rgb led arduino watch

how to tell the time you might ask?

dark bright blue is the hour hand

light blue is the minute hand

white is the second hand

faint blue is the 1/12 second hand for added attention grabbing but can also be changed in the code.

video and code will be put here in the days to come vote for me in the time contest.

The watch is only acreate to 5 min but it I think its acceptable considering most watches are a bit off any way.

Tools list:

file (most important tool)
soldering iron another must
hot glue gun (or a stick of hot glue and a spare soldering iron tip)
arduino pro mini programmer if you want to make it go
wire snips

parts list:

$2 arduino pro mini 3v
$3 cheap 12 rgb led ring (the adafruit led ring needs 3 wires instead of 2 but it will work)http://goo.gl/U3w6rI
$7 small lipo battery (I used a 400 mAH) https://goo.gl/1CnfOF

free small switch
$3 old watch or new cheap china one (for the case)
$1 lipo battery charger
$1 mini usb socket
$1-$2 1 (or 2) usb cables
$1 magnet wire

total = $ 19

Step 1: Connections

arduino pin 5 --> switch
switch --> led ring in
arduino ground --> led ring ground
lipo battery + --> 3v arduino
lipo battery - --> arduino ground
usb socket + --> 3v arduino
usb socket - --> arduino ground

Connection tips

Solder the switch lead right to the arduino board and hot glue the switch to the rgb led ring at the 9 O' clock, to give a more ridged structure to the circuit.

Use magnet wire with the ends burned off instead of normal wire to make the circuit thinner to be placed in the case.

code for watch arduino ring.txt
Download

Step 2: Arduino Peperation

When making this watch I had tried using the arduino pro mini at first and it was just to big after siting on it for a while and looking at smaller boards that were just crazy expansive, I deiced hey why don't i just cut off the part of the arduino that I don't need.

Remember to program before cutting and filing!

To cut the arduino in 1/2 cut from just above pin 7 across using the wire cutters.

The file down the edged till pin 5 so that that end is round and fits the contour of the inside hole of the led ring.

File down the programming end of the arduino the same.

Step 3: Fitting the Circuit Into the Case

Most watch cases that are only $3 are all the same size because china mass produces them and its easier to have only 1 size glass watch crystal.

To make it fit into a case designed for a normal watch movement we need to modify the case for the switch and the mini usb charging slot.

for the charging slot because it is a square hole we can use a file to file out the slot from the back of the case.

the switch slot may or may not be square but a hole can be made the same way as the usb charging slot, or a drill press could be used (I don't know but might be quicker I don't own one).

Because this watch is meant to be cheap and a drill press isn't what most people have access to I used a file.

The watch face can be open to show arduino circuit to make it look like a cool and grab attention even more, or the arduino can be faced down and a sheet of metal can be found and cut to fit the inside of the ring and give it a sleeker look (if using the adafruit rgb led ring a USA quarter can be filed down and used as the face)