Perhaps a satisfying nostalgic project for beginners? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Cliff Matthews
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 06:24:44 pm
content: Of course, not everyone's cup of tea. There seems ample reason why this fascinating fellow has almost 200K subscribers..Link to pictures and project fileshttps://danyk.cz/avr_hod3_en.htmlQuestion for uC gurus:What CMOS gate expander is suggested so one can recode this to work with an Arduino Nano?

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 06:35:09 pm
content: Quotejust use i2c displays

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 06:44:46 pm
content: Just SPI bit-bang two 74HC595 using four I/O pins.

author: MikeK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 07:28:50 pm
content: I agree with Benta. And "nostalgic" and "Arduino" don't belong in the same post.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 07:33:35 pm
content: Projects like that are fun, but dang, that thing is a rat's nest, it looks worse than stuff I built when I was 10. Some tidy routing of the wires would make a world of difference.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 08:10:09 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on May 02, 2022, 07:33:35 pmI have to agree. Go back and search for 50s/60s pictures of ladies doing wiring harnesses with cotton thread lacing. Nowthatwas neat work!

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 08:41:50 pm
content: @metrologist:nice video showing a somewhat skilled amateur trying to do what the ladies did back then, but not getting anywhere near their quality work.Instructive, though, Thanks.

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 09:33:46 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on May 02, 2022, 07:33:35 pmYou probably wouldn't want to leave it in your bag going through airport security.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 09:35:14 pm
content: Nostalgic digital clocks:The best digital alarm clock I ever used was in the old Shimbashi Dai-Ichi hotel in Tokyo (since torn down and replaced by the more expensive Tokyo Dai-Ichi hotel).Built into the headboard, there was a digital display (red LEDs), a set of thumbwheel switches to set the alarm time, and a rocker switch for alarm on/off.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2022, 10:20:08 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 02, 2022, 09:35:14 pmA User Interface that everyone will understand. That's why I love classic cars. No touchscreen mumbo-jumbo, just switches that you know where are without having to look/search..Great!

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2022, 12:30:32 am
content: Quote from: Benta on May 02, 2022, 10:20:08 pmI have hopes that some day somebody will reinvent the marvels that are physical switches and knobs with tactile feedback and they will be the latest fad. TFT screens are already getting a bit old & tired IMO.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2022, 04:55:35 am
content: My clock radio is over 40 years old- A Randix Cube 4-digit Futaba VFD display w/dimmer, MM5316, 9V battery, touch snooze button, AM/FM radio, cassette player. Bought it at a garage sale for $2.It's a case where remaking the alarm clock gives you way less features, so I would not be interested in such a project.

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2022, 02:45:22 pm
content: HC logic is a bit new isn't it?How about abit of RTL?

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2022, 11:49:54 pm
content: Here's a crazy idea...Get an old LED clock from a thrift store (Goodwill / Salvation Army / ...) and replace the brains with your own MCU.Think of all of the components you could possibly reuse:- an enclosure- an AC power supply- backup battery compartment- buttons- mains frequency detector- LED segment display- tinted LED diffusion face plate- speaker/buzzer/audio amplifierActually, turning it into a talking clock would be a interesting project and something that modern MCUs could probably do.

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2022, 12:32:51 am
content: Quote from: ledtester on May 03, 2022, 11:49:54 pmCome to think of it I know it's possible because a friend and I did it with an Apple ][ back in high school.We simply sampled the cassette port as fast as possible and stored the 1-bit samples into RAM. For playback we just played those 1-bit samples back through the speaker. We then recorded the necessary audio fragments to say "At the tone the time will be exactly ____". I don't remember how much memory the fragments took but it obviously couldn't be more than 48K which was the max RAM size of the Apple ][ back then. But it must have been much less than that because the Apple ][ was also functioning as a print server as I recall.

author: tepalia02
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2022, 02:37:43 pm
content: I like it. Smart and compact.