Puri Nixie Clock II

Quick start for the second-generation Puri (Puri 4 V2 and Puri 6 V2): connect the power and set the time. The other chapters of this manual describe everything else.

Power

Connect the clock to a USB-C Power Delivery adapter rated 27 W or more that supports 15 V. The clock runs on 12 V or 15 V. USB PD guarantees 15 V only on adapters above 27 W; 12 V is optional and many adapters don't offer it.

Setting the time

1. In time mode, press ⊙ to enter time configuration.
2. Set the time with ⊖ / ⊕.
3. Press ⊙ again to confirm.

When you power the clock on for the first time, it starts in time configuration straight away. Details in Setting the time.

What next

• Buttons – everything the three buttons do.
• Simple and Expert mode – Wi-Fi, internet time sync, brightness, night mode and visual effects in Expert mode.
• Factory reset
• Technical data

The clock is controlled with three buttons: ⊖, ⊙ and ⊕. In Simple mode, the mode the clock ships in, the buttons are all you need. In Expert mode they work the same way.

1. While the clock shows the time, press ⊙. The hours and minutes start blinking.
2. Set the time with ⊖ / ⊕. Each press moves the time by one minute. Hold the button and the time runs, faster and faster, up to about 80 minutes per second. Release it shortly before the time you want and finish with single presses.
3. Press ⊙ again to confirm. The seconds start from 00 at that moment.

Good to know:

• The time is always set in 24h format, even when the clock shows 12h. On Puri 6 the seconds tubes stay dark while you set the time.
• If you don't press any button for 30 seconds, the clock leaves time setting and keeps the previous time.
• When the clock is powered on for the first time, or after a hard factory reset, it starts in time setting straight away.
• In Expert mode the clock can take the time from the internet instead. Setting the time with the buttons switches that sync off.

In time mode, hold ⊕ for 3 seconds to switch between 12h and 24h format. ⊖ works the same way.

The hour tubes briefly show 12 or 24, the new format, and the clock returns to the time. The clock has no AM/PM indicator.

The clock ships in Simple mode for a quick start and easy setup: Wi-Fi is off and the clock is set with the buttons only.

For advanced features – automatic daylight saving, brightness, visual effects, internet time sync – switch to Expert mode. It turns on the clock's Wi-Fi and a configuration website; see Expert mode.

Switching between Simple and Expert mode

1. Wait until the clock shows the time.
2. Hold ⊕ and ⊖ together for 5 seconds. Don't press ⊙ – holding all three buttons starts a factory reset.
3. The display goes dark except for one tube near the middle, which shows 2 for Expert mode or 1 for Simple mode.
4. A moment later the clock restarts in the new mode.

Release the buttons before 5 seconds to cancel. The clock remembers the mode when it is unplugged. A factory reset, soft or hard, returns it to Simple mode.

Which mode is the clock in?

Watch the tubes when the clock starts:

• Expert mode: the tubes light up one after another from left to right, each rising out of a soft glow of all its digits.
• Simple mode: the whole display fades in at once, spreading from the centre outwards.

Expert mode turns on the clock's Wi-Fi and its configuration website, which you open in the browser of your phone or computer. In Simple mode, the mode the clock ships in, Wi-Fi is off and the clock is set with the buttons only.

The buttons work the same way in both modes.

Switching to Expert mode

Hold ⊕ and ⊖ together for 5 seconds. The clock restarts in Expert mode; the same hold switches it back to Simple mode. Details in Simple and Expert mode.

First steps in Expert mode

1. Connect the clock to your Wi-Fi.
2. Open the configuration website and set your time zone, or switch on internet time sync.

In Expert mode the clock connects to your Wi-Fi network. You give it the network name and password once, through a setup network that the clock opens itself, and the clock remembers them.

The clock works with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n). Networks that need a login page, such as hotel or guest networks, are not supported.

Setup network

Connecting step by step

1. Switch the clock to Expert mode. With no Wi-Fi saved, the clock opens the setup network straight away and the Wi-Fi LED flashes once every 2 seconds.
2. On your phone or computer, open the Wi-Fi settings and connect to NixieClock with the password 123456789.
3. The setup page usually opens by itself. If it doesn't, open a browser and go to http://192.168.4.1.
4. Tap Setup. The clock lists the Wi-Fi networks it can see.
5. Select your network. For a hidden network, tap Skip and type its name.
6. Enter the Wi-Fi password and tap Submit.
7. Wait a few seconds while the clock connects. When it succeeds, the page says Your device has been successfully configured, and the Wi-Fi LED starts breathing slowly.
8. Tap Back. The page now shows the Assigned IP – the clock's address in your network. Write it down.
9. Tap Exit. The setup network closes and your phone or computer returns to your usual Wi-Fi.

Now open the configuration website.

If the connection fails, the page says Connection failed or Connection timed out. Tap Retry, check the password and try again.

When the Wi-Fi is not available

When the clock cannot connect to its saved network within 30 seconds of starting (the router is off, or its name or password has changed), it opens the setup network NixieClock again, so you can enter the new details. Meanwhile the Wi-Fi LED flashes twice every second.

The setup network closes after 5 minutes if no phone or computer is connected to it. With a saved network, the clock then keeps trying to reconnect to it. With no saved network, unplug the clock and plug it back in to open the setup network again.

Changing the Wi-Fi network

1. Open the configuration website and go to the Network tab.
2. Switch on WiFi Setup Portal. The clock opens the setup network NixieClock again.
3. Continue from step 2 of Connecting step by step.

If the clock's old network no longer exists, for example after a move, you don't need the configuration website: the clock opens the setup network by itself, see When the Wi-Fi is not available.

The clock remembers one Wi-Fi network. A newly entered network replaces the previous one.

The Wi-Fi LED shows whether the clock is connected to your Wi-Fi. It is used only in Expert mode; in Simple mode it stays off.

The configuration website runs on the clock itself. Open it in the browser of a phone or computer connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the clock. It works only in Expert mode, after you have connected the clock to Wi-Fi.

Opening the website

Type one of these addresses into your browser:

• http:// followed by the clock's IP address, for example http://192.168.1.57. The setup page shows the address as Assigned IP when you connect the clock; your router's list of connected devices shows it too.
• http://nixieNNN.local, where NNN is the clock's Device ID without leading zeros, for example http://nixie42.local. The Device ID is shown on the setup page and in Statistics. Some Android phones don't support .local addresses; use the IP address there.

While your phone is connected to the setup network NixieClock, you can also tap Dashboard on the setup page, or open http://192.168.4.1/dashboard.

Layout

The menu on the left (on a phone, behind the menu button) lists the tabs. Every change is applied and saved in the clock as soon as you make it; there is no Save button.

At the bottom of the menu:

• Statistics – the clock's model, Device ID, firmware version, Wi-Fi signal and power supply readings.
• Theme – light, dark, or following your device.
• Language – English, Čeština, Deutsch or Français. The language is saved in the clock, so the website and the setup page open in it on every device.

When the browser loses the connection to the clock, for example while the clock restarts, the website shows Connecting and reconnects by itself.

The Date & Time tab sets how the clock keeps and shows the time. Set the Time Zone first, then switch on Auto Sync: the clock then keeps the exact time from the internet, including daylight saving changes.

Basics

Manual clock sync

These cards are shown only while Auto Sync is off, for example when the clock has no internet access.

• Sync from browser time – one tap sets the clock to the time of your phone or computer.
• Sync time manual – pick a date and time and send them to the clock. The time is taken as the local time of your phone or computer.

After a manual sync, the clock shows the time according to its Time Zone setting, so check that the time zone is correct.

The Display tab sets how the digits change and how the clock cares for its tubes.

Nixie settings

During the cleaning cycle a wave runs across the tubes and lights every digit in turn. Digits that stay dark for a long time slowly lose their glow (cathode poisoning); the cleaning cycle prevents that. See also Healing.

System

The Modes tab chooses between the clock and a countdown, and what each tube shows.

Master mode

• Clock (default) – shows the time.
• Counter down – counts down to a date and time you choose.

The cards below change with the mode.

Clock format

Clock format shows the current format. To change it, type a new one into New clock format and confirm.

The format has one character per tube, read from the left. The separator tubes take a : or . character, so the separators must stand on the separator tubes:

Examples for Puri 6:

Counter down

Set the target in New counter down date/time; the time is taken as the local time of your phone or computer. Counter down date/time shows the current target, and New counter down format sets what the tubes show, with the same codes as the clock format.

The countdown stops at zero and stays there; the clock gives no signal. With the default format the countdown shows hours, minutes and seconds, so it suits events less than a day away.

The Night mode tab sets the brightness of the tubes, and a lower brightness for the night.

Settings

Brightness changes show on the tubes straight away; the switch between day and night happens within 10 seconds of the set hour.

Night hours

• The night starts at the full hour From and ends at the full hour To. It may run past midnight, for example 22:00 – 06:00.
• If From and To are the same, the night never starts.
• On (per day): each day's hours apply to that calendar day. Monday 22:00 – 06:00 dims the display on Monday from midnight to 6:00 and from 22:00 to midnight. Tap Copy Monday to all days to use Monday's hours for the whole week.

The Network tab shows the clock's Wi-Fi connection and opens the setup network.

WiFi Status

WiFi Setup

• Portal Status, SSID and IP Address – whether the setup network is open, its name (NixieClock) and address.
• WiFi Setup Portal – switch on to open the setup network, for example to change the Wi-Fi network.
• Open WiFi Portal – opens the setup page; shown while the setup network is open.

The Healing tab lets you check the tubes and restore digits that have lost their glow.

A digit that stays dark for months can lose part of its glow (cathode poisoning). The regular cleaning cycle prevents this. Healing is for digits that are already affected: the clock lights them for many hours over several weeks.

Digit Inspection

Tap a digit from 0 to 9 in Select Digit and all tubes show it, so you can compare how evenly the digits glow. Tap it again, or tap Deactivate, to return to the clock.

Per-Tube Inspection

There is one card for each tube, counted from the right: Digit Tube 1 is the rightmost tube. On Puri 6 the tubes are Digit 1, Digit 2, Colon 3, Digit 4, Digit 5, Colon 6, Digit 7 and Digit 8; on Puri 4 Digit 1, Digit 2, Colon 3, Digit 4 and Digit 5.

In each tube's card, select the digits that need healing (for a separator tube, its dots 0 and 1). Reset All clears every selection and stops healing.

Healing Execution

While healing runs, each selected tube shows its selected digits in turn, changing every second; the other tubes keep showing the time. Healing runs for 30 days and then stops by itself. It continues after a power cut or restart. With Night Only, the clock shows the time normally during the day.

The Firmware tab updates the clock's firmware over Wi-Fi. During an update the tubes show its progress in percent; when it finishes, the clock restarts with the new firmware.

Update center

Device firmware version shows the installed version. OTA progress and OTA status show how an update is going.

Online update

1. Open the FW version list. It shows the available versions with their release dates, newest first. Tap the round button next to it to reload the list.
2. Select a version.
3. Tap Upload FW and confirm with Confirm.

The clock downloads the firmware, checks it and installs it.

Release channels

Include prerelease adds test versions to the list. They are meant for testing new features and may contain bugs. The switch turns off again when the clock restarts.

Manual update

If you have received a firmware file (.bin) from us, tap Select file (*.bin) and choose it. The update starts as soon as you select the file, without asking for confirmation.

Firmware for a different clock model is rejected (Bad bin), so you can't install the wrong file by mistake.

If the update fails

The status shows what went wrong, for example No WiFi, Server error or Download error. The clock keeps running the firmware it had. Check the Wi-Fi connection, reload the list and try again.

The Recovery tab restarts the clock or returns parts of it to the factory state. Every action asks for confirmation first.

Server Configuration → Firmware server URL is the address the clock loads firmware updates from. Leave it unchanged unless our support asks you to change it. An empty field restores the default address.

The factory reset works in both Simple and Expert mode.

Hold all three buttons ⊖, ⊙ and ⊕ together. The display shows how long you have been holding them:

1. 0–5 s: the digits go out one by one from the right. Release now and nothing happens, the time comes back.
2. 5–15 s: zeros light up one by one from the left. Release now for a soft reset.
3. 15 s: all zeros are lit and the clock does a hard reset straight away, without waiting for you to release the buttons.

The display then fades out and the clock restarts.

More about the power adapter in Quick start.

Disposal

Do not dispose of this product, its power adaptor or its CR2032 battery with household waste. At the end of their life, return them separately to appropriate electrical equipment and battery collection points.