eBay clock kit. Full build and setting guide.

Full assembly of a typical eBay digital clock kit with case.
This is a nice kit to build. It's a very good example of circuitry that can be powered by a common 5V USB power supply, and even has a proper dedicated clock chip with battery backup.
There's a slight blip in the video where the power connector is soldered on, because I didn't realise that I'd reached a file size/video length limit and the camera stopped and restarted automatically.
Here's a general purpose link to find various similar clock kits on eBay:-
www.ebay.com/sc...
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...

[@paulwchumak]

Can’t stress enough how glad I am that I found this channel.

[@jstro-hobbytech]

Clive is the man!

[@justincase1898]

Better late than never!

[@charlee-jenniferconnolly6196]

Me to. Clive is our hero

[@Balootoyoutoo]

That stands for all of us

[@CharlesZink]

Your ability to hold the PCB, components, and solder all in one hand never ceases to amaze me.

[@JerryEricsson]

I have been watching Clive for years, I even taught myself to do the soldering as he does. Now, however shortly after my 71st birthday I find my nerves are not as stable as they once were and I shake to damn much to do justice to the method. Ah well we get old then we die, I am waiting for the second shoe to drop, lost the love of my life 2 years ago so I am looking forward to being with her once more as I cross over to the other side.

[@cellularmitosis2]

@@JerryEricsson hope you enjoy the time you have left, sorry for your loss.

[@BuckFudweiser]

@@JerryEricsson dang brother. I wasn't planning on crying tonight. Hang in there brother. When the time comes, I hope your journey is painless.

[@saint-666]

Hey Clive, (and anyone else who reads this) I've been working in plastic fabrication for the last three years... a nice little trick for removing masking on plastics, especially small parts, is to use an eraser/rubber. a standard square white one will do the trick. simply drag it over the edge and onto the piece. starting off a corner when doing so will be even easier. Hope this little trick helps someone

[@snakeman2506]

fucking oath mate

[@gregorythomas333]

Brilliant!

[@glennjamessephton7593]

Nice, many thanks (3 years later)

[@Shazzkid]

No best thing to do is submerged it in acetone, then come back after an hour and there won't be any masking left.

[@colesherrill7472]

Fantastic solution! Can't wait to apply it to my next project.

[@Deadite9405]

The Joy of Soldering with Big Clive This is the exact same type of calming thing to watch as Bob Ross. I honestly didn't expect an hour-long video of soldering to keep my attention, but you've nailed it.

[@jjones503]

I just commented the Bob Ross thing then started reading comments and here you are! Lol.

[@MattTester]

I'm glad you mentioned that the background noise was a lawn mower because I thought it was a helicopter at first and we were watching you build a kit in a 52 minute stand-off with the police. I suppose they would need a trail of dodgy electronics to tempt you out in that situation...

[@jusb1066]

did he have lots of round tubes painted red with wires coming out the top :O

[@jusb1066]

next we will hear people are washing their car, i will think clive lives in the 1950's but then, perhaps the isle of man is like that..

[@darronjknight]

John Howard was cutting grass myself today, I am down south tho.

[@-yeme-]

you can barely call this winter, no snow, hardly any frost, temps in double figures most of the time

[@OululainenIhiminen]

I have more than half a metre of snow! It's winter, alright?

[@Siktah]

Please do more kit building videos. They are fun to listen to you explaining random things as you go. Very therapeutic.

[@matelotjim9035]

It's very relaxing watching Clive... something about his voice and gently explanations... Even as a professional electronics technician I find it interesting.

[@VulpisFoxfire]

He's the Bob Ross of electronics.

[@lourias]

By chance, do you live in North America? I need an inverter repaired,, and have not been able to find an electronics repair person. I can solder, but I do not know the proper names and ratings of the components to order. Please let me know if you can help.

[@NasusMiniatures]

I was watching videos about label makers and ended up in a playlist of your videos. I'm still here because I could listen to your voice all day!!!

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

Hey Clive. I built this clock some time ago, and found out that you can short pins 6,7 and 14 on the bigger IC. This will prevent the clock from cycling all those display functions, and will stick to one (you can cycle manually using the button). So you can have it display time all the... well, time :)

[@shaun3391]

MasterBata .. do you short all three pins together?

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

Yes. If you don't want to solder them permanent, you can just run a thin wire from 6 to 7 and 7 to 14. Just press the wire into slot together with IC pin.

[@anononomous]

DISPLAY ALL THE TIME! 😃

[@carlossilva3122]

Are those pins shared with the buttons or will you loose some functionality while doing so?

[@stevestover2406]

Check the schematic and you'll see P3 (a 2-pin connector) is pins 6-7 of the STC, also P1 (a 4-pin connector) has connections for +5v, ground as well as the two lines which are on the switches. These connectors are not populated in the original kit build, however I decided to insert header pins there in case these turned out to be useful. I only wish I hadn't fully assembled the case before reading these comments, now I want to do this mod but hate the hassle of disassembling the darn thing!

[@dozer1642]

“He’s a real garden geek” Says the guy assembling a digital clock kit. 😂😂😂

[@MrStol]

08:12 for reference

[@Squirrel-zq6oe]

🤣

[@PixelOutlaw]

Your soldering is like listening to Bob Ross paint.

[@jk9554]

Happy little LEDs...

[@franksmith7271]

Forget Bob Ross, Art Garfunkle would paint him into a corner...

[@jlucasound]

OK; let's put in another LED next to the first one. All LEDs need a friend... LEDs are where the electrons like to romp and play. Shining so bright; it means they're having fun.

[@joshm264]

Clive Ross

[@hls6925]

You'll love this, Clive - NOT! I enjoyed watching your digital clock build, as I built one in the late 60's using digitron tubes (remember those? Bit before your time, I think!) - made up my own timer, flip-flops, PCB etc. I sent off for the kit you got (similar) and built it - for my 11-year old grandaughter. All worked fine, then I ordered some 3v coin cells, fitted one and set up the timings etc (Appalling system setup, what?). I even rewrote the instructions in a legible form, so my grandaughter could do the setup if necessary. Now comes the faux pas! I unplugged the clock from my PC USB port, took it to the kitchen with a small 5 volt mains power block, and plugged it in. All four nixie tubes burst brightly into life, reading: 8888 (in 7-segment form!), with the buzzer buzzing very loudly! Switched off quickly, to find that I'd plugged in a 12v power supply by mistake. DOH! Tried it with a 5v power block, to no avail. So I've probably blown the two chips and possibly something else, but haven't yet checked. I've only been an electronics engineer for over 50 years! Do I feel stupid? YES!

[@bigclivedotcom]

Easy done with identical connectors with different voltages and polarities.

[@kc5402]

Congratulations! You've proved that you are a perfectly normal fallible human being. Rick Deckard will not be hunting for you! ;-)

[@tech-rich]

This setup is definitely better than the ipad now. I listen with headphones and the audio sounds very good. Nice build too!

[@zarboov88]

hifromrich I think that there is some noticeable echo that I don't like.

[@OtaconEmmerich]

hifromrich it's much better video wise, the audio quality is about the same which I don't care as long as it's not too echoey or sensitive.

[@gillianseed4419]

sounds fine to me, but i have no frame of reference for what he sounds like in person video is artificially sharpened with a bit of white crush i'd rate it overall a little higher than the ipad

[@flagpoleeip]

Tru dat

[@tech-rich]

31:08 Might have been a head collision! Bearing in mind that it's a mid tier smartphone it's very good. We could do with some zoom ability, I wonder if the digital zoom is useable?

[@zerog2000]

+bigclivedotcom I wasn't able to find a public source of the firmware (whether source code or compiled), and Banggood would not provide it, so I put together my own github repo for it. It's mostly functional and close to original functionality, but could be extended to do lots of other neat stuff (DCF77, etc). Enjoy hacking: github.com/zerog2k/stc_diyclock

[@SianaGearz]

Clive, please pin this hero a comment! And you get hugs from me, both of you.

[@bubba99009]

This is very cool. That stock firmware is atrocious.

[@robertlozyniak3661]

Two things I don't understand about your code: 1) As for your *_delay_ms* function: how is it that the compiler doesn't just optimize the loops out? 2) What about leap years and non-leap years? You do not provide a way to set the year. So the thing will probably assume that you are in the year 2000 which was a leap year, and give 29 days to February even if you don't want it to. and one suggestion: If you provide a way to set the year, then no need to provide a way to set the day of the week, as you can provide code to calculate the correct day of the week and set it automatically.

[@zerog2000]

Robert Lozyniak This is STC ISP provided sample delay function - I tweaked the timing based upon my own scope readings twiddling a gpio. They are "close enough" for this purpose of cheap delay waits (timer is being used for more exact display refresh timing.) I'm not sure why SDCC doesn't optimize this away.. I suspect that may only happen with more aggressive compiler optimization levels. Regarding year setting, leap-year - great point. Can you open a github issue? We could add year setting/displaying feature, as the DS1302 seems to have leap-year compensation feature. Patches are welcome ;) - I guess we are about to have an extra day on the calendar ( Regarding "auto" day-of-week, I guess this can be done in the software (ds1302 doesnt seem to take care of this for us). Also good for a feature-request/issue on github ;) There is limited amount of code space (4kb in most) on these mcus so we must be judicious about features, make them compile time selectable options, optimize into (less portable/maintainable/readable) assembly, and/or resort to more tricks (like abusing "features" of these chips, e.g. "eeprom" space for code, hehe)

[@robertlozyniak3661]

I notice that you increment a BCD integer by converting to binary, incrementing, and then converting back to BCD. Would it make the code simpler if you just dealt with the BCD directly? Maybe: add 0x07, then if low nibble is nonzero, subtract 0x06.

[@KillerSpud]

"I'll just write the resistor values on the tape so I don't get it mixed up, then I'll just use these scissors to cut the tape off." --Clive

[@paulsengupta971]

Yeah, was thinking that!

[@TR19]

Why is it so fun to watch you disassemble and assemble stuff?

[@DoRC]

It'd be cool to give everyone some advanced warning on what kit you're going to build give us time to get one as well and the build it live so we could build along.

[@OululainenIhiminen]

You could just order it off ebay and then watch the video when the kit arrives. :)

[@andymouse]

hahahahah!

[@SuperPickle15]

he said live. We need a livestream build!

[@andymouse]

yep!

[@DogsBAwesome]

There is no way I can solder as fast as that, I have to keep stopping to calm the jitters.

[@Totalinternalreflection]

I love these kit building videos, so relaxing and helpful. I built this clock using this video for reference and understanding what everything does. I'm really pleased with the result, thankyou

[@souravzzz]

Please do more DIY kit videos! They are great!

[@markharrisllb]

I’ve watched this video a few times now. I love how all the parts' purpose is explained and who doesn’t enjoy watching Clive solder? Somewhere I’ve got a clock-radio kit what I’ve lost the instructions for, but I think they’ll be online somewhere. I've been inspired to give it a go. My in-laws had a major house fire from a Dyson vacuum that hadn’t been emptied. A couple of years later I was on fire training through work and the fire person who facilitated the course said it’s not an uncommon cause. Yet have to emptied them after every use.

[@dorplein62]

thank you for explaining how to set the damn thing, just made this kit and the manual had me scratching my head..

[@anthonybarra2391]

Watching you and listening to the bloke cut his lawn, very relaxing. I'm buying one of these, very interesting and good practice for my soldering. Thanks mate2

[@simaorodrigues6285]

Thank you Clive! I recently got a soldering station and multimeter, have been practicing desoldering/re-soldering components on a random board while I wait for a few extra supplies. I now know what my first kit project will be! I'd love to watch you build more kit projects in the future!

[@17473039]

You are the reason for at least 20 of my solder burns. Since being introduced to your patented 'hold everything in one hand and solder like a pro with the other' technique, I have been lazy and attempted the same. And, inevitabley, when I'm about to lose grip of something and the whole balancing act is about to be flung up in the air, its the soldering iron that goes first and stabs me in one of my fingers.

[@ZaneDaMagicPufferDragon]

More Kits Please!!! I'm getting ready to order a bunch of kits to help me get practice soldering and I could use some recommendations on which kits to get. I have already learned a lot from watching your builds and tear downs but one thing that I can't seem to get is taking schematics & moving to building the kit on a breadboard instead of the included PCB. I would greatly appreciate if you could make a simple kit with a breadboard instead of the PCB.

[@Split10uk]

I can solder, but I still watched this video from start to finish to see how an expert does it. This is a good video.... especially for those who have never built kits before.

[@SianaGearz]

Split10 I too am very comfortable soldering, and I too watched it completely and managed to pick up a few things. Though I mostly was laying in bed trying to fall asleep.

[@sauwercraud]

Focus cards? AvE just yells expletives at the camera. You might want to send him one of those :)

[@sauwercraud]

I believe it's spelled FAK

[@timothybarney7257]

or FEK

[@kain0m]

Nah, for AvE it would need to be machined out of brass scrap. You know what anything in his shop looks like after a treatment with the shmoo

[@MusicalBox]

Focus is not AvE's biggest problem. He needs a device that reminds him to aim the camera at what he's actually working on.

[@sarah1390]

I can do one better. when he says Focus you FAK, he is really saying Fuck off cause U stupid!

[@cmj20002]

I have built so many clock kits. I find it relaxing, fun and rewarding when someone comments, " hey that is a nice clock where did you buy it?" I tell them it comes in a bag of parts and I built it. I have had people want to buy them, so I sold a few.

[@mrclown7469]

I want to see Clive build the kit again using his TIG welding technique.

[@goyabee3200]

Such grace in handling those components. Like the ballet dancer of assembly.

[@ast_rsk]

An hour long Big Clive video!? What a treat! Have you considered doing live streams?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Alas, my Internet connection can't support live streaming.

[@mr_b_hhc]

OK lets all chip in and get Clive a decent broadband connection - I offer £2 to get the ball rolling :-)

[@bigclivedotcom]

Samuel Bancroft The problem is that none seem available. And the 4G data is aggressively capped. We have a Telecom monopoly over here.

[@mr_b_hhc]

bigclivedotcom Aah, that is a problem! Shame because I love your videos (just bought this kit on the strength of your video) and would greatly enjoy building something 'alongside' you.... maybe one day :-)

[@ast_rsk]

That's a shame. I guess I'll just have to save up for a trip to the island and buy ya a beer sometime :)

[@emilianoescalante4418]

You are a master to have a left hand that serves as a set of "helping hands" that can hold the pcb, hold the component, and provide solder all at once!!! Wonderful video.

[@DrTeddyMMM]

I would love to see you do a rewrite of the software for this clock kit... You have the finesse and knowledge to make this function far better, like adding the option of: 12/24hr, ºF/ºC, seconds display, better clock setting functionality and I'm sure other fine BigClivities! (pretty please!) Thank you for your kind consideration!

[@louistournas120]

Software? I thought it uses a specialized chip that is not programmable.

[@caralynx]

@@louistournas120 It is actually using a programmable microcontroller. See zerog2k/stc_diyclock on GitHub for replacement firmware.

[@RossMitchellsProfile]

built one of these last night, was my first electronics kit build, all my past soldering has been repairs, nice to assemble something for once lol.

[@OAleathaO]

6:56 - "...I'm going to put them all in the right way round..." Hooray for OCD sufferers everywhere!! LOL On a side note, this is like watching Bob Ross only with electronics. His voice is so relaxing. You can just hear him saying, "Let put a little capacitor over here...by its lonely little self. But it's your project so you decide where you want it to go." :)

[@beesbees2423]

I never thought I'd enjoy watching a 1hr kit build but you have a knack for entertaining chat throughout so it flew by!

[@4DRC_]

One thing I learned recently that kinda blew up my view of electricity was learning the fact that the actual speed of electron motion was extremely slow, on the order of mm/s at best. I always used to believe the speed of current was the speed of electron motion.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Current flow (electron displacement) happens at almost the speed of light, but the actual flow of electrons through a conductor is extraordinarily slow.

[@4DRC_]

bigclivedotcom Yeah my prof made it click when he made the comparison to an atmospheric shockwave. We get into the really nitty gritty of electron collision next week. :)

[@Graham_Langley]

+ElectricAvain Mine used the analogy of ping-pong balls in a pipe.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Graham Langley Which is a good analogy, and what I was considering doing.

[@Graham_Langley]

+bigclivedotcom Consider no more - it was over 40 years ago so it's stood the test of time 8-)

[@Markus0021]

Video is significantly better since the camera upgrade. Makes it much easier to see small details - I used to squint at the screen and lean in when I wanted to see details, but now I don't have to. Thanks.

[@DrTeddyMMM]

Yes!..Get more kits! You have my vote... :D

[@juncusbufonius]

Having been screwed over by Maplin 30+ years ago when they broke their mantra of "we always use the same resistor coding" but changed it without telling anyone. I gave up electronics. You and Julian inspired me and I have build a little bench power supply and am completing my DSO oscilloscope kit. The perspex cases are futtery as you suggest but I got there with little instruction but common sense.

[@cup_and_cone]

"Cool clock, Clive. Want to bring it to the White House?"

[@dumdum7786]

Cory in the house? No Clive in the house? Yes

[@bigblockelectra]

thechosendude LOL

[@mr.engineear0987]

Congratulations! Your comment has reached 100 likes!

[@andrewinnj]

Hi Clive! I just wanted to let you know that I just completed assembling one of these very same kits myself after watching your walk-through a few times and it works/looks great! I most sincerely wouldn't have been able to do this without your teaching and encouragement, so thank you very much. I now have a lovely sense of accomplishment and feel 'right chuffed.' Thanks for everything you do!

[@12799MaDeuce]

Now THAT is clearly a homemade clock, not clock internals shoved into a case that looks like a bomb

[@jusb1066]

yep, where is clives free trip to the whitehouse and a free xbox?

[@RYU47376]

nice

[@Davedarko]

That was 2015, get over it already ;)

[@jusb1066]

never!

[@rubusroo68]

still funny

[@warplanner8852]

Had one of theses on hand, Clive, and though I'd do a build-along. It was a great experience, enjoyed the witty repartee and technical tidbits and, of course, the clock worked! Thanks for the video!

[@patrickjmorgan]

Built one today and was looking for chip details afterward- and I saw this- You review. ! Yes, you couldnt buy the bits separately for the price of this kit. And it works!

[@custardo]

It's not because lead free solder is hazardous in the process of soldering, it's because what happens with it in the waste process. It's just part of a wider initiative to reduce the amount of lead used in production overall. The big problem of lead is that is a very useful metal, and it has several applications where alternatives aren't readily available. It seems to me soldering was a relatively easy target. After all, lead water pipes were already banned ;)

[@SianaGearz]

I thought the justification was to keep lead out of landfills, because while it is reasonably harmless to us, it's not harmless when it leaches into ground water, but isn't the EU mandatory electronics recycling supposed to do that? Then again, recycling is probably one of the least effectively implementable mandates, as opposed to RoHS, which can be and is implemented quite thoroughly. Anyway I have been pretty certain that justifications are usually just that, chances are some people in the industry were disappointed that things weren't breaking often enough, so not enough things are thrown away and bought anew, and lead free solder introduces a stress failure point, a pretty smart one at that, that it won't usually trigger too quickly, rarely within warranty, and one that goods from all manufacturers would be subject to, so none of the manufacturers can be blamed for low quality, brilliant!

[@SuperPickle15]

Lead seeping into the water supply... Gee, wonder where we get lead in the first place.... oh right, out of the ground!

[@thehappylittlefoxakabenji8154]

well in the last two wars we chucked about a fair bit of lead !

[@staevobr]

Take a look at Guiyu, China or Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Electronic waste is an immense problem that is shifted onto the developing world.

[@gwc1410]

"Lead seeping into the water supply... Gee, wonder where we get lead in the first place.... oh right, out of the ground!" Exactly what I was thinking.

[@AsymptoteInverse]

Several years ago, my mother and I built one of those electronic cricket kits together. I learned a lot about soldering, and it made for a nice memory.

[@cthootie]

Great stuff. Just don't take it to school in a briefcase for show and tell. Joke, ref: "Clock-Boy" . Thanks

[@Davedarko]

ancient stuff dude :)

[@Legion563]

2 years ago makes it ancient...lol wtf. Are we all meant to forget the kid that took a digital clock apart and stuck it in a case causing everyone to panic thinking it was a bomb. Turned out well for him in the end, he got all future college and uni fees paid for iirc.

[@Kairusy]

It's ok, America won't be scared of him because he's not Muslim.

[@orphanpixels]

I dunno... That beard.

[@SteveMorton]

Cut the blue wire...

[@allancopland1768]

I soldered like Clive for decades, then I made a mini-lectern from scrap timber and it's now vanishingly rare for me to hear that hiss of burning flesh followed by searing pain. The wee lectern sits on my bench and places PCBs at a few inches below eye height. No more stiff neck either after long soldering sessions. Best thing I ever threw together.

[@ZeedijkMike]

You should speak in audio books. Yet another great video. Thanks

[@Grid56]

What you were saying about switching it on and then maybe having to do an autopsy , reminded me how I learned how to program computers. Way back in thecBBC days, I used to get magazines that had computer programs (usually a simple game) . After hours of typing there was inevitably a typing error, and the learning came by trying to debug the error.

[@Stjaernljus]

Soldering - if it smells like chicken, you're doing it wrong.

[@jamest.5001]

SandyStarchild If your chicken smells like solder ! You are really doing something wrong!

[@meercreate]

@@jamest.5001 Rosin fried chicken 😋

[@tjeppenbrackx9067]

As long as it doesn't taste like fish

[@roverboy01]

I personally think that the current camera setup is quite good. The camera quality looks much better than the iPad. Thumbs up from me.

[@d2factotum]

I've never burnt myself with a soldering iron, but I *did* once touch the exhaust manifold of my car's engine while it was running...that's another of those things that you don't do more than once!

[@jamesdriscoll9405]

I grabbed the exhaust of a lawn mower as if it was a knob, looked at my palm and saw the logo from the muffler grill develop into a blister. It hurt but i had to laugh. It's been a couple years since my last burn of any sort, but for some reason i remember them. These memories are far more effective than warning labels. Excepting AVE's warning labels, which are amazingly effective.

[@covishen]

I bought this kit and assembled it. It was a nice kit to put together, not overly difficult at all for this beginning solderer. It was an enjoyable 90 minutes or so. The clock is now in the bedroom :)

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . nearly an hour long ! time for a snooze.

[@Cheordig]

Don't forget a wee dram! ;-)

[@joeboygsxr]

ralfystuff you could use one to remind you to take a sip every few minutes haha

[@jusb1066]

How about a dare: review some 'white lightning', sure it will have to be about a 2005 vintage by now, but well worth finding the original 8.5%

[@maicod]

you watch your brothers vids ? :)

[@stephenspinelli9528]

Maico

[@kpbarrow]

I bought one before Christmas on the back of this video and finally got round to building it today. The electronics are a delight to put together, but dear god that case is a pain. Thanks!

[@markandrews70]

More kits please

[@Vidar_Odinson]

I really liked assembling this kit a while back, it is a stylish little clock.

[@kaptencgp]

I got one of those clocks. The major thing I HATE with it is that I can't set it to only display the time. It feels like it's showing me everything but the time every time I look at it. If anyone got a solution to that issue I'd very much like to hear it. I've had it for something like 9 months now.

[@Davedarko]

You must be lying, how can you tell how long you have the clock, if it doesn't show you the time? ;) I was wondering about that though, totally understandable.

[@chaos.corner]

If it's a microcontroller, you could rewrite the firmware. For something like this, it's fairly straightforward.

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

You can, easily. Just join pins 6,7 and 14 on the bigger IC and it will stop cycling automatically. You're welcome :)

[@paulsaunders3690]

Have a look at the clock on Banggood, in the reviews someone mentioned a way to make it just display the time. It may be as already mentioned, by pressing one of the buttons.

[@kaptencgp]

Thank you! Just tried it and it worked just fine! This gotta be the first time someone actually helped me in the KZbin comment section. It's great how Clive can bring people together like this!

[@00Skyfox]

These kit projects are always so fun. I love through-hole components for soldering. It takes me back to how just about everything was when I was a kid. I don't much care for the surface mount stuff. You're so right about soldering work being therapeutic!

[@fziii]

More kits please.

[@Killingmaster01]

What I really love about that clock is the clear case you can see all the chips and it really looks nice I prefer a clear case like that

[@callumBee]

OOOH you could replace the LEDs in the display for different colours!

[@bigclivedotcom]

Callum Burns I was thinking that. Every segment could be a different colour.

[@pileggitech]

Cool idea!

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

Every segment in a different color would be really hard to read, compared to being in the same color.

[@yadabub]

Color changing LEDs in everything. It's only sensible.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

yadabub Interesting idea. I'm not sure how it would look though, since every segment naturally has to have its own light box.

[@cmj20002]

I love putting together these kits. I have built dozens of them. You should do more of these.

[@gregorythomas333]

Where government is concerned...their "solution" to a problem (that they themselves created) is usually worse than the original issue. Like R134a refrigerant being so horribly under-performing compared to the original R12...which means your electricity and/or fuel bills will be much higher. Which then causes exponentially higher greenhouse gasses from having to produce more electricity or more fuel to run your engines harder to make up for the shitty refrigerant not working as well. Your government at work.

[@creeprovec718]

This was my first soldering kit. I have failed once so I have ordered another one, now it works over 2 years. Great kit for pactice.

[@aarongreenfield9038]

I built one of these, but I was never invited to the White House!

[@johnjoyce]

I hadn’t thought to use the (usually) black electrical tape for holding stuff in place while soldering. Excellent trick added to my bag.

[@souravzzz]

Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House?

[@theradiomechanic9625]

Purchased two of these in different colors. They DID come with the battery but all the instructions are totally in Chinese. Glad your video had a nice view of the english instructions.

[@Case_]

After watching this, I actually just ordered one. I've realized that for all the time I've spent tinkering with electronics, I've never really built anything like this, so could be fun. Thanks for the video.

[@charlielehardy9308]

I love the things you do on your channel, Clive. This was especially helpful since I just built this kit and couldn't figure out why they had thrown in a diode. Then I scratched my head wondering how the thing gets temperature data and why the temps were so wonky. The instructions weren't very clear, but your video rescued me. Keep tearing down and building up.

[@rexdoran2051]

Thanks. I am now the proud owner of half a dozen or so digital clocks. I absolutely love my Yihua 8786D, "cheap, generic" soldering station.

[@TrapperAaron]

Damn Clive u bending those resistor leads was smooth, like the back of a spoon! Gave me a little shiver.

[@far-red]

Clive, somehow i enjoy doing work it while i watch u solder this kit and explaining all the little trivia about electronics, kits looks good, might consider buying it.

[@dave6969]

i went and bought this clock kit and finished it just there today. I must say it really is quite a nice little build, considering it's so cheap

[@markleone1807]

Enjoyed the video. I was glad to see I'm not the only one who worries about putting resistors in the right way.

[@life_with_bernie]

I built a pair (one for local time and one for UTC) of these in red and assembled them for use in my mobile ham shack about the same time you made this one. The cases were a PITA to assemble, especially peeling the paper film as you noted, but the end result was quite pleasing. I did make a small modification to allow them to be powered from the vehicle's 12vdc battery bank (solar recharged) instead of USB. The units had a few issues that made me remove them from the shack though. Trying to synchronize the two so one was not a minute faster or slower than the other proved very difficult (I actually tried integrating a GPS receiver to provide time correction but that didn't work well). Getting them to have the proper level of brightness for the lighting in the trailer became just a matter of removing the photoresistors and using a fixed resistance. In the long run though, they proved to be unsuitable for what I wanted. They didn't well tolerate the temperatures that could be reached in my trailer under the strong summer sun here in the state of Virginia. Also as you found, there are just too many functions which take away from displaying the time. That's what eventually tipped things in favor of just getting rid of them.

[@OliNorwell]

I made one of these and 4 weeks later it still works great, and I'm a newbie, the case isn't that hard to construct. I think Clive is being a bit harsh, for the 5 euros I paid for it I'm extremely happy. Ignore his slight negativity, this is a really fun little kit.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Was I really negative? My only real issues are that it cycles through displays by default and a good clock should be displaying the time whenever you glance at it.

[@OliNorwell]

I agree but then after a while you get used to seeing the additional info, it makes it a genuinely useful device, I never thought I'd still be using it a month later. I chuckled as you were moaning slightly about the casing not being easy to construct, for a 5 euro kit it's nice to get a decent case, and I think anyone smart enough to build the device would be able to cope with the case! These kit construction videos are genuinely really useful, thanks for uploading.

[@cwalker2287]

Great videos, decided to get and build the kit. Slight update is that the temp sensor now has a clear way of mounting which helps its accuracy, also since I use it in the shed I thought to let others know it takes about 0.1A so low power. And in the depths of winter the temp display actually display negative values. Well worth the effort

[@stuc.6592]

I made one of these last year, although I got it from Banggood. It's surprisingly accurate - hasn't gained or lost any noticeable time in the 6 months it's been running in my garage. The temperature reading seems to be vaguely accurate, but I'm not worried about that. It's a great little clock and good soldering practice.

[@Newokie59]

I think this is another good kit (including YOUR kits!) for those of us dipping our toes into electronics and getting our feet wet.Thanks again Clive!

[@juncusbufonius]

Ah you mentioning the crystal...well mine is running at about 2hrs for every 12 and as I remember taking too long with soldering it I think you are quite right. Ordered some today in the hope that will fix it. Thanks again Clive.

[@artillerest43rdva7]

you amaze me with how you solder up all the pins! I have minimal experience doing electronics, but I have done stained glass for many years. I might try a kit, just to give it a try to see if I am able.

[@bigclivedotcom]

If you're already familiar with soldering the lead in stained glass, you'll find soldering components very easy.

[@victorg7036]

You were talking about solding iron burn. I got distracted one time when I was just starting to solder. I had placed the iron down and when I went to grab it again, I actually grabbed the iron part not the handle with full grip. By the time I realized it, I dropped the iron and had the mark on the palm of my hand and fingers. I guess because it was a big area, that I didnt really feel any pain, it felt more heat than anything. Thankfully it wasn't as bad of a burn as it sounds and healed up pretty quickly.

[@AuctorisVideo]

Hey Clive, thanks for suggesting this one - I bought one and it was a really super, lazy Sunday afternoon build...

[@TechGorilla1987]

Excellent audio quality now, Clive!! It even sounds like there is a lawn mower in the background. I'd kill to have lawn mowing temps right now. Actually the last two days in PA have seen nearly 80F for daytime temps. I shouldn't complain.

[@abyssalreclass]

Just bought one of these kits. It will either be here next week or the end of next month, but when it does get here, I look forward to putting it together.

[@Rick_Makes]

I've just spent the entirety of this video looking at various kits on ebay trying to figure out if I could combine some of the audio ones to make some kind of bluetooth stereo with VU meters / graphic equalizer. Thanks for bringing these to my attention Clive. I'll probably not be thanking you once I check my bank account and realise how much I've spent on these things.

[@paulsengupta971]

Have you seen Julian Ilett's vocoder videos? He has bought/included some modules you may be interested in.

[@crbenne]

Just received the kit for the smaller version of this clock from eBay today. It has all 4 digits in a single integrated display unit, but it did come with the battery which is nice. Saved the video so I can reference it while I'm building mine!

[@CookingWithCows]

When it comes to big clive fandom, length is a limiting factor at first, but after some time, you appreciate the longer ones more.

[@shanemadden1907]

I had no soldering experience and I did a clock kit that has the 4 digit and 60 leds that goes around it. When you push one of the buttons you can make the leds do different circular designs.

[@jaysbob]

Cool clock, Clive. Want to bring it to the white house? I love these kit building videos though. Almost as relaxing as building something yourself. Thanks Clive.

[@techtastisch7569]

Can you make more of this kit builds? I would really appreciate it, because they are ideal to watch when i'm told to go sleeping

[@DumahBrazorf]

Just built one following your video. Without i would have never figured out the glass diode as a thermistor.

[@rbmwiv]

Finally know all the settings for that clock I built a while back. Lol I didn’t know that about adjusting the temp or setting up the hourly chime. I have just left it off.

[@piotricz]

Thank you, Clive, for showing this - I just ordered one for a fiver. I was looking for a clock/thermometer for my bedroom anyway. I sometimes wonder what other interesting things float around on eBay that I'd instantly buy if I were aware of their existence. What I like the most about is is that the firmware seems hackable, which I am definitely planning to do, as the default one seems to be shite.

[@kyoudaiken]

Cool! I also built this thing some time ago! Exactly this kit! And my chips were actually dead. They sent them again without hesitating, though! Also quite fast!

[@photorooster8865]

Grand daughter tried this one... Our lower toggle switch would not engage even after reflowing the solder. Going to try to get a replacement. Thanks for sharing this!