A while ago, I received a Binary watch as an anniversary gift. Since then, I frequently get asked how I read it. So let me break it down for you.
First, note the Flash app to the left. I built this for my Chumby, but the inspiration came from my watch. The main differences are that I put in a line of bits to show seconds, and I gave it the ability to show the date. Tap the watch face to view the date for five seconds. If you’re reading this, 01 The One, take some notes.
Anyway, you should notice that there are three rows of lights for hours, minutes, and seconds (or for month, day, and year if it’s in date mode). Lets take a look at the top row. There are four lights (or bits) numbered 8, 4, 2, and 1. Now, simply add the numbers of the lit bits to find your hour. For example, if the bits where 0101, where 0 is off and 1 is on, we would have 5 for the hour. 8 is off, 4 is on, 2 is off, and 1 is on. 4 + 1 = 5.
Now let’s look at the second line. The bits are labeled 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1. If all the bits were on, except for the 4 bit (111011), they add up to 59. Since minutes and seconds both range from 0 to 59, the seconds row is the same as the minutes row.
“Well, that’s a lot of adding,” you say? Yeah, but there are shortcuts.
Notice that the left most bit (32) and two bits to the right (8) add up to 40. Now shift to the right by one bit: 16 + 4 = 20 (half of 40). Shift to the right again: 8 + 2 = 10 (half of 20). And once more: 4 + 1 = 5 (half of 10). Looking for these patterns makes it easier to add up the numbers quickly. 101101 is 40 + 5.
Here’s another shortcut if you don’t care to be precise with the minutes. Just look at the first two bits. If the bits show 00XXXX, the minutes are less than 16, or in the first quarter of the hour. If the bits show 01XXXX, the minutes are somewhere between 16 and 31, inclusive, which is close to the second quarter of the hour. If they show 10XXXX, the minutes are 32 to 47, the third quarter of the hour. And if they’re both lit (11XXXX) the minutes are 48 to 59 (or to 63 if it were possible to have more than 60 minutes displayed).
So there you have it. Simply add the value of the bits in each row.
Posted on 11111011010 1000 001011 (YYYY MM DD).
Tags: AS3, binary, binary watch, Chumby, coding, Flash, how to code, tutorial
Hello Kris,
just wanted to say that the watch you “created” in this entry would be exactly that watch I would buy immediately.
It’s a pity that no manufacturer (incl. 01 The One) has a watch that includes seconds and date. It would be funny to have a binary watch, but I’ll wait till such a watch is available.
So that’s a really good idea – maybe you should tell 01 The One about that.
Best regards
Andreas
First of all, i gotta say i love the way you signed of with the date in binary LOL, Cool stuff
secondly i agree that a TRUE binary watch would be really cool if it had the date, i just bought a watch from 01 THE ONE, it was the Slider Model, i would have bought 2 other models but the band was made of rubber and not leather… sux, i don’t see what the big deal is with o1 the one making a watch to include binary date.
So… i agree Andres, the app you created is brilliant , pity it’s not a watch, LOL
be cool guys, it’s great to see that i’m not the only one who shares and interest in binary
and for all of you reading this who are not fluent in binary
(sorry i forgot to mention i live and breath this stuff, i can even do binary mathematics)
for those interested in learning binary, Google “Cisco Binary Game”
it’s cool, it’s like a version of tetris if you will
basically you get given a binary value let’s say 100101 and you have to respond with the decimal value
or
you get given a decimal value let’s say it’s 192 and you have to respond with the binary value = 11000000
the games gets faster , it begins with the values 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 etc.. but after a while the values disappear and you have to rely on purely memory to figure it out my average score is about 52,000 for anyone who cares
anyway guys take care, binary Rocks