VICTORY!  I received and installed the new driver chips (along with their sockets - thanks Bradley) and I'm back in business!

Thank you so much guys.

Let's just say I'll be doing the rest of the work on a static bag. 

Neither.  This ArduiNIX was assembled by Bradley and the chips are simply placed, with the legs folded under.

I checked the voltages on the pins again (they were fine before) and now they do seem off. 

I'll order a new pair and see if that helps.

Thanks for your input, nonentity!

Well, I've made no progress.  It's disheartening, to say the least.  I was trying to get this clock done as a present for my partner, but it's now two months overdue and all I have to show for it is a mess of wires and bulbs.

Would someone who's got a working ArudiNIX out there take a few minutes and see if your pins read like mine do?

Thanks for your reply, Risen. 

Unfortunately, I'm not making any progress.  The Arudino's pins are AOK, and if I connect a tube, I get multiple digits firing at once.

I took the "1 Nixie Tube" code from the main site and modified it to fire a single digit.  I connected my probe and.....  I get odd, random voltages again, which would make sense given how a tube reacts when connected.

Hey everyone!  I'm hoping for a little help, as I'm completely stuck.

I can't seem to get the ArudiNIX board working correctly.  I've tried many different sketches and wiring layouts, but no luck. 

I decided to strip down to basics to try to troubleshoot.  Here's what I know...

• I am using a 9V, 650mA center-positive AC adapter.  It looks identical to the one sold on the site.
• If I check voltage from the test point to ground, I get a nice steady 180V.
• The chips seem to be working perfectly - they read 4.7V on the appropriate pins when I run a sketch that cycles through the numbers.

However, if I upload the following sketch (which just sends a zero to both outputs), I get some really weird readings on the cathode pins.

Code:

/*
  Blink
  Turns on an LED on for one second, then off for one second, repeatedly.
 
  This example code is in the public domain.
 */
 
 
 // SN74141 (1)
int ledPin_0_a = 2;               
int ledPin_0_b = 3;
int ledPin_0_c = 4;
int ledPin_0_d = 5;
// SN74141 (2)
int ledPin_1_a = 6;               
int ledPin_1_b = 7;
int ledPin_1_c = 8;
int ledPin_1_d = 9;

// anod pins
int ledPin_a_1 = 10;
int ledPin_a_2 = 11;
int ledPin_a_3 = 12;




void setup() {               
  pinMode(ledPin_0_a, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_0_b, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_0_c, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_0_d, OUTPUT);   
 
  pinMode(ledPin_1_a, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_1_b, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_1_c, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_1_d, OUTPUT);     
 
  pinMode(ledPin_a_1, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_a_2, OUTPUT);     
  pinMode(ledPin_a_3, OUTPUT);   
}

void loop() {
  for (int i=0;i<10;i++) {
    displaynum (0);
    delay (2000);
  }
}

void displaynum( int num ) {
  int a,b,c,d;
  // Load the a,b,c,d.. to send to the SN74141 IC (2)
  switch( num )
  {
    case 0: a=0;b=0;c=0;d=0;break;
    case 1: a=1;b=0;c=0;d=0;break;
    case 2: a=0;b=1;c=0;d=0;break;
    case 3: a=1;b=1;c=0;d=0;break;
    case 4: a=0;b=0;c=1;d=0;break;
    case 5: a=1;b=0;c=1;d=0;break;
    case 6: a=0;b=1;c=1;d=0;break;
    case 7: a=1;b=1;c=1;d=0;break;
    case 8: a=0;b=0;c=0;d=1;break;
    case 9: a=1;b=0;c=0;d=1;break;
  }
  digitalWrite(ledPin_0_d, d);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_0_c, c);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_0_b, b);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_0_a, a);
 
  // Write to output pins
  digitalWrite(ledPin_1_d, d);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_1_c, c);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_1_b, b);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_1_a, a);
 
  digitalWrite(ledPin_a_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_a_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(ledPin_a_3, LOW);
 
}

If I connect my probe to a 10K resistor on A1 and the cathode pins (remember I'm sending a "0" to both tubes), I get:

Cath1Pin0: 58.1V
Cath1Pin1: 55.9V
Cath1Pin2: 59.0V
Cath1Pin3: 59.3V
Cath1Pin4: 0.0V
Cath1Pin5: 55.9V
Cath1Pin6: 60.3V
Cath1Pin7: 60.0V
Cath1Pin8: 60.6V
Cath1Pin9: 60.8V

Cath0Pin0: 71.8V
Cath0Pin1: 58.6V
Cath0Pin2: 63.2V
Cath0Pin3: 62.9V
Cath0Pin4: 75.0V
Cath0Pin5: 60.6V
Cath0Pin6: 56.4V
Cath0Pin7: 55.8V
Cath0Pin8: 75.1V
Cath0Pin9: 58.9V

I'm sure this can't be right....