A different digital clock . . . . .

[PEU]

You need a friend with some microcontroller coding skills and some LEDS (I program microchip pic microcontrollers for fun)

I will make one of these, no doubts about it, the time will come (pun intended)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/20/biergert-and-funk-qlocktwo-gets-an-english-version-our-sincerest/

[Doug_Ford]

COOL Pablo!!!! My wife and I wanted one of those clocks until we looked at the price.:(

[smreish]

Doug,
If you really want one - make it! You do have a MM you know. :)

[Doug_Ford]

Yeah but I haven't figured out how to make it program microchips yet. :D

[domino11]

Doug,
I can help you with that one. :)

[Doug_Ford]

Thanks Heath. I might just take you up on that.:)

[jhiggins7]

Doug,

I am also programming microchips. I'm currently working with the ATMEL microcontrollers in C. So, I may be able to help too.

[domino11]

This might get interesting. :)

[Kobus_Joubert]

I would like a chip as well plus the circuit diagram please.

[Jan de Ruyter]

http://acidcow.com/pics/20090821/pics/5/office_calendar_01.jpg

[Gerald D]

Guys, this is an interesting thread. Good to throw some ideas around. But we must stop short of publishing plans/circuits/programs on this forum that will allow someone else's work to be copied without their permssion. In other words, discuss here, but don't publish plans here.

[KenC]

John, Doug,
Maybe Arduino will safe some hair loss.
Do a Clock with Arduino, then switch on the ligh for dedicated phrases accordingly. Easy life. ;)
I'm learning arduino to do useless but interesting task for fun. ;)
Gerald,
There really isn't much to the design...
An MCU, a bank of LED drivers driving Banks of LED, and a open source clock program... well, really difficult for me until I got my hands on Arduino.
We can either keep the circuit diagram from public or the program from public... Is that ok? or just keep all from publishing? Then it will be very difficult to discuss...

[Gerald D]

The original clock is novel . . . doesn't matter if it is simple. A patent office could have granted patent protection on the novelty of the clock . . . judging by the price, I am sure there are some lawyers involved somewhere. I don't want to be sued for patent infringement, so we cannot publish plans for creating an equivalent clock.

However, we can publish plans or programs for making groups of LED's illuminate at predetermined times, and for those groups to reconfigure into different groups, and for that timing to be precise, etc. . . . .

[jhiggins7]

Gerald, Ken, Doug,

I've been thinking that those interested in building some kind of "clock" that takes advantage of the capabilities of the MechMate and is driven by some kind of Microcontroller, should find a home outside of the MechMate Forum. After all, this Forum is all about building MechMates and not building clocks.:)
Just my opinion.

Ken, I have an Arduino. It's a great learning platform. There is a great support community, too. However, after a while, I moved to the standard ATMEL tools which are also very good.

[Doug_Ford]

Good point John. Thanks for reminding us.:)

[KenC]

John,
Point taken. If we must talk about building clock, this (http://www.wooden-gear-clocks.com/serpentineclock.htm) should fit the bill.:cool:

I'm still very new with MCU, Learning slowly about the physical computing as I go along. I wouldn't have came this far without the open source effort of the Arduino team. I hope I can move on to other platform such as AMTEL or PIC some day.

[jhiggins7]

Ken,


I linked to the site, but it appears to be a site that sells kits and plans, not a Forum for exchanging information by builders like this Forum. What did you have in mind? How did you propose to use the site?

[Gerald D]

John, I reckon that Ken was having some fun with us - sending us to a low-tech clock more suitable for routing. :)

I might have mentioned before, that I had an interest in sundials. In fact this was one of the things that gave me an interest in CNC cutting - marking out big "dials". There is one sundial design that has been in my head for a long time, and that I have never seen implemented. It might even be patentable, and I am tempted to do just that. Imagine, a current patent on one of the oldest devices in the world . . . :D

[Doug_Ford]

You should do it Gerald.

I'd love to see what you've come up with but of course I wouldn't ask you to unveil it before you've secured a patent. You've been MORE than generous with all of us.

[Jan de Ruyter]

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/news/article.asp?a=5134

You need steel balls for this one!

[KenC]

Hi John, Gerald,
I wasn't making fun, but glad that it turn out that way ;) and Gerald is right, I was trying to make clock making relevantMachMate capabilities. Wooden clock will be high on my list when I get my MM running.:)

[PEU]

Someone made it already: http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Word-Clock/