Digital Clock Using Classic LED 7-Segment Display

Figure 1 

The project uses classic LED 7-segment display from vintage LED watches and vintage calculators in order to create a digital clock.

The design of this clock does not only come with these classic display but also a PIC16F887 microcontroller which results to bright red displays and sun light viewable. These LED 7-segment displays are not in production anymore which makes them hard to obtain, that is why they are being replaced by LCDs. They are no longer used in watches and calculators since these displays consume significant amount of power.

During the assembly, two models of the classic LED 7-segment displays are available. One is a 4-digit red LED 7-segment that looks nice for wristwatch and has a product number of 5082-7414 from HP. The other comes from an unknown manufacturer and is a 2-digit red LED 7-segment which can also be used in a wristwatch but with a little bigger case. The displays are used in common cathode mode and symbolized with the use of Eagle 5.4.0 free version.

About 0.25W form 50mA & 5V source is being consumed by each clock as the PIC16F887 operates with 61Hz refresh rate.

Click here to see the rest of the project.