Backlight in the clock. Tritium or light compounds?

pros

• 3 alarm clocks;
• information on the display is displayed by clap;
• function to turn off the alarm on weekends;
• 3 brightness levels.

Minuses

• Only white numbers.

watch LED WOODEN ALARM CLOCK

Fits well into high-tech or minimalism style. Simple design, small dimensions. Overall a good device, however, I think the price is a little overpriced. Too bad there are no colors to choose from. For lovers of black and white design, this is just the thing.

BVItech BV-475

1690 rub.

4th place 4.5/10

Stylish, beautiful, big - all this is about the BVItech BV-475. The model has a rectangular body made of plastic. Advantage: the ability to change brightness depending on the time of day and lighting.

pros

• light weight (400 grams);
• 12 month warranty;
• there is manual brightness adjustment;
• large numbers on the display (76 mm), thanks to which even a person with poor eyesight can see the time.

Minuses

• no battery power (mains only).

watch BVItech BV-475

I bought it as a gift for my grandmother (70 years old). Attention fell on this particular model because of the large electronic dial. Grandma liked the surprise and now looks only at this watch to find out what time it is. I recommend purchasing a quality item.

Assistant AH-1025

1490 rub.

3rd place 4.7/10

Quartz electronic table clocks are made in an unusual shape - in the form of a circle. The material is black glossy plastic. They look beautiful, stylish, expensive. An excellent gift for family and friends.

pros

• light weight (420 g);
• 2 types of power supply: mains and batteries;
• stylish design with blue backlight;
• alarm clock with snooze function (9 minutes);
• adjustable brightness.

Minuses

• 1 backlight color (blue).

Assistant watch AH-1025

It was a gift, I really like the circle shape and the big blue numbers. The clock fits perfectly into the interior of my room. I recommend it to all lovers of blue (the color of the sea), I like it!

BVItech BV-412G

2330 rub.

2nd place 4.8/10

Clock with green LED backlight, 24-hour time format, Snooze function. Two types of power: from the mains and from batteries. There is brightness adjustment.

pros

• signal repeat;
• you can set the alarm to repeat from 5 to 60 minutes;
• LED backlight and small dimensions (17x8.7x4 cm).

Minuses

• 24 hour format only.

watch BVItech BV-412G

Not a bad model, well made, loud alarm clock, you can snooze the alarm. There is nothing superfluous, everything is to the point. I was disappointed by the lack of a 12-hour format, I like it better. Otherwise it’s great, you can take it.

3D LED clock

2300 rub.

1 place 5/10

The first place in this top was taken by 3D watches, the advantage of which is their beautiful appearance, several backlight colors and brightness. Large display, many different useful functions, minimalistic design.

pros

• three brightness levels (light, medium, dark), with automatic or manual switching;
• 3 backlight colors (red, white, blue);
• there is an alarm clock;
• night mode (from 18:00 to 06:00) is automatically turned on, thereby reducing the brightness;
• long charging cable (2 meters).

Minuses

• no cons found.

clock 3D LED clock

I saw it on Yandex Market, fell in love, and immediately ordered it for myself. Delivered quickly. Already installed it, used it for a few days, I’m delighted! Large numbers, a bunch of different settings, 3 backlight colors! Stylish appearance, functional, comfortable, and most importantly - smart (it changes the backlight depending on the time of day). I recommend taking a closer look at this model, the best watch on the market for this price. My rating is a solid 5!

We disassemble old watches

Remove all screws from the back panel. Please note that you can find one inside the battery compartment. Then remove the stems and bells using pliers.

I removed the alarm switch and the DC motor that makes the clock ring because the alarm function would not be used . The distance between the hands and the movement will be greater when we add a mirror (which is thicker than the old clock). The clock can be used, but the hand that controls the alarm hour cannot be set. Oh yeah, and I accidentally broke that little piece of metal that rings the bell.

Pull the internal board to reveal the clock hands and seal.

You will notice a white ring and a round piece of glass, save them. We will need glass for the second step.

DIY LED clock

Clock with LED backlight and pulsating minute hand on an Arduino microcontroller This unique watch with LED backlight and pulsating minute hand was made using the TLC5940 PWM controller chip. Its main task is to expand the number of PWM modulation contacts. Another feature of this watch is that it has converted an analog voltmeter into a device that measures minutes. To do this, a new scale was printed on a standard printer and pasted on top of the old one. As such, the 5th minute is not counted, it’s just that during the fifth minute the time counter shows the arrow pointing to the end of the scale (off scale). The main control is implemented on the Arduino Uno microcontroller.

To ensure that the clock backlight did not glow too brightly in a dark room, a circuit was implemented to automatically adjust the brightness depending on the illumination (a photoresistor was used).

Step 1: Required Components

Here's what you'll need:

• 5V DC analog voltmeter module;
• Arduino UNO microcontroller or other suitable Arduino;
• Arduino circuit board (proto board);
• DS1307 Real Time Clock (RTC) module;
• Module with PWM controller TLC5940;
• Petal LED backlights – 12 pcs.;
• Components for assembling an automatic brightness control (LDR) circuit.

Also, for the production of some other components of the project, it is desirable to have access to a 3D printer and a laser cutting machine. It is assumed that you have this access, so the instructions will include manufacturing drawings at the appropriate stages.

Step 2: Dial

The dial consists of three parts (layers) cut on a laser cutting machine from 3 mm MDF sheet, which are fastened together with bolts. A plate without slots (bottom right in the picture) is placed under another plate to position the LEDs (bottom left). Then, individual LEDs are placed in the appropriate slots, and the front panel is put on top (top in the figure). Four holes are drilled along the edge of the dial, through which all three parts are bolted together.

Notes:

• To test the performance of the LEDs at this stage, a CR2032 coin cell battery was used;
• To secure the LEDs, small strips of adhesive tape were used, which were glued to the back of the LEDs;
• All LED legs were pre-bent accordingly;
• The holes along the edges were re-drilled, through which the bolting was carried out. It turned out that this was much more convenient.

Technical drawing of the dial parts is available at the following link:

Step 3: Design the circuit

At this stage, the electrical circuit was developed. Various textbooks and guides were used for this purpose. We won’t delve too deeply into this process; the two files below show the finished electrical circuit that was used in this project.

ArduinoLEDClock.fzz ArduinoLEDClock_schem.pdf

Step 4: Connecting the Arduino Circuit Board

1. The first step is to unsolder all the needle contacts on the circuit boards and section boards;
2. Further, due to the fact that 5V and GND power are used by so many boards and peripheral devices, for reliability, two wires for 5V and GND were soldered on the circuit board;
3. Next, a TLC5940 PWM controller was installed next to the used contacts;
4. Then the TLC5940 controller is connected according to the connection diagram;
5. In order to be able to use the battery, an RTC module was installed on the edge of the circuit board. If you solder it in the middle of the board, the pin markings will not be visible;
6. The RTC module has been connected according to the connection diagram;
7. An automatic brightness control (LDR) circuit has been assembled, you can view it at the link
8. The wires for the voltmeter are connected by connecting the wires to pin 6 and GND.
9. At the end, 13 wires for the LEDs were soldered (In practice, it turned out that it was better to do this before proceeding to step 3).

Step 5: Code

The code below was compiled from various pieces of clock components found on the Internet. It has been fully debugged and is now fully functional, and some pretty detailed comments have been added. But before loading into the microcontroller, consider the following points:

• Before flashing the Arduino firmware, you need to uncomment the line that sets the time: rtc.adjust(DateTime(__DATE__, __TIME__)) After flashing the controller with this line (the time is set), you need to comment it out again and flash the controller again. This allows the RTC module to use the battery to remember the time if the main power is lost.
• Every time you use "Tlc.set()" you need to use "Tlc.update" ClockAnalog1.7_LDR.ino

Step 6: Outer Ring

The outer watch ring was 3D printed using a Replicator Z18 printer. It attaches to the watch using screws on the face of the watch. Below is a file with a 3D model of the ring for printing on a 3D printer.

Ring2.STL

Step 7: Assembling the Clock

The Arduino microcontroller with all the other electronics was secured to the back of the clock using screws and nuts as spacers. Then I connected all the LEDs, analog voltmeter and LDR to the wires that were previously soldered to the circuit board. All LEDs are interconnected by one leg and connected to the VCC pin on the TLC5940 controller (a piece of wire is simply soldered in a circle).

So far, all this is not very well insulated from short circuits, but work on this will continue in future versions.

Source: instructions

Coating glass with mirror film

Clean the glass with soap and then dry.

Cut the tint film using scissors. It shouldn't be much larger than glass. Soak a fresh cloth with water, then apply it to the glass so that it is evenly damp. You can also spray the surface with water instead.

Remove the plastic layer from the film and spray it with soap and water. Then apply it to the glass. Remove any bubbles and excess water using a credit card. Be careful not to scratch it. Place a flat plate with the weight above.

After half an hour, remove any remaining bubbles. Wait another half hour, then trim the edges of the film using a utility knife.

Collapsing LEDs

I used several cheap LED strips as a light source. This is great because you can wrap it around a white ring. Plus, it's cheap and easy to wrap.

The power supply is 3 batteries per input, which is approximately 4.5V. This is awesome because we can replace the battery pack with a less bulky USB cable (which has about the same voltage).

I placed an LED every 4cm, but you can place it however you like.

Not necessary:

Cut the battery. Thread the USB cable through the back panel (where the switch would be) and tie a knot. Disconnect the USB cable and wires from the LEDs, then wrap them together. Insulate with electrical tape.

Alternatively, you can solder them.

How to sell luminous watches

At the initial stage, you need to understand which stores and retail outlets you will deliver to. The options may be the following: stores selling office supplies, children's products, exclusive gift stores, electrical goods stores. It’s not by chance that I’m talking about an electrical goods store. The fact is that watches that glow in complete darkness can be considered as an excellent alternative to electronic watches, which are bought to see the display in the dark. The luminous dial and hands are perfectly visible at night and do not require an electrical connection, which is very convenient to use.

After we have determined the directions for ourselves, we make samples of watches for demonstration. With these samples you can visit the city's shops, and we send out photographs taken with watch options in daylight and in complete darkness with an offer of cooperation to all potential customers and place advertisements on bulletin boards.

Drilling a mirror surface

We need to make a small hole in the mirror. Do not remove the protective film yet.

Drilling through a glass mirror can be difficult. If you are not familiar with these, then use a plastic mirror like I did.

To find the center point, mark 4 parallel lines as shown in the picture above. Then draw 2 diagonal lines where the lines intersect. The center point is where two diagonal lines intersect.

Use an appropriately sized drill bit at the center point (I used a 7mm drill bit).

What can glow in a watch?

If this is a wall clock with hands, then the hands, dial numbers, background, and case can glow in the dark. A wall clock can have a pendulum; in this case, the option of a luminous pendulum is interesting, and if the clock is with a cuckoo, then a jumping luminous cuckoo will amuse anyone. The wristwatch will become exclusive and youthful thanks to the luminous strap, and functional – thanks to the luminous dial.