5 ms·

Mega Tiny Time Watch: a minimalist watch based on an ATtiny414 and 12 LEDs

63 points by lnyan 6y ago

lukevp 6y ago
Why doesn’t it just flash the digits (eg. 5:58 would flash 5, then 5, then 8?) it would always be able to tell time with 3 flashes (assuming 12 hour mode not 24 hour mode). This remainder math seems unnecessary and just takes longer.
- eps 6y ago
  1:12 vs 11:02 will not be easy to tell apart Plus your way it will never need 10 or 11, making it less of a watch and more of a decimal number display.
  - lukevp 6y ago
    Why would 11:02 be hard to tell apart? I think you misunderstood what I was saying. The hours would always flash first. For 11:02 it would flash 11, then 12(12 being 0 since the next place could not have Any number > a 5) then flash 2. For 1:12 it would flash 1, then 1, then 2.
CamperBob2 6y ago
Nifty. How about PWM'ing the LEDs to shift the illumination slowly from one hour marker to the next? With practice I'll bet you could read it to within +/- 5 minutes. That would get rid of the need to blink the LEDs at all. Bonus level: get rid of the button by adding an accelerometer that is polled a couple of times per second to watch for an activation gesture.
- userbinator 6y ago
  I had the same thought, also making the "virtual hour hand" dimmer would instantly distinguish it from the minutes, and you could also add another "virtual second hand" that visibly "rotates" around the dial to further enhance the analogue-ness.
- h4m1tup 6y ago
  Cool idea, but it uses charliepixeling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlieplexing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlieplexing PWM would look weird.
  - thebruce87m 6y ago
    The Wikipedia article you linked has a section on PWM, with a linked example for 12 LEDs on an ATtiny85: http://www.technoblogy.com/show?2H0K http://www.technoblogy.com/show?2H0K
    - makapuf 6y ago
      Which is ironically on the same blog.
      - thebruce87m 6y ago
        Ha! Didn’t even see that.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
teleforce 6y ago
This project reminds me of one comment by Walter Bright regarding the use of 40 ICs for a DIY digital clock but never got it working correctly [1].This really shows how far the IC technology has changed for the better from it's early days. [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22081463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22081463

63 points by lnyan 6y ago

Why doesn’t it just flash the digits (eg. 5:58 would flash 5, then 5, then 8?) it would always be able to tell time with 3 flashes (assuming 12 hour mode not 24 hour mode). This remainder math seems unnecessary and just takes longer.

eps 6y ago
1:12 vs 11:02 will not be easy to tell apart Plus your way it will never need 10 or 11, making it less of a watch and more of a decimal number display.
- lukevp 6y ago
  Why would 11:02 be hard to tell apart? I think you misunderstood what I was saying. The hours would always flash first. For 11:02 it would flash 11, then 12(12 being 0 since the next place could not have Any number > a 5) then flash 2. For 1:12 it would flash 1, then 1, then 2.

CamperBob2 6y ago

Nifty. How about PWM'ing the LEDs to shift the illumination slowly from one hour marker to the next? With practice I'll bet you could read it to within +/- 5 minutes. That would get rid of the need to blink the LEDs at all. Bonus level: get rid of the button by adding an accelerometer that is polled a couple of times per second to watch for an activation gesture.

userbinator 6y ago
I had the same thought, also making the "virtual hour hand" dimmer would instantly distinguish it from the minutes, and you could also add another "virtual second hand" that visibly "rotates" around the dial to further enhance the analogue-ness.
h4m1tup 6y ago
Cool idea, but it uses charliepixeling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlieplexing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlieplexing PWM would look weird.
- thebruce87m 6y ago
  The Wikipedia article you linked has a section on PWM, with a linked example for 12 LEDs on an ATtiny85: http://www.technoblogy.com/show?2H0K http://www.technoblogy.com/show?2H0K
  - makapuf 6y ago
    Which is ironically on the same blog.
    - thebruce87m 6y ago
      Ha! Didn’t even see that.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

teleforce 6y ago

This project reminds me of one comment by Walter Bright regarding the use of 40 ICs for a DIY digital clock but never got it working correctly [1].This really shows how far the IC technology has changed for the better from it's early days. [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22081463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22081463