Fascination for Colours, a Somewhat Mysterious Clock in a Fake Stained Glass Window.

I recently got a faulty clock. Repairing was no longer useful, and what can you do with it. I took them apart anyway and was left with a round piece of glass and some plastic. Then the idea came up to make a new clock out of it, but it had to be something different than a regular clock, and this is the result. A kind of stained glass window in which the time is visible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K9-5CTrrPc

First you make a drawing of how you want the frame to look, taking into account the hours, minutes and seconds. It is therefore possible to divide into twelve pieces according to your own taste. I chose to make the hours and seconds round and the minutes triangular. Because I couldn't lose another 60 seconds, I solved that with 12 seconds and sending it 5 times. See images. If you like the division, copy them onto a piece of cardboard of the right size. I used a pizza box for this, but the cardboard could be a bit sturdier, as it also serves as a base for the neon pixels. I made the frame out of cardboard. Metal or wood is of course also possible. Collect some cardboard boxes and cut strips from them. Use the same kind of cardboard because if you have a thickness difference, this will show, as in my clock. Also use a cardboard that is as white as possible, the less work you have when painting it. So cut a number of strips and the folding and gluing can begin. I turned the circles twice on a piece of copper tube of 15 and 22 mm. So all parts are made of double cardboard which I glued together with cheap white wood glue. Even the straights. Find something round around which the second circles fit , and then glue them together. And that's how you build up. When the frame is ready, you draw it on the surface, so that you know exactly how much space you have for the neon pixels. My clock is around 25 cm but a bit bigger is nicer. I recently got another clock around 35 cm and am thinking of converting it. It's some work, but yes.

See photo Frame-24. Outer circles of the ring are the hours with four steps in between. After 12 minutes past the hour, the first intermediate step turns on and at 24 minutes the second step turns on, and the first step turns off. The third and fourth follow in the same way. This indicates the clock hand between the hours. At 60 minutes the hour is full and the intermediate step is off and the next hour circle is on.

The triangle ring is the 5 minute value with the minutes in between. This works the same as with the hours, but here two segments remain on. So first the first on, then the second and when the third comes on, the first goes off.

The inner circle rings are the seconds. After 12 seconds, the first two segments will turn on in the middle. After 24 seconds the next two, and then 36 and 48. After 59, 60 follows, which is 0 again and so it starts again.

The time indication can be displayed in color, red/green/blue/yellow, or in black by simply leaving the corresponding neon pixels off.

The color of the whole window can be in a kind of flower pattern or a chaos of color. There are fixed colors and patterns, but it can also be random so that you can adjust the color at any time of the day.

Different colors that you can make yourself

While soldering the neon pixels I was too diligent and forgot to take pictures.

But in fact it is a long row of 128 connected neon pixels in seven circles.

Once you've traced the frame onto the background, you'll know how much space you have for the neon pixels. Now draw two circles with a distance of 7 mm through the spaces of the neon pixels. Make a template from a piece of cardboard with a square hole slightly larger than the dimensions of the neon pixel, e.g. 6 * 6 mm, depending on your pencil thickness. Make a test hole to test whether the size is right. Neon pixels are 5 * 5 mm. Then, using your template, draw a square for the neon pixel in each space so that you touch the circles and the position is as close to the center of the space as possible. Then cut out the squares. When that is done, turn the surface over and bend a few wires in a circle shape over the outer points of the squares, the plus and minus connections. Secure them with some tape. Then you solder the neon pixels in between and make the data out to data in connection. You start at 0 o'clock and go counterclockwise and at the end of the circle you go to the next inner circle. In the end you end up in the middle. You can of course also start from the middle if you find it more convenient. It's easier if you draw it out first. Paint everything white to get as much reflection as possible and stick the frame on the surface. So from the back the direction is to the left and from the front it is then to the right.

Ok, it looks more complicated and difficult than it is, and it doesn't have to be 100% perfect.

The basis is formed by an Arduino pro mini, a clock module DS3231 and 141 neopixel LEDs.

There is also an IR LED for operation and a radar sensor to save power when no movement is present.

This software is a first draft. It still needs further development and refinement. And possibly there are still creative ideas that can be added. If interested, check regularly for newer versions in the coming time.

In progress