What is a "Lixie" Display?
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- Опубликовано: 11 июн 2017
- Lixie is an open, modern take on the Nixie Tube, that is available for $32 on Tindie!
www.tindie.com/products/conno...
Lixie is an edge-lit acrylic display for any numeric information you can think of! Clocks, temperature displays, hit counters, and more. Always being a fan of the beautiful typography of a Nixie Tube, the Lixie is a modern spin!
How does it work?
Lixie works by shining light through the edge of a clear acrylic. When the light hits an engraving or edge, it scatters in a different direction, and lands in your eye! This allows the flat surfaces of the acrylic to stay clear, and have only edges light up! Now put ten pieces in a stack, each marked with a different number 0-9, and you can show each number individually, on a clear surface!
What can it do?
Lixie is based on WS2812B LEDs, (or "Neopixels" Adafruit calls them) meaning it can display the following in any color:
Date / Time
Temperature / Humidity
Website Views
RUclips Views
Tindie Sales
Or any number in any Arduino Project!
How do I use it?
Unlike the Nixie Tubes the Lixie is based on, setup and use is EXTREMELY easy. Just connect the 5V & GND pins to your Arduino's, and connect the "DIN" pin to any of your digital pins. From there, it's just a matter of including the Lixie library and simple functions!
Lixie is designed as a WS2812B strip, meaning you can chain as many of these together as your power supply can handle! There are 20 LEDS on each board, but when used normally only two will be on at a given time.
The library also does all the work pushing each digit of an integer out to it's own display, so that if you have 4 Lixies, calling lix.write(314) will show " 314" or "0314" on them!
OPEN EVERYTHING
From Day 1, Lixie has been Open Source Hardware and software. Officially recognized by OSHWA, (UID: US000054) all hardware designs and software code has been made available for anyone who wants to study it's design and put me out of business! ;)
What makes Lixie different?
Low Voltage
While traditional Nixie Tube displays took a dangerous 170V power supply, Lixie runs on only 5 volts making it safe for children, pets, and new hobbyists! Connector.
Self Driving
Lixie is based on WS2812B LEDs, which means that they don’t need any specialized drivers - just a microcontroller! Connector.
Chainable
You can simply connect one digit to the next, and drive them all with the Lixie Arduino library!
Who is the Lixie for?
Lixie was designed to be easy for makers of any experience level to use. While not the cheapest at $38, it's still cheaper than any Nixie Tube of the same size, and a thousand times cooler than a lame-ass 7-segment display! 
Наука
This is AWESOME, although I could do without the rainbow colors. I'd use the same orange glow that Nixie tubes use. Very cool.
Beautiful. I had finished building a single 0-9 stack and THEN I find your video ! Building it was very labor intensive. Had I seen your creation BEFORE I jumped into the project I may have been shamed into not even trying. My result is crude by comparison. Very crude. I used Inkscape to layout the single line digits and create the gcode for my equally crude junk-box CNC machine. I'm sequence through the digits with a Arduino Mega using a simple for loop in in the sketch. Your videos are excellent and now I need to learn more. Happy to see they are available for purchase. Thanks for posting
I have both an NLS and HP voltmeter with the same technology display. Way cool to see there's a new source of these.
The numbers mason!! The numbers!!!
Hi Connor
I finally managed to order some Lixies. They should be here any day now. Can't wait to try them!
Yes, Nixie displays are not vacuum tubes, they are more like neon lamps. The ten metal pieces in the shape of digits from 0 to 9 inside the tube are cathodes. The mesh screen around them is the anode. Applying 170 volts DC to the anode and grounding one of the cathodes will make the neon glow around that cathode glow and display a digit.
Wow, just bravo bravo! Congrats on your many successes!!! Just bravo well done!!!!
This is just so beautiful, not only from an aesthetics perspective but also from a design perspective. It's so remarkably simple. If you don't mind me asking, did you cut the acrylic yourself or did you have it special ordered? Mind sharing where that was if you had to do that? I think this would make a great gift and I'd love to make a few for some people.
So slick. Sharing on The Awesomer.
They are being made again by a guy in Europe. Another similar option is the VFD tube. I've made clocks from VFD tubes as they are cheap.
Connor... I bought a few lixie displays from you.. I'd like to turn them into the clock you show here... can you help with the extra components that I would need to purchase to make the NTP clock... thanks
Basically a "pane" like fiber optic cable
Any chance you'd sell one of those NTP clocks?
Wondering what model Nixie Clock that is where it does the milli seconds counting up as it does the seconds... Link? Name?
Hello! I really enjoy your product! Is it possible to just buy the led circuit board? I have a laser engraver and the arduino boards but I'm not exactly sure how your led circuit board works or how to make my own. Thanks -- Matt
No problem! email me at
connornishijima @ gmail.com
and we can work out a deal through PayPal. I've sold board independently in the past at $10 assembled, or $5 bare+parts. If you bought the bare boards, they are surface mount assembly - which isn't as scary as it sounds! I'd be glad to help you learn.
Connor... do you plan on selling a kit that would turn your lixie tubes into that clock that you show... I'd be very interested in that... thanks
You had a nice idea. But recently scaling them down into led matrix displays makes it generic. Try making multiple sizes and making a set of 4 more affordable.
Brilliant idea! (Pun definitely intended ;) When my wallet recovers from setting up my new work bench I'll add these to the list of future projects. BTW Connor nixies are not vacuum tubes though they are similar in some ways. The envelope is sealed like a vacuum tube but they are not evacuated.
Hi do you still sell the Nixie modules ?
Sorry but have to correct you there is a company that is making nixy tubs so we will not run out but I have to say your Lixie do look good will they be available in a smaller package?
Nixie tubes are still produced today, you can also order custom ones.:-)
ruclips.net/video/wxL4ElboiuA/видео.html
Hi Connor! is it 2 rgb leds per acrylic so meaning 20 because 10 numbers?
Yup! 20 per digit, two per numeral, with only 2 of the 20 lit at a given time for 120mA max power consumption. :)
thanks man! appreciate it!
One correction. The Nixie tube is a cold cathode vacuum tube designed here in the USA. Late the Russians reversed engineered, our design and made their own nixie tubes. I agree with the last comment. A solid color is better for a demo.
If you can get the panels thin enough you could stack 14 of them and make an alphanumeric display
There's a guy on here making custom nixie tubes. It's a hell of a process. Should check it out.
That would be Dalibor Farny, seems like one hell of a guy. I have no CLUE how he made that manufacturing setup happen, but he did!
Is it open source though?
Fatih Mercan It is! In fact, it was one of the first 100 projects certified with the new OSHWA certification. :)
Hardware: ([OSHW] UID US000054)
github.com/connornishijima/Lixie-hardware
Software: (Arduino Library)
github.com/connornishijima/Lixie-arduino
I'm absolutely useless with the electronic engineering side of things - can I just buy a completed four digit clock?
How much did you pay for the lixie and where...?
Aaron Leon I sell them on Tindie for $35.99 :) www.tindie.com/products/connornishijima/lixie-an-led-alternative-to-the-nixie-tube/
That would even be cooler if the numbers were absolutely identical to the nixies
there are still people producing nixie tubes.
neon
need to start a kickstarter for the sale of Lixie clocks.
Nice video and display! About those nixie tubes, there is at least one that is currently building them. I think you might like his video: ruclips.net/video/wxL4ElboiuA/видео.html
I am not affiliated with him, just impressed by the work he puts into it.
They are not cheap though!
Without even clicking that link, I'm assuming it's Dalibor Farny's "Making a Nixie Tube" video! That guy's workspace and talent are absolutely fascinating, and was a big inspiration for my business!
your supply of nixie tubes might be Russian. but these tubes are an american invention. www.jb-electronics.de/html/elektronik/nixies/n_nixie_geschichte.htm?lang=en
WOW! 😯
This is bullshit, the etchings should replicate the wires in a Nixie tube valve.
...that's exactly what they do here. Click the white triangle on the video for more information.
Connor Nishijima I guess I was thinking of the mesh in the. Front, and the curvy bendy connecting quality of the letters 🤓😝😜😋