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Do you need a big digital clock that you can see
from a lo-onggg way away? Then have a look
at this PIC-based clock. It’s large, it’s bright, it’s
very accurate and can be used in either 12 or
24-hour modes. It’s ideal for the home, in
factories, offices, emergency services, armed
forces, airports, satellite control centres ...
By JOHN CLARKE
This latest clock from SILICON CHIP
is no ordinary clock. It is based on
a PIC microcontroller to provide a
number of unique features including
the ability to adjust for very accurate
timekeeping. For high visibility, it uses
super large digits, 57mm high, for the
hours and minutes and smaller digits
for the seconds. The large digits use
high efficiency LEDs which means
they are bright and much more visible from a distance than any Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD) could ever be.
Nor does this mean they are
blinding at night. The circuit senses
the ambient light and so the display
brightness is maximum in bright light
30 Silicon Chip
but becomes dimmer in darker conditions. So visibility is good in virtually
all light conditions (apart from direct
sunlight).
Not only is this clock big but it can
also be adjusted for very good longterm accuracy. All crystal-based clocks
exhibit some tendency to run fast or
slow. Some have a trimmer on the
crystal and can be adjusted for better
accuracy but they will still drift due
to temperature effects over a period
of time.
Our new design uses a PIC microcontroller and since this is programmed
to provide a counter circuit which is
actually a clock, we can incorporate a
neat feature in the software to adjust
the count for even better accuracy.
Carefully done, it should mean that the
clock keeps time within a few seconds
a year – dramatically better than the
average watch or crystal clock.
The adjustment technique requires
you to correctly set the clock and wait
a few days to see how accurately it
keeps time. Then a special adjustment
mode is selected on the clock and the
number of seconds the clock differs
from correct time (calculated over a
period of 60 days) is entered in.
However, it is not necessary to
wait 60 days and often a day or so is
enough to get a good idea of how fast
or slow the clock is running. The only
requirement is that you then calculate
the number of seconds it would gain
or lose in 60 days.
Of course, the more days you wait,
the more accurate the adjustment but
you can readjust the figure after a first
attempt.
Short seconds & long seconds
After entering the adjustment figure, the clock then main
tains time
by slightly adjusting the length of a
second every so often. If the crystal
was running slow, there will be an
occa
sional shorter second to speed
up the clock. If the clock was running
fast, there will be an occasional longer
second to slow down the clock. The
actual variation in the seconds is so
slight that they will be totally unnoticeable. A short second will be 999ms
long, which is 1ms shorter than a full
1000ms second. A long second will be
1ms extra at 1.001 seconds.
Internal to the microcontroller, the
adjustment figure of seconds per 60
days is divided into the number 10,368
to obtain a reference counter value. For
example, if the adjustment figure is 60
(1 second per day), then the reference
counter value will be 10,368/60 = 172.
This value is compared with a second
counter which is increased once every
500ms. When the second counter value reaches the value of the reference
counter, the current second is altered
by 1ms. The second counter is then
reset ready to count up again.
For our example value, the second counter will reach 172 after
500 x 172ms = 86,400ms. Therefore,
we make a correction of 1ms every
86,400ms which is equivalent to 1 second per day. Thus there will be 1000
correction seconds per day. Note that
one day has 86,400 seconds.
The number of seconds per 60 days
adjustment figure requires a positive
or negative sign to indicate whether
the clock needs to use slow seconds or
long seconds. A minus means that the
clock is slow and needs speeding up
Main Features
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Large 57mm 7-segment hour and minute displays
Easily readable at 20m or more
Smaller 14.2mm seconds displays
12 or 24-hour operation
Plugpack powered with battery backup
Automatic display dimming
AM indicator in 12-hour mode
Flashing colon between hours and minutes displays
Easy-to-use Hour and Minute time setting switches
Easy daylight saving adjustment
Unique time accuracy adjustment technique requires no equipment
Suitable for standard and variant pinout large displays
while a plus (no sign) means the clock
is fast and will need to be slowed. The
adjustment range is from 0 to -255 and
from 0 to 255 seconds per 60 days
with a 1-second/60 day resolution.
This corresponds to 0ppm through to
±50ppm adjustment with just under
0.2ppm steps.
The time adjustment mode is initiated by pressing both the hour and
minute switches together. The seconds
display will then show “Ad” for “Adjustment” and when the switches are
released will show the current adjustment figure. This is initially set to “0”
and you can increase the number by
pressing the hour switch and decrease
it by pressing the minutes switch.
If the number goes below zero, the
value becomes negative as shown by
the (-) sign and these negative numbers
are used when the clock is running
slow. The positive numbers are for
fast clocks.
You return to the clock mode by
again pressing both switches and the
display will show the time again.
If the switches are not released but
held down for about three seconds,
the display will return to the adjust
The prototype was built into a wooden (MDF)
case, painted black and fitted with a red Perspex
cover. Alternatively, you can build the unit into a
folded aluminium case.
MARCH 2001 31
32 Silicon Chip
Fig.1 (left): the circuit uses an
unusual supply arrangement to
cope with the fact that IC1 runs
from a 5V supply while the large
7-segment displays run from 12V
(nominal). IC2 decodes the binary
output from IC1 and performs
logic level translation.
mode again.
Note that the time may alter when
moving to the adjust mode as you press
both switches but the adjustment number will not change when returning to
the time mode provided the switches
are pressed together within less than
about 0.5 seconds of each other. The
time will then need to be set correctly
once the adjustment mode has been
completed. The adjustment number is
stored in memory and will be retained
unless changed by entering this mode
again.
You can change the adjust value
at any time by re-entering this mode.
This may be necessary to adjust the
number to set the best figure for accurate timekeeping over a yearly period.
For example, if you find that the
clock is one second fast every 60 days,
you need to add a +1 to the current
adjust figure. Thus, if the current
adjust figure is -35 seconds/60 day
correction, it must be changed using
the hour switch to -34. If the original
number was 35, then the new value
would be 36.
Clock setting
The time on the clock is set by
comparing against a reference clock
or the Telstra time service. You can
hold the hours switch down so the
numbers count up at a nominal 0.5s
rate until the current hour is reached.
Similarly, the minutes switch can be
held down so that the count increases
consecutively to reach the current
minutes. You then wait until the reference clock begins the next minute
and press the minutes switch. It will
immediately return the seconds to 00
and set the minutes to the next count.
This enables the clock to be set to start
accurately.
Easy daylight saving
Changing to summer time for daylight saving can be a major exercise
with some clocks since they require
complete resetting of the minutes
and seconds to change the hour. Not
Parts List
1 processor PC board, code
04103011, 233 x 76mm
1 display PC board, code
04103012, 233 x 76mm
1 98 x 253 x 3mm red Perspex
sheet
1 display mask, 98 x 253mm
1 12VDC 450mA plugpack
1 2.5mm PC-mount male power
socket
1 4MHz crystal (X1)
4 56.9mm common cathode HE
red 7-segment displays (Jaycar ZD-1850, LED Technology D23C4RRR141, Farnell
622-618 or equivalent) (DISP1DISP4)
2 12.7-14.2mm common cathode
HE red 7-segment displays
(LTS543R or equivalent)
(DISP5,DISP6)
4 AA NiCd or NiMH cells with
solder tags
2 click-action momentary push-on
switches (S1,S2)
1 LDR (Jaycar RD-3480 or
equivalent) (LDR1)
1 20-pin DIL IC socket for
mounting DISP5 & DISP6
1 18-pin DIL IC socket for IC1
3 16-pin DIL sockets for 8-way pin
headers
1 14-pin DIL socket for mounting
S1 & S2
3 8-way pin headers
1 2-way pin header
1 shorting plug for 2-way header
4 15mm M3 tapped standoffs
4 M3 x 6mm screws
4 M3 x 10mm countersunk
screws
2 blackened 4G self-tapping
screws
8 PC stakes
1 1m length of 0.8mm tinned
copper wire
Semiconductors
1 PIC16F84AP or PIC16F84P
microcontroller programmed
with clock.hex (IC1)
1 4051 8-way analog multiplexer
(IC2)
1 ULN2003A Darlington transistor
driver (IC3)
1 7905 -5V 3-terminal regulator
(REG1)
8 BC328 PNP transistors
(Q1-Q8)
1 15V 1W zener diode (ZD1)
4 1N4004 1A diodes (D1-D4)
2 1N914, 1N4148 switching
diodes (D5,D6)
Capacitors
1 100µF 25VW PC electrolytic
5 10µF 16VW PC electrolytic
1 0.1µF MKT polyester
1 .0015µF MKT polyester
2 27pF NPO ceramic
Resistors (0.25W, 1%)
1 470kΩ
7 220Ω
1 10kΩ
1 180Ω
1 4.7kΩ
7 82Ω
1 2.2kΩ
1 10Ω
1 1kΩ
1 2.2Ω 1W 5%
9 470Ω
Miscellaneous
Wooden case: 9mm MDF 100 x
235mm, 3mm MDF 98 x 253mm,
picture frame hooks
Metal Case: 1mm aluminium
347 x 192mm, 4 x 6mm tapped
spacers
Note: the source code for the clock chip (clock.hex) is available from www.siliconchip.com.au
so with the SILICON CHIP PIC Clock.
When daylight savings starts, simply
press the hour switch ones. When
it ends, hold down the hour switch
until the previous hour is shown. The
minutes and seconds are unaffected
and the clock remains correctly set.
Returning to standard time is even
easier; just momentarily press the hour
switch to set it to the next hour.
Options
The SILICON CHIP Clock is initially
set for 12-hour time. It includes an AM
indicator at the top lefthand side. You
can set the clock for 24-hour operation
simply by holding down the hour
switch as power is first applied to the
clock. The seconds display will show
“24” and when the switch is released
the clock will be in 24-hour mode. The
24-hour mode will remain selected
even if the power is disconnected.
To return to 12-hour mode, simply
press the hour switch again when
power is applied to the clock and
the seconds display will show “12”,
indicating the 12-hour mode is seMARCH 2001 33
lected. Releasing the switch will start
the clock.
Although not really important to
operation of the clock, there is an
option to use two different pinout
types for the large displays. We have
called the two types “standard” and
“variant”. The variant selection is the
default. However, you can select for
the standard pinout version by holding down the minutes switch at power
up. The seconds display will show an
“S” for standard and when released
will drive the displays assuming the
standard pinout. This selection will
remain even if power is removed and
then reapplied.
To re-select the variant display,
press the minutes switch at power up
and the seconds display will show a
“U” for variant (Yes, it’s a “U” but a
“V” cannot be made with 7-segment
displays).
The standard/variant selection also
involves inserting the correct links
on the display PC board to configure
the common cathode pins and the
display segments for the two display
types. The standard and variant mode
selections within the PIC microcon
troller swap some of the segments so
that they show the correct characters.
Display dimming
In our previous PIC designs involving 7-segment LED displays, we used
a simple LDR-controlled transistor to
vary the drive voltage for dimming.
However, this does not work well
with this clock circuit because of the
varying number of LEDs used in the
display segments. The large displays
use four LEDs in series in their segments and two LEDs in the decimal
1/6th of the time (ie, the duty cycle
is 16.6%).
The dimming feature uses a .0015µF
capacitor and LDR (Light Dependent
Resistor) associated with pin 3 (RA4)
of IC1. The capacitor is discharged
each time a digit is about to be lit and
the PIC waits until the capacitor is
charged before lighting the display.
In bright light the resistance of the
LDR is low so the capacitor charges
up quickly and the display is lit within a very short delay. In darkness or
low light, the LDR has a much higher
resistance and the capacitor takes
longer to charge up, so the duty cycle
for each digit is much reduced and it
is dimmed down.
The actual dimming resolution is
about 155 steps from full brightness
to minimum.
The displays are only dimmed
when the clock is in time mode. The
displays are at full brightness when
in the adjustment mode because the
PIC processor has to perform a lot
of calculations which do not leave
enough time for the dimming function.
The clock is powered by a 12V DC
plugpack but has battery backup to
maintain timekeeping during power
outages. During a blackout, only the
seconds display, the flashing colon
and the AM indicator will be visible
Fig.2: two different large 7-segment displays can be used.
These are the pinouts for both.
points. The smaller seconds digits
only have one LED per segment. So
if the drive voltage was reduced to
dim the displays, the large display
segments would be dimmed much
more than the decimal points or the
seconds digits.
For this reason, the display dimming is under software control and
we do this by varying the duty cycle
of the multi
plexed signals for the
6-digit display. In a multiplexed display, only one digit is lit at a time but
the displays are cycled at a rapid rate
so that there is no noticeable flicker.
When the displays are driven at full
brightness, each display is lit for
Table 2: Capacitor Codes
Value
IEC Code EIA Code
0.1µF 104 100n
.0015µF 152 1n5
27pF 27 27p
Table 1: Resistor Colour Codes
No.
1
1
1
1
1
9
7
1
7
1
1
34 Silicon Chip
Value
470kΩ
10kΩ
4.7kΩ
2.2kΩ
1kΩ
470Ω
220Ω
180Ω
82Ω
10Ω
2.2Ω
4-Band Code (1%)
yellow violet yellow brown
brown black orange brown
yellow violet red brown
red red red brown
brown black red brown
yellow violet brown brown
red red brown brown
brown grey brown brown
grey red black brown
brown black black brown
red red gold gold
5-Band Code (1%)
yellow violet black orange brown
brown black black red brown
yellow violet black brown brown
red red black brown brown
brown black black brown brown
yellow violet black black brown
red red black black brown
brown grey black black brown
grey red black gold brown
brown black black gold brown
Fig.3: follow these parts layout diagrams to build the PC boards. Note the different link options on the display board
for the standard and variant large 7-segment displays.
MARCH 2001 35
Fig.4: these diagrams show how the two PC boards stack together for a wooden MDF case (top) and for a metal case bottom. The display board plugs into the processor board via the pin headers, so there is no wiring.
because the 12V supply is absent and
IC2 does not work.
The fabricated clock case is quite
compact, measuring 252mm wide,
98mm high and just 40mm deep. It
can sit on a desk or hang on a wall.
Inside, there are two fairly large PC
board stacked together and the backup
batteries are on one of the boards.
Circuit description
The heart of the circuit is IC1, a
PIC16F84 microcontroller. This works
in conjunction with IC2, IC3 and eight
transistors to drive the LED displays.
The circuit is complicated by the fact
that IC1 needs to operate at 5V while
the large displays require a nominal
12V. The different voltage requirements are catered for by connecting
the Vdd terminal of IC1 (pin 14) to
the +12V rail and the Vss terminal
(pin 5) to a +7V (ie, 12V - 5V) rail
derived from a negative 3-terminal
This is the completed display PC board. Note that two of the displays are mounted upside down (ie, with their decimal
point at top, right). The two small 7-segment displays show the seconds.
36 Silicon Chip
5V regulator. IC2 then acts as a level
translator (voltage shifter) for the
outputs of IC1 so that they can drive
IC3 and the large displays.
Let’s now look at the circuit of Fig.1
in more detail.
Power from the 12VDC plugpack
is applied to the circuit via a 2.2Ω
resistor and diode D1 which provides
reverse polarity protection. The 2.2Ω
resistor limits the current into zener
diode ZD1 should the voltage go
above 15V.
REG1 is the negative 5V regulator
referred to above. Diode D2, in the
GND leg of the regulator, actually sets
the output at about -5.6V below the
+12V rail but this extra 0.6V is lost
via diode D3 which feeds pin 5 of
IC1. The 100µF and 10µF capacitors
decouple the inputs and outputs of
REG1, ensuring its stability.
The reason for increasing the output
of REG1 to 5.6V is to give a slightly
higher “charged voltage” for the
backup batteries which are charged
via the 10Ω resistor. D3 is included
to reduce the supply to IC1 down to
5V (the A version of the PIC is rated
at only 5.5V max). D4 is included
to bypass the 10Ω resistor when the
circuit is powered from the batteries.
This lowers the im
pedance of the
battery supply which is desirable
when driving a multiplexed display,
otherwise voltage variations to IC1
could cause false resetting.
Note that there is a link (LK1)
between the battery connections to
allow the backup supply to be disconnected. This is necessary if you
wish to swap between 12-hour and
24-hour modes.
IC1 operates at 4MHz as set by
crystal X1. The 27pF capacitors on
the oscillator pins provide the loading
for the crystal so that it will oscillate
within tolerance. These capacitors are
NPO (Negative Positive Zero) types,
which means that their temperature
coefficient is zero and they do not
alter their capacitance with normal
temperature variations.
Traditionally, clocks have always
used crystals which oscillate at a fre-
quency that is a power of 2, making it
easier to divide the frequency down to
1Hz using binary counters. The most
common value is 32.768kHz, used
in watches and clocks. Other values
commonly used are 3.2768MHz and
4.096MHz which need to be divided
by 100 and 1000 respectively first
before division by powers of 2.
In our case, we have used a standard 4MHz crystal because it is readily
available and the need to divide by
powers of 2 is unnecessary when using a microcontroller to provide the
clock function. We divide the 4MHz
by 16 then by 250 to obtain a 1kHz
signal to multiplex the displays. This
is again divided by 500 to obtain a
2Hz signal which is used to flash the
colon on and off. The seconds display
is updated on every second 2Hz signal
(ie, 1Hz).
The RA4 pin on IC1 is set as an
output and is used to discharge the
.0015µF capacitor via the 470Ω resistor. When RA4 is taken high, its
output is open-circuit and the capacitor charges via the 2.2kΩ resistor
and the LDR1. The capacitor charges
faster when LDR1 is low resistance
(in bright light) and slower when the
LDR is high resistance (darkness). The
charge time is monitored by RA4 and
used to control the display dimming
described earlier.
The RB0-RB7 outputs of IC1 drive
transistors Q1-Q8 via 470Ω base
resistors. When the outputs are low,
the transistors are switched on to
drive the segments in displays DISP1DISP6. Segments for DISP1-DISP4
are driven via 82Ω resistors while
the decimal points are driven via a
180Ω resistor. The DISP5 & DISP6
The track side of the display board is fitted with socket strips, as shown here. These are fitted with header pins
which are then plugged into matching socket strips on the processor board
MARCH 2001 37
IC2 can do this because it has three
supply connections: the Vdd pin (16)
connects to +12V, the Vss pin (8)
connects to the -5V from REG1 (ie,
5V below +12V supply) and the Vee
pin (7) connects to 0V.
As well as acting as the B & C outputs to IC2, pins 17 & 18 of IC1 are
monitored via diodes D5 & D6 which
connect to the Minutes and Hours
switches, respectively. The other side
of the switches both connect to the
RA3 input (pin2) of IC1. Normally, pin
2 is held low via the 10kΩ resistor to
pin 5. However, if a switch is pressed
and the B or C line driving the switch
is high, the RA3 input will also be
pulled high. This signals to IC1 that
the switch is pressed. IC1 can determine which switch is pressed because
it “knows” which line (B or C) is high
at the time.
Fig.5: the wooden case is
made from 9mm MDF for the
sides and 3mm for the base.
Construction
Fig.6: the metal case is folded up from 1mm aluminium.
display segments are driven via 220Ω
resistors.
Different feed resistors are used
because, as already mentioned, the
large displays have four series LEDs
per segment and two series LEDs in
the decimal points, while the seconds displays have only one LED per
segment.
Upside-down displays
Normally, with a multiplexed display such as this, the same segments
for each digit are connected in parallel. Hence, the A segments on one
digit connect to all the A segments on
the other digits. However this clock
circuit is not quite that simple. Both
DISP1 and DISP3 are mounted upside
down and we connect the segments of
those digits differently. This has been
done to obtain the colon between the
hours and minutes digits and the AM
indicator.
Hence, while the centre “g” segments are all connected in parallel,
38 Silicon Chip
the “d” segments on the upside down
digits connect to the “a” segments on
the normal digits and so on. These
details are all shown on Fig.1.
Note that Fig.1 also shows the
pinouts for the standard large 7-segment pinout displays. As noted above,
the variant displays have different pin
numbers connected but the display
will show the same characters when
wired up correctly.
The common cathode connections
to each display are driven via IC3, a
ULN2003A 7-transistor array.
IC3 is driven via IC2, a 4051 which
is often referred to as an 8-channel
analog switch or an 8-channel demultiplexer. In this circuit, it has two
roles. First, it acts a decoder which
converts the binary signals on its three
input lines (A,B,C) to drive six outputs, one for each common cathode
LED display. Second, it provides logic
level (voltage) translation, changing
the 5V signals on its inputs to 12V
signals to drive IC3.
The 12/24 hour large-display clock
is constructed on two PC boards, both
measuring 233 x 76mm: a processor
board (coded 04103011) and a display
board (coded 04103012). The two
PC boards stack together using pin
headers and single-in-line sockets.
The boards are housed in a metal or
wooden box and we give details for
each in Fig.5 & Fig.6.
The wooden box measures 98 x
253 x 39mm. The folded metal case
measures 98 x 253 x 38mm.
Begin construction by checking the
PC boards for shorts between tracks
and possible breaks and undrilled
holes. You will need 3mm holes for
the corner mounting and elongated
holes for the DC socket. Also the holes
for the PC stakes need to be just large
enough to provide a tight fit.
Before starting, you need to check
on whether the large displays you
have are the standard pinout or variant
type. The two smaller displays will be
the standard pinout type. Of the large
displays, the Para Light C-2301E (as
supplied by Jaycar) have the variant
pinout.
You can also check the pinout using
a power supply (at 12V ) and 2.2kΩ
resistor. Connect the negative lead to
pin 3 or pin 8 and the positive lead
via a series 2.2kΩ resistor to one of
the segment pins as shown in the
pinout diagram of Fig.2. If each segment lights up when the connection
is made then this is a standard pinout
display. If not, then it is likely to be
The processor board carries the PIC microcontroller and the display driver
circuitry. Also on this board are the four 1.2V nicad backup batteries.
a variant pinout display. Connect the
negative lead to the pin 1 or pin 5
common and check that each segment
lights with the positive lead via the
2.2kΩ resistor.
Now have a look at the component
layouts for the two boards, shown in
Fig.3.
On the overlay diagram for the display PC board there are several links
marked “S” and “V”. Use the “V” links
when installing the variant displays
and the “S” links when installing the
standard displays. Do not use both
variant and standard links, just one
or the other. Also do not mix both
types of pinout displays for DISP1DISP4. The links that are not marked
should be inserted for both display
pinout types.
Insert and solder in all the required
links on the display board and the
processor board.
The resistors can be mounted next.
Use the colour codes in Table 1 as a
guide to selecting the correct value.
It is also good practice to use a digital
multimeter to check each value.
When installing the socket for IC1,
take care with its orientation and the
same comment applies when installing IC2 & IC3, zener diode ZD1 and
diodes D1-D6. The electrolytic capaci
tors must also be oriented correctly,
as shown.
REG1 has its leads bent over to
insert them into the holes on the PC
board and the metal tab is secured
with an M3 nut and bolt, with the
bolt inserted from the underside of
the board.
The 4MHz crystal (X1) is laid over
on its side and the case has a short
lead soldered to it to anchor it to the
board.
The large displays are mounted
directly on the PC board, while the
smaller displays are mounted on two
10-way single in-line IC sockets made
by cutting a 20-pin dual in-line (DIL)
socket into halves. Insert these into
the holes for DISP5 and DISP6.
Make sure that DISP1 and DISP3
are mounted upside down with the
decimal point in the top lefthand corner. DISP2, DISP4, DISP5 & DISP6 are
mounted normally, with the decimal
point in the lower righthand side.
LDR1 is mounted so that its top
face is level with the top face of the
displays.
Switches S1 & S2 are mounted in
sockets made by cutting down a 14pin DIL socket into four 3-way SIL
sockets. Remove the centre pin with
side cutters and insert the sockets in
the holes allocated for S1 & S2. The
switches are mounted by inserting
their pins into the sockets.
Inter-board connectors
Three 16-pin IC sockets need to
be cut into six 8-way single-in-line
strips. The sockets on the processor
PC board are mounted normally, with
the pins inserted through from the
top of the PC board. The remaining
sockets strips are mounted on the underside of the display PC board. The
pins are soldered to the copper pads,
with the socket raised slightly off the
board to allow soldering. The two PC
boards are then connected together by
inserting 8-way pin headers into the
sockets and plugging the boards together. The details of how the boards
stack together are shown in Fig.4
A 2-pin header is mounted in the
link 1 position on the processor board.
The 1.2V cells are connected to the PC
board using the solder tags. Pass the
holes in the tags over the PC stakes
ready for soldering. Check that they
are oriented correctly and solder in
place.
Testing
It is best to check the power supply
voltages before inserting IC1. This is
done with just the processor board; ie,
not connected to the display PC board.
Connect the +12VDC plugpack and
apply power. Use a multimeter to
check that there is +5V between both
pins 4 & 14 and pin 5 of the IC1 socket.
There should also be 5V between pins
16 & 8 of IC2. The 12V (nominal) rail
should also be present between pins
16 & 7 of IC2.
If this is correct, disconnect the
power and insert IC1 into its socket,
ensuring that it is oriented correctly.
Then connect both boards together
and reapply power. The display
should light and show 12:00. Note
that the default selection is for 12hour time and with the variant pinout
selected for the large displays.
If you are using the standard displays, switch off power and wait
about five seconds. Then reapply
power with the minutes switch held
down. This will then select the standard display pinout.
If you want 24-hour time, press the
hour switch at power up. Check that
the time can be increased with the
hour and minutes switches.
You can test the dimming feature
MARCH 2001 39
by holding your finger over the LDR.
Yep, the displays should dim.
Press both switches to check if
you can access the adjust mode. The
initial value is 0, meaning there is
no adjustment for crystal frequency.
You can now fit the shorting plug
for link 1 and this will allow the batteries to charge via the power from
the plugpack.
Fig.7: this diagram shows the detail of the Perspex panel masking and labelling.
Making the case
40 Silicon Chip
The clock can be housed in a wooden box or folded metal enclosure.
Diagrams for these are shown in Fig.5
and Fig.6. The wooden box uses 9mm
MDF (Medium Density Fibre board)
for the sides and 3mm MDF for the
back. These can be cut to size and
glued with PVA glue. The alternative
metal box is folded as shown in Fig.6.
It is made slightly deeper than the
metal box so that the PC board can
be mounted onto the rear with 6mm
tapped spacers. These spacers keep
the PC board tracks underneath from
making contact with the metal case.
Drill holes in the back to mount the
PC board in place and a large hole in
the side for the DC plug. The clock is
assembled using countersunk screws
from the rear. A red Perspex sheet
mounts over the front, using two small
self-tapping screws to hold it in place.
A display mask can be used beneath
the Perspex to show only the displays
and hide the remaining PC board area.
Details of the Perspex mask and front
panel are shown in Fig.7.
We placed a couple of picture frame
hooks on the rear of our wooden case
so it can be hung on a wall.
When your clock is complete, you
can set it to the correct time using the
time available from Telstra or another
accurate source. Run the clock for a
period of at least a couple of days to
check its accuracy. Then make the
adjustment described in the first part
of the article.
Note that with some crystals that
are outside the 50ppm tolerance, you
may need to use an adjustment value
that is ap
proaching the maximum
range of either -255 or +255. In this
case, you will need to alter the crystal
frequency slightly. This is done by
changing the 27pF crystal loading
capacitors on pins 15 & 16 of IC1. If
the clock runs fast and the adjustment
value needs to be 255 or more, then
increase the 27pF capacitors to 33pF
each.
Fig.8: here are the actual size artworks for the two PC boards. Check your etched board carefully against these patterns before installing any of the parts.
Alternatively, if the clock runs too
slow and the adjustment figure needs
to be -255 or greater (ie -256, -257
etc), you have to make the loading
capacitors smaller. Use 22pF or 18pF
values for each.
SC
MARCH 2001 41
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