Nixie tubes can add a singular retro vibe to your undertaking however they’ll run a little bit excessive price-wise. If you wish to get that cool classic vibe out of your Raspberry Pi undertaking with out all of the added price, you need to check out this creation from maker and developer Yakroo. If that identify sounds acquainted, he’s the mastermind behind the neat cyberpunk Pico neck watch we just lately coated. Right this moment, we’re highlighting his Pico Nixie clock which makes use of LCD shows as a substitute of pricey Nixie bulbs.
In line with Yakroo, the concept was to create one thing easy however purposeful in a compact type issue. The tip result’s this tradition Pico-powered board that sports activities two show modules. Along with monitoring time, it may well additionally relay each temperature and humidity readouts with the cool Nixie bulb aesthetic.
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One other driving element of this undertaking was to create a extra reasonably priced resolution for many who wish to seize the appear and feel of a Nixie bulb. His earlier undertaking, the Pico neck watch, additionally makes use of an LCD show to output digital Nixie-like numbers. That is simply one other variant of the concept with one thing a little bit extra minimal.
The clock is especially pushed by a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller. It’s hooked up to a customized PCB that’s designed to assist not solely the Pico but additionally the opposite parts which features a DS3231M RTC module and two ST7789 shows. They’re mounted in an upright place so the module can sit flat on a floor with the numbers prominently on show.
The code used on this undertaking tracks the time enter from the RTC module in addition to the temperature and humidity knowledge. It then pulls from a library of graphics and updates the shows to mirror the information with the Nixie impact. The code isn’t accessible to discover however Yakroo confirms it’s written in MicroPython.
When you’d prefer to see this Raspberry Pi project in motion, try the complete breakdown shared by Yakroo over at Hackster. You may also see a demo video of it in motion over at YouTube. You’ll want to comply with him for extra cool tasks in addition to any future updates to this one.
