Nixie Tube clock

I've got the Nixie Tube clock from tubehobby since June I think. I just did not have time to build it and also did not have the mood to enjoy my DIY stuff.

Recently, I finally tried to build the kit. When testing the power for the B+, I did so without the PIC in place and without the tube as I needed to adjust it to 160V. However, when doing so, I could only get close to my input voltage from my 12v SMPS supply. I looked at the circuit and tried to trouble shoot according to the circuit diagram, focusing only at the high voltage section. No clue... I then emailed Jonas from tubehobby as a last resort. He replied promptly in the evening. He mentioned that the PIC would be required in order to generate the voltage.

With this tip, I retried with the PIC connected and viola! B+ is there! After adjusting for 160v, I worked on the tube board, mounting the tubes to the sockets and then connecting them onto the logic board. Plugging in a 12V 2A smps supply, I turned it on and the tubes are lighted. I noticed that on most tubes, there is ghosting of the seconds display over itself. Initially i thought it could be that the B+ was not high enough. Actually, I think the components were running in. After around 10 mins of operation, the digits were clear.

In that time, I configured the time and date and also the "sleep duration" of the tubes. I got this particular board from Jonas because it is has better features compared to what's available out there on ebay and the web. The neat features are the sleep mode and the battery backup. I'm so tempted to get the kit for the larger tubes. ;)

In the meantime, I'm gonna build an enclosure for this baby.

More pics here.

Edna's here for a visit

We were supposed to go fly kites together at Buangkok, but her brother is down with fever. So Edna was here for a swim, after which, we had McDonald's together.

Some pics here.

Busy weekend

Lyra celebrated her 1st birthday at the infant care on friday. We celebrated for her at home today with some friends and relatives. The food from the caterer was quite good. Chili Padi Catering does nonya food. The curry from the chicken curry was very good. So was the bo bo cha cha. Their lemon tea also tasted quite refreshing.

Yesterday, we went to Pasir Ris Park and they played at the outdoor playground. We went had dinner at one of the restaurant there. The seafood was quite good.

Pics of her infant care celebration here.
Pics of the celebration at home here.
Some pics of Pasir Ris here.

What's up doc?

It's been a long time since the last update. On the audio side, i have gotten proper stands for my Coral Beta 8s and have gotten a Lenco L75. A rebuild is in order for the Lenco some day down the road.

Over at home, things were not so smooth. We went to the zoo with Lucas and Lyra during the National day holidays. Then Lyra had fever for 5 days or so, then San got it for a week, then Lucas got it for around 5 days as well, then San got it back again. So the virus is doing it's round... we all recovered it time for a trip to Genting though.

Some zoo pics here.
Some Genting pics here.

Lyra's disappointing makeover

This was taken on 4th July right smack over lunch hours, with a cranky baby who just wants to nap and an elder brother who was especially mischievous during the shoot.

It did not help that the photographer was curt and did not seem enthusiastic about the job even though the studio supposedly specializes in taking photos of kids and pregnant women.

Some pics here.

Gallop Park

Brought Lucas and Lyra to Gallop Stable at Pasir Ris Park Carpark C. Lyra was asleep when we got there, but Lucas had a look around and we got him to feed the horses first as he was hesistant about riding them. The feed cost $1. The ride was $10, but it was just a round within the park.

They do lessons as well. 10 lessons for $400. Quite reasonable I thought.

After that, we went to Explorer Kid at Downtown East. Lyra seems to enjoy herself in the ball pool.

Some pics here.

Cats CARnival

Went to the Cats CARnival yesterday at the Singapore Expo, but it was not to look at cars or race queens. We were there to cheer Lyra at the Baby Crawling Competition.

We had high hopes for her, but the results were far from expected when it was her turn. She was actually asleep, but had to be woken up to be ready at the starting line.

When it's time to go, she just sat there. Nothing could move her an inch. So, that was the end of the heats. No need to proceed further. We went to Changi Airport T3 for tea instead.

Some pics here.