
DIY ‘Meta Clock’ with 24 Analog Clocks - another
https://mcuoneclipse.com/2019/12/29/diy-meta-clock-with-24-analog-clocks/
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sunsetMurk
Dang. I want one of these on my wall!

But, I don't have the $$$ for the real ones [0], nor the knowhow to build one
using the info in this post.

Maybe I'll try to get some time together to learn more about PCB
design/hardware... or even try and turn this into a side project to try an
open-source collab to make it a more complete kit/tutorial.

0 - [https://clockclock.com/](https://clockclock.com/)

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jacquesm
The post is as close to an instructable as you can get without being tedious,
and the author seems quite approachable. Give it a try, worst case you will
learn a lot!

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amelius
Yeah, but you need a 3d printer and an ultrasonic washing machine. And you'll
need to buy a lot of other tools if you're not into electronics already.

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jacquesm
No, you need access to those tools. Or access to somebody who has them or a
makerspace near you.

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amelius
Yes, that could be an option for some people.

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reaperducer
There was an iOS version of this from a Swedish company called Chapel. It
appears to be officially licensed from Humans Since 1982.

Unfortunately, the app company seems to be gone, so the app is no longer on
the App Store (I still have it installed on my devices, though.)

But the originators are still around:
[https://www.humanssince1982.com/](https://www.humanssince1982.com/)

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madengr
I have read that, if you do the computation correctly, averaging 3 mechanical
watches can give the accuracy of a quartz based watch.

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ComputerGuru
I’ve always heard it as basic quorum before Raft was a thing. One clock and
you never know if it’s right or wrong. Two clocks and you’re worse off than
one in case they disagree. Three and at least you can (probabilistically,
anyway) reach a rough consensus good to the deviation of the clocks not
exceeding some threshold in comparison to the other two.

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ithkuil
Why does it matter to reach strict consensus with a quorum of half plus one in
the case of a continuous variable such as time of day? Wouldn't averaging work
(regardless of the parity of the members)?

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jobigoud
I think it's assuming you have no idea of the time and one of the clocks may
be very wrong, like several hours off. So you'd have two clocks close to each
other and one far off.

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ComputerGuru
Yessir.

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amelius
Curious how much power this clock uses, as stepper motors are known to be very
power-hungry even in low-current mode.

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McuOnEclipse
The 48 stepper motors plus all the microcontroller circuit needs between 1.0
and 1.2 A (5V), or around 25 mA per motor, so not that much. I agree that
stepper motors are usually power hungry, but these are small torque/low power
motors designed for automotive dash boars. The power needed is more of a
problem with powering on the whole system, as the condensators and circuit
needs more current compared running the motors.

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amelius
Can't you mask out the "unused" position by placing some material over the
arms at a certain angle?

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McuOnEclipse
Yes, you can. Dieter Zech (mentioned in the article, check out his image
gallery) did this for one of his earlier clocks. The downside is that with
this the intermezzo animations don't look that cool and nice. If you just want
to show the time: go for it. If you want to show nice animations, don't have a
hide position. A third option would be to have a third hand to blank out the
others, but mechanically this would mean a completely different stepper motor
behind it.

