Ethernet-powered clock with a Roman dial design
A Roman style clock is the favorite of our customers. An analog clock with Roman numerals and fancy clock hands is a classic, even vintage, look. But most of us walk around with sleek digital timepieces, er, phones, in our pockets; wouldn’t you think minimal, modern clocks would be preferred? Maybe a simple index layout like the famous Swiss Hans Hilfiker design? Not so. We probably sell 20 Roman dial clocks for every Arabic or modern dial.
However, even Lumichron clocks with a vintage or traditional design feature completely modern and technological timekeeping. Our Swiss partner, Mobatime, develops and manufactures the key parts and technology, including a special circuit board which:
- Controls the movement for the clock hands
- Powers the LED illumination
- Sychronizes with the local time on the network
All these functions are managed on a computer work station with included software.
We recently built a thoroughly sophisticated clock with the appearance of an antique, pictured above. The client in Chicago wanted an illuminated large analog lobby clock to be powered and controlled completely by a single Ethernet connection.
Who would know when looking at this clock it has such performance characteristics? The action of the hands is smooth and precise. Self-resetting after power interruptions and DST changes (of course). And synchronized to within a few milliseconds of Coordinated Universal Time. Yet the appearance of 19th century timepiece.
The technology was developed for use primarily in the transportation industry – train, airport, subway, etc. – where all the clocks are synchronized within the organization’s overall communication system. As part of the network, it’s possible to monitor all the clocks system-wide from a single desktop work station, using the provided custom management software. Energy efficient LED lighting is also part of the network power grid with PoE – Power over Ethernet.
