# Anybody build an outdoor archery clock?



## Mr.Poindexter (May 29, 2016)

I am looking to build an archery timer for outdoor use. I was wondering if anybody here has built one of the systems detailed here:

http://www.archeryclock.com/LedScreen.html


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## caspian (Jan 13, 2009)

just grab a cheap old laptop and run http://www.archeryclock.com/ on it. no need to overengineer the solution.


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## theminoritydude (Feb 11, 2013)

I did.

43", wireless control via iPod. Portable power source. Works well in string sunlight. Expandable to 4 displays, wirelessly synchronized.


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## Mr.Poindexter (May 29, 2016)

I was hoping to have a system I could use to run a sanctioned FITA in the future. I don't think an old laptop could work for those kind of distances.

Flat screen TV sets was an option, but was looking at trying to build these LED displays, as they can handle some rain as well. Was hoping somebody here had tried to build them before.


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

If anyone is still interested in this thread, I am building this clock per Henk Jeger's design at www.archeryclock.com. It is 48" wide x 24" high. I've been communicating with him, and have built a custom circuit board to interface with the Arduino used (rather than wiring a breadboard). I can post photos if anyone is interested, and you can PM me for more design details if interested.


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## tkaap (Nov 30, 2009)

I'd be interested to see as much of it as you feel like posting. I looked into it once upon a time, but we got a donation that removed the need to self-build one. But if your build is repeatable, I'm sure there are plenty of clubs who would like to have that option available. 


Locally, I've seen folks use 
1) Daylight-viewable monitors placed in a weather-and-arrow resistant box. (then just run archeryclock, as noted)

2) This boxing timer:
https://www.amazon.com/TITLE-Professional-Fight-Gym-Timer/dp/B00115C1P0

3) Manual flags:
https://i1.wp.com/illinoistargetarc...31_1322950451066498_5086880281581662139_n.jpg

4) Speed Timer 3000 clocks
http://www.ruready.com/shotimer07.htm

5) These big, but not archery-specific, clocks:
https://bigtimeclocks.biz/

6) The fancy-schmancy ChronoTir clocks (we got a sweet donation to pay for those). The state org has the version 2. One other club has the version 2C, which improves some design features and is a bit more rainproof. 
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/salesperson/result/?q=chronotir

We did verify that the v2 and v2C ChronoTirs will work from the same remote, and we operated 4 of them together from the same controller.

-T


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## Georgemay (May 27, 2008)

I did too. I have printed professionally PCB's for it and have some left overs to build another one. used Xbee for wireless communication. and yes old laptop can handle them. Tested at 90 meters but you don't need to go that far with clocks.


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## RickBac (Sep 18, 2011)

USA Archery Arizona has been down this path trying to find a good solution for timers that are easily seen, durable and has all the outdoor functions you need.

TV's can be hard to see in direct sunlight.

We had some custom built that at first were awesome but durability and heat exposure became an issue.

We have recently settled on Chronotir and they, so far, fit the bill. I know they are expensive but building your own and then having it not work will be expensive too.


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

ok, this is a work in progress, but here's what I've done so far, with the help of Archeryclock's Henk Jegers' design and concept. A HUGE thank you to him for making this design public domain along with the software. The archery community worldwide owes him a big thank-you! He's helped review the circuit board design, and troubleshoot bugs along the way

- I've designed and had a custom circuit board fabricated that, when soldered out with parts, will mate to the Arduino MEGA 2560 and allow a much easier interface to the LED wiring. I bought the circuits from DigiKey and soldered it out without much trouble
- I used a 24" x 48" x 1/2" MDF board as the LED panel. I routed out shallow channels for the LEDs to sit in, and cut and glued them in place with latex caulk. I soldered leads to jumper the LEDs as required. Eventually, I will cover this with 1/16" thick plexiglas. I haven't decided whether I need to lightly sand this plexiglass to prevent glare - still to be tested.
- I mounted the Arduino-custom circuit board combo on the back of the MDF panel, and wired the LEDs in (7) sets of (8) wires each, and brought them into the custom circuit board with Molex locking connectors. I ran a power distribution block from the power inputs, and wired 12V power to where it needed to go
- I've connected it to a 12V power supply, and the board works great. It's bright, reliable, and communicates wirelessly with the Arduino/Custom circuit board via an XBEE and antenna. Under the worst condition, the system pulls 1.5 amps current at 12V
- I've purchased a 12V battery backup that is rated for 2.0 amp continuous and 22,600 mAh. The power supply powers the panel great, but the supply was defective (wouldn't charge to 100%), so it is being replaced. I will test it to verify that I can get over 10 hrs of continuous service from the battery powering the panel.
- I'm building a plywood case to go around the panel, with front access to fix any LED issues and back access for wiring issues. It will be finished and should be weather resistant.
- We will build a 2nd clock, and power it with either a Raspberry PI or a cheap laptop in the field. Testing right now is being done with my Windows laptop running the ArcheryClock software, with a USB to XBEE transmitter and antenna to communicate with the 2 clocks. Timing between the laptop and clock is essentially perfect.

I've got a detailed Bill of Materials, and I've got 8 extra custom blank circuit boards available. I'm still in process of building out the first clock, but I'll attach photos below of what I've done so far. Looks like total package without Raspberry PI will come in around US$ 500 per clock.


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

Custom Circuit Board soldered out and attached to Arduino








Backside of Arduino mounted to plastic case (included with Arduino). This was screwed to MDF panel








Arduino mounted to back of MDF panel, with wiring feeding custom circuit board








Power block, bringing together power supply and distributing power to LEDs and Arduino








Back of LED panel, showing wiring


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

Front of LED panel
- 24" x 48"
- A-F for lines, with red underline showing which lines NOT shooting
- 2 digits for end number
- Red Yellow Green stoplight
- M:SS clock digits. People have cautioned not to use Yellow LEDs for the clock digits, due to fading in the sunlight. We'll test this and replace if needed.
- Left and Right Arrow. For use in elimination finals with 2 clocks, where one clock acts a left countdown clock and one as right countdown clock. Work in tandem with Archeryclock software








Blank circuit board before soldering








Routing the MDF panel for LED channels, using jig to keep lines straight


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

I've heard about the heat issue previously, and we'll monitor this and see if it needs to be addressed. It will be interesting to see about reliability. I'd love to hear more about the issues you've seen and how they were addressed if at all


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## survivalistd (Jun 26, 2017)

That's very impressive well done. 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## nmarques (Feb 26, 2019)

Great Job. Have you tested this outdoors yet? How is the backup battery working?


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## Michigan Dave (Dec 28, 2005)

Nice work, Dave. I like the Arduino control. 

Any chance that you can bring one up with you to Michigan when you come up this Summer? I might like to team up to build a couple for Mid-Michee Bowmen up here. 

See you soon (I hope - six inches of snow falling today). 

Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Speedly (Jan 23, 2019)

Georgemay said:


> I did too. I have printed professionally PCB's for it and have some left overs to build another one. used Xbee for wireless communication. and yes old laptop can handle them. Tested at 90 meters but you don't need to go that far with clocks.
> 
> 
> View attachment 6713269


You're scratching me where I itch; I too mess around with electronics and Arduino stuff.

Surely the build didn't require an Arduino MEGA? Those things are ridiculously expensive for what they are. Could a normal Arduino board handle the I/O for it (or even better, an ATTiny)?

I'd imagine with relays driven by shift registers/transistors/MOSFETs, you could drastically cut down on the cost.

Is the XBee proving to be necessary, too? Could another communication protocol be used to further cut the cost?


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## injanear (Apr 6, 2017)

Have you considered using a BCD to 7-segment display decoder, then you wont need as many IOs'. esp8266 (wifi) is alot cheaper than Zigbee but the range maybe limited. The good thing with wifi is you might not need a laptop and just make a simple app on your phone to control it.


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## Vittorio (Jul 17, 2003)

My club is still running same Chronotir 1 since its appearance, in 2004. We have had to change one of the 2 tin batteries 3 years ago and replace the LCD display on remocon this year, but we are stil running all our competitions with it in these days with no problems. After 14 years in duty, indoor and outdoor in all weather conditions, for hundreds of competitions and training sessions, it is still perfect for the job. 
At the time of purchase, in 2004, we paid 3500 Euro for it, but it means less than 250 Euro/year and most probably less than 18 Euro per competition run, up to now. And today a Chronitir 2/3 costs much less than that. 
What you really get is not a timer system, but the total freedom from cables and power supplies and a field set up time of around 10 minutes maximum, including walking across the field to position the displays. 
This has no price. 

Frankly I doubt that any other solution can give same results at comparable cost and effort, apart from the pleasure of making the system in person.


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## Speedly (Jan 23, 2019)

Vittorio said:


> My club is still running same Chronotir 1 since its appearance, in 2004. We have had to change one of the 2 tin batteries 3 years ago and replace the LCD display on remocon this year, but we are stil running all our competitions with it in these days with no problems. After 14 years in duty, indoor and outdoor in all weather conditions, for hundreds of competitions and training sessions, it is still perfect for the job.
> At the time of purchase, in 2004, we paid 3500 Euro for it, but it means less than 250 Euro/year and most probably less than 18 Euro per competition run, up to now. And today a Chronitir 2/3 costs much less than that.
> What you really get is not a timer system, but the total freedom from cables and power supplies and a field set up time of around 10 minutes maximum, including walking across the field to position the displays.
> This has no price.
> ...


With on-board batteries and battery management sensors and a little reworking, the solution with in this thread could absolutely do the same.


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## curisu (Nov 30, 2015)

i love a good DIY - will you release the code, parts list and build plans/blues?


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to this thread, and I apologize in advance for the brief report. We did put this clock out for its first event last weekend, and we learned a lot. 
- the time digit LEDS absolutely must be something other than yellow. We intend to change these to green and to double them up for better visibility.
- we placed a thin plexiglass sheet over the LED display, and sanded it with 400 grit sandpaper to make it a matte finish, and sealed it with trim and clear caulk However what we found was that humidity behind the plexiglass caused it to fog.
- I am not an electrician/electrical engineer by trade, so I don't have the experience to answer the few questions on the use of a MEGA 2560 vs alternatives, etc. I worked directly with Henk Jegers of archeryclock.com to build and refine his existing design. One of the main previous hurdles was the breadboarding of so much wiring, and this was simplified by the fabrication of a custom circuit board to make its assembly simpler. 
- This clock has more functions, and is a larger display than the Cronotir or Chronotir 2. It has display for 6 lines (A-F), and the display timer digits are much larger. It also has lane arrow displays built in. That said, our club probably has no need for the the E & F linesdisplays, so we will shrink the display appropriately
- We used a 22,600 mAh 12V lithium battery to supply the power, and it worked great. We got just under 4 hrs of running time on the clock, and had a back-up battery ready for the change-out. Others have suggested a motorcycle or car battery, but we find this packaged lithium battery solution more useful.
- The X-Bee wireless communication worked well, but we found the flat patch style antenna that we mounted inside the timer box really needs to be mounted on the outside. I suspect we will change this to a normal looking antenna mounted to the top of the box.
- One the big remaining challenges is the case design. We built this on MDF painted black, and routed channels for the LED strips. However if we eliminate the plexiglass, the MDF will not tolerate much rain before swelling. We are looking at a black Melamine coated MDF to use in its place, and sealing the LED strips with silicone caulk to make it water resistant, but other ideas are welcomed. The case itself was fabricated from plywood, cut and routed to size, painted and finished with outdoor spar polyurethane. However the polyurethane doesn't really like to stick to the flat black paint coating, and overall it's just not a very elegant solution. We are searching for alternatives, such as an extruded plastic or aluminum style box, or even a bent plate steel option, if costs can be kept within reason.

Overall, we are very, very happy with this hardware solution for our club. I will be glad to share the BOM and drawings for what we've done with anyone. Again it is mostly based on Henk's previous work, and most parts are ordered from Digikey or similar online outlets. It's still a prototype, and we will continue to work with it to improve it to a final form that clubs can use to get a pair of working archery clocks for less than US$ 1,000, interfacing with archeryclock.com's software solution. BTW, I would welcome your ideas for improvement on any aspects of this project. The idea is building something that other clubs can replicate without being a trade electrician (ie no surface mount soldering, weird custom designs, etc.), but using off the shelf parts and solutions.


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

LOL - Dave I don't miss that snow. Been shooting outdoors since the day after indoor nationals. Clock is the clubs, and it will be used throughout the summer, but I can bring up the design plans and lots of photos and help Mid-Michee build one or two themselves


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## jurgis (Aug 30, 2021)

DNez2001 said:


> LOL - Dave I don't miss that snow. Been shooting outdoors since the day after indoor nationals. Clock is the clubs, and it will be used throughout the summer, but I can bring up the design plans and lots of photos and help Mid-Michee build one or two themselves


Awesome work. I'm thinking about making one for us
Can you please share the code/PCB files to the email?


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

jurgis said:


> Awesome work. I'm thinking about making one for us
> Can you please share the code/PCB files to the email?


Glad to help. PM me to discuss further


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