Electronics: Binary Clock: Concept & Design

 As a way to get back into electronics and integrated circuitry before heading off to University in September I have started a project to design and build a Binary Clock.
A Binary Clock displays time using two groups of LED's; one consisting of six LED's, and the other of seven for a total of 13. 

[ A Binary Display showing 6:33am ]

 [ A Binary Display showing 18:33pm (6:33pm) ]

This is the most efficient Display Model for showing time in Binary, despite the fact it can go up to 315:715, any display smaller than this could not display the vital 23:59 needed to show time in 24 hour format. A display for showing Binary Time in a 12 hour format is only different by the one LED used to represent "20 hours" (left most, row 2), but seeing as an LED would have to be added in to signal AM or PM the 13 LED Display is the most efficient configuration.

[ Schematic v2 ]

This is the 2nd Revision of my Schematic for the Clock. It includes a power circuit (Top Left), a BasicStamp2 Micro-Controller (Top Right), an array of 13 LED's to display the time (Bottom Left), and a In/Out bank consisting of a Button to set the hour, a Button to set the minute, and a Piezo Buzzer to allow the clock to chime or beep on the hour.

The Power Circuit:

The power circuit consists of a standard DC Power Jack (J1), a Diode (D1), a Two Position Switch (S1), two 0.1uf Ceramic Capacitors (C1 & C2), and a 7805 Voltage Regulator (IC3).

By placing a Capacitor on either side of the Voltage Regulator we smooth out any signals or frequencies that may be in the power line. The Diode right after the Power Jack ensures that the flow of electricity does not flow the wrong way, as this could easily damage the Voltage Regulator. 

The Micro-Controller:
The Micro-Controller is the brains of the beast, it has two Ground (GND) pins, one Voltage In (VIN) pin, and 15 Digital I/O pins. By programming the Chip to output either 5volts or 0volts to each of the first 13 pins we control what number configuration is displayed. The last three pins are reserved for the two Buttons to set the time, and a Piezo Buzzer to allow the clock to make audio signals.  

[ BasicStamp2 Micro-Controller ]