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I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

arstechnica.com

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Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#41

Post by toomuchtodo »

ksenzee wrote: post #33
codazoda wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to mention an Atomic Clock. I use one in an RV and it sets itself even outside of cell phone range. I know it uses a radio signal of some type but I have no idea how it works. It rights itself within a few minutes of time changes, battery loss, or the like.

It's fascinating reading if you're interested in finding out the details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWV_(radio_station)

We’ve come full circle.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46952384

https://github.com/tanvach/clocksync

https://github.com/kangtastic/timestation

https://github.com/hzeller/txtempus

WVB: A Tiny WWVB Station - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13258631 - December 2016 (49 comments)

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#42

Post by geerlingguy »

mjevans wrote: post #10

I feel this article's premise too much. That's exactly the sort of clock I wanted to get my mom as a gift. Why is it so dang impossible to find a not trash simple LED clock that's 'large print', 'the right color', and not annoyingly too bright? A deluxe model might include a day of the week bar or dot and a month / day in month number (smaller than the time, mostly people care about the time)

I've had the same struggle. There are some decent LED clocks with up to 1" displays (high), but any further and you get weird colors or glaringly-bright displays.

The best options are expensive clock displays from like Time Machines, MasterClock, etc... but they are not cheap and not meant for consumers.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#43

Post by _carbyau_ »

montroser wrote: post #31

I want a beautiful eink clock that gets its time from gps/gnss. It seems too much to have to collect a clock to wifi. Just turn it on and it should work.

Depending on your trust of societal infrastructure, I got a DAB radio clock that sets time from the radio.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#44

Post by [deleted] »

dgacmu wrote: post #27
Animats wrote: post #19

It's a clock. Does it really have to have remote updating, a command line interface, an Internet connection, and HomeKit integration? That's too IoT. I have three La Crosse clocks that run off the NIST time signal out of Boulder, CO, and need their AA battery replaced maybe once a year. The real challenge is running such a thing on a small battery for a year. I once made a small clock that displayed "A LITTLE AFTER S…

I'm close to DIYing it also. I have two of the la crosse clocks. One works well. The other consistently fails to update. It would be cheaper to buy a new one to see if it's a dud or that location, but I already gave up on it and modified it to have a programmable LED strip integrated into it to visually indicate to my son when it was ok to get up for the day (before he could read a clock). So, ironically, I've ended…

[deleted]

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#46

Post by skippyfish »

montroser wrote: post #31

I want a beautiful eink clock that gets its time from gps/gnss. It seems too much to have to collect a clock to wifi. Just turn it on and it should work.

Indoor GPS reception is spotty, especially in urban / high-rise environments, so I don't think that's a realistically marketable product. Not unless you some have some window- or balcony-mounted probe, which would then require battery changes (although I suppose you could make it solar-powered).

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#47

Post by ninju »

mjevans wrote: post #10

I feel this article's premise too much. That's exactly the sort of clock I wanted to get my mom as a gift. Why is it so dang impossible to find a not trash simple LED clock that's 'large print', 'the right color', and not annoyingly too bright? A deluxe model might include a day of the week bar or dot and a month / day in month number (smaller than the time, mostly people care about the time)

I found the following that works quite well

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWKYRS84

(the LEDs come in different colors)

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#48

Post by rekabis »

I think a single clock-output-only microcontroller would be nifty. Something where you can save settings, such as NTP servers and an all time change dates, but that’s it. Pair it with PoE Ethernet and you wouldn’t even need a power supply, only an Ethernet jack in the wall. With the right display you could make it super thin.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#49

Post by matthewfcarlson »

montroser wrote: post #31

I want a beautiful eink clock that gets its time from gps/gnss. It seems too much to have to collect a clock to wifi. Just turn it on and it should work.

This is what I’m working on right now. It lasts about 3 months on battery updating every minute, except every five at night. I’ve been meaning to switch to a word clock to make it last longer.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#50

Post by ryanhecht »

geerlingguy wrote: post #42
mjevans wrote: post #10

I feel this article's premise too much. That's exactly the sort of clock I wanted to get my mom as a gift. Why is it so dang impossible to find a not trash simple LED clock that's 'large print', 'the right color', and not annoyingly too bright? A deluxe model might include a day of the week bar or dot and a month / day in month number (smaller than the time, mostly people care about the time)

I've had the same struggle. There are some decent LED clocks with up to 1" displays (high), but any further and you get weird colors or glaringly-bright displays. The best options are expensive clock displays from like Time Machines, MasterClock, etc... but they are not cheap and not meant for consumers.

I knew if I scrolled through the comment section I'd find geerlingguy!
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