Reccommend me a method of keeping time.

Post Reply New Topic

So I recently obtained a whole bunch of old Russian nixie bargraph tubes and I'm planning to use at least one of them to make a linear bargraph clock (mark off a scale from 1 to 12 or 24 and have the strip of light just creep along to mark the time). For an alarm, I'm thinking a photodiode that slides along the tube and triggers the alarm when it detects light. Clearly this will not be the most accurate alarm, but I already have tons of accurate clocks and am going for something cool here.

So where I need you help is thinking of a method of timekeeping that is cool enough for such an awesome clock (not a crystal, canned oscillator, or rlc circuit). Some regular event that I can measure and use to keep time.

Any ideas?

I'm thinking it would be cool if I could do all of this without a microcontroller but that's not a requirement.

Thanks!

A binary clock.

In laboratory, I was taught to use a digital metronome (i.e., titrations). This works and is a steady rythym - timekeeping!

I love my digital metronome with visual pendulum and it's programmable to set the tempo.

How about a motor driven off ambient sound? Time would run faster when things are happening, and slower when it is quiet. There might be some interesting threshold and hysteresis function that gives an approximately equal integral per day.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Binary clocks are cool, but bargraph nixies are better suited to displaying a continuum of data.

Can you elaborate on this a little? What's a metronome got to do with titrations?

This could be pretty cool actually, keeping time based on the accumulation of sound intensity. Then in order to keep my clock running accurately I would have to follow my routine to a T every day.

I was thinking it could be cool to make an inflation clock. Like try to fit a curve to the price of gold over the past few years and then have my clock look up the price on the internet and use it to calculate the current time/date. I probably couldn't do that with any degree of accuracy, though, so it would be more of a gimmick.

Any other ideas?

You're welcome





When titrating, the sigmoidal curve is steep and I need to keep a very steady pace (drip, drip, drip) and set the stop-cock accordingly. Digital metronomes are great for this purpose - to synchronize the buret. It's both visual and audio.



I do not, but cool ideas given.

I know someone who had a binary clock. It worked, but with only simple LED's not nixie tubes (if that's the one I'm thinking of).
I've seen this come up over at Brass Goggles in the tactile section (it's not all gears, y'know... You might try over there. There's been at least 1 nixie tube discussion.

Would be fun to make a nixie tube. I've never seen a binary clock.

Another new idear: Tattoos that "change" over time, by algorithm. I just learned this - medical scientists have devised a tattoo that actually changes, by photo-optic light, to reflect changes in blood sugar, for instance, intended for diabetics. But they can be made to respond to other cues (not just blood sugar level changes). These tats are photochemically active!

You know all the neat stuff!

Maybe use the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction to form yourself a chemical clock.

[img]upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/The_Belousov-Zhabotinsky_Reaction.gif[/img]

Note that the above is missing its "http://" - as gif posting seems to be broken now.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... action.gif