My Teensy 3.2 POV Clock Project

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skidd

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I thought I'd share the outcome of my POV clock project.

I naively thought a little 8bit Arduino Nano would have had enough power for my plans. Wow, was I wrong. This teensy 3.2 does the job, but I sure had to wright some tight code to keep the performance up. Thanks especially to the TeensyThreads project. It made it much easier to background process the animations and music, while still ensuring the output to the LEDs had the clock ticks it needed.

I built this for my wife to put into her middle school library. I figured the kids might get a kick out of it, and who knows, might inspire a few future electrical and software engineers.

A quick list of parts and features.
  • Teensy 3.2 @ 122Mhz
  • 12v Radiator Fan Motor with PWM speed controller. Set to 1300 RPM. Capable of 2500 RPM.
  • 32 DotStar RGB LEDs
  • 360 segments of output per revolution.
  • IR Receiver with Remote Control and Remote Keyboard
  • Dedicated wireless IR keyboard (Arduino Nano powered)
  • Piezo Speaker for simple music output
  • OnBoard battery to keep date and time
  • 12v to 5v power regulator
  • Random Jokes
  • Images with music
  • MOTDs
  • User programmable custom messages.
  • Except for the use of TeensyThreads and FastLED, all custom written code.

To get 12v up to the spinning arm, I opted to not use a slip ring. Instead I used a sealed bearing in a custom 3d printed ABS housing. the 12v is passed through the bearing and up to the power regulator. The ground is passed back down through the main shaft of the motor. It worked out perfectly, and I think should have a long long life.

Anyway.. here is a quick video of it in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4CC8ZyR1As
 
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