• Start Somewhere: The Days of the Week

    C • 12/25/2024 at 10:13 • 0 comments

    The original design for the Day of the Week was a cardboard box with the days of the week in stenciled cut-out text, by Milas Clark. The appropriate day of the week would be lit by LEDs within the box. The design was changed due to its size in relation to the other elements of time included in the clock; the light box was too dominant, and the visual hierarchy was off balance.

    Original cut-out design by Milas Clark

    This was changed to an LCD display, one of the most standard and common pieces of display technology. Being new to coding and electronics, I started my journey with a standard 16X2 LCD display that we had lying around the electronics lab. Because it was so basic, I thought it would be a good place to start. I referenced tutorials for 16X2 LCD displays for wiring up a prototype, and used the Arduino>Examples>LiquidCrystal>HelloWorld code as a template and eventually expanded from there. 

    The 1st prototype after the redesign

    Later on, the 16X2 display was changed to a 16X1, because the font size was too small to be read from a distance, and the position of the connection pins became problematic. The 16X2 display had connection pins at the top, while the 16X1 had connections on the left side. This was much better for cable management when we were connecting all the different displays together.

    The second prototype incorporated push-buttons and If-Else statements in the code to change from one day of the week to another.

    The 2nd prototype, push-button version

    The push-button code was modified when we changed from using an Arduino Uno/ RedBoard to a Mega, and added an RTC (Real-Time Clock). Instead of the code reading inputs from the push-buttons, the inputs came from the time on the RTC. This was important because this way all the time information was coordinated, so if any time element changed, the other elements would match and be updated as well. 

    The PCB based on the push-button prototype was designed by David Harbottle and made on the Othermill in the Fablab, Pasadena City College's maker space. After being tested to confirm the design was working properly, we sent the design to PCBWay for a professional board to be made. It arrived quickly, worked perfectly, and gave a really polished look to our project. 

    Detail of board (Othermill version)

    Testing of Day of Week display with Othermill board 

    Putting it all together with final version of the Day of the Week board from PCBWay

    Next, we'll explore the Minutes Display, or How to Pick a Proper LED!

  • The Beginning of the Clock: Before My Time

    C • 12/19/2024 at 11:29 • 0 comments

    The visual representation of time has changed significantly over the centuries.  With the advent of digital technology starting as early as the 1950’s, the more traditional methods of using a dial face with moving hands to represent the passage of hours, minutes and seconds were often replaced with numerical displays. 

    Today most individuals are aware of the ubiquitous Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays that are often still seen on small digital alarm clocks; however many people are not aware that prior to LED displays (and now more commonly liquid crystal displays, or LCDs) there was a fascinating evolution of technology used to represent numerical information. 

    The PCC Time Machine is an attempt to capture this evolution of display technology and implement it into a large “clock” as a method of maintaining a small history of these different display technologies.

    A number of the display devices implemented in the clock have been collected over the years from personal collections, swap meet finds, and overseas internet purchases.  The selection of devices in no way represents all of the different technologies that existed, particularly as older technology becomes more difficult to find (and prohibitively expensive!).  Additionally, from seconds to years there is a limited scope of different segments of time that can be displayed.

    As you read through this project log we hope that you enjoy the story of the clock’s evolution and learn a little about how the digital representation of information has changed over time.

    The Uber Clock

    Our story starts with Professor Tom Thoen’s class in PCB design and fabrication in Spring 2014 at Pasadena City College. The project was to create a clock, with each student responsible for an element of time/ aspect of the clock, including designing a circuit board in Eagle, getting the board manufactured, and soldering it/ putting it together. The time frame was 4-6 weeks to complete project.

    Schematic of the original design

    The Original Clock Boards

    The Hours

    The Hours Board as designed by Chris Liang

    The Minutes

    The Minutes Board by Edward Temm

    The Minutes Display Board by Alex Janss

    The Seconds

    The Seconds Board as designed by Patricia Tan

    Days of Week

    Days of Week (light-up with cut-out text) by Milas Clark

    Day of Week board by Milas Clark

    Time Setting 

    Time Setting Prototype by Avaga Marksi

    The Chime Mechanism

    Chime Mechanism by Tom Thoen

    The clock after Spring 2014

    Unfortunately, the project couldn't be completed that semester because there was not enough time to complete a project of this scale and a lack of good prototyping technology at the time. Boards were proofed out using the Othermill, but proved very difficult to solder. Also, as it was a PCB design class, no individual person had been assigned to code the clock overall. The project gathered dust, until...

    It Lives Again!

    The project restarted in January 2017 with Cat Morse with the goal of designing, fabricating, and completing the clock. The overall concept was reimagined as a grandfather clock celebrating the beauty of electronics, and expanded to utilize some different and additional display technology. One of the main parameters that dictated the new design was that, where possible, the clock should be made in-house, to highlight what could be made with campus resources and technology.  David Harbottle joined the team in February 2018 to lend his electronics, coding, and maker-space manufacturing expertise. 

    From its beginnings as pieces lovingly collected from disparate parts of the world, to jumbles of spaghetti and collecting dust (twice!), to finally being featured at Supercon 2024 (!), please join us over the next few weeks as we share how we got here!