This Custom Digital Watch Tells Time Using a Vintage VU Meter

When choosing which electronic gadget they want to buy, people typically focus on the features and hardware specifications. With a laptop, the processor and RAM are in focus, whereas gamers evaluate the graphics and game library of a new console before making a purchase. Evaluating a wristwatch is quite different, however. A $10 watch keeps time just as well as a $10,000 watch, and they both do the same job.

In this case, specifications hardly matter — it’s all about personal style. To meet this need, there are watches on the market to suit just about every taste. But not every taste. YouTuber Sahko, for instance, wanted something very different, so he had to build it from scratch. In particular, he wanted a digital watch that displays the time on a vintage analog VU meter.

It is one of the most inventive custom watches to emerge in recent years. This wearable device was designed such that a single moving needle can display the time, date, and day of the week.

The project is built around an old VU meter mechanism originally designed for audio equipment. The needle is controlled by electromagnetic coils, allowing software running on a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller to position it precisely across multiple scales printed on the watch face. A digital-to-analog converter translates the microcontroller’s calculations into tiny current changes that physically move the needle.

The unique display choice complicated the build considerably. Early prototypes attempted to include a digital compass feature, but the powerful magnets inside the analog gauge interfered with the compass sensor and made accurate readings impossible. Sahko ultimately removed the feature entirely rather than deal with these difficulties.

Mechanical tolerances also created some problems. During assembly, the custom dial plate pushed against the fragile needle, preventing it from moving freely. Lacking appropriately sized spacers, Sahko improvised by winding tiny coils of wire around the mounting screws to raise the mechanism by a fraction of a millimeter. The unconventional fix worked perfectly.

The final watch's aluminum housing was CNC-machined from a solid block of metal before receiving a bead-blasted ceramic finish. A curved pocket-watch crystal seals the front, while a rechargeable LiPo battery and USB-C charging circuitry are hidden inside.

Instead of conventional watch lugs, the device uses embedded neodymium magnets to attach to a custom leather-and-elastic strap. The magnetic mounting system allows the watch to be removed instantly and attached to metal surfaces.

Through a series of side buttons, the single needle can switch between multiple display modes, turning a simple analog movement into a sophisticated digital information system. The finished device doesn’t look anything like a modern smartwatch, but Sahko wouldn’t have it any other way.