Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Whart have you bodged up today

Mum in law is unfortunately loosing her sight. She can see just enough to still manage herself but virtually does not cook any more and can't see well enough to read - thank goodness for audio books.

The other day I asked her if a talking clock would be useful and she thought it would be. She decided that red would be the best colour for the LED display and the push button on the top to have it tell the time. She also decided that 12, not 24 hour time would suit her best.

So I whipped up this little number using an Arduino compatible micro controller, real time clock, SD card reader, a small amplifier, speaker, etc.

I recorded the numbers 1 to 59 and the words "O'clock" and "The time is".
When she pushes the button on the top it says something like: The time is 5. 42" or "The time is 6. O'clock"

As the real time clock holds the actual date, as well as the time this could easily be expanded to the day of the week or the full date. The program corrects the time automatically for European daylight savings rules (or US if required). It has a back up LiPo battery (and charger) that will power it for a day in the case of a power failure or being disconnected. The real time clock has its own back up battery that will keep it going for a long time, perhaps years, if the clock stays without power, but of course no display or sound in that case.

Having used it now for several days she is very happy with it. Above all when she wakes up on these dark mornings, or during the night, she now knows what the time is.

A few shots of the innards and then the finish job in a shiny black box cut and drilled to accommodate the "works"







The unlit LEDs stand out in the photo more than they do when one looks at the actual display.