Introduction: NTP Synchronised Wordclock

Sync your clock with a NTP time server so they can check the right time if there has been a black out if your not at home :-)

Step 1: The Materials

  • Plywood (2 layers)
  • Plexiglas
  • Wemos D1 or Wemos D1 mini pro or Wemos D1 mini
  • Micro usb cable
  • Phone charger
  • Fancy photoframe

  • 168 Pcs WS2812B Ws2812 Led Chips 5V Met Wit/Zwart Pcb Heatsink (10mm * 3 Mm) WS2811 Ic build in Smd 5050 Rgb

I went to a so called fabshop to use their lasercutter for the 3 layers.

You will also need various tools: drill (+ a selection of drill bits), pliers, clippers(or wire cutters), and a soldering iron(with solder) At first I made my design with a Wemos D1 but I ordered some Wemos D1 mini pro's and some Wemos D1 mini and also on those the clock works perfectly.

Step 2: First Layer

The first layer you need to create is the board on which the LEDs will be on/ in mounted. Here you have several options on how to structure the LED board.

In this step you will also have to take into account the spacing of your LEDs. I drawed my wordclock face with the free drawing program of Inscape (Find it at Inscape.org)

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Step 3: Second Layer

The second layer is to guide the light so that it is not spreading where you are not wanna have any light...

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Step 4: Third and Last Layer

The clockface,

I let the clockface lasercut by the fabshop on a piece of black plexiglas. Between the second and third layer I put a piece of baking paper to achieve a nice diffuse effect of the led's

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Step 5: The Code

Excellent! With the physical assembly of the board done, it's time to get coding. I have written some Arduino code for receiving and displaying the LED values sent from the computer to the Arduino (the technique used to light multiple LEDs at the same time is called multiplexing, give it a google if you have some time). The arduino code is in the file underneath.

I am not a programmer so if you have any comments to make the code simpel please take the time to write a suggestion :-)

Update:

Version 1.1 is an NTP synchronised clock with Wifi manager.

If the clock can't find a connection with a router it will create an Access point. Just connect to the access point and type http://192.168.4.1 and connect to an available wifi network. After a connection is made it will shows an animation in red, white and blue and then it will return with the correct time.

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Step 6:

Credits go to Jan which inspired and helped me...