{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Projects","provider_url":"https:\/\/projects.schneidr.de","author_name":"Gerald","author_url":"https:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/author\/admin\/","title":"Wordclock","html":"The wordclock shows the current time in actual words, in a manner as one would say it when somebody asks for the time: \"It is a quarter to five\". It has all words needed to tell the \u00a0time, the right words are lighted.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100388.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-367\" title=\"P1100388\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100388-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThe clock consists of a paperboard front, with words cut out with a crafting knife. Behind is a translucent paper which disperses the light from the light-emitting diodes which illuminate the single words.\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/lDoJEnYNrCU\" width=\"584\" height=\"327\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\nThis page is only a brief description of the current state. If you are interested in the details and in the process of making it, feel free to browse through the <a href=\"\/category\/wordclock\/\">posts in its category<\/a>.\r\n<h2>Electronics<\/h2>\r\nThe electronics part consists of the following: The core is an Arduino, which reads the current time from a DCF77 radio receiver. The <a title=\"DCF77 on Wikipedia\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/DCF77\">DCF77 signal<\/a> contains the current time and date and is broadcasted near Frankfurt, Germany and can be received about 2000km around this location. So, if you live outside this area, this solution will not work for you.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_366\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"584\"]<a href=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100189.jpg\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-366\" title=\"P1100189\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100189-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" \/><\/a> DCF77 Receiver attached to an Arduino Duemilanove[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAlso attached to the Arduino are three\u00a074HC595 chips which are used to address the LEDs. Some pictures from testing and the circuit board I made to connect everything.\r\n\r\n[gallery link=\"file\" orderby=\"title\" include=\"409,406,407\"]\r\n\r\nThe board is admittedly ugly, even more so, because I only had wires in red available. I plan to make a real circuit board for it in the future.\r\n<h2>The crafted part<\/h2>\r\nTo cut the words out of card board I printed them inverted on a DIN A3 sized paper. I used spray glue to glue it on the card board. Then I used a crafting knife to cut out the characters.\r\n\r\n[gallery link=\"file\" orderby=\"title\" include=\"368,369,370\"]\r\n\r\nI used simple duct tape to glue the LEDs behind the cutouts on translucent paper. Then I soldered cables directly to the LEDs.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100368.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-372\" title=\"P1100368\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100368-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nThe LED pins are isolated with heat shrink tubes, the long wires are soldered to the shift register chips on the circuit board.\r\n\r\n[gallery link=\"file\" orderby=\"title\" include=\"371,373,374\"]\r\n\r\nTo isolate the words better from each other I used more duct tape to attach pieces of paper behind each word.\r\n\r\n[gallery link=\"file\" orderby=\"title\" include=\"375,376,377\"]\r\n\r\nI found a framed mirror at a local hardware store which hat perfect measures for the clock, so I removed the mirror, drilled a hole in one side for the USB cable that provides the power. The back plane was mounted with staples, so I just placed the clock in the frame and remounted the back plane behind it with a staple gun.\r\n<h2>The Software<\/h2>\r\nYou can download the current version of the software here:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/03\/wordclock_04_pde.txt\">Wordclock Version 0.4<\/a>\u00a0(Updated 20.03.2012)\r\n\r\nVersion 0.4 adds usage of the Arduinos internal clock.\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Version 0.2:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/Wordclock.ino_.txt\">Wordclock.ino<\/a>\u00a0(15.01.2012)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nSome things to note:\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>g_pinCommLatch,\u00a0g_pinData and\u00a0g_pinClock are the digital pins where the shift registers are connected to the Arduino.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>DCF77 is the analog pin where the DCF receiver is connected.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Don't make the same mistake as me and use pins 0 or 1 on your Arduino for any of those!<\/li>\r\n\t<li>I accidently switched two cables when I soldered the LEDs to the shift register chips. It was easier to reflect this in the software than soldering the cables out and in again. So make sure you shift the right bits.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Room for improvement<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Find a better way to wire the LEDs. The current way is a mess.\u00a0Maybe I can cut circuit board with lines down to stripes with two conductive lines.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Create own PCB. Next time I'll definitely etch my own circuit board.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>More even illumination. \u00a0Mounting the LEDs sideways doesn't make for a very good illumination since most of the light is lost. I'd have to find a way to mount the LEDs so the light shines directly towards the front.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Better separation of the LEDs for each word<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Credits<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>J. M. Lietaer, for his code about decoding the DCF77 signal (link dead now)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Torsten Amshove, for his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amshove.net\/wiki\/arduino:dcf77\">code to validate the DCF77 signa<\/a>l (page is in german)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Paul S. Randal, who shared <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/paulselec\/post\/Arduino-cascading-shift-registers-to-drive-7-segment-displays.aspx\">how to use shift registers easily<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","type":"rich","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/projects.schneidr.de\/files\/2012\/01\/P1100370-150x150.jpg","thumbnail_width":150,"thumbnail_height":150}