I have a number of NIST-synchronizing clocks that project the time on the ceiling above my bed in faint red characters that I love for middle-of-the-night reference. Most are 7-segment, but one displays a little graphic of its predicted weather. The one that displayed the outside temperature recently died and I want to replace it, but I cannot find that model anymore. One problem with all these clocks is that they synchronize with the standard time using the WWVB radio signal which is (a) destined to be discontinued and (b) very weak where I live.
It seems like it would be a fun project to build a DYI clock/display that synchronizes and/or gets its data via WiFi, but I can’t find a source for the projecting LED-like display. Is there anything like that available from Sparkfun or do you have any suggestions of the proper terms to put into a Google search?
As for an LED display, I can’t think of anything SparkFun carries. I think if you Google “LED Projector” you might get some good leads. I feel like you could use an array of LEDs or even a small 7-segment with a condenser lens and have it “project” onto other surfaces.
Yeah, stealing the hardware from the broken clock is on my mind, but lack of documentation might make that a challenge and I haven’t opened it up to see how “serviceable” it might be. It’s also just a 7-segment display and if I’m going to do it right I’d like to start out with something with a bit more flare.
It’s probably true that any display could be projected with the proper lens; maybe that’s all I really need from the broken clock. I’ll have to experiment.
As for using WiFi, I was not thinking of using it for time synchronization per se, but rather to connect to another computer that knows what time it is … and the temperature outside and whatever other info I might feel like displaying.