Subway Clock Project

For our first Raspberry Pi project we decided to make a NYC subway themed clock with a led pixel display and a Raspberry Pi.

Project goals

Main goal:

• To create a clock display, which tells (i) the time and (ii) the stops for Line 6 in New York city.

Phase I Goal:

• Clock to display time + names of subway stops for Line 6 at fixed intervals Phase II Goal:
• Clock to display time + live updates from of subway, e.g. 10:10, arriving at Longwood Av., using MTA api

Stretch goals:

• Combine Raspberry Pi + Display to use a single source of power
• Create frame for clock

Clock Images

Soldering the Pi zero

Completely soldered Pi zero

Pi Zero and LED Array

Pi cycling through a stop

Pi cycling through time

Materials

• Adafruit 16 x 32 RGB LED Matrix Panel Display
• Raspberry Pi Zero (with WiFi)
• See more materials: https://learn.adafruit.com/connecting-a-16x32-rgb-led-matrix-panel-to-a-raspberry-pi/you-will-need

RGB LED Matrix Code Repository

• https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix

Headless Raspberry Pi Zero Setup

1. Download and Install raspbian to SD card
2. Plug in SD Card to Raspberry Pi
3. We wanted to setup our raspberry pi without ever having to plug it into a physical screen so we followed this gist that allowed us to do so as long as we had a micro USB cable and an additional computer
4. Use micro USB cable to connect a computer to the Pi
5. Go to Mac/PC and SSH via network address into Raspberry Pi Use login credentials available on Pi to log in ssh  pi@raspberrypi in terminal password: raspberry
6. Use command line on Mac/PC to control Pi
7. Setup wifi on Pi by following: https://medium.com/a-swift-misadventure/setup-your-raspberry-pi-2-3-with-raspbian-headless-without-cables-c78309fd7045
8. Transfer files from Mac/PC to Raspberry Pi:
   • http://thomasloughlin.com/how-to-transfer-files-from-a-mac-or-pc-onto-a-raspberry-pi/
   • Example: scp test.jpg  pi@raspberrypi.local:~ (test.jpg is in home directory e.g. Ismael)
9. Set the clock on the Raspberry Pi

Wire Up Raspberry Pi and Adafruit 16 x 32 RGB LED Matrix Panel Display

We would recommend following hzeller guide

Run Script:

sudo python main.py

Additional steps:

1. Create photoshop images (in pmp format) of all train stop names

Code Requirements

We are use the python bindings of hzeller rpi-rgb-led-matrix project so be sure to install clone his repo and install all necessary libraries for getting images displayed

Reference and Inspiration Material:

• https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/nyc-train-sign/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeq8_xPArGM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbggS2rV9W4 (6) train
• http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/sixline.htm
• https://github.com/MLB-LED-Scoreboard/mlb-led-scoreboard