# Electronic Days to Halloween Countdown Sign



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

Hi.

I'm thinking of building an electronic Halloween Countdown Sign to countdown the days before Halloween. 

I know there are Days, Minutes and seconds signs out there but I just want to do the days. 

I know there are manual Signs that I can build but I thought it might be cool to build an electronic sign that would automatically subtract the days.

I'm still learning the electronics side of haunting so any help would be appreciated.

Any ideas?

Thank you.


----------



## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Here's a 2' x 12' clock you can build from scratch: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=GPSClock-1

With the cost involved, it may be most economical to do something like this. The countdown kits I was finding ranged from $200-300 ! this at least would give the bigger bang for the buck.

Someone here should be able to help with scripting.


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

Now that is a clock. I bet you can see that from a plane.

Little too big for my needs but thanks. 

I was hoping to make something about maybe 24" by 24". I will try draw something up to give it some perspective.


----------



## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

hey Dionicia...I just came across this counter....it would take a bit of rigging for your purpose since it counts up rather than down, but just may be enough already there to work with??? I'll bet with the electronic gurus we have around here, you could get the help you need. (red leds & 0 thru 99....what more could you ask for???lol)
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17511+KT


----------



## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

Might not even hack that one just reset the number every day nice find Dave


----------



## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

I know most tekkie guys would hate this suggestion but I have to bring some simplicity to this....

Your local party store sells electronic count down clocks that you can set for any date. Birthdays etc...and they are cheap.


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

Are they big enough for someone to see walking on the street?


----------



## sharpobject (May 7, 2008)

can you put your own spin on this??
http://www.ltdcommodities.com/home/catalog/cat_item_pg.asp?G=594&P=285&Rec=6&N=37+4294965726&Nao=280&R=441379-5XZX---1[/url]


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

YOU ROCK! 

This is exactly what I was looking for. I can tweek this for Halloween. Muhahahaha.


----------



## Scottzilla (Jun 13, 2007)

dave the dead said:


> hey Dionicia...I just came across this counter....it would take a bit of rigging for your purpose since it counts up rather than down, but just may be enough already there to work with??? I'll bet with the electronic gurus we have around here, you could get the help you need. (red leds & 0 thru 99....what more could you ask for???lol)
> http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17511+KT


Most counter chips have an up and a down input; you may just need to cut one trace and connect it to a different pin (the kit should come with a schematic). ...of course the manual stop sign thing is way simpler, but I'm pretty much all about making things as complicated as possible. :ninja:


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

Yeah but the sign that sharpobject found is way simple. I just need to either rip the face off of it or attach a different face to it. I'm just waiting now until they come in. 

The waiting is driving me nuts.


----------



## Adam I (Jun 16, 2007)

Here's a pic of the "Ltd Count down sign"
It will have to be covered up except the digits.
It uses plugs to cover the segments of the digits.


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

The christmas countdown sign is manual for changing out the days? Rats!

Back to the drawing board.


----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)

I bought one. For 7 bucks. Now that someone posted the picture, any ideas on how to make it for Halloween?


----------



## Adam I (Jun 16, 2007)

Well, I guess cover over the sign (less the digits) with white contact paper and mount it in a chunk of foam.

I'll probly just toss mine in with the other stuff like it.


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

Or you can cover it (less the digits) with a 1/4 inch piece of wood board already cut the way you want it. 

I have a scroll saw so I am gonna do something decorative around the edges. 

Still looking for something that counts down the days on it's own though.


----------



## Hallowennie315 (Sep 5, 2007)

I know Michael's had an automatic LED christmas countdown - you can set it for halloween because all it is is a countdown clock. Basically what it was is a snowman holding a sign that has a countdown on it. http://home-decor.hsn.com/36-countdown-to-christmas-snowman-yard-decoration_p-4279010_xp.aspx This is a link to it on HSN... THis product looks EASILY hackable so you can put it on anything you want... Good luck and Happy Haunting!


----------



## sharpobject (May 7, 2008)

Gee - I'm really sorry. I thought the sign counted down by itself. It doesn't really say that it's manual and it being digital numbers is misleading. I wonder if you can refuse the shipment?


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

I already paid for it. 

Thank you though. All these good ideas are pointing me in different directions.


----------



## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

I was never able to seem to get the LTD place to understand how to apply my payment to the order so I got a refund from them.

One a good note, Michaels has a countdown click for $80. Cheaper than the $300 I found from one site. A 40% off coupon made it a good buy.

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=sc1086

It's pretty good size too.


----------



## Scottzilla (Jun 13, 2007)

I just saw the Halloween countdown sign at Michaels and was going to post about it, but I guess you already found it. Oh well. I'm going to post my picture anyway so I don't waste the bits.


----------



## halloweenguy (Dec 27, 2006)

Scottzilla said:


> I just saw the Halloween countdown sign at Michaels and was going to post about it, but I guess you already found it. Oh well. I'm going to post my picture anyway so I don't waste the bits.


Yup just saw this today....Don't forget your 50% off coupon!!!
http://www.michaels.com/coupons/1000thstore/coupon.html


----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)

Micheals has a nice halloween countdown clock! Check it out.


----------



## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)

sorry, here is the link. http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=sc1086


----------



## Richie (Jan 4, 2007)

I really like the Michael's count down clock. My wife had a 50% off coupon and she picked it up for $39.99. You can easily see the numbers from over 30 feet away. We'll start using it on October 1st.


----------



## Adam I (Jun 16, 2007)

Well, here is what I went with.








You can see what I ended up with in the Showroom

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?p=240987#post240987


----------



## Scottzilla (Jun 13, 2007)

I think I like yours better than Michael's. It's less artsy-fartsy.


----------



## halloweenguy (Dec 27, 2006)

Richie said:


> I really like the Michael's count down clock. My wife had a 50% off coupon and she picked it up for $39.99. You can easily see the numbers from over 30 feet away. We'll start using it on October 1st.


Same here...Just picked one up today with the 50% off coupon. Now I just have to use the guts to create something more sinister looking. ;-)


----------



## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

Thats exactly what I did and here I thought I was sooo smart LOL. Good to know we all rock!! I cant wait to see what everyone comes up with since we only have 11 more days. Next year I plan on putting it out the full 99 days out. Good luck peeps!!


----------

