Bank clock

[Michael J]

I have an idea, but unfortunately I do not have the electronics experience to do it. Maybe it has already been done, or maybe someone would like to run with the idea.

How about an actual working digital clock on a bank, using electronics like those in a watch or a tiny alarm clock? It could be battery powered or AC powered. It could show just the time, or if someone had the know-how, a temperature probe could be wired to an outdoor sensor, and it could flash the time and temperature just like a real clock.

I know people have used watch faces as actual analog (round) clocks in models. This would be a modern electronic equivalent.

 

[RW&C]

That's funny, I found a small digital clock in a McDonald's toy way back and I've been looking for a good use for it. It's very small and IMO it would fit nicely somewhere. Hook in a AA instead of a little coin cell and it'll run until the heat death of the universe.

But yeah, with the proper electronics you could simulate one of those dot-matrix lighted signs outside a store that flashes with temp, time, milk is on sale, etc. Or the ones the DOT uses to say 'expect delays' or 'warning, zombies ahead.'

I think there some integrated circuits out there built to drive the seven-segment displays, so I'll bet there's a component that could handle however many segments go into a dot matrix sign. Hook that to a microprocessor kit (there are a few on the market) and you could program it with any message you want.