LowPowerLab Forum

Hardware support => Projects => Topic started by: billchurch on November 01, 2013, 10:06:08 AM

Title: Moteino "Clock Client"
Post by: billchurch on November 01, 2013, 10:06:08 AM
So, I have a huge pet peeve with Appliance clocks, as I'm sure we all do.  I have 3 appliances, the least expensive $250 that have clocks in them that have no battery backup and at the slightest power failure they lose their time.

I hate setting them, but my OCD compels me to do it when this happens.  It's not that often, but it happens.  We also unplug our coffeemaker and I just gave up setting it.

I was thinking, you could have the gateway respond to a request for the current time.  It doesn't have to be that accurate, down to the second is more than enough (probably too much).  The node could then set the clock of the device after a power failure.

Okay, I know what you're saying, every appliance would be a custom job.  Yes, it's true, but I still want to do it.

Could do this one of a few ways.

1) Map I/O lines to the pins of the keypad, replay the steps to set the clock (this would be the "easiest" method, since you know where the buttons are, but you have to get to it quick. You also wouldn't be able to reliably set clocks forward / back with this method.

2) Find out where the time is stored in the micro controller of the device, hack it in there? I don't know, is this possible?

It's silly yes, but it's always been a dream of mine to have every clock in the house set at one place.  This could make that a reality. :P

So, my pledge is to try and work this out with my coffeemaker first, see what I come up with.
Title: Re: Moteino "Clock Client"
Post by: kolumkilli on November 01, 2013, 10:42:29 AM
This is a perfect use for Moteino, and my OCD applauds your OCD!

I think you can easily replicate the setting sequences on the buttons, but I think that you are not likely to find a way to access the time variable in the microcontroller directly.  However, since the thing that bothers you (and everyone!) is the blinking display of the un-set time, you know the time is represented electrically in the segments of the LCD. 

So you could get the time right from the display, and use it as feedback when you are pressing the buttons in the set time sequence, so you know where you are in the sequence and if your button press was recognized, etc.  Check out my recent post for info that might be useful to you:

http://lowpowerlab.com/forum/index.php/topic,188.0.html (http://lowpowerlab.com/forum/index.php/topic,188.0.html)

I am pressing buttons in the kitchen scale and I found that the microcontroller's switch debounce algorithm made it such that not every key press was recognized, even though precisely timed, the same way every time.  So you probably will find the same thing, and need the feedback to know where you are.

The other benefit is that once you've done an LCD, all others are roughly the same, it will be far less customized from device to device, to grab the time.  Most 4 or 5 digit LCDs are set up nearly identically.  Ones with custom layouts, of course, will vary, but not in principle of operation, so it will still be less work than starting from scratch.

Good luck!
Title: Re: Moteino "Clock Client"
Post by: jbeale on November 01, 2013, 01:45:31 PM
It would be very neat to see this happen. Of course once you've done that, you're only a short step away from having the coffeemaker also send you a text when the coffee's ready. And calculate a monthly chart of coffee consumption, and...
Title: Re: Moteino "Clock Client"
Post by: kolumkilli on November 03, 2013, 08:16:03 AM
I wish I had that centralized "set time" button today!
Daylight savings time... far from time saving.  I have at least seven devices to re-set today.