [em [oo [aoe | ee anes farmer oo avin = = = Ermeer ~ Sn([e 3 3 3h a om ek ean) se Hg 2a 0 ty 3 a Kem OF mn S iad = = re bata stn we Ce Serpe & pay ‘oats rd ve Jeet mo) ood F hucity DUBY | idea elf ee i 4 het) ad] stra Se ee Dssshes of Tela ZMTOROTT ZMTORET Hie a[*] eo EET Ey af PTT ELE| ab aonfetizatesiinarig | ¢ | || i | tit decegpstatrmmmmee |e) 4) Eg | aS | 1 fyi] a] i) is br. 143, Zapojoni pation n poaveli " See een eee Pinout and wath able of MH 74141 (Seems tobe equivalent to Texas Insuments SN7A14I / SNTALAIN) hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm sane4128123, 700 PM 1970's TL Ninie Clock (MHTALA iteral schema. br. 2: Ziad provedont ‘Vintage photo of Tesla MHT4141 and MH7490 i a book fom 1977 hitpsidanyk cthodiny_tosla_en. htm 19194128123, 700 PM DDORORUCENE PROVORN! 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