Birders' Cuckoo Clock

Do you want a hidden talent that will wow anyone? Train yourself to recognize common birds by sound with this digital cuckoo clock that chimes with randomized bird calls!

Comment

Inspiration

My family is full of avid birders, but my siblings and I have always wished we had a knack for identifying bird calls like our parents.

What it does

The Birders' Clock works as a digital cuckoo clock, but every hour, the 'chime' is randomized to a bird call. The name of the bird also appears on the display. Essentially, it's a passive trainer for birders who want to learn to recognize bird calls on the fly.

How I built it

I used a standard breadboard, Raspberry Pi Pico, a Sparkfun Electronics 16x2 LCD Display, an LM386 amplifier, and a speaker. Two standard 4 pin pushbuttons are used to set the clock time at the beginning of the program. Additional components, like a potentiometer and resistors/wires, help facilitate the connections. For the wiring, I referred to techtotinker, for the code I used various documentation (Pi Pico, LCD displays, LM386) and Copilot.

Challenges I ran into

With limited time and limited hardware, it was hard to find certain components that would have made it easier to build and code the final project. Most noticeably, the sound played through the Pico and connected LM386 + speaker is subpar. However, one challenge I was able to surmount was figuring out how to connect the 16 pin LCD to the Raspberry Pi--- most people seemed to do it with the I2S backpack, which only had 4 pins and is much easier to manage, but I didn't have that, so it took some time to figure out how to print to the display.

Accomplishments I'm proud of

This was my first hackathon so everything was new! I'm proud that I didn't blow the circuit, burn anything out, and actually have a working code and hardware piece.

What I learned

I learned how to connect the LCD display to the Pico in an unconventional way! (Using 8-pin instead of the standard 4) I learned how to use most of these components for the first time: I had used a Raspberry Pi before, but for a very different project, so it felt like starting from scratch.

What's next for Birders' Cuckoo Clock

  • Expand the bird directory! (It only has a goose right now)
  • Create a more finished look with a cuckoo clock style case
  • Upgrade the sound quality

Built With

Share this project:

Updates