Sunday, January 1, 2012

Old projects revisited

I recently had to revisit the (original, glass domed) WiseClock and the SillyClock.

On WiseClock I streamlined the software (download from here) to only show the time and quotes. It also allows the time to be set from buttons as opposed to the Sony TV remote control (the Reset button on the 8x8 LED matrix shield was re-purposed/re-routed). As well, the character set is now defined in progmem as opposed to internal microcontroller EEPROM (font1.h contains the font definition).
The method I chose for setting the time is to show the hours in red and the minutes in green, and alternate between hours and minutes by pressing the left button (now named "Set"). The left button (the former "Reset") is now named "Inc" and connected to A2/D16 (a pull-up 10k resistor is also required), as shown in the photo.















This button is used for incrementing the hours or minutes. Once the right time is set, the clock will revert to displaying the scrolling quotes and time.

On SillyClock, the software (download from here) can now handle the tilt switch (on the "Dual RG bi-color LED matrix shield") and also sound the alarm.
Two hardware hacks are required:
  • addition of a pull-up 10k resistor on A0;
  • addition of a piezo buzzer between A1 and ground.

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