Flashing and programming an LED display
Project Blinking Lights
![© Lead Image © greenflame, 123RF.com © Lead Image © greenflame, 123RF.com](/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/issues/2024/281/programming-snapshot-customizing-an-led-display/123rf_43778278_led-lights_greenflame_resized.png/836816-1-eng-US/123rf_43778278_LED-lights_greenflame_resized.png_medium.png)
© Lead Image © greenflame, 123RF.com
Mike Schilli recently ordered a low-budget LED display and is all set to customize the firmware and add some homemade scripts.
External displays that continuously show data without a real screen, even when the computer is taking a nap, are a genuine upgrade to any office. Of course, they can be used to display the time or weather, but they can also perform unusual tasks tailored to your needs. The reasonably priced Ulanzi TC001 [1] ended up on my doorstep within a week for around $60, after traveling all the way from China to the USA. My original idea was to use it to build a "Wealth Clock" that shows the current gold level in all my money stores so that I know how wealthy I am at any given time.
Flashing Custom Firmware
The LED display has a retro feel. Of course, there are higher-resolution displays available today, but the LED display is definitely suitable for displaying short character strings and gives you a sort of cozy Tetris feeling at the same time. The included firmware can only do mundane tasks such as displaying the time, the date, and the battery level, but the Awtrix [2] project offers open source firmware including a browser-based instant flashing tool that turns the device into a Jack of all trades in next to no time. Figure 1 shows how the new firmware boots up.
The device does not offer much RAM, and the processor is a modest ESP32. Although this microcontroller can handle WiFi and Bluetooth, its performance cannot be compared to that of a modern CPU. This is why more demanding applications aren't running directly on the Ulanzi. Instead, they are chugging along on an external computer with more power, which then uses an API command to periodically tell Awtrix what to display. After completing the boot process, the firmware rotates through all of its configured standard apps: time/date, temperature, humidity provided by its internal sensors, and current battery strength. But that's not the objective here. Instead, we will be disabling the standard apps one by one in order to upload our own custom apps in this issue.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.