[time-nuts] Time shown as two horizontal bars

Chris Albertson albertson.chris at gmail.com
Tue Apr 2 01:29:20 EDT 2013


I still like my laser pointer design.  I've been thinking about it and
the parts count is lower than I first thought.   Here is how it works

Aim a laser pointer as a spinning hexagonal scanner mirror.  These
look like the head of a large size bolt, but with mirrored sides.  The
moter turns the mirror and there is a contact switch that closes once
per face or six times per revolution.

The contact swich interrupts an Arduino.  Then inside the interrupt
the software toggle sthe power to the laser.  The delays between the
interrupt and toggle depend on the time of day.   So all you need is
the spinning scanner assembly, a laser pointer a transistor to drive
it and one Arduino.

The size of the display can be adjusted by changing the delay between
the toggles and it can be a front or rear projection system.

Unlike the fixed LEDS my projecter can have moving dots.  Maybe they
can look lie a metronome and count off seconds.  Or the dot can
"crawl" across the screen.    Or you could"spell" the numbers on mose
code with dots and dashes.  Or you make it change the presentation
every day and confuse people


On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 3:38 PM, WB6BNQ <wb6bnq at cox.net> wrote:
> Hi Bill,
>
> Interesting idea.  One of the problems you are going to have with normal
> available displays is being able to distinguishing the individual "elements" as
> you get further away from the clock.  So it sounds like you may have to construct
> your own display area so that the "elements" are further apart.
>
> Doing so would allow for some embellishments, such as using a different colors
> for the 10 and 30 minute LEDs.  Equally so, you could use 24 LEDs for hour marks
> using two different colors for day and night.
>
> Likewise, you could reduce the number of LEDs by using 9 for the minutes in one
> row.  A second row would have 5 for the 10 minute marks.  The third row would be
> the hours with just the 12 LEDs but by using dual color LEDs you could cover day
> and night.
>
> Just thought I would complicate your project........
>
> Bill....WB6BNQ
>
>
> Bill Hawkins wrote:
>
>> Looking for a long, thin horizontal clock display for use above or below
>> a flat screen TV.
>>
>> Tried searching for "bar clock" and got a lot of useless hits.
>>
>> What I'd like is a display that is about half an inch (12 mm) high by
>> 12-18 inches long (30-50 cm) that is just two rows of 60 or 120 leds.
>> One row is labeled 0 to 59 (or 60) and the other is labeled 0 to 12. The
>> display does not stay at 12 or 60 but jumps back to zero. Power line
>> frequency is an adequate reference, as long as it always has the same
>> 86,400 seconds per day, except for added leap seconds. There should not
>> be a clock frequency adjustment.
>>
>> 60 seconds worth of line cycles bumps the minute bar (30 if it has 120
>> leds), and 5 minutes bumps the hour bar (150 seconds for 120 leds).
>>
>> The clock is set (after startup and power outages) by four buttons on
>> the back - minutes, increment, decrement, hours.
>>
>> Have any of you connoisseurs of time seen such a clock? How about a bar
>> of leds that could be used to make a clock?
>>
>> Bill Hawkins
>>
>> P.S. Currently re-reading Terry Pratchett's "Thief of Time" - a whole
>> new way to look at time in a funny and perceptive story.
>>
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-- 

Chris Albertson
Redondo Beach, California


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