#Digital pocket watch archive#

If this has you inspired check out some of the other pocket watches we’ve posted about in the past. It’s all quite elegantly integrated and imminently usable.Īt this point we’d love to link to sources, detailed drawings, or CAD files, but unfortunately we haven’t found any. The real pièce de résistance is that he also integrated a minuscule rotary encoder, so when the stem is pressed you can rotate it to set the time. integrated a button and encoder with the end of the stem (on the PCBA) so the device can be aware of this interaction on lid open it wakes the device to display the time on the LEDs. The original pocket watch was designed with a closing lid which is released when the stem is pressed. For maximum authenticity it blips on the second, to give a sense that the digital watch is mechanically ticking like the original. The ERM is attached directly to the rear of the case in order to best conduct vibration to the outside world. But what really sets the LED Pocketwatch 1.0 apart is the user interface. This particular unit was chosen because it was a hefty 50mm in diameter, leaving plenty of room inside for a 44mm double sided PCBA with 133 0603 LEDs (60 seconds, 60 minutes, 12 hours), a PIC 16F946, an ERM, and a 110mAh LiPo. Even through the mists of a grainy demo video we can imagine how soft the well-worn casing must be from heavy use. My how far we’ve come a decade after this project was posted a hacker might choose to 3d print a case for a new wearable, but in 2009 that would have been an entire project by itself! chose to use the casing from an antique Elgin pocket watch.

#Digital pocket watch archive#

Fortunately for us the Internet Archive has saved this heirloom nouveau from the internet dustbin so we can appreciate the craftsmanship involved in ’ work.

For this article we’ve unearthed the LED Pocketwatch 1.0 by from way back in 2009 (ironically via a post about a wristwatch from last year!). Whatever the case, we don’t seem to be alone as there is a constant stream of time-related projects coming through our virtual doors. Perhaps it’s just a fascination with the notion of time itself. Maybe it’s the deeply personal connection to an object you wear on your body, or the need for ultimate reliability. Here at Hackaday we have a bit of a preoccupation with timepieces. Laying out a board is hard enough, but taking this much care in component placement easily doubles the time.Īll the files and models are available, though we’re not sure we possess the craftsmanship to reproduce these to the same standard. Small details abound in Sifflet for example, the coil antenna is symmetrically presented with its own cutout in the board. The circuits are beautifully laid out and showcased in well machined brass cases. The last, Sifflet, is a pager, but rather than sending a text it plays a melody reflecting the sender’s mood.

Instead it tells you which way to go in order to get to a pre-set location. Boussole is a compass like device which doesn’t tell the cardinal directions.

Sablier, tells time, but rather than giving the numerals it vibrates on a set interval to give a relative sense of the passage. is fighting against it with three interesting pendants. It’s hard not to feel the constant pull on our limited attention from the very interesting rectangles in our pockets and packs.