Well i have an idea in my mind about a mini christmas project but i dont know how to make it.
The idea.
It will be an arduino with a buzzer ,a small lcd display (16x2 probably) ,a big red push button and some red leds.
What this thing is going to do ?
Every time you connect it to your pc though usb port and you push the red button it will tell you how many
days , months,minutes ,etc are left for the christmas eve ,new years eve .
But when the christmas eve come and you push the button it will say with big letters it's christmas ,the leds will be blinking all the time and a christmas tone is going to be played though the buzzer .
What im not sure about is what lcd display to choose serial or paralllel (because i haven't worked with lcd displays in the past)
how to interface it with the arduino and how to play the music with the buzzer .
Get a lcd that is serial enabled, period. One wire instead of many, super easy commands. Worth every penny of the extra 10 bucks. Sparkfun has good ones --I like the white letters on black background.
The connection with the pc is required since arduino does not have inbuild clock and has to be synchronized with the pc in order to get the time.If im saying something wrong correct me.
As long as the Arduino stays powered you can keep time with it pretty accurately. There is probably a library already out there that does it for you or just make a timer with an incrementing counter if necessary to count 1 sec. Does the device really need to be portable? Why not leave it plugged in to your PC. That way you can push the button to your hearts content.
The coin battery will keep the clock going for 5 years and it will keep correct time even if you move the breakout board over to another project later or just leave it in a drawer for years, as long as you leave the battery in.
1 x big red push button (I have searched sparkfun’s catalog but there is no red push button of between 30 and 50 mm diameter,there is one red but its huge 100mm are too much )
