HDD POV clock takes the best from those that came before it

hdd-pov-clock

The concept behind this clock has been seen before, but [Dieter] tried to combine the best aspects of several projects into his HDD POV clock (translated). The basic principle of the design is to cut a slot into the top platter of the hard drive. This will let the light from some LEDs shine through. By carefully synchronizing the LED with the spinning platter a set of differently colored hands … [Read more...]

Sunrise alarm clock mounted above the bed

sunrise-alarm-from-led-strips

This sunrise alarm clock was made in a bit different form factor than we normally see. Instead of a box next to the bed it's a bar above the headboard which slowly illuminates every morning. This was [Holly's] first electronics project. She spent pretty much all summer working on it and accumulated a skill set that included designing for and operating the laser cutter and assembling and … [Read more...]

Retrotechtacular: How a watch works

how-a-mechanical-watch-works

Anyone who has ever tried to keep time with an electronic project will have respect for a timepiece that stays accurate over the span of months or more. We think it's even more respectable when it comes to mechanical watches. This video was made by the Hamilton watch company back in 1949 to explain the basic processes behind a precision mechanical timepiece. It takes several minutes to get to … [Read more...]

Award clock put to good use as a bench meter

award-clock-turned-voltage-meter

The motivation industry turns out these type of award trinkets by the millions. Here's a way to actually put the thing to use. Instead of displaying time, the clock dial serves as the readout of a voltage meter. When we first saw this post we assumed that the hack used some type of coil injection to drive the hands. But it turns out that this is mechanically driven. The image above shows the … [Read more...]

Hacking grandfather clock accuracy while it’s still ticking

grandfather-clock-tweaking

[Keith] got his hands on a few grandfather clocks. Apparently the price tag is greatly reduced if you are able to get them second-hand. The mechanical timepieces require weekly winding, which is a good thing since you'll also need to correct the time at least that often. But this drift got [Keith] thinking about improving the accuracy of these clocks. He figured out a high-tech way to adjust the … [Read more...]

Deathly Hallows mark the passing of time

deathly-hallows-clock

Whether you're a Harry Potter fan or not we think you'll enjoy this Deathly Hallows clock. The body is modeled after the triangle, circle, and line that make up the symbol that played a prominent role when concluding the fantasy novel series. A bit of motion and a couple handfuls of LEDs are what allow it to display the time of day. [Yeenasty] started by building the triangular surround out … [Read more...]

Super slim wristwatch build

super-slim-wristwatch-build

This slmwtch lives up to its name. When the LCD screen is folded back onto the PCB the entire thing comes in at just 2.35mm. That's including a coin-cell battery not shown above. Wow! Part of what makes this possible is the specialized PCB design. [Anders] didn't want to add more thickness than the screen and battery so he make a cutout in the PCB design to accept each component. In this image … [Read more...]