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Reviews For: WavPro Luminator Scrolling LED Clock

Category: Ham Shack Clocks

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Review Summary For : WavPro Luminator Scrolling LED Clock
Reviews: 9MSRP: 129.95 / 99.95 Kit
Description:
Low-cost, high-performance, super-state-of-the-art modern wall or desk mount scrolling time clock provides precise, automatic information at-a-glance. Time, Day, and Date, Call Sign, Temperature with Daily HIghs & Lows, "ON-AIR" Status and more! Fully Assembled and Tested or Deluxe Kit.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.wavpro.com/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0094.9
N2CLB Rating: 2007-02-13
the coolest item in my shack Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
if you don't have one go get one i had a hard tiem finding one on the net so i jsut e-mailed wavpro and got one i got the kit built it with np it works fine and is one of the coolest things i have ever seen
NV7E Rating: 2007-02-07
Excellent for Use Abroad Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I prefer digital clocks and watches over analog. I much prefer an LED digital clock to LCD since they are so much easier to see.

The main reason I bought the Luminator is that I was desperately looking for an LED clock that runs on 12 vdc rather than alternating current. In my work I move from country to country. The LED clocks sold in the U.S. all run on 60 Hertz a.c.

I used to have nice Radio Shack LED clocks in the U.S., but I had to leave them behind when I moved abroad. When you take a 60 Hertz clock to another country with 50 Hertz current it no longer keeps time. Even if you bring a 50 Hz clock to a 50 Hz developing country it may still not keep time because the 50 Hz may really be 51 Hz. In Cairo, for example, the LED clocks I bought there all gained five minutes a day. Another problem is that the backup battery in an a.c. clock may not keep the clock going at the correct rate in case of a power failure.

The Luminator solves these problems once and for all by running on 12 volts direct current and using a capacitor rather than a battery for backup.

The LED display is very bright and made to be viewed at a distance. If you look at it up close the digits tend to blend together but six or more feet away they are easily readable.

The Luminator is pretty easy to program. It sits nicely on a flat surface and does not take up much space. I don't miss not having a case for it, although it would be nice. It is well designed and well put together if you buy it assembled as I did. In hooking it up to a 12 dc power source with my poor eyesight I got the polarity of the leads reversed, but the Luminator survived. It has not lost or gained any time since I installed it. ZS6SIG
N1KDO Rating: 2007-02-04
Great Kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this kit on the strength of the reviews on eHam, and I have not been disappointed. The documentation is near-Heathkit quality, and the kit went together in just a few hours. The thing looks awesome. I agree with the other commenters that the callsign display looks a little crowded, and I too wish that the display bezel was bigger -- this thing would be great in a nice oiled walnut enclosure. But overall a 5+. Highly recommended.
W2NSF Rating: 2007-01-24
Fun to put together; works great; BIG display Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a great product designed specifically for hams. If you like putting together kits, this is a great one for you; it's very Heathkit-like. Phil provides great support when you need it. The size of the display is BIG and the fit and finish of the components is excellent. The performance is good, although it's a little tedious to program with only two switches - kind of like a cheap digital watch. But, hey, it really works well and once it's set, you won't need to deal with these any more anyhow. The only reason this clock didn't get a five in my opinion is the crowded appearance of the figures in the display. The time, temperature, month, day, year are all fairly clear. The letters in the callsign display are croweded and can only be clearly read from a distance. Also the decimal point in the temperature display distracts for the clarity of certain digits. I would recommend this kit to anyone looking for a good looking and performing station clock. The "On-Air" feature is definitely cool. I power mine right off my shack's DC power supply (13.8v) by the way; no matter what the specs say, it works fine.
KB1FZA Rating: 2006-11-01
Excellent Clock / Kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been looking for clock for my shack for awhile and the Wavpro Luminator is just what the doctor ordered.
The kit is very nice - all high quality components and PCB, excellent instructions and very good design. It comes together in a couple of hours. I had a bad MCU and Phil from Wavpro shipped the new one right away! Technical support is excellent - I can compare it only with Elecraft's level of support – Phil answers the emails promptly and is very helpful with troubleshooting.
The ON-AIR sign feature is a very nice touch!! The clock also supports Time Zones and DST!
Here are few ideas I have:
Dimmer function would be a nice addition - even two level brightness control is good enough but it would require changes on the PCB, firmware and few more components. A simple solution can be done with switch (even jumper) and resistors.
I knew the LEDs are bright and I decided to go with higher value resistors to begin with but even the ones I installed were not dimming the display enough - I don’t have direct sunlight in my shack so I don’t need too bright display (which could be distractive)

A very useful feature would be the ability to exclude certain things from the scroll sequence or at least to control how often they are displayed.
I don’t need the temperature and temp. stats all the time and during contests I would prefer to see UTC or Local time only. Also I don’t need to be reminded so often about the date and day of the week and it is a bit annoying to wait for those things to scroll until I can see the exact time. For general use they are good as they are but during contests they can be displayed less often.
Another useful feature for contesting would be a 24 hr timer or a count-down timer.
I have no idea how much space is left in the PIC for the extra code needed to implement those features but I would be happy to buy an upgrade of the firmware should wavepro decides to offer them.
A version in amber/yellow color would be a nice offering - of course I can buy new LED matrix and make new amber front bezel but the cost becomes prohibitive.
One last thing - I wish the bezel was a bit larger than the pcb so I can build an enclosure around it and have some "play" with the pcb. They fit too perfectly and the PCB becomes a tight fit once the sides are glued to the front bezel.
Overall the product is great and I highly recommend it! Very nice addition to any ham shack!!
W2DCQ Rating: 2006-10-30
Great one nighter kit! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I to had been looking for just the right clock for the shack. I stumbled across the Luminator website and downloaded the mannuals. All were very well written and illustrated. After futher
investigation found them selling for substantially less on eBay. So I took a chance and ordered the kit. The kit came with top quality components and circuit board, it even included solder and wick! Put it togethter in one night with no glitches. Contacted "Phil" at WavPro via email, he responded very quickly and was curtious and professional. Kudos to WavPro for this great kit.
K6CTA Rating: 2006-10-20
It's great!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK...I've had a Kenwood HC-10 for 25 years (maybe more) which has worked perfectly, so why would I need a new clock? Well...this one is just too cool! The scrolling callsign and on-air functions are just plain fun. Plus..they're right when they say that you will be able to see the display....it's bright! The broadband receiver works through 1.2 ghz. A great addition to the shack.
VK4APN Rating: 2006-10-17
Utimate Ham Radio Boyz Toy! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got mine on Ebay as a kit. Excellent building guide & manual, reasonably simple to put together. You end up with the ultimate Toy for the shack that is informative, relavent and looks the business!! Every self respecting Ham should buy a built and tested unit or even better build one. Outstanding service from WavPro - fast, superb packing & very quick email answers.
W5PEH Rating: 2006-10-04
This is a must have Ham Shack addition. Excellent Product!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been looking for a clock for a long time now and have gotten bummed out with all the Clocks out there. I stumbled across the Luminator while searching online for a clock. You have got to check out this Scrolling LED Clock. Huge LEDs and you get 12/24 hr, Zulu time, day, date, month, indoor and outdoor temp. with highs and lows..and when you key up the "ON-AIR" LEDs light up and a counter comes on that counts as long as you have a carrier up/ any time you key. Pretty cool seeing all of this scroll before me as it sets out in front of me on my desk. The quality is superb, all top quality components and the craftsmanship is excellent also. I purchased the Pre-assembled Kit on EBAY. WavPro is presently offering them on ebay in kit and pre-assembled form at a big discount. The LEDs are 2" high and are extremely bright. My only down on this item is that I wish it had a dimmer switch...hi..its not Atomic, yet, but it is accurate to within + or - 1 minute per month. Worse case I just can reach up and reset the time if I get worried about 15 or 20 seconds. Go to the website and check it out. It is a Superb Product. Really looks sharp sitting on my desk..hi..you could add an enclosure to it, but in my opinion it would take away from its craftsmanship and character. Might want to add a couple of tiny pieces of doublesided tape to the bottom just in case to keep in place....cul es 73..Pete W5PEH