The Musical Clock.

Hi friends this is Sagar and i am a huge fan of music, so i thought why not make a clock with an mp3 player amplifier so that i can enjoy music without losing the track of time. So here i am with my clock. Please vote if you like my project. THANK YOU!

The following materials are required to make the above clock.

1) A wooden box or some scrap wood to make the enclosure for the clock.

2) An acrylic sheet of thickness 3 to 4 mm.

3) 5 volt speakers- 2 nos.

4) A clock machine and clock hands

5) A STK4440 amplifier integrated circuit.

6) A remote controlled mp3 player having USB and SD card slots.

7) A switch

8) A 12 volts power supply.

9) A small piece of Formica sheet.

10) some wooden strips.

11) Some tools for working with wood (Hand drill, smooth file etc).

12) 5 volt regulator (LM7805)

First making the enclosure i am using an old wooden box which i had lying around. If you do not have one lying around you can make it simply by cutting the wooden strips and attach them using nails. I am cutting the excess part with a saw to make if even compact and smaller in size. This will make it look less bulkier.

After cutting our enclosure should similar to images 3 and 4. In the next step i am using two wooden strips so that it acts as a support for the acrylic part which will hold the clock and two speakers. The dimensions of my box is as follows-

LENGTH- 15"

BREADTH- 3"

HEIGHT- 6"

Regardless of the size you can make a enclosure of any size you. These dimension are not compulsory. For the back of the enclosure i am using a sheet of wood of thickness 6 mm. Cut it according to the enclosure. Once the enclosure is made you can give it a color of your choice. I am giving a black color.

Cutting the acrylic according to the size of the enclosure so that it fits accurately in the space given.Once the acrylic is cut drill a hole in the center of the acrylic piece where we have to mount the clock machine.

Further for the speakers we have to make two circular slots of diameter 650 mm so the speakers can easily rest in it. Sometimes creating slots like these can be very tedious job but here's a quick and easy method for doing so. Draw a circle of 650 mm diameter , take a drill and make holes inside the circle that you drew as shown in image number 2. Once you have done that take a soldering iron with a flat tip ( Flat tip not available in market. I made it myself by hammering an old soldering iron tip). Now just cut through all the holes and you can easily create a slot of such diameter in a acrylic. You can use this idea in so may ways. Now using four screws attach the two speakers on the acrylic sheet. Also in the hole in the center attach the clock machine. Add a 1.5 volt cell to this clock machine. After these steps it should look something like image number 6.The last image shows how it will look when you attach the whole thing in the wooden enclosure.

As shown in the image make a rectangular slot for the switch and the dc power supply (Make slots according to the switch and the dc plug that is available to you) .

Note - The switch and the power plug will be attached on the back of the enclosure. Making a slot for the mp3 player on top of the enclosure looks really good. I made it using the same technique as in the acrylic but this time i used a small blade because wood cannot be cut using heat. Also make a circular slot on the top for attaching the volume adjustment as shown in the figure.

Adding the respective elements in the respective slots . On the top add the mp3 player and the volume enhancer.

On the back add the switch and the dc plug. Inside the box add the circuit using two screws. Also attach the 5 volt regulator inside the box using a screw.

We are using a white piece of Formica so that the clock will be seen even from a distance. This piece of Formica will be of the dimensions of the acrylic piece annd will be attached on the top of the acrylic piece by using some Fevibond.

Here's the step where you do your thing. Be creative show your talent, use some bright colors and make it more attractive. I am simply drawing the digits with a black permanent marker. Take a protractor and keep it in the center where the machine of the clock fits. Mark all the degrees 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180,210, 240, 270, 300, 330 and 360. Write the numbers of the clock according to the respective position. I have used only dots to denote the numbers like 1,2,4,6 etc so as to make it simple.

For the music we will use the STK4440 IC which i salvaged from an old amplifier. If you don't have one you can buy it very cheap for online for just 2 $.

If your circuit is same as mine, the two speakers wires will be connected to the center of the circuit as shown in the image. The two power connection will go into the dc plug in attached to the back of the enclosure. We will be using a 12 volts dc adapter but you can also use a battery if you have an appropriate one. you can use 3 18650 batteries connected in series supplying a 12-13 volts current. NOTE- By supplying more than 14 volts may damage the speakers.

Once all the electronics and physical parts are made completely, the final step is to clean the face of the clock and make it free from any dust particles and spots that may have appeared while working on it.

Remove all the marks of the markers and pens that were used. Make sure it is clean and only the part of the clock is visible and bright.

Connect it with a 12 volt 2 amps DC power supply and you should be able to see on the display on the top.You can use a USB or an SD card to play your songs. Also this circuit supports FM radio.

Keep it on your work table and enjoy your music with a cup of coffee without losing the track of time. After 10 days of hard work this project finally completed and turned out to be pretty good. It is not necessary to make a clock identical to this. Use your imagination and make one clock that is just speechless. Please vote for me if you like my project. Thank you for your support.