In theory, most of us know how binary works. The least significant digit is 1, the second is 2, 4, 8 and so on, however numbers like 1001 for 9 and 101 for 5 aren’t easily recognizable without a little math. For a great way to get better at visually recognizing this numerical system, why not try using a binary clock?
The particular binary clock featured here displays six sets of binary digits in beautiful blinking binary form with 24 colored LEDs. Usefully, the LEDs are labeled as 1, 2, 4, and 8 with lines pointing towards each, helping you perceive things correctly until you have the positions memorized. While this may not be the first binary clock you’ve seen, it also adds an optional GPS receiver, pulling accurate time from satellites with no fiddling required.
It’s configurable to all 39 time zones, so whether you’re in Tokyo, Berlin, Miami, or Honolulu it’s got you covered! In case you’re wondering, this clock represents each of the 6 HH:MM:SS digits with a binary equivalent, so you might argue that it’s a semi-binary clock. While this is pretty normal for this type of device, clocks that are “full binary”—like this blub-based clock seen on Hackaday—do exist if that’s your preference!
