Description

This popular Kit from Akufugu comes with 6 original VFD display  tubes that have 16 segments each (and two dots).

VFD is short for Vacuum Fluorescent Display. A VFD display is typically green or blue, and emits a bright light with high contrast. VFD Displays are often found in car radios.

A VFD Display tube looks like an old Vacuum Tube, the predecessor to the transistor. The inside of the tube contains segments that can be lit up to form numbers and letters. Most tubes contain segments for one digit, and several must be stacked together to make a complete display.

The clock itself is modular, it comes with a base board, which is powered by an ATMega32U4 microcontroller and contains a high-voltage VFD driver that is used to light up the display shield that sits on the top board. It comes pre-programmed with the Arduino Leonardo bootloader and firmware. It can be re-programmed from the Arduino IDE (open source firmware).

Features

• Modular design: The display tube shields are swappable
• Atmega32U4 microcontroller with Arduino Leonardo bootloader
• Powered from a 5V USB mini-b connector. Can be powered directly from a computer (USB Cable included)
  
• HV5812 VFD driver with 20 outputs: Can drive up to four 16-segment alphanumeric displays or twelve 7-segment numerical displays.
• Open source firmware (available at GitHub)
• DS3231M Real Time Clock with backup battery
• Four Letter Word functionality (comes with word association database EEPROM)
• GPS support in firmware (requires separate GPS module, not included)
• Acrylic case is INCLUDED
• 6 VFD tubes (Type is IV-17 are included)
• This is a KIT, you must solder several parts. Want us to solder for you, please contact us!
  

Sources

Source Code Link

Assembly Information page Link