LW-Clock (Clock, Weather, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, creeping line, remote monitoring)

Compact clock has a variety of functions: Perfect time, Alarm, Measurement of temperature, humidity and atmosphere pressure indoors, Forecasting download, Upload submission to MQTT & Thingspeak server, Display of any predetermined information at set time. Clock has low power consumption and provides high display brightness.

What is a LW-Clock?

LW-Clock is a device, based on ESP8266 microcontroller and real-time clock DS3231. It uses indicator modules MAX7919 for information output. BME280 sensor provides a precise measurement of indoor temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. An Internet connection via Wi-Fi module helps to synchronize time with NTP servers, to receive and display forecast, news, exchange rate etc. Data from sensors can be transmitted via MQTT protocol or displayed on popular monitoring service thingspeak.com. Clock can display predetermined information (reminders, greetings, advertisements, time-schedules etc.) according on schedule. Display of text messages, transmitted from any place via MQTT is also possible. Clock adjustment and manipulation is performed via WEB-interface. Micro-USB connector allows to use any low-duty USB-charger to power the device.

Features include:

Always precise time because of synchronization with NTP time servers
High display brightness
Indoor temperature, humidity and barometric pressure measurement
Sending temperature, humidity and barometric pressure data to MQTT and Thingspeak.com server
Getting a weather information and forecast for your city (temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, cloud and wind structure)
Output of any predetermined information in the form of a creeping line
Remote transmission of any text messages via MQTT server and it’s output on the clock
No buttons – control the clock via WEB-interface from PC, tablet or smartphone
Brightness and output speed of adjustment
Two alarm clocks
Firmware update via Wi-Fi
Information display on 3 languages: English, Russian, Bulgarian
Three types of case material: PETG plastic, acryl and wood
Powered via USB
Normal USB port or phone charger
An option to install different alternative Open Source firmware, designed to MAX7912 matrix control
Hackable: Open source hardware and firmware, Displays information read via UART

Required Parts:

Wemos D1 Mini: http://got.by/40d3u7
Dot Matrix Module MAX7219: http://got.by/40da6v
BME280 Digital Sensor (Temperature, Humidity, Barometric Pressure) 5V: http://got.by/40d52x
TTP223B digital touch capacitive sensor: http://got.by/40d6kz
DS3231 AT24C32 IIC Module Precision Clock http://got.by/42k10g
Active Buzzer http://got.by/42k1sg
Micro USB Cable: http://got.by/40dbf7
Vinyl Smoke Film Sheet http://got.by/43vkl6

Note: Using the links provided here help to support these types of projects. Thank you for the support.

You can purchase a PCB with soldered elements and connectors for connecting the indicator and sensors, or just a PCB and a set of elements for installation https://diy.led-lightwell.eu/product/lw-multifunctional-clock-kit/

Schematics / Assembly

Component	Pins	Wemos D1 Mini
Dot Matrix Module MAX7219	CS -->	D0 (GPIO16)
CLK -->	D5 (GPIO14)
DIN -->	D7 (GPIO13)
+5V -->
GND -->
DS3231	SCL -->	D1 (GPIO5)
SDA -->	D2 (GPIO4)
+3V
GND
BME280	SCL -->	D1 (GPIO5)
SDA -->	D2 (GPIO4)
+5V
GND
Buzzer (active)	+ -->	D8 (GPIO15)
GND
TTP223B digital touch capacitive sensor	Dout -->	D6 (GPIO12)
+5V
GND
I2C	CS	D0 (GPIO16)
CLK	D5 (GPIO14)
UART	Tx	TX (GPIO1)
Rx	RX (GPIO3)

Solder the elements on the printed circuit board according to the circuit diagram, instructions and markings placed on the printed circuit board.
Connect the Matrix MAX7219 indicator modules, BME280, Buzzer and TTP223B digital touch capacitive sensor using soldering or connectors.
Fasten the circuit board to the back of the Matrix MAX7219 LED Display Modules using M3 screws and plastic washers.
If you use more than four MAX7219 modules, ALWAYS connect an external 5V power supply with a capacity of 330 mA per each 8x8 module.
To download the sketch and files, connect the device to the computer via USB cable.

Compiling and Loading to Wemos D1 / Installation

It is recommended to use Arduino IDE. You will need to configure Arduino IDE to work with the Wemos board and USB port and install the required USB drivers.

Install the Arduino IDE
Install the CH340G driver
In the preferences dialog of the Arduino IDE, add http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json to the Additional Boards Manager URLs
Open Boards Manager (under Tools), search for and install the latest version of esp8266.
Install the Arduino ESP8266 filesystem uploader plugin (requires restart of IDE)
Load and install used libraries
Connect your D1 mini to the computer using a micro USB cable
In Tools > Flash Size: select 4M (1M SPIFFS) -- this project requires SPIFFS for saving and reading configuration settings.
Select the Port from the tools menu
Under Tools, select "LOLIN(WEMOS) D1 R2 & mini" as the board
Select Tools > CPU frequency: 80MHz, Flash size: 4M, Debug port: Disabled, Debug level: None, Upload speed: 921600
Open LWClockV1.0.ino
Sketch > Upload
Upload the sketch data files (the data directory in the sketch folder) using Tools > ESP8266 Sketch Data Upload.

Loading Supporting Library Files in Arduino

Use the Arduino guide for details on how to installing and manage libraries https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Libraries The following packages and libraries are used (download and install):

ArduinoJson by Benoit Blanchon (version 6.13.0)
TimeLib by Paul Stoffregen (version 1.5)
MD_Parola by majicDesigns (version 3.2.0)
MD_MAX72XX by majicDesigns (version 3.2.1)
MD_MAXPanel by majicDesigns (version 1.2.3)
PubSubClient by Nick O'Leary (version 2.7)
RTClib by Adafruit (version 1.3.3)
Adafruit Unified Sensor by Adafruit (version 1.0.3) (for DHT sensor only)
DHT sensor library by Adafruit (version 1.3.8) (for DHT sensor only)
BlueDot BME280 Library by BlueDot (version 1.0.9)
NetCrtESP (version 1.0) https://github.com/Lightwell-bg/NetCrtESP

Note: There could be some Issues if using different versions of the libraries.

Initial Configuration

Starting with LW-Clock editing the Config.h file is optional. SSID and password for Wi-Fi, all API Keys are managed in the Web Interface. It is not required to edit the Config.h file before loading and running the code.

Open Weather Map free API key: http://openweathermap.org/ -- this is used to get weather data. LW-Clock version 1.0 supports 4 and more Dot Matrix Module MAX7219-- configure in the config.h file.

NOTE!!! If you use more than 4 modules you must connect an external power supply with a capacity of 330 mA per each 8x8 module!

NOTE: The settings in the Config.h are the default settings for the first loading. After loading you can change the settings via the Web Interface. If you want to change settings again in the Config.h, you will need to erase the file system on the Wemos or use the “Reset Settings” option in the Web Interface. During the first time run, Wemos D1 mini will try to connect to your Wi-Fi and fail (because it doesn't have any previously saved Wi-Fi credentials). This will cause it to start up an access point, which serves up a captive configuration portal. You can connect to this access point to select and enter credentials for your network. Save configuration and restart device. (Wemos D1 mini will restart and connect to your Wi-Fi network)

Web Interface

All clock management is carried out using a web browser. On first power-up, LW-Clock will serve a hotspot called LW-Clock. For clock adjustment and manipulation open a webpage with the 192.168.4.1 address. Within this hotspot you can manually override the time and date, set text messages for display, set timecodes of messages output and update software.

For Wi-Fi network connection please input its SSID and password. After successful connection LW-Clock will begin to receive and transmit information over the Internet. NTP servers are used to get accurate time. To get the current weather and forecast use the service https://openweathermap.org (you need to register and get an API key). To transmit temperature, humidity and barometric pressure data you can use the MQTT server https://www.cloudmqtt.com/ and the server https://thingspeak.com. You can also transmit information for display on the clock in the form of a creeping line through the MQTT server.

Three types of case material

We designed three types of the clock case, which you can choose to give a device a complete and stylish look. First variant is made of black polished acryl, which fits perfectly into modern apartment or office. Second variant is made of woodworking industry waste and comes as a retro-style. Different colors and finishes can give a device a unique look which fits into any design of the apartment or office. You can order both assembling clock kit and finished case, ready for coloring or other treatment. Third variant is made of filaments for 3D-printers (ABS, PETG, PLA etc.). You can make it yourself using a 3D printer and blueprints.