Hello everyone! I am a complete and utter beginner at microcontrollers and electrical engineering in general, and am trying to hook up my alarm clock to a netduino to do some automation. The alarm clock I am working with looks just like this - http://i.walmartimag...73_500X500.jpg. Hold a button to set the time or alarm and then tap a button to increment hours or minutes. My question is this - Could I accomplish this simply by directing an electrical current to where the buttons were connected to within the clock, or am I unaware of something that would prevent this? Thanks in advance!
Interfacing netduino with an alarm clock
Started by themightycomp, Sep 11 2012 09:09 PM
2 replies to this topic
#2
Nobby
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Posted 15 September 2012 - 08:22 AM
Technically you can do this. The first problem I thought of that would make me abandon the project would be that setting the alarm time would be a pain in the butt.
Changes to the time are always relative to the previous alarm time so unless your netduino knows the previous alarm time, it is impossible to set a new alarm time. Unless of course you reset the power to the clock before the alarm time is set. Unfortunately, you'd have to setup the clock time as well as the alarm time.
Secondly, you might have rate and synchronisation issues. For example, you know that if you mash the buttons as fast as you can, the clock will only change the values so quickly. The clock circuitry most likely polls for button presses as well and it's likely that you will occasionally have an adjustment pulse missed and the time you set will be incorrect.
These are problems that I came up with before even considering the rediculous amount of electrical interfacing you need to do with the clock. If you're doing it for fun or learning, I reckon it would be great but practically, it would be a nightmare.
#3
JerseyTechGuy
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Posted 15 September 2012 - 12:43 PM
What exactly are you trying to automate? The setting of the alarm times? If so, you're probably going to need a Netduino Plus along with a RTC board or shield (Real Time Clock) so the Netduino can keep track of an accurate time. You would also need a SD Card likely so you can store a database of the schedule and history of settings. Additionally because the buttons in the clock are not part of the same circuit of the Netduino you cannot just apply a current to the buttons. You would need to replace or piggy-back the buttons with a switching mechanism like a relay or an opto-isolator.
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