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Real Time Clock

DIY Clock

Here is a fun project we made a while back that involved soldering, coding and have a case 3D printed.

DIY ClockWanting a clock for my work area, I made one using an Arduino Deumilanove, Chronodot RTC, or real time clock, and a 7 segment display.

I had the box custom 3d printed on Makexyz.com.The lid slides off, out the back.

 

 

I used an Arduino Deumilanove because I will need to change the time for daylight savings and want an easy way to do that. If I had used one of my stand alone Arduinos, that would mean removing the chip and putting in another Arduino and then updating the time from the computer. This way I can just connect the clock to the computer without the need to remove the chip.
I also added a light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness of the display.
The nice thing about the Chronodot RTC is that it is very accurate and has a coin cell battery backup.  If you ever lose power the clock will still be correct when power comes back on.

Basically we used a piece of perfboard to solder all the 7 segment display and RTC connections and then route them to the Arduino.

If I were to ever do another clock I would somehow make it auto adjust for daylight savings. Maybe someday will write up a tutorial.  Here are some more photos.

DIY RTC

Back of clock with plug and light sensor.

RTC Inside

Inside of clock.

RTC Insides

Inside of clock closeup.

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