Ice Tube Clock Enclosure Problem

[boerner]

Hello everyone,

I have just finished my clock (I actually ordered one of the first batch but was missing a part (which adafruit shipped out post-haste) so I am now just getting around to finishing) and it seems to function fine.

However, when I went to assemble the enclosure I think I got stuck in stupid...

When I place the main PCB on the bottom plate, it hangs over the "front" leaving the switches et al slightly recessed from the "back". When I put the back piece in place, everything is too far recessed to be accessible. This also makes it impossible to mount the front plate as it butts up against the PCB itself. Okay, I think to myself, I am missing something obvious. I go back and look at the instructions which indicate the PCB can only be mounted on the bottom plate one way, and the imprinted instructions also give me clues as to which way it should go. I believe I have it correct.

So I take it apart and see if I have flipped something, and I can only attach the PCB to the bottom plate in the same manner I had attached it originally. Now I am worried that I am simple.

I checked the FAQ and the forum and only found one reference to the bottom plate:

http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=13546#p65799

The third comment in that thread says the PCB can actually attach one of four ways (the original problem in that post is NOT what I am describing here). I cannot for the life of me see how that can happen once the components are assembled. And yes, I actually did check to see if I had assembled the whole thing upside down (I did not).

Has anyone else had any issues like I am describing? I know I am breaking the cardinal rule and posting without a photo (which I can add later when I get home), but I think I just need confirmation that I am nuts and can't follow instructions.

[bastard]

Hi,

does this help you?

Bye

Stefan

[boerner]

I did follow the link in the instructions to madworm's photos (which I also referred to when soldering the tube), and it looked like I had it correct (I could read the instructions etched on the acrylic). I will try to take a decent photo and update the post later tonight.

[boerner]

Replying to myself...yes I am in fact simple (hangs head in shame). The wife walked up to it and said "Shouldn't go like this?" and life is good. I always knew she was smarter.

Pictures here if anyone is interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_boe ... 879409267/

[adafruit]

hey thats great, and beautiful photos. thats a very cute desk!

[boerner]

Thanks for not mocking me too much. Sometimes I'm amazed I find my way home. The workbench is actually a kit from Simpson Strong Tie. They have it at Home Depot for $50. Because of the metal brackets, the thing winds up being as strong as a rock.

http://www.strongtie.com/products/DIY/KWB.html

There are more pictures of the bench in my Flickr set.

[Larry R]

I just finished the Ice Tube Clock and it works like a champ. I took about 3 hours and at the end I couldn't get the case to fit together. Yes, there IS more than one way to bolt on the bottom plate. Thanks to this forum and the link to some Flickr photos, I bolted on the bottom plate correctly and it went together easily plus the push button switches extend beyond the holes, etc. I enjoyed the project. I quit making digital clocks in the early 80s. I'm glad to be back at it.
-LR