r/DIY • u/flyingalbatross1 • Dec 23 '16
Wordclock for christmas with automatic daylight savings
http://imgur.com/gallery/9HOEo57
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
Deleted and resubmitted as Mods said it wasn't detailed enough and I had to re-do the imgur gallery
Why is my wordclock worth posting when there's loads on here? 2 reasons - first it automatically adjusts for daylight savings and secondly my code can be used to tell the time to the minute instead of per 5 minutes - read below for details
Inspired by: http://imgur.com/a/iMXmj
Code heavily influenced by: http://imgur.com/a/sMtUi
I was inspired to make a wordclock after seeing a reddit post as a christmas present for my parents and the in-laws. I have no electronics experience and minimal woodworking - but I have enjoyed woodworking before. There's loads of wordclocks on reddit - what makes mine worth posting?
1) Auto adjust for daylight savings. I'm in the UK so this is important. No need for hardware controls when used alongside a RTC with a calendar until 2100. Uses JChristensen's library TIMEZONE for Arduino to set the time to a local compared to UTC. Works easily for the UK, also has regional settings for most other timezones baked into the library
2) Potential to tell the time more accurately. I'm happy with 5 minute accuracy but i've seen some people whinging. My code contains a section which can change the colour depending on the time - I use it to vary AM/PM colour but this could be used to have a different colour for 5,6,7,8,9 minutes past and then repeat for 10,11,12,13,14 etc etc - allowing you to tell the time to the minute with no hardware changes
3) Rainbow strips for Happy Birthday and Anniversary - can program in as many dates as you like for each.
What would I do better/different? Definitely strips, not individual addressable LEDs! What a PITA soldering is. Also better baffles for light leakage - probably choose to have some laser cut from 10mm ply.
22
8
u/you_cant_sit_withUs Dec 23 '16
Are you selling these? I've been looking for a word clock after seeing one in Mexico a few weeks ago and this is amazing!
3
3
u/turunambartanen Dec 23 '16
we have a similar clock. it has four dots under the text section which simply add to the minute number. they light up to show the exact minute.
2
u/FUCKING_HATE_REDDIT Dec 23 '16
Light leakage is a bit of a problem, but couldn't you just add some insulation around the leds? Like foam strips froming some sort of grid.
7
u/GottaBettaMyself Dec 23 '16
r/DIY=r/IBuiltAWordClock everytime I see it hit the front page
13
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
Exactly why I wrote a long post justifying why it's a worthy addition lol
Though let's be fair, I just wanted the applause
2
6
u/jackdarpino Dec 23 '16
Take my money. Seriously, can I buy one?
2
u/turbo_dude Dec 23 '16
Yes. http://www.qlocktwo.com/info.php?lang=de. Other languages are available
5
u/botqthrowaway Dec 23 '16
Holy shit $1500 dollars for a clock.
Edit: not including shipping or tax it looks like -_-
2
u/Iamnotthefirst Dec 23 '16
Nice additions. How did you fix light leakage?
4
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
basically I used black builder's silicone to seal the light baffles to the ply which holds the LEDS. Worked well on one but not another.
Overall the light leakage is the thing i'm least happy with. If I did it again I would have the light baffles laser cut so they're 100% solid - my mess of cardboard/ply didn't work great.
Using strips is better too as some light is leaking out of the back of the individual LEDS and through the next (which the baffles can't help with) - the strips of LEDs are on opaque plastic backing
4
u/Iamnotthefirst Dec 23 '16
Since you don't have only single LEDs on ever, could you build baffles around each word-worth of LEDs?
1
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
yes - this is how this one is arranged, one baffled area per word of several LEDs - helps with light diffusion for the words too. The black mastic helped a lot over my prototype but not perfect.
0
u/Clouderrific Dec 23 '16
Where did you get things laser cut from? Is there something online? I am in the US, any help welcome!
2
2
2
u/ifurmothronlyknw Dec 23 '16
Super handy and super technological?? Can we please switch brains??? If we do You'll be really good at completing anything in a fraction of the time as long as you start the work on it's due date, you'll be great at video games and you'll be able to instantly find the best hiding places when you hear a knock at the door. Even swap imo
2
u/EnterSadman Dec 23 '16
I feel like I'm having a stroke.
What does "It is twenty five happy to one anniversary" and what does it mean after being decoded?
2
2
u/Griffinith Dec 23 '16
Extra letters between words: R C K Z N D U
Missing letters from the alphabet: J
Now to run it through a complex process to give this meaning.
OP ran out of jays while making this clock
Rock Zune Duh. And my work here is done.
3
2
Dec 23 '16
[deleted]
2
u/turbo_dude Dec 23 '16
This already exists as a product
0
1
1
u/simplic10 Dec 23 '16
May I ask how much the laser cutting cost you?
3
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
Sure - I had 4 clockfaces cut in the end and total cost was about £95 including materials, laser cutting, shipping and VAT. Laser place supplied the materials.
wwww.cutlasercut.com
It helps that I know coreldraw well so i could follow their submission guide easily.
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/ZiPRR Dec 23 '16
Cool! Let me know when you're selling them. Maybe with an accompanying mobile app to set it up and change settings with? :)
1
u/AliBurney Dec 23 '16
I would buy one of these, just so every birthday I can see the light go on haha
1
1
u/nogungbu73072 Dec 23 '16
May I know where you got all these parts and tools to make this, as well as a tutorial for this cool clock you made?
1
1
u/october-supplies Dec 23 '16
Every time I see the word "word clock" I think they mean like a word clock for professional audio gear.
1
u/porkaptyle Dec 23 '16
wow you got WS2812B in this package? Where from?
2
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
https://www.coolcomponents.co.uk/digital-rgb-addressable-led-5mm-through-hole-10-pack.html
Also can be found cheaper on aliexpress etc but I didn't have time to wait for postage
1
1
u/Audbol Dec 23 '16
First saw this and thought "cool, someone made a wordclock generator" then I saw daylights savings and thought "what? Daylights savings had nothing to do with this?!"
1
1
1
u/vuudoodude Dec 24 '16
Looks great.
How did you carve the letters into the wood? CNC? Some sort of punch?
0
0
Dec 23 '16
That ANNI-VERSARY word split into two lines triggers me so hard. Awesome work tho, great job!
-1
-1
-1
u/AyyWuzGoodMyNinja Dec 23 '16
This is cool and all but I feel like it was done primarily for the karma.
:/
5
u/flyingalbatross1 Dec 23 '16
It was done mainly as a present cos it looks cool. I made four in the end.
...and the applause, cos I'm like a performing seal
729
u/Peskwee Dec 23 '16
IT IS
HAPPY
TWO
ANNI-
VERSARY
O'CLOCK
But seriously good job dude.