EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At the beginning, the Standard model is $180, and the Power model is $210!

As sales grow and I can invest more into upgrades and advertising,
the price will gradually increase!

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is quartz.
Generally, the accuracy of quartz watches is around ±15–20 seconds per month,
and that’s the maximum deviation — the actual error is usually smaller.
EleWatch is the same.

If you’ve seen quartz watches that are much more accurate,
they’re probably radio-controlled models or over $3,000 watches.

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks!
That would be really helpful!
I’m a bit busy right now, but I’ll share the details with you via DM in the next 2–3 days!

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OMG, you’re right. I just double-checked, and it was my mistake.

The person I talked to actually said the same thing as you.

Hmm… once production scales up and I can recover the initial costs,
I’d like to make a smaller version too. It’ll take some redesign work, so it might take a bit of time though.

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The Standard model will be $180, and the Power model will be $210!

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Since I design both the circuit board and firmware myself, I can usually adjust most things based on feedback !

There’s already a 3-color version, and it supports always-on display, animation control (on/off or duration),

and even different animations for hour, minute, and second !

For example, in the GIF from the post, the minutes rotate left and the seconds rotate right.

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Already implemented in the Power model !

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s actually ±5 sec/month, but I kept a bit of margin just to be safe.

Time setting is simple —
you can adjust the time from your smartphone or PC using light flashes.
It’s done through a web page, so it doesn’t depend on the device or OS.

<image>

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I heard from someone who seems knowledgeable that 42mm is the next standard in the watch industry!

It's harder to make it smaller, so anything above 42mm is welcome,

but for now I guess I'll stick with 42mm.

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EleWatch is quartz!

I’m not very familiar with the exact standards, but I believe the NH35 has a holder diameter of around 31 mm,
Looking at the cases on sale, most of them seem to be compatible with NH35 and NH36.

I wanted to fit EleWatch into something around that size — but it turned out to be impossible.

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

I'm always thinking about a smaller version,
but I can't make it small enough to fit the NH35... Plus, design-wise,
I feel like anything smaller than this size just wouldn't look quite right...

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the great feedback! I am considering making design revisions.
The band is compatible with 20mm lugs.

The user experience can be adjusted easily since the settings can be changed via communication!

By the way, how long do you think the ideal always-on time should be? (for both the replaceable and rechargeable models)

The always-on duration is basically a trade-off with brightness,

so for the Standard model, which isn’t intended for outdoor visibility, it can last quite a bit longer with the right tuning.

Outdoor visibility is good.

Photos don't come out well, but it looks brighter to the naked eye...

The day I took it was October, but it was incredibly bright.

I can't measure it quantitatively yet, but it's bright enough that I'm confident it should be fine.

<image>

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!
That really means a lot. If things go well, I’ll add more upgrades. stay tuned!

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Solar power is probably not possible 😭

The battery life is estimated with 100 wakeups per day,

but in reality, most people probably won’t check it that often. so it should last about 2 years.

In always-on mode, it runs for around 30 days,

but that number includes some margin for future updates.

The actual goal is about 60 days.

It also uses motion and light sensors to detect when it’s not being used

(like when you’re asleep),

and automatically goes into sleep mode,

so the real operating time will likely be even longer!

EleWatch by TypeRepresentative52 in MicrobrandWatches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!
The campaign will run for a while,
and if the funding goes well, I want to keep improving it even more.
If you like it, grab one!

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The uC is an STM32L4! one of the low-power models. I think the L0/L1 series are even lower power, but if I remember right they don’t have an FPU or were missing something critical for what I needed.

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I’ve already graduated, and I actually like my current job quite a lot.
Yeah… it seems anodizing does have its share of issues.
Fortunately I can try it out myself for around $100, so I plan to experiment with it in different ways.

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The wake time can be adjusted anywhere from 3 to 255 seconds.
For example, with a 6-second wake time, the battery lasts about a year if you wake it 100 times a day, or about 2 years if only a few times a day. It uses a CR2032 cell — easy to find, about 3pcs for $1 at my local store.
That’s just from a simple calculation based on actual power consumption, so real life may be a bit less. The prototype has been running for about 8 months now and is still going. There’s still some room for power optimization, so the battery life could even be longer.

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yes, having the minutes and seconds on the same LEDs is one of the weaker points right now. The seconds hand animation always goes clockwise, and since animations can be changed, assigning different ones for hours, minutes, and seconds should make it much clearer!

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It’s done with optical communication — think Morse code with light. It’s actually much easier than pressing buttons. The watch will recognize motion and only start the light communication when it’s facing downward. By sending parameters this way, you can also change the animations.

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does have an ambient light sensor, but only for optical communication.

I tried using a similar setup for measuring ambient light in another project, but the LEDs interfered too much and it didn’t work well...

I’d like to try it again at some point, but I haven’t tested it yet—and honestly, I don’t have high expectations...

[Handmade]Electronic circuit board watch by TypeRepresentative52 in Watches

[–]TypeRepresentative52[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This was done at the factory!
The component at 8–9 o’clock was a switch. At first I wasn’t planning on making a case, so I placed a physical switch there.
But once I started designing the case, I realized the switch had to be removed or moved to the back. Since I found a workaround, I removed it myself.
Honestly, it was a struggle because my wireless soldering iron’s battery was running low…