This removes any solder bridges and the excess solder resin which can break down over time. I prefer to clean the bottom of the board using meths or isopropohol alcohol and a toothbrush. When you have no parts left, the board should look like the completed one pictured. The output socket is orientated so that the notch faces the middle of the board. The LEDs (light-emitting diodes), electrolytic capacitors and sockets are the last items, EXCEPT for the 32768 xtal oscillator (the little round metal thing), which needs to squeeze in between the IC socket and connector (see completed board photo).Ĭ5 has the overlay missing, so you need to check where the negative lead goes. I usually solder the diagonally opposite pins, then check the socket is fully down on the board (and the notch aligned) before soldering the rest of the pins. The IC sockets have a small notch indicating pin 1, so check the overlay on the board and align them with this. They should be fitted before the integrated circuit (IC) sockets. Three links are required and these use the excess lead cut off from the resistors. Use a small pair of pliers because the bend is much neater and you can avoid damaging the internals. The diode leads have to be bent at 90 degrees. Remove the solder and the iron and you should have a bright, shiny solder joint where the solder forms a Fillet. Wipe the soldering-iron tip clean with a damp cloth or sponge and apply a small amount of solder to the tip which transfers the heat to the solder joint.Touch the tip to the component lead and board and introduce the solder so that it makes a joint. Beg, buy or borrow a 60w soldering iron with a small tip and small multicore solder around the 1 mm size. Your garage soldering iron that you heat with a blow torch is not suitable. In any printed circuit board (pcb) assembly, you start with the lowest height components first, so start with the resistors, and smaller capacitors. I prefer to start by identifying all the components and checking the board to see if there is anything to catch me out. We ordered a complete kit which arrived extremely well-packaged and with the hardest part, attaching the stencil, already done for us. Doug Jackson has not only provided the instructions to make this (but also has available boards, complete kitsets and completed clocks at very reasonable prices. It can be customised by adding words or modifying to another language and has options to reduce the brightness or add LEDs for the single minutes. The word clock has an Arduino controller and real-time clock and lights up words telling the time. It’s a fun, useful project, guaranteed to be a talking point and I undertook to build one. This word clock is available as a kitset from his website. It was developed by Doug Jackson as a more affordable QLOCK 2 which he says he saw on a hobbyist’s website where he was struck by the clock’s beauty and its high price. or p.m.Ī word clock is ideal for numerically challenged modern youth who can’t tell the time or for those of a literary persuasion. One modification I’ve already planned is to change the colour of the “IT IS” based on a.m. This adaptable project can also automatically dim the display at night between 7.00pm and 6.59 am. Because the software (sketch) in the processor has a few added extras, it could illuminate extra words or a single LED for the minutes 1-4. On the hour and up to four minutes past is just O’CLOCK. At 17 minutes to the hour, TWENTY MINUTES TO will still be lit up. For example, the code for “ten past” is an instruction for when the time is “greater than 9 minutes AND less than 15 minutes.” The result: real-time 13 minutes past will still have TEN MINUTES PAST lit up. Our display lights up each five-minute period in the hour the processor checks to see which of the words the minutes are on or between and illuminates that LED output.Īnything up to four minutes past a number is rounded back to that number. The processor establishes if the minute hand is PAST or TO the hour from the RTC information between 0 and 59. The RTC provides hour information as 1-24 and the processor decides what hour to display, based on the minutes and the hour information. It outputs the time in a string of numbers the processor can read and manipulate. An optional battery backup keeps the RTC running during power outages.Įvery 60 seconds, the processor polls the real-time clock chip (DS1302) which accurately keeps time. The PCB contains a power supply, pre-programmed processor chip, a real-time clock (RTC) and output drivers to illuminate the LEDs. It is based on an Atmel 168 processor chip as used in Arduino, is programmed using Arduino and fitted into a custom-made printed circuit board (PCB). Word Clock is a project created by Doug Jackson using Open Source (and has been evolving into the product you see here.
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