There are several different designs of the word clock.
There are examples for English, German, French and Dutch designs.
In the software it
is possible to add your own language.
All clocks are designed on PCBs (Printed Circuit board).
These PCBs are
designed in Fritzing and available in a Fritzing design format and as Gerber
file in a ZIP.
The zipped Gerber files can be uploaded to a company like
my supporter
PCBway that manufactures excellent PCBs with a good service.
The Fritzing
files can be used as a template for your own design.
KiCad can also be used
for creating electronic circuit schematics but there is unfortunately in 2024
still no translation between the two formats possible.
All designs communicate with a Bluetooth serial terminal
on a phone or tablet but also possess a rotary encoder and DS3231 RTC time module to
set the time and keep the time accurate to 20 seconds a year.
There are
several built options for the word clock:
An ATMEGA328 chip with shift registers and white LEDs.
An Arduino Nano Every/ATMEGA1280 with WS2812 RGB or SK6812 RGBW LED-strips
An Arduino Nano ESP32 with WS2812 RGB or SK6812 RGBW LED-strips
An Arduino Nano ESP32 with shift registers and white
LEDs.
Pro
Sturdy design that did not had one failure in 40 clocks for over 10 years.
Can run with DCF77 time receiver.
Cons
A lot of soldering. But a advantage if you like soldering.
No WIFI NTP time.
(By
replacing the Bluetooth adapter with a ESP32-C3 or S3 Bluetooth and
WIFI NTP time can be added)
You have to translate the Dutch instructions to your own language or mail me.
Pro
Uses colour RGB(W) LED-strips
solid design that did not had one failure in 40 clocks for over 5 years.
Easy to solder
Cons
No WIFI NTP time
(By
replacing the Bluetooth adapter with a ESP32-C3 or S3 Bluetooth and
WIFI NTP time can be added)
DCF77 only possible with receiver 10-15cm cm away from the RGB(W) LEDs.
Pro
WIFI and BLE in the microprocessor to control the clock from a phone or PC.
NTP time from the internet in combination with the DS3231 RTC module.
(It
is possible to use the clock without internet)
Software runs on ESP32-C3/S3 and many more MCU's without a PCB.
Just
connect the LED-strip and the DS3231 RTC to the pins and the clock will run
Cons
None?
Pro
WIFI and BLE in the microprocessor to control the clock from a phone or PC
NTP time from the internet in combination with the DS3231 RTC module.
(It
is possible to use the clock without internet)
Cons
A lot of soldering. But a advantage if you like soldering.
Oct 2024