Forecast part 1

Published 2019-04-08

Synopsis

This is a project I’ve been thinking about for a while. How practical it would be to have a small indicator that tells you it’ll rain before you head out in a t-shirt.

The code for this project is available on GitHub.

The display

I bought a small e-ink module of the mark HelTec. I originally thought I would make a watch like my Nixie watch, but I changed my mind and made this instead.

The display is connected to a ESP32-WROOM-32 module. It connects to APIXU and collects forecast data, which it renders in the form of an icon and min/max temperature indicators.

Hand-drawn icons

I like hand-drawn stuff and I find it renders well on this display.

Hand-drawn letters

Hand-drawn fonts are often aweful due to obviously identical digits. I wrote down eight times the required digits and symbols for the project, and had it loop through them to create a random effect. Unless there are more than eight times the same digit on screen at once, no repeated symbol graphic is shown.

The font includes a white border so that text can overlap the background image without rendering it unreadable.

Next step: ART

The display is to be framed and hung on a wall. The next step is to create the frame, add a battery and a battery management circuit, and to hang it on a wall!



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