VFD Modular Clock IV-18 SMT is a clock based on old-fashioned VFD Display Tubes.

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.

VFD Modular Clock IV-18 SMT edition is a special version of the original VFD Modular Clock, and is available in two main variants:

• Solder-free version with IV-18 tube included. This includes an IV-18 tube, and is fully pre-soldered. The optional enclosure still has to be assembled.

• Minimal soldering version without IV-18 tube. You will have to supply your own IV-18 tube, and solder it to the included PCB.

For both versions, the main board consists of pre-soldered SMT components.

Features:

• IV-18 8-digit Russian VFD Display Tube
• Open source mbed based firmware
• LPC1347 ARM Cortex-M3 64kb microcontroller
• Four Letter Word feature built-in
• Easy to update firmware with no special drivers required (LPC1347 usb bootloader)
• Acrylic Enclosure (option)
• GPS module (option)
• IV-18 tube (option, if you order without the IV-18 tube, the kit will include a PCB to solder your own IV-18 tube to)

Note: The enclosure includes a 5mm acrylic support block that the IV-18 tube rests on top of. If you order the option without the enclosure, the 5mm acrylic support block will still be included.