Binary Clock Arduino Shield with 17 RGB LEDs

Binary clocks, for those unfamiliar, use a series of dots to represent the time, with one dot representing 1, a second 2, a third 4, etc…

Jeremy Cook
5 years ago

Binary clocks, for those unfamiliar, use a series of dots to represent the time, with one dot representing 1, a second 2, a third 4, etc. for hours, minutes, and seconds. Actually building one isn’t usually an easy proposition, as you need to source and connect all of these LEDs, as well as an RTC unit to keep the time from jumping around too much.

The Binary Clock Shield, now funding on Crowd Supply, changes all of that as a board that simply plugs into an Arduino Uno or compatible form factor device. It features rows of RGB LEDs for hours, minutes, and seconds, along with a trio of buttons for setting the time. In addition, a RTC with temperature measurement is built-in, plus a backup battery and a piezo buzzer.

Voltage is provided by the Arduino, and while it’s nominally meant to be a “clock,” you can use the shield’s 17 LEDs and speaker for anything you want. This could mean a rather involved audio-visual hour changing routine, playing music depending on the temperature, or perhaps even a very simple game involving the lights.

Pledges start at $33 for one, and if you want 10 — perhaps for educational purposes, or even to make one big mega-display — this quantity can be had for $222.

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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