[GCARC] Hamclock for Dec 9th Tech Saturday

[Jon Pearce]

Great video, Vinnie - I'd encourage anyone considering making one of these devices to check out what Vinnie did. As he said the one that I set up at the clubhouse uses a full-sized monitor so I won't be able to demonstrate Vinnie's configuration unless he brings it over.

Also, as he said there are numerous configurations of the Hamclock, many for HF propagation, beacon monitoring and other HF-type uses. Since I'm not primarily an HF guy I don't know that stuff so (a) you might want to check out the documentation to see what apps would be helpful for your work, and (b) if you already know that stuff please feel free to jump into the discussion to show it off.

Again - Tech Saturday is December 9 (NOT December 2 - it's the first Saturday AFTER the general membership meeting) at 9 AM. Hope to see you there.

73 de Jon WB2MNF

From: Vinnie Sallustio <yankees_1996 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2023 9:11 PM
To: Jon Pearce <jonathanwpearce at outlook.com>; gcarc at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Hamclock for Dec 9th Tech Saturday

In addition to what Jon said below, I made a video about the Hamclock, if anyone wants to build one on Tech Saturday. As Jon said, the hamclock is just one app for the Pi.

The clock I made is small (7"), and the combined cost of the required parts, were about $160 or so. However, if you have enough space and already have a PC display monitor, you can run it on that, as Jon set one up in the clubhouse on a 22" display.

Here is the video link for the Hamclock I built.

https://youtu.be/PwwNhzhGjTA

It is not an instructional video, but an explanation of what it is.
There are a lot of instructional videos on building Hamclock.

If you are interested in the portable one that I have, let me know and I will send a parts list with links.

If you want to build one on a regular computer display, you will likely only need the Raspberry Pi, case, and power supply. Much cheaper than the $160 portable.

I am not sure yet I will be attending the Dec 9th Tech Saturday, as I am a serious fisherman and it is Blackfish season. But I can leave my clock with Jon for assistance.

Vinnie N4NYY
________________________________
From: gcarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net<mailto:gcarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net> <gcarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net<mailto:gcarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net>> on behalf of Jon Pearce <jonathanwpearce at outlook.com<mailto:jonathanwpearce at outlook.com>>
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2023 8:23 PM
To: gcarc at mailman.qth.net<mailto:gcarc at mailman.qth.net> <gcarc at mailman.qth.net<mailto:gcarc at mailman.qth.net>>
Subject: [GCARC] Preparing for the December Tech Saturday session on the Raspberry Pi Hamclock Session

The December Tech Saturday session on December 9 is "Raspberry Pi - from Zero to Hamclock" - a session to show how to start with a bare Raspberry Pi computer and empty SD card and end up running the "Hamclock" application. If you're interested in finding out what you can do with one of these small but powerful computers but haven't yet delved into them this is the session for you. Below is the list of materials that you'll need for that session.

The Raspberry Pi used can be any of the recent models from a Pi 3 through a Pi 5. Some of these are not available but one good option is the Pi 4 (4 gb) available from Amazon for $61 at https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-2019-Quad-Bluetooth/dp/B07TC2BK1X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=5KX1ZVDOU041&keywords=raspberry%2Bpi%2B4&qid=1700442462&sprefix=raspberry%2Bpi%2B4%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&th=1  or a Pi 4 (2 gb) from Adafruit for $45 at https://www.adafruit.com/product/4292 . Both the 2 gb (2 gigabytes of memory) or the 4 gb can run the Hamclock application but the 2 gb unit may not run other more intensive applications. These run on a USB-C power adapter and use mini-HDMI cables so be sure that you have them.

Here's the list of stuff that you'll need to have and load onto your PC:


  *   A USB micro-SD card reader/writer to set up the card, like this one, in addition to the Pi: https://www.amazon.com/Reader-uni-Adapter-Aluminum-Memory/dp/B08P1T8R46/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=351VJ7UYBW72&keywords=usb+sd+card+adapter&qid=1690568065&sprefix=usb+sd+card+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
  *   A micro-SD card - max 32 gb like these: https://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Micro-microSDHC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B09KL71CFN/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=18B068Z64OMHM&keywords=32gb+micro+sd+card&qid=1690568155&sprefix=32%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Download and install on your laptop:

  *   VNC for remote desktop to the Pi: https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/windows/
  *   Putty for command line connection to the Pi: https://www.putty.org/
  *   Raspberry Pi imager to put the operating system onto the SD card: https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/operating-systems/

Feel free to start experimenting with this stuff when you get it but we'll be starting from scratch at the Tech Saturday session, imaging the memory card and loading the Hamclock application. We'll also review the process to connect to these devices from a PC using Putty for a command-line interface or VNC for a GIU interface.

These devices are amazingly use for a wide variety of applications so feel free to attend even if you don't want to build a Hamclock. More info will be available closer to the event date.

73 de Jon WB2MNF
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