The Power Of Time

Source materials

• Electric power meter casing from the Habitat For Humanity store.
• Control panel w/clock and power supply from a defuct Mr. Coffee.

Background

The clocks in some appliances can be extracted and made into free-standing timepieces,providing the power supply component is still functional. I first did this decades ago, scavanging the LED clock circuit from a clock radio and mounting it onto a piece of wood.  That was my desk clock for many years. I have since salavaged the control panels of two microwave ovens and made them into clocks – one hanging in my workshop and the other in my office at work.

The Concept

First idea was to add arms and legs to make a “little guy” robot.  Taking the meter housing apart for cleaning, I felt a sense of power – this device was built to carry 220VAC at at least 30 amps – there were busbars and connectors for thick wires.  But that was the “old school” box – the “head” where the meter plugged in was modern plastic, a sign that this may not have been the original configuration – somewhere along the line a new meter was installed and it requied a new mounting head.

The idea of using Big Wires for Small Things popped into my head.  What did I have which could express that notion?  Digging through the Island of Misfit Electronics, I came up with the control panel of a defunct Mr. Coffee unit which had a nice little LCD clock.

The Build

I stripped the metal box its original layers of dirt and paint, then applied an experimental finish – glossy black paint with metal flecks.  Just the right thing for this project.

I wanted the time set controls to be inside the metal box, which required undoing two captive finger bolts. I envisioned two big spring-loaded toggle switches which you would have to hold to set the hour and minute. That didn’t work out, so I used momentary contact push buttons – exactly what was on the conrol board itself.

After determining which connectors on the panel were the clock setting controls, I removed the native switches and soldered wires into the appropriate places.  I also removed some indicator LEDs because they stuck our too far and inhibited putting a faceplate over the clock assembly.

A lot of experimenting (and two “refactorings” – which means taking it all apart and staring over), the work is complete.

Going Forward

I will be gifting The Power of Time to two old friends Linda and Ron, who are escaping Austin and moving to Ohio.   I have known Linda for over 30 years (back when she was a punk drummer), and Ron for not much less time than that.  I attended their wedding sometime back in late 1980s, and Linda was responsible for nudging a mutual friend Mary in my direction – sort of a love coach and behind the scenes schemer.  Her tatics worked, for Mary and I celecbrated our 20th wedding anniversary the day after the 2016 election – talk about a strange brew of celebration and sheer panic.

When I part company with friends, I offer them one of my creations to remind them that someone “back here” remembers, and, although it is a natural part of life and that’s okay, sometimes misses them.

For some I have given a talisman of protection, often a winged thing.  I have received no negative feedback about their performance, hence I’m scoring my batting average as 1000.

For two people I have known forever. through good time and crappy times, and love most dearly, I give The Power of Time.