My next steps

Created January 24, 2025

PCB Binary Watch

A watch specially designed for engineers.

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Microchip ATmega328

SMD LED 1206 RED

Maxim Integrated DS3231M - ±5ppm, I2C Real-Time Clock

Battery Holder, Lithium CR2032

SMD Button 5.2

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Soldering iron (generic)

Story

I love PCB. I love Binary. A few years ago when I was browsing the Instructables one project attracted me very much. The project was a PCB watch named The Nerd Watch. When I saw that I fell in love with the watch. I tried to make one but I didn't have all the tools to make the watch. After that several more PCB and Binary watches were made by community members and published in Instructables. Those watches are really excellent and mind-blowing. A few of them are:

Binary Wrist Watch

MechWatch - a Custom Digital Watch

The Ultimate Binary Watch

Taking inspiration from all of the watches above finally I made first version my own PCB Binary Watch which was my dream for many days.

Link: https://www.instructables.com/PCB-Binary-Watch/

I focused on the aesthetic of the PCB as I am going to keep it open from any type of casing. Intentionally I kept the trace of the top PCB layer free from solder musk so that all the track can be visualized clearly. That gives a better look. For preventing the tracks from corrosion I used Gold Finish on the top surface. I also placed all resistors and capacitors on the bottom side of the PCB.

After finishing I was surprised by the looking of the watch. It really looks great. This can be a perfect watch for electrical and computer engineers. If you are an engineer and like binary I am pretty sure you will like it.

After two years later its the perfect time to make an update of my design. I found few issues after using a long time of my watch. One think I realized that the CR2032 battery sometimes fails to provide enough current when the watch is press to display the time. So, I decided to replace the battery with the rechargeable one with the integrated battery management unit. I also want to add the second in my watch. As this time I will use rechargeable li-ion battery power hungriness will not be a critical problem.

Components: The following components were used in first version.

I will add li-ion battery and battery management IC in my new design.

My next steps

After getting selected I will make the necessary updates in my design. Then I will submit it to PCBWay for PCB making and assembly. After getting the assembled board I will complete the undone soldering and upload the code. I will documents all the things with the updated images and design files here.

Code

Arduino Code Version 1

/*
Md. Khairul Alam
Arduino PCB Binary Clock
Date: 1 January, 2023
*/

#include <DS3231M.h>  
#include "LowPower.h"


DS3231M_Class DS3231M; 


const int wake_up_pin = 2;


const int min_one = 6;
const int min_ten = 5;
const int hour_one = 4;
const int hour_ten = 3;


const int min_one_pos_one = 10;
const int min_one_pos_two = 9;
const int min_one_pos_four = 8;
const int min_one_pos_eight = 7;


const int min_ten_pos_one = 9;
const int min_ten_pos_two = 8;
const int min_ten_pos_four = 7;


const int hour_one_pos_one = 10;
const int hour_one_pos_two = 9;
const int hour_one_pos_four = 8;
const int hour_one_pos_eight = 7;


const int hour_ten_pos_one = 8;
const int hour_ten_pos_two = 7;


void wake_up()
{
   
}


void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  //DateTime(F(__DATE__), F(__TIME__))
  pinMode(min_one, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(min_ten, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(hour_one, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(hour_ten, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(10, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(7, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(wake_up_pin, INPUT_PULLUP); 
  
  Serial.begin(9600);
  while (!DS3231M.begin())  // Initialize RTC communications
  {
    Serial.println("Not found");
    delay(1000);
  }
  DS3231M.adjust(DateTime(2022, 12, 30, 12, 0, 0));  // Set to specific Date/Time  
}


int hour_o = 0;
int hour_t = 0;
int minute_o = 0;
int minute_t = 0;


void loop() {


  attachInterrupt(0, wake_up, LOW);
  LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_FOREVER, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);


  // execution will start from here after wake up
  // Disable external pin interrupt on wake up pin.
  detachInterrupt(0);   
  delay(200);
  DateTime       now = DS3231M.now(); 
  int hour = now.hour();
  int minute = now.minute();


  hour_o = hour%10;
  hour_t = hour/10;


  minute_o = minute%10;
  minute_t = minute/10;


  long startTime = millis();
  while((millis() - startTime)<10000){  
    min_one_display(minute_o);
    delay(5);
    min_ten_display(minute_t);
    delay(5);
    hour_one_display(hour_o);
    delay(5);
    hour_ten_display(hour_t);
    delay(5);
  }
  digitalWrite(min_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(min_ten, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_ten, LOW);
}


void min_one_display(int min_one_value){
  digitalWrite(min_one, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(min_ten, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_ten, LOW);
  switch(min_one_value){
    case 0:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 1:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 2:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 3:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 4:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 5:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 6:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 7:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 8:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, LOW);
      break;


    case 9:
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_one_pos_eight, LOW);
      break;
   }
}


void hour_one_display(int hour_one_value){
  digitalWrite(min_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(min_ten, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_one, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(hour_ten, LOW);
  switch(hour_one_value){
    case 0:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 1:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 2:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 3:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 4:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 5:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 6:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 7:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, HIGH);
      break;


    case 8:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, LOW);
      break;


    case 9:
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_four, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_one_pos_eight, LOW);
      break;
   }
}


void min_ten_display(int min_ten_value){
  digitalWrite(min_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(min_ten, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(hour_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_ten, LOW);
  switch(min_ten_value){
    case 0:
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_four, HIGH);
      break;


    case 1:
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_four, HIGH);
      break;


    case 2:
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_four, HIGH);
      break;


    case 3:
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_two, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_four, HIGH);
      break;


    case 4:
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_four, LOW);
      break;


    case 5:
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_two, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(min_ten_pos_four, LOW);
      break;


   }
}


void hour_ten_display(int hour_ten_value){
  digitalWrite(min_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(min_ten, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_one, LOW);
  digitalWrite(hour_ten, HIGH);
  switch(hour_ten_value){
    case 0:
      digitalWrite(hour_ten_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_ten_pos_two, HIGH);
      break;


    case 1:
      digitalWrite(hour_ten_pos_one, LOW);
      digitalWrite(hour_ten_pos_two, HIGH);
      break;


    case 2:
      digitalWrite(hour_ten_pos_one, HIGH);
      digitalWrite(hour_ten_pos_two, LOW);
      break;


   }
}

Credits

Md. Khairul Alam

70 projects • 590 followers

Developer, Maker & Hardware Hacker. Currently working as a faculty at the University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Contact

Comments

Please log in or sign up to comment.

PCB Binary Watch

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

My next steps

Schematics

Schematic

PCB 2D

PCB 3D

PCB Layout

Code

Arduino Code Version 1

Credits

Md. Khairul Alam

Comments

Embed the widget on your own site

PCB Binary Watch

PCB Binary Watch

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

My next steps

Schematics

Schematic

PCB 2D

PCB 3D

PCB Layout

Code

Arduino Code Version 1

Credits

Md. Khairul Alam

Comments