Frequency! It’s an important thing to measure, which is why [Jacques Pelletier] built a frequency counter some time ago. The four-function unit is humble, capable, and also an entry into our 2025 One Hertz Challenge! The build began “a long while ago when electronic parts were still available in local stores,” notes Jacques, dating the […]
We’re all used to crystal resonators — they provide pretty accurate frequency references for oscillators with low enough drift for most of our purposes. As the quartz equivalent of a tuning fork, they work by vibrating at their physical resonant frequency, which means that just like a tuning fork, it should be possible to listen […]
Since their invention more than a century ago, crystal oscillators have been foundational to electronic design. They allow for precise timekeeping for the clocks in computers as well as on our wrists, and can do it extremely accurately and inexpensively to boot. They aren’t without their downsides though; a quartz watch might lose or gain […]
Why would anyone put as much effort into resurrecting a 1970s split-flap clock as [mitxela] did when he built this custom PLL frequency converter? We’re not sure, but we do like the results. The clock is a recreation of the prop from the classic 1993 film, Groundhog Day, rigged to play nothing but “I Got […]