ATOM is extremely proud to have contributed to the successful implementation of this project. In the implementation phase ATOM was contracted to install the following highly specialized systems:
  • Components Actually Installed by ATOM
  • UUU

After the completion of all specialized systems ATOM was selected by the buildings facility manager Facilitect as a subcontractor to operate and maintain the following special systems:

  • Media Walls
  • External Lighting (Façade Illumination)
  • Clock & Pediments LED Systems
  • Clock Mechanisms & Clock Hands
  • Retractable Lightning Protections
  • Photovoltaic System
  • Beacon Lights
  • Flash Lights
  • Laser Lights
  • Crescent Hatch
  • Fiber Optic Network
  • IT Department
  • BOCC

ATOM’s team of engineers and technicians are now responsible for the smooth operation of this marvel of engineering and technology which includes multiple one of a kind systems and world firsts. Interesting facts about these specialized systems can be found below:

  • Media Walls

    Contain 1,208,904 of LEDs

    Have 2,200 square meters of screen surface

    Have 76,398 LDMWs in a single network

    Have more than 12,000m of fibre optic cable

    East and west media wall have 6 doors per side

  • External Lighting (Façade Illumination)

    Contains of 1702 Luminaires

    81,200 KW Connection Power

    187 meters altitude difference (Astronomy 1 to Crescent)

    Work takes place under high risk conditions

  • Clock & Pediment LED Systems

    Contain 700.000 LED points

    Have 7,000 square meters of facade illumination

    Have 4,122 LDMs in one network

  • Clock Mechanism & Clock Hands

    The biggest clock on the world

    The biggest clock hands in the world in which a technician can walk upright

  • Retractable Lightning Protectors

    Selection of Class I protection because of the extreme height and the special location any stroke of lightning with an amplitude up to 200 kA can be catch caught and earthed

    The complete lightning protection consists of 800 fixed lightning rods and 20 retractable Franklin rods

  • Photovoltaic System

    The upper area of the Jewel is fitted with 288 solar panels, generating the four clock units’ power

    The system consists of more than 11,000 photovoltaic cells

    The generated energy provides power for the four clock drives for a sustained continuous operation and feeds a large battery used as UPS

  • Beacon Lights

    The power of the rotating beacons which are installed on the Mecca Clock Tower are comparable to the 10 rotating beacons of the French Eiffel Tower

    The beacon lights are the only one 10 KW beacons worldwide

    10 KW beacons have never been installed a such height or on a Tower

    60 beacons installed across four different levels

    Each of them is a custom-made product with 7 KW and 10 KW XENON illuminates

  • Flash lights

    21,000 green and white sparkling software controlled lights installed on the tower give the possibility to run various illumination scenarios for different occasions

    Each of the fixtures contains a 30-joule XENON flash bulb and 10 flashing green LEDs

  • Laser lights

    The most powerful lasers in the world

    Total of 4 beams, each beam is 3.7cm wide, the widest beam in the world

    Each beam has a performance of 400 Watts

    The laser beam reaches beyond the atmosphere

  • Crescent Hatch

    The crescent hatch at the Hilal (on the Top) is designed to protect the interior and the equipment in case of bad weather conditions

    The hatch can be open for any kind of services (crescent service crane and switching of external lighting at night)

  • Fiber Optic Network

    Over 20 kilometers of fiber optic cable to be maintained

    single and multimode fiber optic cables installed

    different termination plugs

  • IT Department

    Responsible for:

    Installation

    Software development

    Improvement and operation and maintenance of “Building Operation and Command Center” (BOCC)

    Providing 24/7 support for all subsystems

    Establishing and introducing of O&M of multimedia installation on the exhibition

    20 IT rooms with IT equipment spread across the entire building

    Installed network is cross-linked from the building entrance on the ground floor to the Hilal at a height of 600 meters

    Core-network with over 50 IBM and Cisco enterprise class switches interconnecting all subsystems

    Entire network consists of over 1000 nodes (switches, firewalls, servers…)

    IT department works with Telecom class copper and fiber optic installation

    Using testing equipment → FLUKE and FUJIKURA

    IT Department is developing the design for future projects:

    – wireless HD CCTV system for external monitoring of clock faces and media walls

    – central environmental monitoring system of all IT rooms

    – modern virtualized working environment for all ATOM employees

    – internet connection for the Makkah Time Institute NTP Servers