Divergence meter progress

One project which I’ve been working on since about October and just got around to creating a project page for is the divergence meter.

There’s not a lot to see there yet, but I’ve recorded my notes on what the design needs and the outline for the control and power supply module.  I ordered the PCB in early December in the hopes that they would be available for me to work on while in Wauwatosa during the semester break.  That didn’t pan out, so unfortunately the whole project won’t move until next week, when I return to Houghton and can get my boards from the mailbox.

My batch of nixie tubes arrived earlier than expected, however, and I got the components to populate the board in mid-November.  All I need is the boards and some time to solder, while hoping I don’t completely botch the job of soldering a 38-TSOP package, especially since that chip (the MSP430F2272) cost me $5.  Photos follow.

Nixie tube closeup
A lone tube, freshly unpacked

One I find the time to assemble the control board, the software should come together pretty quickly.  Just a matter of time now..