I’m so excited! My Analog-Style LED Clock has made the cover of Nuts and Volts magazine! Be sure to check it out! Nuts & Volts March 2018 issue
Now on the cover of Nuts and Volts magazine!
New Kit Options Now Available!
I’m excited to announce some additional options for buying the Analog-Style LED Clock Kit!
To save on the price of the kit as well as the cost of shipping, we are now offering a “Barebones” version of the kit. It does not come with a printed manual or a power supply, and the frame is optional. This may be a particularly attractive option for our international customers. Most customers outside the United States would likely not be able to use the normally included power supply and would have to supply one of their own anyway.
You can now buy either kit with a pre-assembled printed circuit board. Absolutely no soldering required! You will still need to paint the frame, attach the numbers and install the PCB into it. This is a great option for those who feel uncomfortable with the soldering part of the project.
I’m also pleased to announce that all our kits and parts are now RoHS compliant!
Be sure to check out the available options for our Analog-Style LED Clock Kit as well as the “Barebones” Kit!
Using the electric utility frequency for timekeeping — How accurate is it?
The Analog-Style LED Clock uses the 50 or 60Hz from the electric utility as a time base to keep accurate time without the use of a crystal oscillator. The clock automatically detects whether it is connected to 50 or 60Hz and adjusts accordingly. A question I’m often asked is “How accurate is the electric utility frequency?” The short answer is that it is surprisingly accurate.
Continue reading Using the electric utility frequency for timekeeping — How accurate is it?
Analog Style LED Clock now available on Tindie.com
The Analog Style LED Clock is now available on Tindie.com! Tindie is a marketplace for maker made products. They have over 4,000 products listed from makers like me.
Tindie adds layers of protection for both buyers and sellers. For example, they will hold your payment until your order has shipped. Check out the Tindie Guarantee!
The Kit is Available!
The Analog Style LED Clock Kit is available to purchase! My goal when I decided to sell it as a kit back in June, was to make it available by December 1. June sounds like a long time ago, but the time really has flown by fast!
I missed my target release date by a week. I guess that’s not too bad. Especially since it’s still in time for Christmas! Hint, hint! 😉
New website is live!
I just went live with the new site! Got some more tweaking to do, but it’s about 95% complete. Feel free to check it out! In particular, you might want to head over to our Downloads page and check out the user’s manual – complete with operation & assembly instructions, troubleshooting, theory of operation and schematics.
I anticipate that the kits will be available in about a week. If you have any questions or feedback about the site, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Built new board
I got my new PCBs earlier this week and they look great! I built a board today, taking pictures as I went to put in the assembly manual. The board looks and works perfectly! Now I have to update the manual, make a couple of tweaks to the software, and add ordering capability to the website.
Speaking of website, I’ve been working on a new site using WordPress and using the WooCommerce plugin. I’m really impressed with the capabilities of this software. A bit of a learning curve, but it’s allowing me to create a very capable and professional looking site! I’m really looking forward to going live with the new site!
Re-spun PC board
I waited until after Keith built his clock to re-spin the PCB, in case he saw any issues or had any suggestions. It didn’t take long to redo the board. I just added a diode, fixed the polarity of the buzzer, and moved a few parts around. I also made some cosmetic changes. New boards are on order and I should have them in about a week!
1st kit built
Keith finally got time to assemble his clock. It came out looking great! There were a few issues with the assembly instruction, but other than that, there were no problems.
Now that Keith has built his clock, and I have his feedback, I can proceed with re-spinning the board. While waiting for his feedback, I completed the rest of the manual. I just need to update the assembly portion with new pictures and make some adjustments to some of the instructions. And I assembled more kits. The components will all remain the same — just need to add the new board and manual.
1st kit delivered
This is an exciting day and a milestone in developing the LED Clock kit!
I delivered my first kit to my friend and coworker, Keith, who also owns KABtronics.com. He has been a great inspiration to me in developing this project into a kit. Keith will be giving me valuable feedback on building the kit and proofreading the manual for clarity, mistakes and omissions.
At this point, the manual is not complete, but has instructions to build and operate the clock and some general troubleshooting information. Also, the PC Board will need to be re-spun to incorporate the additional diode and correct some markings. While I’m at it, I will be making some other enhancements to the board as well. At this point, I’m thinking I’m about 6 weeks away from having a finished product.
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