led clock kit
- Thread starter sunspot
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papasan
Enlightened
looks kinda cool, too bad i've spent way too much on lights this week...good soldering practice (and i sorely need it =P)...if anyone orders this let us know how it goes...
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
I'm not sure whether it will be easy to figure out the time at night, where there is no external lighting. Also, if you're using standard low-output LEDs, it might be difficult to see the time when there's a lot of light in the room.
I like this idea more:
BCD TTL LED clock
Custom BCD/Binary LED clocks
Don't be surprised if your friends will be asking "So what time is it now?" after feeble attempt to figure it out while staring at the clock for 45 seconds. And you take glance at it, and say right away: "Oh, its 17:42:36"
I like this idea more:
BCD TTL LED clock
Custom BCD/Binary LED clocks
Don't be surprised if your friends will be asking "So what time is it now?" after feeble attempt to figure it out while staring at the clock for 45 seconds. And you take glance at it, and say right away: "Oh, its 17:42:36"
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
I actually built my own binary LED clock earlier this year, using 17 gigantic 10mm LEDs in red, green, and yellow.
It's cool to see someone else actually marketing the thing. It's definitely a conversation piece for anyone who sees it, and if they're not mathemetically inclined, they seem "amazed" that anyone can tell time with it.
Avoid using yellow LEDs though---at night, even cheap ones can light up your bedroom and keep you awake! The next one I build will use those two-color LEDs---red for binary "1" and green for "0".
It's cool to see someone else actually marketing the thing. It's definitely a conversation piece for anyone who sees it, and if they're not mathemetically inclined, they seem "amazed" that anyone can tell time with it.
Avoid using yellow LEDs though---at night, even cheap ones can light up your bedroom and keep you awake! The next one I build will use those two-color LEDs---red for binary "1" and green for "0".
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Care to give a brief overview of the creation process?
Joe S.
Joe S.
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
The circuit uses six CMOS chips so it doesn't require a 5v power source. I wanted to be able to use just about any plug-in DC power supply (aka "wall wart".)
A 4060 Ripple Counter is connected to an inexpensive 32.768 kHz crystal. The chip divides its input by 16384, resulting in a pretty accurate 2 Hz output.
This signal is piped to a 4024 Divide-by-128 Ripple Counter with 7 outputs, of which 6 are used to display the seconds. You can hook small LEDs directly to the outputs through dropping resistors, or use transistors to drive larger LEDS.
Because of the 2 Hz input, I use the upper 6 bits, not the lower ones, to get the desired 1 Hz. In order to reset the counter when it reaches 60 seconds, AND gates are used. Since 60 is 111100 in binary, a reset needs to occur as soon as the upper 4 outputs are high.
I use pair of 4081 Quad 2-input AND gates. That's eight gates. The inputs of gate #1 are hooked to outputs 6 & 7 of the 4024. Gate #2's inputs are hooked to outputs 4 & 5. The outputs of Gates #1 and #2 are hooked to the inputs of Gate #3.
The output of Gate #3 is hooked not only to the 4024's reset pin, but also as the clock input of a second 4024, which is used to count the minutes. Outputs 1-6 are used and 3-6 are hooked to AND gates #4-6 in a similar manner as for 4024 #1, and the output of Gate #6 resets it and provides the input for 4024 #3, which measures the hours.
To keep the circuit simple, it uses military time, and counts to 24, which is 11000 binary. Outputs 1-5 are used and 4 & 5 are also piped to a seventh AND gate, the output of which resets the third 4024. The eighth AND gate is not used.
Once you get this far, you'll want to add an SPST pushbutton, so that you can more easily set the clock. Connect it in series with a 1K resistor between pin 4 of the 4060 and pin 1 of 4024 #1. This will "zoom" the clock at about 4 minutes/second, very cool to watch.
Let me know if you need more info!
A 4060 Ripple Counter is connected to an inexpensive 32.768 kHz crystal. The chip divides its input by 16384, resulting in a pretty accurate 2 Hz output.
This signal is piped to a 4024 Divide-by-128 Ripple Counter with 7 outputs, of which 6 are used to display the seconds. You can hook small LEDs directly to the outputs through dropping resistors, or use transistors to drive larger LEDS.
Because of the 2 Hz input, I use the upper 6 bits, not the lower ones, to get the desired 1 Hz. In order to reset the counter when it reaches 60 seconds, AND gates are used. Since 60 is 111100 in binary, a reset needs to occur as soon as the upper 4 outputs are high.
I use pair of 4081 Quad 2-input AND gates. That's eight gates. The inputs of gate #1 are hooked to outputs 6 & 7 of the 4024. Gate #2's inputs are hooked to outputs 4 & 5. The outputs of Gates #1 and #2 are hooked to the inputs of Gate #3.
The output of Gate #3 is hooked not only to the 4024's reset pin, but also as the clock input of a second 4024, which is used to count the minutes. Outputs 1-6 are used and 3-6 are hooked to AND gates #4-6 in a similar manner as for 4024 #1, and the output of Gate #6 resets it and provides the input for 4024 #3, which measures the hours.
To keep the circuit simple, it uses military time, and counts to 24, which is 11000 binary. Outputs 1-5 are used and 4 & 5 are also piped to a seventh AND gate, the output of which resets the third 4024. The eighth AND gate is not used.
Once you get this far, you'll want to add an SPST pushbutton, so that you can more easily set the clock. Connect it in series with a 1K resistor between pin 4 of the 4060 and pin 1 of 4024 #1. This will "zoom" the clock at about 4 minutes/second, very cool to watch.
Let me know if you need more info!
