November 29, 2013

The "Tnychron" 1970s-style clock

We often say that you can never have too many ideas for an Arduino-powered clock, and the following project by Instructables user "uhclem" is another great example. They have merged 1970s aesthetics and displays with the Arduino platform to create their "Tnychron" LED display clock.

Based around an Arduino-compatible circuit, DS1307 real-time clock IC and some classic HP LED displays, the clock will be accurate yet have a retro design that is quite appealing.

Not only does the Tnychron keep time, it also has various tunes available for alarms - and with a little investigation could also display other forms of temperature or perhaps use a GPS receiver to nail down the exact time. 

The creator has also provided all the required Arduino sketches, Cadsoft EAGLE files for the PCB and even the enclosure type, so visit the Instructable to start on your own version.  And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well. 

If you're wanting to make your own Arduino-compatible clocks or other off-board projects, you'll need an ATmega328P MCU with Arduino Uno bootloader:

This is the same Atmel AVR ATmega328P microcontroller used in the official Arduino Uno, as well as our ElevenEtherTenUSBDroid, and other boards. Perfect for building your own Arduino-compatible project directly on a breadboard or on a custom PCB, or for replacing the MCU in an existing board.

It comes with the Arduino Uno bootloader pre-installed and has a special label stuck on top with details of the pinouts, so you don't even need to look up the datasheet when connecting it up in your project! For more information and to order, click here!

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