Snowtsuku Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I can't remember the exact type of IC used to control the LEDs, but it was a type of counter.. It was about 5~6 years ago that I've worked on this one. You may be exactly right though with the 7490 though. I remember working on that too. Sounds exactly right, Snowpoke. So 7490 is a decade counter. I think there are designs that can make use of it. Edit: I should stop posting when half awake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Yeah I found out about the BCD-to-7seg decoders already. But I was thinking about the kind of binary clock where there's a matrix of LED lights that turn on and off (I guess 4 lights corresponding to one clock digit). I wasn't sure was what a decade counter was, I thought that meant it counted to 10 (same as BCD), but I see there are "BCD counters" available too, so. Is it bad if the circuit is synchronous? Well, after a brief look around at other people's clocks, it seemed a lot of people just used a microcontroller for the brains of it. Maybe that would be easier to make and easier to change the way it functions, instead of individual ICs, just a small microcontroller and some LEDs and buttons... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Yeah I found out about the BCD-to-7seg decoders already. But I was thinking about the kind of binary clock where there's a matrix of LED lights that turn on and off (I guess 4 lights corresponding to one clock digit). I wasn't sure was what a decade counter was, I thought that meant it counted to 10 (same as BCD), but I see there are "BCD counters" available too, so. Is it bad if the circuit is synchronous? Well, after a brief look around at other people's clocks, it seemed a lot of people just used a microcontroller for the brains of it. Maybe that would be easier to make and easier to change the way it functions, instead of individual ICs, just a small microcontroller and some LEDs and buttons... My post above is derp. LOL Well, IIRC the decade counter has 10 outputs and when the clock strikes the IC, the output with the high signal shifts to the next output. You know, it's like christmas light where the light travels from the first output up to the 10th output. The BCD counter, counts 0-9. Anyway, you can always check the datasheet if you want. Just type the IC number and search for it in google. I cannot recommend a site since I haven't seen a site with all the data sheets that I need. On the synchonous part, I just think that having an asynchronous circuit will be easier, since it would require less ICs to initiate the next digit. Anyway, I not really good at this so you may want to consult other people as well. But I hope this helps a bit. If I have time or bored, i'll try to post a schematic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Edit: Derp net at school. I didn't know I double post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Anyway, I not really good at this so you may want to consult other people as well. But I hope this helps a bit. If I have time or bored, i'll try to post a schematic. Thanks, & take your time with the schematic. Right now, I don't even have the right tools to put it together anyway... As every human being knows, there's a big difference between reading about stuff/talking about stuff/making pie-in-the-sky plans, and actually sitting down and DOING something with it :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Thanks, & take your time with the schematic. Right now, I don't even have the right tools to put it together anyway... As every human being knows, there's a big difference between reading about stuff/talking about stuff/making pie-in-the-sky plans, and actually sitting down and DOING something with it :-) Just a breadboard, wires and the ICs are enough xD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Maybe some kind of power source? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Maybe some kind of power source? :-) Any battery will work You can series them or use a divider to that they reach the needed voltage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Somehow I've a feeling it's not that simple for me... so I need to find out how much voltage to use (5 volts?) then, I don't want to burn anything out... I'd better read the chips' data sheets first, it should say something about how much voltage and current it can take. Sometime this YEAR I will try it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Somehow I've a feeling it's not that simple for me... so I need to find out how much voltage to use (5 volts?) then, I don't want to burn anything out... I'd better read the chips' data sheets first, it should say something about how much voltage and current it can take. Sometime this YEAR I will try it... The typical is 5V, but there are some ICs that can take up to 9V. But yeah, reading the data sheet is the best way to start. Edit: Hi jacking Ryachu's thread is complete~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Just to reply on the IC topics. You can dismantle an old charger as a DC source so that you don't have to make one. Making one is easy though. And the 74157 IC works well as a counter. You can reset it and load values in it so that you can change your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I'm thinking of trying this one (someday): http://www.instructables.com/id/Smallest-Binary-Clock/ I like how it's really small (one chip) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowtsuku Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I'm thinking of trying this one (someday): http://www.instructa...t-Binary-Clock/ I like how it's really small (one chip) Well, that's because it only uses a single 4 bit output to display everything~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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