Voice Controlled Nixie Clock - Alexa & Arduino IoT Cloud

#1 PART - PROJECT

IoT Nixie Clock Shield for Arduino

Use your Arduino and build IoT Nixie Clock, Thermometer and Hygrometer. Nixie Clock Shield is designed for all Arduino boards (Uno, Micro, Nano), but works best with the new board Arduino Nano 33 IoT.

Arduino Nano 33 IoT is fully compatible with the Arduino IoT Cloud. You can control the shield via the cloud, you can send data to the cloud then transfer it to e.g. Google Sheets and visualize (e.g. temperature or humidity). You can also use the Alexa Amazon without any problems thanks to the dedicated Arduino skill.

And most importantly, you’ll find everything in the description below: sample program codes for different Arduino boards. Tutorials how to connect to the cloud, how to control Nixie tubes, how to control the backlight, how to send data (e.g. temperature, humidity) to the cloud and finally how to integrate everything with Amazon Alexa.

Features & Components

• Compatible with Arduino Uno/Micro/Nano – 5V/3.3V
• The ability to connect to the Arduino Cloud (with Arduino Nano 33 IoT)
• Easy configuration with Amazon Alexa (with Arduino Nano 33 IoT)
• Shield base compatible with Arduino Uno form factor boards
• Replaceable Nixie tubes depending on the configuration
• RTC real time clock DS3231 module on board
• Nixie power supply module 170V included
• Designed to work with DHT22/DHT11 temperature & humidity sensor
• Housing dimensions: 66 x 80 x 221 mm (~2.6″ x 3.1″ x 8.7″)
• External power supply required (VIN connector): 12V; 1A DC; plug diameter 2.5 x 5.5 mm; center pin positive+

Arduino Cloud Connection

Amazon Alexa - Voice Controlled Nixie Clock

How It Works - Diagram

Replaceable Tubes - Diagram

Three device options are possible:

• Nixie Clock – 6 x IN-12B Nixie Tubes
• Fahrenheit – Nixie Thermometer/Hygrometer – 2 x IN-12A/B, IN-12B ("dot")+ IN-15A (“+”, “%” ) + IN15B (“F”, “H”)
• Cesius – Nixie Thermometer/Hygrometer – 2 x IN-12A/B, IN-12B ("dot"), IN-15A (“+”, “%”) + IN15B (“H”)

Modules & Housing

• Adapter dedicated for Arduino Nano & Micro all boards
• NPS nixie power supply module
• RTC real time clock module DS3231

Transparent housing

All necessary modules

Nixie Clock without backlight

Nixie Clock with backlight

#2 PART - CODING

Code Examples

Example program codes are divided into individual steps to better understand the functionality of the shield and encourage users to modify the code according to own ideas.

• LED Backlight RGB Test
• RGB Color Palette
• Driving Nixie Tubes
• Classic Nixie Clock
• Classic Nixie Clock with Slot Machine Effect
• Classic Nixie Thermometer Hygrometer
• Classic Nixie Clock & Thermometer – work in progress
• WiFi NTP Nixie Clock – work in progress
• IoT Arduino Cloud Test – work in progress
• IoT Arduino Cloud Nixie Clock – work in progress
• IoT Arduino Cloud Nixie Clock & Thermometer – work in progress
• Arduino Cloud & Google Sheets via Webhook – work in progress
• IoT Alexa – work in progress

Useful Links

• Arduino IoT Cloud
• Arduino IoT – Getting Started
• Arduino IoT – Alexa Integration
• Arduino IoT – Google Sheets Integration
• Your Environmental Data on Arduino IoT
• New Arduino Nanos
• A closer look at the Arduino Nano 33 IoT
• Getting started with the Arduino Nano 33 IoT
• Forum – Arduino Nano 33 IoT

#3 PART - ARDUINO CLOUD SETUP

Work in progress

#4 PART - AMAZON ALEXA SETUP

Work in progress

### FUTURE UPDATE

The next project update will be a detailed description of the program code and integration with the Arduino Cloud and Amazon Alexa.