LED Matrix Dashboard

Prerequisites

To run this project, you will need:

• A Raspberry Pi
• An RGB LED matrix panel of size 32x64

The panel needs to be connected to the Pi GPIOs according to this schema.

Preview

Installation

To build and install the matrix-dashboard service, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository with submodules:

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/SharkAce/LED-Matrix-Dashboard.git

2. Build the project:

   cd LED-Matrix-Dashboard
   make

3. Install the service:

   sudo make install

Usage

Once installed, you can either start the service or run the executable in the current shell.

• Start the service:

  sudo systemctl start matrix-dashboard.service

• Run the executable:

  sudo matrix-dashboard

Configuration

The configuration is defined in JSON format and specifies the matrix options and the blocks to be displayed. After installation, the configuration file will be located at /etc/matrix-dashboard/config.json. A custom configuration file can also be specified using the -c flag.

Below is a detailed explanation of each parameter.

Properties are required unless specified otherwise.

matrix

• Description: Contains configuration options for the rgbmatrix library. Additional options can be specified by appending flags to the execution command.
• Structure:
  • size (object, optional): Specifies the size of the matrix.
    • rows (integer): Number of rows in the matrix.
    • cols (integer): Number of columns in the matrix.
  • brightness (integer, optional): Brightness level of the display.
  • font (string): Font file to be used.
  • limit_refresh_rate_hz (integer, optional): Refresh rate limit in Hertz.
  • led_rgb_sequence (string, optional): RGB sequence. Example: "RGB".

blocks

• Description: An array of block objects that define each element displayed on the screen.
• Structure:
  • type (string): Specifies the type of block. Valid options are "time" and "http".
  • origin (string, optional): Specifies the origin point for positioning the block. Can be "top-left" (default), "top-right", "bottom-left", or "bottom-right".
  • position (object): Specifies the x and y coordinates for the block's position on the screen.
    • x (integer): The horizontal position on the screen.
    • y (integer): The vertical position on the screen.
  • color (array of three integers): Defines the RGB color of the block text. Example: [64, 0, 128] represents a purple color.
  • interval (integer): The time interval in seconds at which the block content is updated. For example, 600 means the block will update every 10 minutes.

time Blocks:

• Description: Display the current date and/or time.
• Additional Properties:
  • format (string): Specifies how the date/time is formatted. The format follows the strftime syntax, such as %A for the full weekday name, or %H:%M:%S for hours, minutes, and seconds.
  • rounding (object, optional): Specifies rounding intervals for hours, minutes, and seconds.
    • seconds (integer, optional): Rounds the seconds to the nearest multiple of the specified value. Example: {"seconds": 5} will round the seconds to 0, 5, 10, etc.
    • minutes (integer, optional): Rounds the minutes similarly to the nearest multiple.
    • hours (integer, optional): Rounds the hours to the nearest multiple.

http Blocks:

• Description: Display data fetched from a specified URL.
• Additional Properties:
  • url (string): The URL from which data will be fetched.

Example config

{
  "matrix": {
    "size": {"rows": 32, "cols": 64},
    "brightness": 50,
    "font": "4x6.bdf",
    "limit_refresh_rate_hz": 120,
    "led_rgb_sequence": "RBG"
  },
  "blocks": [
    {
      "type": "time",
      "format": "%H:%M:%S",
      "rounding": {"seconds": 5},
      "position": {"x": 2, "y": 10},
      "color": [64, 0, 128],
      "interval": 5
    },
    {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://wttr.in?format=%t",
      "origin": "top-right",
      "position": {"x": 2, "y": 10},
      "color": [0, 128, 128],
      "interval": 600
    }
  ]
}

Troubleshooting

On a default Raspbian setup, the snd_bcm2835 module needs to be blacklisted to use the hardware pulse feature. See the troubleshooting guide for the solution.

Credit

This project uses the rgbmatrix library and wiring schema from hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.