Analogue panel meters don't die - they just find uses in new and interesting projects. An example of this is by Instructables user "tech-e" who has harnessed a pair of 5 V panel meters with which he can display the time, audio VU levels and other data of interest. Driving the meters is easily done using pulse-width modulation (using the Arduino analogWrite() function) and with a little calibration the results can be quite successful. With a little more work the use of custom panel backgrounds and LEDs really enhance the effect, for example:
Very well done, and not difficult at all - so visit the project page to get started. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
When making your own clock - don't skimp on timing accuracy - so consider using our real-time clock module based on the DS3232 - with a temperature-controlled oscillator it is highly accurate, and has an onboard backup battery for when the power dies and 236 bytes of non-volatile memory for user data.
