Countdown Timer

This is a simple countdown-timer-on-a-chip project - you program the PIC, attach some buttons and a pair of 2-segment LEDs, and you are done.

I used this timer for one of my projects, but I tried to make that timer as generic as possible, so it can have other applications. On this site I describe only the timer itself - code, pinout, and operation. If you want to see something built with the timer, check my Air Sampler project.


Specification

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• Two digit LED display with maximum count time of 99 units (units are configurable and can be seconds, minutes, or hours).
• Start/Stop/Increment/Decrement buttons working in press and press-and-hold mode.
• Optional Increment-by-ten/Decrement-by-ten buttons.
• Pause and resume.
• Add or subtract time while timer is running.
• One output to control an external device or signal time state.
• One unused pin - you can customize the code to make use of it as an either input or output.
• Works with a cheap 3.579545 MHz (NTSC) crystal, easily adjustable to other frequencies.

You can give it a try right now - the widget on the right is a fully-operational simulation of the timer, configured to count seconds. Adjust the time using the , , , and buttons. Start the timer with the button. Pause, stop, or clear timer by pressing . Pressing and holding a button works as you would expect from any timer. The green LED will show you when the timer is working - in real life, instead of the LED you will most likely have some device controlled by the timer.