PerryH Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I am trying to find a countdown timer showing the days until Christmas. I am shooting for a sign that is about 4' x 8' with 12" numbers. This will go on the front of my store. Has anyone seen anything like this. It would be great if I could even find just a 3 digit countdown timer for the days. There used to be a toy store where I live that had one of these and everyone still talks about it. The picture is of the toy store. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 here are some:http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/outdoor-led-countdown-clock.htmlhttp://www.aliexpress.com/store/100908/200653901-303681273/Large-led-countdown-timer.htmlhttp://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/zenghanzu/product-list/catalog-1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerryH Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 Thanks for the info. I had seen those before. They either show to much info ( don't want hr, min, sec), to small, or don't do days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 if you are wanting just days (now that I have re-read your post lol) I would suggest making you own.Using LOR, you could do it with 21 channels...Something like this... Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKSedg Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Would there be any way to automate it with LOR? I would like to do something similar, but I wouldn't want to manually change it every day. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale J Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 ya Jims got a great idea, maybe BrianBruderer ccr software can be redone to have it update the channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 CKSedg wrote: Would there be any way to automate it with LOR?I am sure it would be a simple program to do it...but that is WAAAAY beyond what I can do...more up George Simmons, Jeff Millard or Steven aisle of expertiseguys??I actually wanted to make a matrix like this (using 4 instead of 3) and put it on my roof to be able to spell out words and other things... Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerryH Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Will the software go to 525,600 seconds (8,760 minutes) long? If so, then a LOR controller could be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 PerryH wrote: Will the software go to 525,600 seconds (8,760 minutes) long? If so, then a LOR controller could be used.Do you mean in the Sequence Editor? I don't know...That would be a LOT of sequencing!! :shock:It might be easier to change it everyday if that is the way you are thinking!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I was reading the alibaba.com site, They say they could take whatever your specs are and make one just for you.Another idea would be to take one of these java sites and project it onto a screen from your computer.I'll keep looking for other ideas.MikeH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Get a small (desktop) version like they sell at the arts & craft stores. It has to be the LED variety because you will get to the circuit board and tie into the pins that go to the LED segments.Take these pins and run them to 21 SSR's that will drive your outdoor sign.Some caveats:This will require some electronic investigation and engineering.It will probably require a driver (like a 741 op-amp) for each segment because the solid-state-relays probably require a higher voltage than what is present on the LEDs.You'll have to run a bunch of wires (one for each segment, plus at least one common). You can do this with 1 Cat5 cable for each digit (3).You'll have to get a bunch of solid-state-relays (SSR's). This could be expensive, but you may be able to make your own cheaper.Advantages:Reliable. No computer to crash.Easy to set: Just set the clock on the desktop version.Dual display: Customers can see the countdown clock indoors (with hours, minutes, seconds) and outdoors (days only). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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