World’s Largest Tide Clock
Giant ESP32-controlled bobber moves up and down to show massive tide changes in Anchorage, Alaska.
Hacker “rabbitcreek” lives in in Anchorage, Alaska, which experiences the second highest tide differential in the world. This tide – all 35 feet of it – actually comes in to shore as a tidal wave, or “bore tide,” high and strong enough that it can actually be surfed. To celebrate this amazing natural phenomenon, rabbitcreek decided to build what he believes is the wold’s largest tide clock.
This tidal display shows off water levels not in the form of pixels, or even as a dial, but instead uses a comically oversized, 3D-printed bobber. This moves up and down on a timing belt, which is controlled by a NEMA 17 stepper motor. The timing belt here is cut to 35 feet in total, which allows it to travel around half the tidal distance, or 17 feet, based on the belt setup. This would certainly beat out out normal such displays by a wide margin.
The device is controlled by a TTGO ESP32 display board, and uses a precision RTC breakout to keep things on track tide-wise. There’s also a battery backup to ensure the time remains correct if power is connected for any reason. A limit switch is used to sense the bottom of the bobber’s travel, and this setup could be theoretically mapped to any height (or input) as needed, depending on your space and/or display requirements.
-One might note that this ESP32 hardware could be capable of getting the time and coordinating the tides over a WiFi network and NTP. Perhaps we’ll see that functionality implemented if and when someone decided to make a Bay of Fundy version, which claims the highest tide in the world, with a swing of 52 feet!