When Jim Harvey aka WB8NBS finally got his hands on an 64×64 RGB LED matrix, the question quickly became what to do with it. Experimentation with libraries and examples eventually led to the notion of a digital clock, and ultimately to Jim’s Sand Clock or “Clock with Benefits.”

Based on a Teensy 3.6, this unique timepiece adds some interesting features to the traditional timekeeping appliance.

A SmartMatrix SmartLED Shield provides the glue between the Teensy and the panel, and Phil Burgess’ PixelDust library powers an hourglass mode, plus a fun bonus illustrated in the video below. Learn more on Jim’s blog, or grab the code from Dropbox.