This project is a purpose-built solution for retrieving and displaying various information that is important to the author.
Additionally, it has configured interfaces (button presses, NFC/RFID card/tag scan) which can trigger arbitrary actions (e.g. send magic packet). It aims to have a small footprint, with minimal maintenance.
The code provided here is based on examples (1, 2) from the pi-rc522 and adafruit-circuitpython-ssd1306 projects.
- Raspberry Pi computer with installed header pins and power source
- compatible microSD/SD card
- SSD1306-based 128x64 or 128x32 pixel OLED display (I2C)
- (Optional) RC522 module (for RFID/NFC communication)
-
Install Raspbian (Lite) on a microSD/SD card
-
Set up the Raspberry Pi to run headless and connect it to your network (guide)
-
Do
sudo raspi-config
and set up:- "Interfacing Options" > "Interfacing Options" > "I2C" > select "Yes"
- (Optional) "Localisation Options"
- (Optional) "Change User Password"
Important! Because we're using a Raspberry Pi, the default user is
pi
with a password ofraspberry
- it is strongly advised to change the password, at minimum.
-
Install dependencies:
sudo apt update && sudo apt-get install git python3-pip python3-dev libtiff5-dev libopenjp2-7-dev
-
(Optional) Enable Wake-on-LAN packet sending
sudo apt-get install etherwake
-
(Optional) If using a Temperature / Humidity sensor, do
sudo apt-get install libgpiod2
-
Clone this repo and
cd mini-ticker
-
Install required packages with
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
-
(Optional) Edit
/boot/config.txt
at the linedtparam=i2c_arm=on
and replace it with:dtparam=i2c_arm=on,i2c_arm_baudrate=400000
-
(Optional) If using an RC522 module for RFID/NFC communication, edit
/boot/config.txt
to include the following settings:device_tree_param=spi=on dtoverlay=spi-bcm2708 dtparam=spi=on
-
Edit or create
.env
in the same directory asstatus_display.py
with the following contents:DHT11_PIN=4
Once the ticker.py
script is executed, it will continue to run until the process is terminated. You can manually execute the script on demand, or automatically execute on shell start by editing /etc/profile
and appending the following to the end of the file (update the file path as needed):
python3 /home/pi/mini-ticker
Alternatively, run any given script as a service:
-
Run
sudo systemctl --force --full edit mini-ticker.service
and enter the config:[Unit] Description=Mini Ticker Requires=network.target After=multi-user.target [Service] WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/mini-ticker User=pi ExecStart=python3 . ExecStopPost=python3 -c 'import ticker; ticker.shutdown()' [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
-
Enable the service with
sudo systemctl enable --now mini-ticker.service
, and start it withsudo systemctl start mini-ticker.service
Other scripts that listen for triggers (e.g. card scan, button press) can be executed in the same way.
- This build assumes Raspberry Pi Zero hardware - no other Raspberry Pi hardware has been tested with this code.
- Ubuntu Font Family is included in
/fonts
by default. If you wish to use a different font, add them to the/fonts
directory and update the import references inticker.py
(note, line spacing currently presumes Ubuntu fonts and may require adjustments when using other fonts). - Tip: You can access the the target pi on your network using the pi's network DNS reference (
raspberrypi
by default). This is particularly useful if your network has dynamic IP address assignment; you can simplyssh pi@raspberrypi.local
)
name | description |
---|---|
bme280 | measures temperature, pressure, altitude, and relative humidity |
bmp280 | measures temperature, pressure, and altitude |
dht11 | measures temperature and relative humidity |
dht22 | measures temperature and relative humidity |
RC522 | Near-Field Communication (NFC) module |
SSD1306 | 128 x 64 dot matrix OLED |