Word Clock redux

posted Dec 11th 2009 7:29am by Jakob Griffith
filed under: arduino hacks

[drj113] wrote back to let us know his latest version of the infamous Word Clock, now in Arduino flavor. You may remember when we originally showed you the Word Clock back in September, while much hasn’t changed, he’s added and modified a few things to make it more user-friendly. Most notably is the use of Arduino instead of PIC, while some commentators will complain this as a waste of an Arduino, it is extending the project towards those who are less technically inclined. Other changes include a new case, dedicated time changing buttons, and blue LEDs (and who doesn’t love blue).

We would also like to give [Alex], one of our commentators, a shout out with is QlockTwo. Same Word Clock concept, but used acrylic, paper sheet, and stickers to produce a much smoother look.

Update: It would appear we’ve made a slight mistake, the original creator of the QlockTwo is actually [Ruud Burger], not [Alex]. Thanks [Ruud] for clearing that up.

Comments [21]

tagged: arduino, clock, led, word

Reader Comments

Maybe it’s the picture, but it seems the colours bleed alot. nice hack though!

(Btw, Instructables keeps nagging me to death that i’ve to register.. the site has degraded too much imho..)

Posted at 8:21 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by urlax

do the bugmenot account on instructables still work?

Posted at 8:31 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by pod

Agreed, instructables is almost unusable. For a while they turned off viewing photos larger to unpaid users. Considering that basically everything is user-generated content, I think that sucks.

Posted at 9:01 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by hpux735

Instructables goes to hell and dies, now plzkthx.

I think this project could be improved a lot by manual filling of the etching and adding some walls between the words, that should reduce light bleeding. And btw, I envy you germanic-languages-people, you can arrange all possible time sentences in such a small square :)

Posted at 10:21 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by svofski

Never heard the phrase “waste of an Arduino” before :)

Posted at 10:35 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by Kriegsman

I love the look of the QlockTwo build, but I’m not sure I’m reading the description right. Does the black color come from the vinyl sticker? The letters are cut out of the vinyl?

Posted at 11:10 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by Pfhorge

Using 0.8mm PCB for the front plate would be an easy way to significantly reduce bleed. FR4 material is also fluorescent, it may interact with the blue light to add to the bleeding effect.

It’s interesting to know that he won the “Arduino contest” with a project that has no point at all on its own, except to use an Arduino (it’s just a remake of the clock with a new µC).

Posted at 11:43 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by vic

Pro: Guy got out and built something. Good for him.

Con: Take some pride in craftsmanship, dude. Unfinished, unsanded chipboard is the suck.
Especially AS A GIFT.

Posted at 11:47 am on Dec 11th, 2009 by stunmonkey

So it’s exactly the same, but he’s using an Arduino now. How is this original? Was this dupe posted just for the troll value?

Posted at 1:50 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by rd

I don’t understand all this scoffing at the arduino…

why does it matter if I buy an Arduino? Do you feel threatened because previously it took a little more ingenuity to get a Microcontroller system going?

The “club” effect hard at work…

Posted at 3:17 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by Paul

rd-
NOT the same. This one’s got the word “Arduino” prominently displayed in the photo. That’s worth at least 15 suck-up points.

Posted at 3:24 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by jimmys

How is this original? Was this dupe posted just for the troll value?
Posted at 1:50 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by rd

You know, I was going to go there, but every time anyone points out that work is sloppy, poorly done derivative copies of other peoples work, the whiners come out of the woodwork;

You know, the ‘If you have any standards you are just an elitist’ crowd.

My favorite is the ‘You are just a hater ‘cuz you didn’t think of it it’ crowd.

I am actually quite glad I didn’t think of it, actually. If I had thought that a poorly implemented and badly finished copy of someone else’s work was a good idea, adding no redeeming features, purely to get my crap project on someone elses blog, I would have shot myself in the head, thank you very much.

Posted at 4:49 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by stunmonkey

@ stunmonkey

what are you? suicidal? its a clock, get over it!

Posted at 5:08 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by Doug

Thanks for the mentions guys!

@Pfhorge, yes the letters are cut out from the vinyl. It’s a vinyl sticker on a clear sheet of acrylic.

Posted at 5:54 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by Ruud Burger

tell EVIL MAD SCIENTIST LABS to make a kit!

Posted at 8:05 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by googfan

Posted at 10:43 pm on Dec 11th, 2009 by nave.notnilc

The new “improved” clock with arduino…

Same functionality can be yours for only 30 more dollars!

But at least the arduino will allow you to experiment with it, right? No, why would you, all of the code has already been written for you :-P

Posted at 12:39 am on Dec 12th, 2009 by g_had7

How about an English version of QlockTwo? Not all of us can read Dutch.

Posted at 11:24 am on Dec 12th, 2009 by j s

yes yes I take no credit for QlockTwo.. It is Ruud’s work. I just wanted to give a shout out to him for his awesome (and first?) version of a word clock,

Posted at 2:35 pm on Dec 13th, 2009 by alex

@stunmonkey
Strictly speaking I don’t disagree with you, but you set up a hell of a strawman with “purely to get my crap project on someone elses blog.” Maybe this guy made this solely to be posted on hackaday, but even the most uninteresting projects are almost always made because *the guy wanted to make/have it*. And that’s never a poor reason.

I’d just as well hackaday passed on this, but attacking the guy who made it is just stupid.

Posted at 8:01 am on Dec 14th, 2009 by Gene

Sorry, but technically speaking, but the original creator of the the “QlockTwo” is Biegert + Funk

http://qlocktwo.com
http://www.biegertfunk.com/

Posted at 5:18 pm on Dec 15th, 2009 by Anon