This Massive Digital Clock Is Easy to Read From Far Away

A typical digital clock can be really difficult to read if you don’t have great eyesight. While analog clocks are readable even when the actual numerals aren’t (as long as the hands can be seen), digital clocks are useless if you can’t make out each of the number. There are really big digital clocks on the market that are easier to read, but they’re very expensive. That’s why Lion Mclionhead built their Heroineclock 13 years ago, and they’ve just created a new version called the Heroineclock II.

If you wanted to purchase a clock that is a similar size to Heroineclock II, it would set you back at least a couple hundred dollars. In contrast, this clock can be built for less than $50. It’s set up with each digit acting like a seven-segment display, but those segments are actually made up of a handful of bright red LEDs contained within chambers. Like a seven-segment display, those segments can be lit up individually as necessary to form numerals. There are also additional lights to indicate when it’s PM, for example. The time can be set using an infrared remote and there is a built-in speaker to play chimes.

The clock is controlled by a Microchip PIC18F6585 microcontroller. The original Heroineclock lit the LEDs through shift registers, but this new version had a microcontroller with more pins and required significantly less current. That meant that the segments could be controlled directly from the I/O pins via transistors. A simple IR receiver is used to detect the signals from a generic TV remote. MIDI files can be used for the chime sounds, and those are output through the speaker via a class D amplifier. Despite the large size, the total power consumption of the new Heroineclock is a mere 7W!