On Monday we received our newest kit, the rCube Talking Clock from Rival Electronics. I had seen a New Product listing in the latest Nuts & Volts, and after checking out there site, thought it was a neat project and got it. We’re going to be taking photos during the build and we’ll start with the unboxing.

The kit came carefully packing in bubble wrap and is bundled in a nice black box. The presentation is quite nice:

The assembly manual is provided on a CD-ROM, so you can either view it on your computer during the build, or print it out (preferred). Most kit manufacturers are following this route to save costs, but it’s a bit of a hassle–you really do need a printout for checking off items as you solder them in.

There are quite a few parts in this kit, and it requires some mechanical assembly, as you can see below:

The kit was well packed, though there are a LOT of parts stuff in that one parts bag. When we get to putting the kit together we’ll use one of our “bug boxes” (trays for small parts, often ICs) to organize everything (you can use an egg carton).

Here is a close up on one of the parts bags. As you can see the “water clear” LEDs are carefully packed in their own bags. That’s a nice touch, and important for this kit.

After looking through the manual, this appears to be a 2-3 evening build. Day 1: Board 1 electronics. Day 2: Board 1 mechanical, Board 2 electronics. Day 3: Final testing and assembly.

There are two versions of this kit available. The Standard does not come with Board 2 — so it does NOT have an LED alphanumeric display. It will only “talk” and light up. I highly recommend getting the Premium kit, which includes the LED display and a temperature sensor. I like my clocks to have a display, so wanted the upgrade.

A couple of thoughts so far:

• The kit is very nicely packaged. It’s obvious that a lot of time and energy went into producing it.
• The programming of the clock is quite novel. You hold up the clock to a PC speaker and a series of tones program it! This is an interesting method of wirelessly programming the device. Note that you can set the time and alarm via a series of button presses on the clock.
• The clock is a bit smaller than I expected, about 4″ square. The display is also quite small. This is not a problem, but something to keep in mind.
• The rendered images on the web site make the cover appear to be frosted. It is NOT — it’s clear. On the plus side, this gives you options for decorating. However, It was a surprise to me when I opened the kit.
• The case is custom and is very well done. It’s not a generic project box. I can only imagine the time and expense it took to do the custom plastic work.
• Again, I’m very impressed by the work done. This is not just another “solder it together and put it in a generic box” kit. It looks to be something you’ll be very proud to show off, and a benefit of the clear cover is that friends can see your hard work!