T&L Publications

Is everyone ready to start bidding??<p>Here is the link to get your very own Ben Clock.<p>http://stores.ebay.com/CarterElectronics <p>Happy Bidding!

forget bidding... soon as i can i just buy the parts from them,

Actually, the only option available now on his auction is to "Buy it Now" maybe in a few weeks the items will go up for bid. I'll keep you posted..

Wow, If I could sell all my home brew projects for $500 bucks a pop. Ha!<p>The PCB and controller chip looks to be a good deal though. You couldn't Fab a board like that pictured for less than $150 (total for 5 pcs) and you would have to buy 5 (probably what he did). I think it would be more fun to make your own case and faceplate though.

anyone making one of these clocks yet?
or ordered any parts?

Just a cultural note, not an electronics one.<p>Many people, including most Brits, think that Big Ben in London is the clock at the Houses of Parliament. <p>It isn't.<p>Big Ben is the name of one of the bells (the one which strikes the hour) within that clock.

Just a stupid question about ebay:<p>is it safe? Is there a 100% guarentee that the product will be delivered. What happens if not?<p>
-Mike

There is no 100% about eBay. I've had to consult with eBay Safe Harbor only twice; once for a seller doing SHILL bidding (bidding as someone else on his own item to drive my bid up then retracting the bid). The other time was when a seller put a NO RESERVE item up for auction. I bid and was the only bidder so the item went for the opening bid of one dollar. I paid by PayPal and the seller took my payment. She never responded to my e-mails and pretended not to be the seller when I called her. I contacted Safe Harbor and within half a day of doing this they contacted her and she responded to my e-mail; item was shipped.<p>This is just my experience. There is a new feature one of my credit card companies has and they say other companies offer this as well. This is the "single" or "limited" use credit card number. You use your regular account and pay your bill as normal. But the credit card company will assign you a credit card number that can be used one to a few times. And YOU set the limit. For instance you ask for a $100 limit with PayPal as the only person that can charge against that account. The credit card company then gives you a REAL credit card number an expiration date. The charges go to your regular account but you give the psuedo card number and expiration date to PayPal or other online vendor. Once the limit is reached or the number is used, the number becomes invalid.<p>NEVER NEVER NEVER give PayPal your bank account number, unless this is a special account ONLY for PayPal. Give them only credit card numbers that expire after one or a few uses; or one that you can set a limit that won't hurt you should fraud take place.<p>[ January 12, 2004: Message edited by: Jolly Roger ]</p>

david >>> i knew that <p>heres a joke to it too...
why was the gay guy so dissapointed when he went to see big ben ??<p>he found out that it was a clock :p <p>
so anyway.....i take it so far that no one has actually bought the kit or parts yet?

Any kits going now?

dacflyer- Sure looks familiar!
Did you ever complete fabricating yours?
John

JWAX >>> sure did, its was completed jan 1 2005
and it has been running excellent ..
sure its a simpler design but its got 217 leds total..
if you have a address etc. i can send you fotos etc,, never did get a circuit board etched for it.
this one is my prototype. if i was to have boards and face plates made etc, it would cost a fortune.
but i am sure someone in china could make it all for 30.00...lol
my prototype cost me almost 200.00
the frosted leds cost a lot too.. i am sure regular leds would have been cheaper,,but the frosted ones blend in well with the polished alminum face plate.. looks like mirror now...

That's great dacflyer! How did you get that pack of holes cut? I see the laser cutters are getting a lot of competition from water jets, since the jet is cheaper, and cheaper to maintain. Plus no deburring.

a friend of a friend in raleigh nc made the face plate for me..and yes it was with a water jet.
and lucky for me,, it was a freebie! zip,ziltch
nadda!
altho, if i wanted any more it would cost me then.
but the face plate i had made was made from a old road sign aluminum,,found out its actually a alloy too.. i think if i make another one it will be made from gloss black plexi-glass.
the alloy was difficult to get polished. took almost 2 weeks...phuuuuu!

Now there's a product! A clock made from a STOP sign! Each flat side would be 7.5 minutes.
I know................weird.