Client Server Digital Clock

[mahesh_jo]

I am trying to make a digital clock as attached in the figure. The clients are around 18 inch X 9 inch height of dot matrix displays and all are controlled by a single timer server. There should be a provision to attach around 50-60 such clients to a single server. Can I utilize very cheap digital wrist watches available in the market to connect the lcd display of it to such clients so that I will not need any engineering to built a server.

 

[lord loh.]

If you want to have several clocks around a building showing teh same time as in railway stations, you can have any watch as a time server.

Now that depends on the LCD. LCDs are generally microprocessor controlled. While LEDs are not so sopisticated.

Matrix LEDs need data to update line by line. (It was there in teh EFY mag a few monthes ago...Do you follow it?)

LCD on the other hand needs square wave pulse in phase and out of phase to show the character on the display. You could buy an old LED watch and break it apart to get the desired type of signals.

Or you could have an IR broadcaster that sends pulse patterns ever second to be decoded by the displays that contain only the counter. This shall save you lot of wiring cost over large distances.