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Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

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Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#171

Post by nottorp »

sowbug wrote: post #9

If you like this but don't want to get your hands as dirty, have a look at the Crazy Clock: https://www.tindie.com/products/nsayer/crazy-clock/ I got one for my daughter. The erratic ticking eventually became a distraction when she was studying, so we have retired it for now. But we got a lot of amusement out of it.

> The erratic ticking eventually became a distraction

Yeah, the main problem with this project is you have to find a silent 3.88 analog clock to attach it to.

Last cheap clock i've tried was silent on half the circle and kinda buzzy on the other half. It had seconds so that meant the ambient noise changed every 30 seconds...

Oh wait. Maybe I should open it up and remove the seconds needle. Time for a totally analog project!

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#172

Post by UG6rmTdo »

riskable wrote: post #13

I want to see someone convert one of those cheap projection clocks like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/La-Crosse-Technology-5-in-Color-... The red projection is just the right brightness (at night) but it sucks that it's not wifi-enabled so you can't just get it to NTP sync (or hook up a GPS receiver). The projector part of the clock is a separate device that's attached to it via a ribbon cable. I would reverse en…

[dead]

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#173

Post by rjh29 »

Dachande663 wrote: post #104
bonsai_spool wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the purpose of using an LLM to write a comment here?

Upvoted because this stinks to high hell of an LLM response. Half the GPs comments seem to be in a similar vein. It’s such a shame but you can’t fight the trolls so don’t take it to heart.

Your LLM detector is broken.

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#174

Post by zokier »

montroser wrote: post #55

What I really want is one of these powered by gps. The time already comes for free in the signal, and from your location you can derive the time zone. That way DST is accounted for automatically, but you don't have to set up and rely on wifi. This would be truly zero-config and always correct.

You might enjoy "Precision Clock mk4": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44144750

It has automatic timezone. The article also explains why it isn't as simple as it seems

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#175

Post by butvacuum »

stavros wrote: post #169
pwg wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$0.77 US single piece cost on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/microchip-technol... And, at least with Digikey, you can feel like you actually get the real part vs. some low end clone knockoff.

Comes out to $6 per part for me, with shipping, which is much more than I'm willing to pay.

and it'd still be $6 for 600.

It's as if people have never had shipping itemized before.

The only reason aliexpress shopping is cheap is because the rest of the world foots the bill. Unless somebody has finally removed China's "Developing Country" status thats gotten them essentially free international parcel service for the best part of 100 years.

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#176

Post by harvie »

teraflop wrote: post #5

Cool project! The most interesting part, IMO, is the "SRAM with EEPROM backup" chip. It allows you to persistently save the clock hands' positions every time they're moved, without burning through the limited write endurance of a plain old EEPROM. And it costs less than $1 in single quantities. That's a useful product to know about.

i think it's called EERAM, however having proper closed loop control with hand position feedback would be preferable in my opinion...

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#177

Post by sehansen »

Dachande663 wrote: post #104
bonsai_spool wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the purpose of using an LLM to write a comment here?

Upvoted because this stinks to high hell of an LLM response. Half the GPs comments seem to be in a similar vein. It’s such a shame but you can’t fight the trolls so don’t take it to heart.

I've just skimmed through the first handful of pages with ssl-3's comments and none of them seem particularly LLM-like.

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#179

Post by abustamam »

Dachande663 wrote: post #104
bonsai_spool wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the purpose of using an LLM to write a comment here?

Upvoted because this stinks to high hell of an LLM response. Half the GPs comments seem to be in a similar vein. It’s such a shame but you can’t fight the trolls so don’t take it to heart.

Whether or not they did use an LLM to refine, what does it matter? To call them a troll for contributing to discourse is wild.

Re: Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock

#180

Post by timonoko »

timonoko wrote: post #76
kfarr wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a great idea. Legacy VCR controls upcycled for digital control! There's a lot of those old decks and LANC deck controllers lying around...

This is a hard problem. Solvable only with try and error. Those signals are just weird mess of coils, switches and resistors. ESP32 clock speed may also be a contributing factor.

I asked Gemini to make sensible & readable version: https://github.com/timonoko/Jogwheel/blob/main/jogwheel_gem....

But did not improve much, except variable names are now less esoteric.

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