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DIY LED Spinner Clock

If you have a couple of old, failed hard drives lying around, don̵7;t chuck them. Gather them up and use them to make something. According to computer consultant Ian Smith, if the drives are able to spin, they are a good candidate for use to construct a colorful, spinning LCD clock. In addition to the hard drives, you will need a few other things such as an LED strip and a Hall-Effect switch. Constructing the clock is pretty straightforward if you know how to use microcontrollers and programmers.

Things You'll Need

Computer
PICkit2
3.5-inch hard drive
PIC18F252 microchip
Dremmel
Super glue
Magnet
Hall-Effect switch
12 Volt flexible, self-adhesive LED strip
White paper
5 ¼-inch external drive case
LCD
Buttons
Transistor array
Circuit testing kit

Instructions

- 1
  Install the programming software that comes with the PICkit2 onto your computer.
- 2
  Start the software and write code for your hard drive clock program. You will want to make sure that your code times each instance your hard drive spins and computes the wait time necessary to flash the display correctly. Program your microchip.
- 3
  Visit Ian Smith̵7;s website to download and print the circuit schematic for his spinning LCD clock, so that you know where everything goes in your circuit.
- 4
  Take off the top of the hard disk drive. Make a slit in the platter with a dremmel.
- 5
  Affix a magnet to the bottom of the drive using glue. Adding the magnet will activate the Hall-Effect switch that lets the PIC microchip know that the disk has made a revolution. The microchip needs to know when the disk has made a revolution so that it knows when to flash the LEDs to simulate the hands of the clock.
- 6
  Place the Hall-Effect switch at the end of the hand cable. Bend it at a right angle and secure it using glue.
- 7
  Tape the LED strip to the inner edge of the platter. Put some white paper underneath the LEDs, so that they have something to shine on.
- 8
  Mount the construction inside a 5 1/4-inch external drive case. Make sure to take out the USB slot so that the only thing left is the power supply.
- 9
  Add an LCD to the construction so that you will be able to set the time and change the display parameters. Test your circuit after you have everything assembled.

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