Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has just released a Bulbdial clock kit. This has come a long way since their first prototype, featuring three PCBs to carry the 72 charlieplexed LEDs. For accuracy they’ve included an optional header for a ChronoDot precision RTC.
With a great looking face and laser-cut acrylic case available, this may soon adorn our mantle. Time to write that letter to Santa…
Update: [Windell] of EvilMadScientist.com posted some video of the clock in action. We’ve embedded it after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhwEa5ZNsZs]
I have really liked this project since the beginning. I think the price is kinda high, but all things considered, its reasonable. Very nice looking.
For $85 that is a very reasonable price (with case). The amount of work that went into it had to be pretty substantial and we aren’t talking about someone from some third world country who produced it.
I think most of the cost is just the sheer size of the PCBs… I’m sure the fabhouse charges for the full square that each of those rings takes up, unless they have a yet smaller board inside.
@Shadyman: Good point… too bad the ChronoDot is not their product, they could have made the circular discs inside the rings during production.
As someone who makes / sells a fair amount of kits, The price seems very, very reasonable. PCB’s are usually priced on how much panel space they take up, those circular panels take up a ton of space and you have to pay more for the routing. Very nice looking!
where’s my bulb dial watch??
Can you tell the time in a room with normal lighting (or even sunlight streaming in a window), or do you need to dim the lights?
It says one “hand” moves every two seconds fading in and out. Hmmm…. I’d like to see a movie of this thing in operation.
Do want.
shiny…
ordered!
On the you-tube video, when the ‘minute hand’ reached 12 the ‘hour’ shows 4.5!!!!!
That would be the minute hand, not the hour. Working as intended.