Elmiko

Thought this might be of interest to some: I found a digital clock which uses a vacuum fluorescent display to simulate an analog clock. The face is small enough to fit nicely into the panel where the old LCD clock was. It has a sweep second hand and even though I doubt I'll use them, there are 2 programmable alarms and multiple brightness levels, which I'm controlling using a couple of small push button switches mounted under the pod. I would have liked it to display in the same 450nm blue as the LED's in my dash, but I guess VFD's only emit in a teal shade. In any case, it sort of the best of both worlds-modern technology with a 1980's look.

dr bob

Looks great! Especially compared with the factory mini digital display. Details on the product, a source, maybe even a linky? And how do you set the time?

UncleMaz

Brilliant. More deets please.

yardpro

soooooo.. where can we get those.......................

Hilton

Looks like this:

http://www.tubeclockdb.com/vfd-clock...und-clock.html

(5s with Google "VFD analogue clock" )

Elmiko

That's the one. I ordered it directly from from Kosbo and shipping from the UK took only about 10 days. I had to figure things out as I went, so I don't really have a step-by-step procedure. There are 2 mini push button switches on the board-for calibrating, setting time and alarms, and brightness. There's be no way to get to them, so I removed them and soldered two pair of leads so that I could mount a couple of push buttons under the pod, near the power wash button. I connected a switched 12v lead to the 12v power terminals on the board, so that the display shuts off when the ignition is turned off. To preserve the time and settings, there's a 3.3 volt lithium cell for backup on the board-I tossed it and connected a 3.3 vdc voltage regulator to the terminals and connected that to an always hot 12v lead. To mount it, I cut a thin steel plate about 2" x 5", cut a square hole for the display, and drilled holes for the rear climate controls, which hold the assembly in place. I painted a piece of polycarbonate flat black,masking off a 1" diameter round window and placed it between the display and the console. Konstantin of Kosbo was very helpful with any questions I had. You can download the user's manual and schematics from the Kosbo website-it was very helpful. That's basically it. Kosbo has several other neat VFD clocks which might be useful in our cars-including a neat elliptical clock.

Speedtoys

Someone needs to work this into an OEM fitting enclosure..thats nice.

gbgastowers

$20 plus shipping on ebay link>http://cgi.ebay.com/UNIQUE-VFD-ROUND...#ht_1891wt_901

Elmiko

That's for the display only-most of us probably need the board as well.

GlennD

Clock looks great. I just wish it had a lead to turn off the display when the car was not running. Reading the manual for the clock, it takes 120 mA (continuous) to run. The display is always on. Removal of power form more than 14 days requires replacement of the two CR2032 batteries (backup batteries).

While I really like the look, I am not sure I want to add another current drain to the car. And for those who remove the battery while working on the car or storing, they should remove the two internal batteries else they can drain and then corrode (I have seen dead 2032 batteries have corrosion at the negative button).

Great job on the install

Cheers
Glenn

Elmiko

If you connect an ignition switched 12v lead to the 12v power input, it does go dark when the ignition is off. Since it would be difficult to get to the CR2032 battery (there's only 1), I took it out and wired a $20 3.3v regulator in, connecting it to an always on 12v lead, so the settings are retained even when the ignition is off. I haven't actually measured the draw when the ignition is off, but the car has sat for up to 10 days and I haven't had any battery problems.

GlennD

Very creative ... thank-you for sharing.

(Note: I got two 2032 batteries from the product website).

I did blast off a note to the company asking if it would be possible to modify the item to include a "display on" lead. So, built in feature from what you assembled with the external regulator

I imagine, from what you explained, that the current draw would be in the low milliamps. The 2032 is rated to 240 mA/h (till the voltage drops to 2 volts) ... so, from the product website, that gives approx 14 days so the drain appears to be just under 1 ma ... should not bother the battery in the car.

Cheers
Glenn