Yet another update to V3 firmware

Firmware updates could be a chore, but it's almost impossible to have one bug free :) In this update several annoying bugs were squished and one small new feature added.  I feel like this one has fixed all the "known" issues, so I'm taking V3 out of Beta and using in from now on in all Xronos 2 clocks.  V2 is no longer supported or updated, so please upgrade to V3 if you can. Fixes: Fixed Alarm announcement not working when pressing Talk Button Fixed RF indicator and RF statistics (for RFM12b version) Fixed incorrect RF frequency shown during clock boot-up on Serial port Add-on: RF statistics logic has been updated. It now will always show last time clock received remote sensor update, but will add a date too if it's been too long since last transmission Please grab it at usual place. In related news, I'm very close at offering Remote temperature/humidity sensor (Squaremote) in the Shop.

2016-11-07T15:19:52+00:00November 7th, 2016|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments

Firmware V3 Fix (V3.04)

New Firmware was just posted yesterday, however few serious bugs were discovered related to RFM12b receiver and Factory Reset menu option. These are now fixed. Please get latest firmware in the usual place... And one more thing. If you do plan to use RFM12b library with Xronos Clock please replace RFM12B.h file in your library with one modified for Xronos.

2016-11-03T18:21:26+00:00November 3rd, 2016|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments

Update your clock firmware to V3 before DST end

If you live in US and in the state that observes Daylight Savings Time or DST, get ready to set your clocks back 1 hour this Sunday ...  or not! We've done some testing on the V3 firmware and squashed several serious bugs and added new features Fixed: Hours incorrect in 12 hour mode and AM dot not showing up Date always showing in UTC timezone New Feature: Added UTC Timezone if you leave in state or country that doesn't observe DST. Version 3.03 is out now on our github repository. Upload it to your Xronos 2 Clocks, set your Timezone and watch clock change time automatically on Sunday! Note that this version will work even if you have DS3231 time chip upgrade (there's no longer separate version for that!). Also you will need to re-adjust your time after setting Time Zone for the first time. Clock will now reboot itself after important settings was changed (like time zone or RFM). Enjoy, and let us know if you see any issues!

2016-11-03T00:02:58+00:00November 3rd, 2016|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments

Introducing Xronos Alarm “Retro”

After years in development I'm happy to announce a brand new addition to Xronos Clock family: "Xronos Alarm Retro". Taking a step back from micro-controllers, LEDs and printed circuit boards, Xronos Alarm Retro is beautiful in it's simplicity and user friendliness. Here are highlights of the new model: Stylish metal and glass finish Single but very loud alarm tone Immune to power failures and surges due to electricity free design User-friendly menu system Two knob operation for setting up all clock functions such as alarm and time. A limited number is available for sale now, hurry up and get one at our online shop today!

2019-02-15T11:46:29+00:00April 1st, 2016|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments

Real Time Clock Chip upgrade/hack

Xronos Clock has been using DS1307 time chip from very beginning. It’s an OK chip, and it’s biggest advantage is that it comes in DIP package to easy soldering which is great for DIY kit. However it’s not the best and most accurate RTC chip.  It can loose or gain few seconds per day, which can turns into a minute or two in a month.  There’s a much better chip out there called DS3231. It’s super accurate and stable under wide temperature range and has built in Oscillator, while DS1307 needs a separate one soldered to the PCB. It has only two drawbacks. Chip comes in only SMD (not thru the hole) packages and it costs a little more thatn DS1307. I’ve been thinking how to replace DS1307 with DS3231 on existing clocks and found relatively simple solution. Solution is small adapter PCB which has DS3131 chip soldered to it and it plugs into space meant for DS1307 IC. […]

2019-02-15T11:46:29+00:00December 29th, 2015|AlarmClockUpdates, DIY/Tutorials, work in progress|0 Comments

New firmware w/ Arduino IDE 1.6.x Compatability

There were some big changes in Arduino IDE 1.5.x and later, which made parts of the Xronos Clock code incompatible. Fortunately it wasn't to difficult to port firmware to new IDE and I'm happy to announce that version that works with latest Arduino IDE (currently 1.6.5) is here. There are few important things you need to be aware if you plan to use source code. Some old libraries (Time) as well as Mightly1284p hardware definitions became incompatible with IDE 1.6.x so you'll need to update those as well. Mightly 1284p platform can be downloaded here. Just remove old folder form our [SketchFolder]\hardware and replace with new one. Additionally grab a new version of Time library here. As for the code itself, there were really minor changes. Namely all PROGMEM variables in Font definitions had to be changed to "const unsinigned". Grab source code here. Update: If you got version 2.14 please upgrade to 2.15 ASAP. There's a serious bug in 2.14 that prevents you from going to User Talk Items menu. 2.15 fixed it.

2015-09-04T01:53:11+00:00August 27th, 2015|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments

Prototype of new 32×16 LED display

Just wanted share this. I finished assembly my first prototype of the display for future Xronos 3 clocks :)  It's almost half the size of the one I was using before. Here's a video of display in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5k6ARd_4E8 More information on lensdigital.com

2019-02-15T11:46:30+00:00August 12th, 2015|AlarmClockUpdates, Design, work in progress|0 Comments

Xronos clock customer mods

Xronos Clock platform is extremely hackable, and not just when it comes to software.  Recently my good customer William P. designed several versions of enclosure modifications. In this one, he added GPS receiver to get precise time from GPS satellite. Here's a version of acrylic case that also uses different buttons. And finally check out this funky bamboo case! William is also a very good programmer, and he helped me fixing some bugs in the firmware and also he's the person responsible for several improvements.   In fact he branched out his own version of Xronos firmware, which you can find here. If any of you made some mods of the clock, drop me a line, I would love to write about it!

2019-02-15T11:46:30+00:00June 23rd, 2015|AlarmClockUpdates, Design|0 Comments

New Firmware is here

I know has been a very long time since last firmware update but rest assured, I haven't stopped squashing bugs and adding features :) Very important note! If you are using Arduino IDE to upload code, it only works with version 1.0.5. I've yet to port it to latest (1.6.x). You might notice that I jumped few sub-versions, that's because I've been updating firmware but not releasing it to public due to some lingering bugs. I wanted to iron out the kinks first. Most of changes are backend improvements to the code, and a lot of changes to the radio code. I've been working hard getting weather sensor to work, unfortunately it's still not ready for prime time. Anyway here's list of changes in V2.13: Rewrote most of the Radio/RFM code (parse sensor battery values, etc.) New Menu option to Reset firmware to factory default. Make sure you cold boot clock after using it (unplug/plug back power). Faster Autobrigtness changes. Fixed bug in sayTemp function Added integer handling for EEPROM data Re-organized code to make it more readable. New Firmeware is available at usual place, under Techincal Data.

2015-06-22T20:34:12+00:00June 16th, 2015|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments

New firmware V 2.10 (big bug fix)

If you are using Firmware V2.09 please update to V2.10 ASAP. There was a bug introduced (unintentionally) that caused LCD brightness always default to Auto no matter what setting was used. This and few other minor bugs are now fixed in 2.10. Huge thanks to William P. for bringing it to my attention. You can download latest firmware and source code as usually from Technical Data page.

2019-02-15T11:46:30+00:00December 29th, 2014|AlarmClockUpdates|0 Comments
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