WordClock

cymplecy · January 10, 2026, 4:21pm

I have a GurgleApps WordClock running on an ESP32S3 that I’ve programmed up in MicroBlocks.

So I had an idea that since it is doing all the hard work to convert the current (UK) time into colours to light up the letters, I could simply publish the colour matrix data to an MQTT topic and then write a Snap! program to be a digital twin of it

Here is the program

The original concept of the Word Clock was to display the time in 5 minute increments but I’ve modified it to have a stab at displaying every minute

petermathijssen · January 10, 2026, 4:26pm

This is really cool.

bh · January 10, 2026, 4:36pm

Cute.

I have three questions:
What does the asterisk signify?
When does it use the V in the middle of FIFVTEEN?
How does it spell TWO?
:~)

P.S. If you want an exact match, note that the hardware one has a five-pointed asterisk but your Snap! one has a six-pointed one.

petermathijssen · January 10, 2026, 4:41pm

The time was off by a minute It would be cool if it could be adjusted by the timezone someone is in.

cymplecy · January 10, 2026, 4:46pm

Glad you asked - it is the current cheerlights colour

for F I V E

cymplecy · January 10, 2026, 4:49pm

It is carefully programmed to be accurate to the nearest minute

This concept comes from the original concept of it only displaying the time to the nearest 5 minute intervals and I carried it on to be to the nearest minute