The MintyTime Clock Kit is a fun way to add a binary clock to almost any container. It’s intended to be housed in a mint tin, such as the classic Altoids tin, but it looks great in almost any container, from a custom-designed, laser-cut enclosure to an old wooden recipe box.
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The Real Time Clock Kit Parts Bundle includes everything but the casing to build the PIC-based clock designed by Sparkle Labs and featured in MAKE Volume 09. Be sure to read the article for detailed explanations of how the PIC, Real Time Clock, and LED driver all work together to make a functioning clock.
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This fully functional alarm clock lets you practice defusing simulated explosives. When the red button is pressed, the clock starts a scary countdown like bombs in Hollywood movies. There are four wires across the top of the clock, and you have ten seconds to choose the correct wire to cut. Programmed with the Arduino IDE, so […]
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Very cool idea from Ponoko seller ticktock showroom, and reasonably priced at $100 US. Could be a fun remake, too, especially if, like me, you’ve been looking for a use for that old piece of motorcycle chain you can’t quite bring yourself to throw out. [via Boing à la Boing]
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Sure, the world’s full of unusual clocks, both analog and digital, but this unusual design from Instructables user duckcrazy caught my eye for the many clever ways in which it makes the most of some common materials. The case is made from carefully-chosen 2-liter soda bottles, and the clock itself from a pair of CDs, a couple of print-and-fold paper cylinders, and an inexpensive analog clock movement. It’s an entry in Instructables currently-ongoing Clocks Challenge.
Continue ReadingThe Monochron, from the Maker Shed, is a completely hackable, open source clock kit that has a funky retro feel. The ATmega328 processor comes pre-programmed with a “Retro Arcade Table Tennis for Two” face but includes the Arduino bootloader making it easy to program your own custom look. The kit comes complete with all electronics (soldering required), laser cut case, and power plug.
Continue ReadingThat phrase could be Bill Hammack’s tagline. This week, it’s the piezoelectric crystal oscillator in a $9.99 digital watch from Target, a device so ubiquitous that it has become “ephemeralized,” as Bucky Fuller put it: Almost any device that runs on electricity is expected to include one. I knew how they worked, in a general way, before watching this video. But here’s one of the many things I did not know: The quartz crystal in the oscillator is only 3mm long and less than 1mm across, yet each one is individually tuned at the factory. Wanna know how they do it? Click away. [Thanks, Bill!]
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