Hi all
Given I'm working from home / in lockdown / etc. I thought a fun project might be to try and make an Arduino based project that could turn the hands of an analog watch.
I saw this project here, which is very clever. I'd like to replicate this but turn the hands of a wrist watch:
The way that a quart wrist watch works is that every second it sends a pulse to a stepper motor to turn the second hand so I'm presuming it should be able to be done? How quartz watches and clocks work - Explain that Stuff
I thought that perhaps I could remove everything from the watch movement prior to the stepper motor, and then hook up a project like the one linked above to the stepper motor...
What do you guys think?
I presume you are not concerned that the watch will no longer keep accurate time.
The stepper motor in a watch will be very small and easily damaged.
...R
Robin2:
I presume you are not concerned that the watch will no longer keep accurate time.
Wouldn't it? I would have thought you could send a pulse every 1 second - can't see software being any less accurate than the quartz pulse?
ozmodeller:
Wouldn't it? I would have thought you could send a pulse every 1 second - can't see software being any less accurate than the quartz pulse?
By comparison with the quartz crystal in a watch the normal oscillator in an Arduino is incredibly inaccurate - and also significantly affected by temperature changes.
If you want "clock time" you will need a Real Time Clock (RTC) module - which presumably will contain its own quartz crystal.
...R
Robin2:
By comparison with the quartz crystal in a watch the normal oscillator in an Arduino is incredibly inaccurate - and also significantly affected by temperature changes.
If you want "clock time" you will need a Real Time Clock (RTC) module - which presumably will contain its own quartz crystal.
...R
Ah OK, I see!
Could you then leave the mechanism as it is, and hook up wires to the lavet motor from the Arduino so that the watch movement operates as per usual until you change the time with the Arduino? The hands then move to the time you set, and then just continues to operate?
Could you then leave the mechanism as it is, and hook up wires to the lavet motor from the Arduino so that the watch movement operates as per usual until you change the time with the Arduino?
You could, maybe. I can't see soldering wires onto those tiny little motors with my eyesight and the soldering iron I have.
The stepper motor in watches and small quartz clocks is a special, low voltage type and usually requires bidirectional voltage and current flow.
You will probably need some sort of H-bridge to drive it, when using an Arduino.
ozmodeller:
Hi all
Given I'm working from home / in lockdown / etc. I thought a fun project might be to try and make an Arduino based project that could turn the hands of an analog watch.
I saw this project here, which is very clever. I'd like to replicate this but turn the hands of a wrist watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yhyu2qyVAw
The way that a quart wrist watch works is that every second it sends a pulse to a stepper motor to turn the second hand so I'm presuming it should be able to be done? How quartz watches and clocks work - Explain that Stuff
I thought that perhaps I could remove everything from the watch movement prior to the stepper motor, and then hook up a project like the one linked above to the stepper motor...
What do you guys think?
I think you need to examine your watch a bit closer. A stepper requires continuous power to maintain position. Your watch uses a solenoid to ratchet the mechanism moving the hands. Power is required only for an instant to make the solenoid armature move the ratchet mechanism and nothing more. The solenoid operation is what you hear.
Paul
