led-wall-clock

A fancy RGB LED matrix wall clock controlled by a Raspberry Pi.

Parts List

• 64x32 RGB LED Matrix - 5mm pitch
• Adafruit RGB Matrix + Real Time Clock Hat
• Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
• Acrylic Mount Plate (with light sensor)

Dependencies

Python libraries

• rpi-rgb-led-matrix
• requests
• apscheduler
• daemonify

RGB Matrix Hat Modification

The brightness can be controlled by pulse-width-modulating the OE pin of the LED matrix. Unfortunately, the hat does not have the PWM pin of the Raspberry Pi connected to the OE pin. To correct this, jumper a wire between pins labeled 4 and 18 on the hat.

RGB Matrix Library Build Instructions

Clone this repository and submodules to your Raspberry Pi

git clone --recursive https://github.com/jeffkub/led-wall-clock.git
cd led-wall-clock/rpi-rgb-led-matrix

Edit lib/Makefile and uncomment the following two DEFINES

# Uncomment the following line for Adafruit Matrix HAT gpio mappings.
# If you have an Adafruit HAT ( https://www.adafruit.com/products/2345 ),
# you need to use this option as the HAT swaps pins around that are not
# compatible with the default mapping.
DEFINES+=-DADAFRUIT_RGBMATRIX_HAT

# Uncomment if you want to use the Adafruit HAT with stable PWM timings.
# The newer version of this library allows for much more stable (less flicker)
# output, but it does not work with the Adafruit HAT unless you do a
# simple hardware hack on them:
# connect GPIO 4 (old OE) with 18 (the new OE); there are
# convenient solder holes labeled 4 and 18 on the Adafruit HAT, pretty
# close together.
# Then uncomment the following define and recompile.
DEFINES+=-DADAFRUIT_RGBMATRIX_HAT_PWM

Build and install the Python library

make build-python
sudo make install-python

Starting the Clock

To start the clock as a daemon

cd led-wall-clock
sudo ./ledclock.py -d start

To Do

• Use a more generic weather API
• Move configuration to a separate file
• Implement dimming based on TSL2591 light sensor
• Add forecast screen (toggle on a timer)