Binary Clock

This project by Tom Aarts (published on May 15, 2024), is a binary clock created with LEDs on a breadboard. In the video below you see it incrementing to the next minute and hour. What you see is the Hour Minute and Second displayed in BCD (Binary Coded Decimal):

Design document describing the LED PCF8575 connections, and the Java implementation that drives the clock LEDs. Note: there are two PCF8575 IC used in this design. This IC is used as it can provide the current flow to directly control the LED. Alternative IC like the MCP23017 with less current capability would require a NPN transistor in the circuit.

Wiring

The following documents the connections for a single LED

LEDs

This project uses 20 LEDs in three colors.

Higher level example of the twenty LED connections. This shows half of the LEDs. the same connection pattern repeats.

AITIAO PCF8575 16 IO Expander

Since there are 20 LEDs, two ICs are required. In my case these parts I purchased do not match their documentation. My chip has solder bridges for all three address bits, A0 A1 A2. Also, their description of a solder bridge across VCC-VDD appears to be backwards. I think as cautionary tale, I soldered the ICs down and lost access to their VCC-VDD bridge and couldn’t experiment.

This companies chip functions correctly with the Chip VCC and LED anode voltage equal.

Prototype board

Half Size BreadBoard. You can see in the chart ‘Overall LED Connections’ I cut paths on the planar so the LEDs could be placed close to each other. You can buy larger BreadBoards from ElectroCookie, called snappable. On these boards each row, ie: A B C … has three solder lands and each letters trace are not connected to the next letter, so no trace cutting and there is more area for components and soldering.

Raspberry Pi Connections

• PCF8575 ICs and the Diode anodes connect to the Pi 3.3v
• PCF8575 ICs connect to the Pi Ground.
• PCF8575 ICs connect to the Pi SDA and SCL (I2C).

Java Implementation

The Java project uses Pi4J V2.6.0 and you can find the sources in this GitHub repository

Completed project

Alternate IC

You could use a MCP23008 or MCP23017 as the IC. There are a few more steps to configure the IC, and its limited current capability requires a NPN transistor to switch the LED current.