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Making a projection clock with a vacuum fluorescent display
The VFD Night Projector Clock may be the first projecting clock that uses a VFD display. One trick to having the time project is to use a camera lense to focus the light on the ceiling:
When receiving one of the NOS IVL2-7/5 displays, I noticed that the illuminated area could fit in about full-format (24x36mm) what was standard in analogue photography.
For this reason there are plenty of old lenses (e.g. with M42 threading) out there that almost cost nothing anymore although they have impressive technical properties like 1:2.8 with f=135.
Moreover, they have a flange focal distance of 45.46mm which allows to build a relatively compact casing.
The project uses MicroPython on an STM32 microcontroller.
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Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 2025 Wraps, Focus on Using Python, Open Source and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
