http://youtu.be/hGamMP2yvWo

This was the final project for my Digital 2 class it was so well received that I thought I would share it. To begin the project I created the circuit virtually. By starting this way I was able to work a lot of the kinks out of my design while also making sure to use only the parts that I had in my kit.

Step 1: Gather Your Parts

Parts List:
1. 555
2. 7408 AND gate
3. 7447 BCD to decimal decoder
4. 74LS90 Decade counter
5. 74LS93 Counter
6. 74LS76 JK flip flop
7. 331 resistor chip
8. 104 capacitor, 1µf cap, and a 10µf cap
9. (2) 503 potentiometers
10. 10K potentiometer
11. (6)or (3 dual) seven segment displays (common anode)

Step 2: Minutes and Seconds

I began with a 555 timer set up with three potentiometers, two are for the actual timing of the circuit and the third is in parallel with the 503 to allow the time to be set. The seconds and the minute’s portion of the circuit are identical so wiring these were straight forward. The 1’s of seconds receives the clock signal at the 74LS90 (Decade counter) it counts 0-9 then clocks a 74LS93 for the 10’s of seconds. The 93 is set to count 0-5 by running two of the outputs B and C through a 7408 AND gate which resets the IC on the sixth clock pulse and triggers the 74LS90 in the minute’s section of the circuit.

Step 3: Hours

The hours portion of the circuit while using the same components as both the seconds and the minutes is a little more challenging (Logically anyway). The first hours digit needs to count 1-9 then 0-2. This can be accomplished by tying pins 3, 6, and 7 to the output of the AND gate. By doing this it allows for a normal count 1-9 but when the second hours digit is a 1 these two high signals along with the B output on the 90 trigger the reset and clock starts over at 1:00.