DABs Clocks is a collection of hand made, one of a kind devices that each display time in unconventional and interesting ways. These time pieces are both functionally and aesthetically pleasing. I design and build some of my clocks without any assistance. For others I turn to Guy Marsden for the engineering and fabrication phase. In these situations I bring a concept to Guy and through an iterative and collaborative process I'll eventually create a 3D representation of the clock that Guy will build.
Mushroom Zoom
Mushroom Zoom was completed in January 2020.
This project began while I was trying to design an original wooden clock case for the electronics. Out of the blue I stumbled upon a vintage, hand blown, opaque white glass lamp (designed in 1954 by Lisa Johannson-Pape). I loved the form and the challenge of converting the lamp into a clock.
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Telling Time
Time is revealed in two ways. Firstly, the lamp shade changes color on the hour, cycling through colors in the order ROYGBIV and based on the color wheel shown below where 12 o'clock is red and 6 o'clock is green and the other 10 colors are assigned sequentially to the remaining 10 hours.
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Time Lapse
[note: you aren't seeing true color of the LEDs because the video camera autocorrects]
Secondly, the analog clock face installed inside the lamp pedestal tells the hour and the nearest five minute interval as shown in the image below:
The blue lit LED tells the hour and the red lit LED shows the five minute interval. When the hour and five minute interval overlap there is a single LED lit in purple.
The Build
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Installing The LEDs
NeoPixel Clock Schematic
Mushroom Color Lamp PCB
Source Code
NeoPixel Ring
Source Code
Color Lamp