First Project: Watch Winder

Well the title is a bit misleading,  I have had a RadioShack Electronics Learning Lab for a good number of years now and believe me I made many of the circuits in that book.  However until now I could not tell you how any of those circuits really worked.  I merely followed the directions and inserted a white wire into G5 and J10.  While it was cool to make LED's flash and buzzers hum I wished I knew more so I could make my own circuits.  Fast forward about 8 years and 4 years of college and I know a bit more to say the least.  And here I find myself with my first useful project a watch winder. 

Some background on why I need one.  I decided I wanted a watch I would never have to replace the battery. Something simple and looked like time itself.  If you have ever seen a mechanical watch move there are about 4 clicks to a second compared to quarts movement which are just one.  I am also big into self sustained energy and less waste. Batteries are a huge factor is waste and pollution.  The more we do to keep that waste out of the environment the better off we will be. 

Enough of me ranting.  When I looked for watch winders I found 70 dollar models with maybe 3 or 4 settings at best.  Even the more expensive models did not have the functionality they should.  There are watches that only turn 270 degrees for a wind, some need to be wound in alternating directions, some watches lack anti overwind clutches.  So I set off to make my own.  Enter the Arduino.  Having previously used the ATmega168 for my Engineering Practice and Design Studio to make a bottling machine I felt this was a great place to start.  After about a month and a half of researching I decided on my game plan and my list of parts.

The List:
Arduino UNO
SparkFun LCD Shield
7.5 Volt adapter
100:1 Metal Gear Motor
Male 2.1x5mm barrel adapter
Female 2.1x5mm barrel adapter
QRD1114 Optical Detector
Dead On RTC DS3234 Breakout
Button cell back up battery
Rotary Encoder
Metal Knob
ULN2803 Driver
74HC595 Shift Register

I hope you are envisioning the awesomeness that is about to happen.  The Plan is to use the LCD screen to display the "turns per day" feature, and display the time and date from the real time clock.  The optical detector is IR and will be able to track the "turns per day" in light or dark.  The rotary encoder with push button will be the only user input device. It is clean, simple and makes having to vary the "turns per day" by hundreds with little effort.  Everything will be accessible for the user.  In the setup mode the user will be able to cycle through the "turns per day", date, and time.  A single click at each step will lock the number in. 

That seems enough for one post, much more to come.

- Sal