Powering Nixies with the CH32V003 10¢ RISC-V microcontroller #RISCV @cnlohr @Hackaday

Nixie tubes can add some retro flair to any project, but they can also complicate your electronics quite a bit: after all, you need to generate a voltage high enough to ignite the tube and then switch that between ten separate display segments. Traditionalists may want to stick with chunky mains transformers and those unobtainium 74141 segment drivers, but modern components allow you to make things much more compact, not to mention way cheaper. Charles (@CNLohr) took this to an extreme, and used clever design tricks and his sharp online shopping skills to make an exceptionally compact Nixie driver circuit that costs less than $2.50.

The Russian made tubes were two for $20, which is also inexpensive compared to other tubes on the market.

See the video below and more at Hackster.


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