KKmoon DIY Digital LED Clock Kit Compact 5-digit Light Control Temperature Date Time Display with Transparent Case

I bought two of these to show UTC and my employer's HQ time. They're about a 15 minute project for someone who is good at soldering.A couple notes that aren't clear from the instructions.1. If you solder the photoresistor and thermistor with a bunch of lead between the component and the board, you can fish them through the hole in the enclosure and they'll do a better job.2. Use a piece of Scotch tape to take the backer off of the film for the nixie tubes.3. A 366 size battery works (not included), with the + side away from the PC board4. There are extras of some of the cheap parts in the bag, so don't be worried if you don't use everything.Two programming changes I'd like:1. Mode that shows only the time2. A way to reset the seconds on the clock, so that I can have my two in rough sync

What went right: The kit is complete, undamaged, and the components of decent quality. The PCB is well marked and of good quality. Assembly is straight-forward and requires no magic or special tools. The "dimmer" feature is very much appreciated, though the naked light sensor protruding from the case is tackyWhat could be better. I can echo previous reviews that found the "instructions" almost unusable. Likewise, my example exhibited the "you cannot turn off the alarm function" problem. The sequence that is supposed disable the alarm function simply does not work. The temperature feature does not work on my clock. Probably a connection failure while fishing the thermocouple through the case. I haven't bothered to disassemble the case to see. I also found that the debouncing of the buttons was poorly implemented. Many cases of multiple "presses" from a single press making time/date setting very frustrating. The complete failure to correctly implement the RTC/battery backup is perhaps the most annoying lapse. Not only does the feature not work, you are saddled with a chip you don't need drawing power and a tiny battery that can only be changed by disassembling the whole case.Bottom line. It could certainly be better and could make use of the parts chosen such that they functioned. However, it works so long as the power is stable. I bought 2 more of them to use in a panel where I wanted both local and UTC displayed.

I purchased this to re-live the days of my youth when I used to buy and build other electronic kits. I was able to easily follow the instructions and the unit functions perfectly. I keep this running under my computer monitor during work to inform me the time, date and temperature. I admit that it is a bit cumbersome to re-program if it loses the time, as it is not very intuitive, but I did discover the correct battery to use so that small power losses are absorbed and the correct time re-displays when the power stabilizes again. I love the clear case, so you can admire the detail of your work.

Directions poor.... Luckily directions here on Amazon by another purchaser are really great, including some simple mid-assembly tests. But the jpegs on amazon are hard to read. I wish there was a url to a PDF of his directions. Would NEVER have made it work without them.. In the end, it works as a clock sort-of. 24-hour only, centigrade only. The case assembly is ridiculously complex and not strong. Hard to set time. YOU NEED TO BUY A BATTERY by the way. Would have been nice to know first. Summary... I burned up three hours on a saturday to get a cool looking light show that I can't set the time to save my life, but it looks great. I do love the big blue readouts, just wish it was easier to setup. USELESS but kinda fun for $8 including shipping. Since my build worked right away, I feel on top of the world as a soldering master. Wish they would charge $2 more and send it with a good case. Beats a jigsaw puzzle, but not more useful than one.

Some people want to change it to time only or 12 hour, I care about neither so I give it a good rating, and truthfully it is good to stay in practice with soldering. It was a lot more fun than a jigsaw puzzle, because it does something when you put it together. I have put 2 together so far, and both worked right off with a little help from one review, because it does not say how to put battery in.

Putting it together wasn't too bad. You can adjust the temp a few degrees, so its best to set it next to another thermometer so you can calibrate it once its been in that spot for a little bit.

This is a pretty nice little kit for the price. As other buyers have stated, it would be nice if it did Fahrenheit. However, I can't complain at all for the price. The kit is pretty simple and shouldn't take long to construct.

This was pretty easy to assemble. (my 9 year old did it) But the directions on how to set the clock and alarm are not included. This was difficult to figure out.