Loss of power with the backup battery (or a dead one) still means reprogramming and uploading the software to the microcontroller. A simple pushbutton “clicker” is used with the IR receiver to change the settings. My latest versions have added an IR receiver, which allows you to change the hours or minutes as needed for Daylight Savings Time. My early approach was the use of switches. Setting the correct time has always been a bit of an issue. The DS3231 is now available on a nice little breakout board with built-in battery backup and an easy I 2C interface. These allow for a calendar as well as the time, and by adding something like the BME280 you can easily add temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure to an eight-digit seven-segment display. More recently, I’ve built digital clocks using the Arduino family of microcontrollers and the highly accurate (about one minute per year) real time clock ICs like the DS3234 and DS3231. This reduced the IC count considerably and added switching transistors to handle the current. Next came a series made with dedicated digital clock ICs that scanned the seven-segment displays. My family was really impressed - especially when all those zeros rolled around at the beginning of each hour. My first one was built with over 20 of the 7400 series ICs and the (then) new seven-segment LED displays from Monsanto. I’ve been building digital clocks for longer than I want to admit. If you have questions on Format Lists or any other MusicMaster features, make sure to call your MusicMaster Scheduling Consultant for advice.It’s time to build this digital clock that connects via Wi-Fi to the Internet to not only display the usual time, date, temperature, and humidity, but to also be able to retrieve things from the Internet like the weather or weather forecast, and stock market reports as well. It’s a very clean and easy way to keep things sounding fresh from one hour to the next. The rest of the time he uses the clock like the one above. Overnight has 1 three-minute traffic merge position so that clock schedules fifteen Music Format List positions. His drive time clock has an extra Traffic Merge position, and each is six minutes long, so he schedules eleven Music Format List positions in that clock. The customer loves it because he went from needing dozens of clocks to just three. Looking at that clock, we bounce back and forth between two Format Lists and MusicMaster just keeps on chugging along. But here’s a little sneak preview for you…in version 7, MusicMaster does calculate the average runtime of items contained in the Format List, giving you more accurate timing!) (In MusicMaster version 6 and earlier, Format Lists display with a default length of 3:30, which is why this clock looks long. That same customer also had a bunch of non-music categories that he wanted to rotate through, coming up with every possible combination of items. He spent time, did the math, and figured out all the different acceptable segues based on category and made a Format List to do it for him. His list was over 60 elements long when all was finished. I worked with one customer who decided to use the format list for his station. The pattern just keeps repeating itself so that you never know for sure what’s coming next in the list. That means we’ll go through the format list one full time, plus four more positions, so the next hour would pick up on element 5. Let’s say our clock has 13 format list elements in it. See how the first position is highlighted in blue? This is where our Format List will start next time we schedule using it. I want these items to schedule in a pattern like this: EDADEBEDC. A-Heavy, B-Medium, C-Light, D-Recurrent, and E-Gold. You build your Format List, and then schedule it in the clock like you would any other element. A Format List can contain Category items such as Fixed positions, Combos, and Library Query elements as well as non-category items like Traffic Merges and Lognotes. The answer to this question is “Format List.” The Format List allows you to schedule a sequence of items that repeats itself over and over. But I don’t want to create a bunch of different clocks to handle it. I want to schedule my music in an unpredictable pattern.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |