Brookstone clock with 7~segment display

[padler...@gmail.com]

Hi all,

I have this Brookstone “smartset” clock with a blue 7-segment display. One of the segments on one of the digits no longer lights up as seen in the below picture. I’m suspicious that the display is not LED but rather a custom display with backlit segments. I haven’t taken apart the clock yet to investigate, but I’m wondering if anyone is familiar with this clock or has any thoughts on what the display technology might be.

A secondary question is any thoughts on how the clock set itself? It doesn’t use wifi so I imagine it is something akin to using a WWVB radio broadcast.

[Tom Katt]

Hard to tell what type of display is used from the photos, but I would have thought backlit lcd.  But lcd's usually share a single backlight, so either the lcd segment has issues or it is some kind of led display.  You'll have to open it up and take a peek.

I'm pretty sure that is in fact a WWVB radio signal clock - they were quite common at the time.  I've actually just got a WWVB kick myself and while researching I learned that the old AM protocol was updated to include phase modulation in 2012 - the PM format apparently provides better reception and additional data but requires the receiver to be PM capable.  The new format is backwards compatible with the legacy AM transmission format.  I feel old think that this 'update' occurred back in 2012 and is new to me lol.  On a side note, I recently purchased an Everset ES100 WWVB receiver kit from Canaduino (EverSet ES100 WWVB BPSK Atomic Clock Starter Kit - CANADUINO®)...  haven't got around to wplaying with it yet but seems like fun.  Though in this digital day and age I suspect that radio transmission is likely to be obsoleted entirely.  People will realize their error when Armageddon comes and analog receivers are the only things left working lol.

Interested to find out what's up with that display...

[padler...@gmail.com]

Thanks, Tom. I’ll keep you posted on what I find when I open it up. I’ll be surprised if it turns out to be LED only because of the shape and size of the digits and the way they appear through the front of the case. I’d put a bet down on electroluminescent on a hunch. 

Thanks for sharing the link for the EverSet kit. It does look like fun to play with. I just wonder what the 🍊 tariffs will do to the cost of shipping one into the U.S.  With the “processing” fees charged by the carriers on top of the tariff itself, it could close to double the cost of the unit itself!

Cheers,

Randy 

On Nov 28, 2025, at 2:15 PM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hard to tell what type of display is used from the photos, but I would have thought backlit lcd.  But lcd's usually share a single backlight, so either the lcd segment has issues or it is some kind of led display.  You'll have to open it up and take a peek.

I'm pretty sure that is in fact a WWVB radio signal clock - they were quite common at the time.  I've actually just got a WWVB kick myself and while researching I learned that the old AM protocol was updated to include phase modulation in 2012 - the PM format apparently provides better reception and additional data but requires the receiver to be PM capable.  The new format is backwards compatible with the legacy AM transmission format.  I feel old think that this 'update' occurred back in 2012 and is new to me lol.  On a side note, I recently purchased an Everset ES100 WWVB receiver kit from Canaduino (EverSet ES100 WWVB BPSK Atomic Clock Starter Kit - CANADUINO®)...  haven't got around to wplaying with it yet but seems like fun.  Though in this digital day and age I suspect that radio transmission is likely to be obsoleted entirely.  People will realize their error when Armageddon comes and analog receivers are the only things left working lol.

Interested to find out what's up with that display...

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[Tom Katt]

On Saturday, November 29, 2025 at 7:40:27 PM UTC-5 wrote:

Thanks for sharing the link for the EverSet kit. It does look like fun to play with. I just wonder what the 🍊 tariffs will do to the cost of shipping one into the U.S.  With the “processing” fees charged by the carriers on top of the tariff itself, it could close to double the cost of the unit itself!

OT quick  - I purchased my kit from them in September and while it was initially delayed due to the whole Canadian postal debacle, the kit shipped quickly once services resumed and there was no additional fees or tariff charges.  I paid $13.62 (Canadian) in shipping and the order totaled to $46 Canadian delivered. At current exchange rates, that works out to about $33 US.  They seem really nice and the kits are very high quality - I believe they manufacture their boards locally in Canada.  It’s nice to support a place like that once in a while ;-)

[Instrument Resources of America]

The 'processing fees' I have heard are around $30.00 for both UPS and Fed Ex.  U.S. Post Office fees are very small.  Also, if you are shipping something back into the U.S. from Canada, and it was originally manufactured here in the U.S. there are no tariffs. The paperwork must be done correctly though. I had a very vintage piece of General Radio test equipment shipped back to me recently, no tariffs even though General Radio closed their doors some twenty four years ago.  The shipper got it done correctly. Don't let anyone tell you other wise.

Ira.

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[Adrian Godwin]

The problem we have here in the UK is that if duty or VAT is payable, the government wants the money but not the cost of collecting it, which would probably be more than the fee. So they either want the originating shipper to pay  in advance, or have the receiving shipper pay it on behalf of the addressee. 

For companies such as Aliexpress this works out OK They can just add it to the shipping fee. But for individuals it often ends up with the receiving shipper paying it and then adding the charge and a collection fee and refusing to deliver until that's been paid. Some shippers want it in advance, some will send an invoice after delivery, This causes what might have been quite a small customs fee into a 3-4 times larger fee.

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[Instrument Resources of America]

My apology. For some reason I thought that you were in Canada, and what I did state does apply. This whole tariff business gets very confusing, complicated, and down right messy.  For myself I have stopped buying any and all items from outside the U.S. with the one exception of original U.S. manufactured items being brought back into the U.S. in which case tariffs are NOT due. Unless FedEx or UPS or DHL are the only shipper, then I will usually also pass the item because of the 'processing fees' that they charge. Again usually around $30.00 U.S. for processing the shipment, even though there is no tariff being collected. 

Ira.

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[Nick Andrews]

Yes, the 'processing fees' are ridiculous and need to be eliminated or curbed at say 10% of the tax amount.

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[padler...@gmail.com]

The delivery carriers have become very opportunistic with their processing fees and I imagine the elimination of the $800 de minimis exemption has resulted in a windfall for them since now virtually every shipment from outside the U.S. is subject to a tariff and thence their processing fees. 

At the same time it’s crushing many small businesses who rely on imported products as well as hobbyists like us who can no longer afford to buy certain items like Nixie tubes, etc from outside the U.S. Only three more years to go…

On Dec 2, 2025, at 3:23 PM, Nick Andrews <nickja...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Adrian Godwin]

> Only three more years to go…

I bet it will take more than 3 years for the de minimas exception to come back, even if the tarrifs are gone (haven't they already been made illegal ?). We lost ours too, and we have no orange wonder. It's just a recognition of how many goods are escaping duty. 

The problem with clipping the processing fees is that they're related to something realistic. They may be amplified but the costs aren't related to the duty/tariff whatever. It does cost a fixed amount to handle the paperwork, database, payment etc. This is trivial when you're  handling a few tons of parts but incedibnly high compared with a $1 item in several thousand others in a container.

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[Tom Katt]

On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 10:22 PM padlerpedler wrote:

The delivery carriers have become very opportunistic with their processing fees and I imagine the elimination of the $800 de minimis exemption has resulted in a windfall for them since now virtually every shipment from outside the U.S. is subject to a tariff and thence their processing fees. 

At the same time it’s crushing many small businesses who rely on imported products as well as hobbyists like us who can no longer afford to buy certain items like Nixie tubes, etc from outside the U.S. Only three more years to go…

Indeed - it's crazy to try and associate the battle cry of making the US great again with all these infantile policies that do nothing but cause damage, stagnation and uncertainty for businesses - especially smaller organizations that don't have the resources to weather the storm.  And the whole tirade against countries that are in fact our allies - for gawds sake, fight with Canada??? - is equally ignorant imo.  I think the reality of all this hasn't hit the general consumer because we've been living off already inventoried supply for a while...  When the cost of manufacturing eventually drips down to the store shelves we will likely see a rebellion.  And even if many of these tarrifs are deemed illegal - I cannot fathom how messy the quagmire will be attempting to manage refunds... 

Anyhoo...  Have you had an opportunity to crack the clock open yet ? ;-)

[padler...@gmail.com]

Here’s an update on the shipping costs for my recent eBay purchases with some unexpected but welcome good news. I had ordered 6 IN-14 nixies from a seller in Ukraine. The footnote on eBay indicated that there would be additional import and duty charges that I would have to pay. The tubes arrived today via USPS without any additional charges! The seller listed the value of the shipment at $18 USD. I don’t know if that played a factor but I was happy to receive the package with no additional charges. 

I have one other package arriving from Latvia so we’ll see if that one plays out the same way. 

Regarding the display on the Brookstone clock, I’ve not yet had the opportunity to open it up to see what kind of display it actually is, but l will post an update when I do. 

Randy

On Dec 3, 2025, at 7:23 AM, Tom Katt <tomk...@gmail.com> wrote:



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