Feb 25, 2018
I was bored while I waited for parts for my IN-18 Nixie Clock to arrive from China. So I threw together a silly little ATtiny thing that could use a 7-segment display to display a random number from 0-9. Nothing fancy, just a silly little one-day project. This will come in very handy when the kids argue over who gets the last donut or whatever. Hey kids….pick a number!
Read More... May 04, 2016
With the prototype working, and the code 99% complete, it was time to put together a PCB and get to work on an enclosure. I really want this clock to look sweet.
Read More...Apr 18, 2016
I’ve had a 74154 4-to-16 Decoder/Demultiplexer sitting in my parts organizer in a drawer marked "Random Chips" for 15 years. So what's it do? Let's find out!
Read More...Jun 15, 2014
Since I wasn’t happy with the engraving on the first spin, as well as totally forgetting to make a cut out for the display, I revised my SVG file and resubmitted it to Ponoko. As far as the color, I think it’s going to look pretty good. I might lower the value of the resistors in order to brighten up the digits. I’ll have to see what it looks like when it’s all put together.
Read More... Apr 25, 2014
Despite looking like a prototype, as well as a total piece of junk, I’m still very proud of the first clock I built in 2001. The 7490 clock was the first “big thing” that I ever designed and made from scratch. It’s a shame to leave it just sitting in the closet. After 13 years, I think it’s time to finally get it up and running the way it should, give it some upgrades, and a new enclosure.
Read More... Feb 10, 2014
Definitely not my best work, but it’ll do. I just wanted to use up that last PCB left over from the Tesseract build. I guess it was better to use the PCB for something rather than have it sitting in a parts drawer.
Read More...Jan 17, 2014
I really liked the way that the Tesseract came out. It was supposed to be the Night Light 2.0, but after some research it became apparent that blue LEDs mess with your sleep patterns. Blue LEDs aren’t exactly the ideal thing for a kid’s night light. I decided to use the leftover LED Display Board from the Tesseract for the new Night Light.
Read More... Jan 14, 2014
I had some Christmas cash that was burning a hole in my pocket. I decided to hop on SparkFun and see if there were any goodies to be had. I already needed a few things for some upcoming projects, so I figured I'd try and see if I could get my order up to $60 bucks so that I'd qualify for free shipping.
Read More... Dec 31, 2013
This 7490 clock has been a thorn in my side for a little over 5 years. It's never run right. It looks great, but it runs fast. Is it time for yet another rebuild, or can I just fix it with a cap or something?
Read More... May 17, 2013
I’m so happy this clock is finally complete and ticking along accurately. It’s been so long. It’s nice to see all this time, money, and hard work finally pay off with such a nice looking clock.
Read More... May 02, 2013
Several months ago, I set out to finally fix the old 7490 clock that I designed back in 2008. I got busy with some other projects, so it’s been sitting on the back burner. I used a cheap crystal and a crude setting circuit to set and run the clock. The crystal module put out a 1 Hz signal that, through a series of buttons, I would steer through to the seconds, minutes, and hours section of the clock. The problem was that the signal that the crystal module put out was pretty lousy. I figured it was time to revisit the 7490 clock and see if I could use a microcontroller to improve the design.
Read More... Apr 08, 2013
After a few failed attempts at making a home made PCB for my ATtiny Programming shield, I decided to go ahead and upload my Eagle file to OSH Park.
Read More... Mar 18, 2013
Since I finished the Word Clock, and I'm waiting for SparkFun to send me a new e-paper display, I figured it was a good time to start playing around with the ATtiny85s that I picked up a few months ago.
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