HClock (Holographic Illusion Clock)

This is my holoclock idea. This Instructable will show you how to make a standard clock (with 3 variations) look like it is floating in midair!

Supplies

You will need the materials that follow:

1 x raspberry pi 2 or above

1 x WIFI USB adapter (if using rpi below 3)

1 x microSD card

1 x Elecrow 5 inch resistive touch display and HDMI adapter(comes with screen). Found here.

1 x Computer Mouse wired or wireless (USB compatible)

1 x Computer Keyboard wired or wireless (USB compatible)

1 x 3 inch by 4 3/4 inch plexy glass

1 x 3 inch by 4 3/4 inch mirror

Hardboard

Step 1: Cut Your Hardboard:

You need to use a saw to cut 5 pieces of hardboard (or Masonite). The dimensions are as followed:

1 x 4 3/4 inch by 8 inch (labeled bottom)

2 x 3 inch by 8 inch (labeled left and right sides)

1 x 3 inch by 4 3/4 inch (labeled back)

1 x 4 3/4 inch by 1 inch (labeled top)

Step 2: Prepare the MicroSD Card:

Insert MicroSD card into a laptop.

Go here and download the "Raspberry Pi Imager" for your operating system.

When download is complete open the file.

Follow instructions on how to set it up.

When Setup is complete, open the imager (if running on Windows 10 click yes in the popup window), in the imager window click the "Choose OS" button. From the next menu click the "Raspbian" (Top) option. Click the "Choose SD Card" button. Click the name of your card. Click "Write". Wait for the imaging to be done.

Step 3: Boot Pi With Screen:

Insert the MicroSD card into the Raspberry pi.

Insert Mouse, Keyboard, and WIFI adapters into the USB ports on the pi.

Place the pins on the screen on the pins on the pi. (Picture in instructions that come with the screen)

The HDMI ports will line up. Plug in the HDMI adapter into the screen.

Plug the Raspberry pi into the wall using a standard USB to micro USB Cable and AC adapter.

Wait for the pi to boot to the desktop.

Follow the Setup instructions. Make Sure to connect to WIFI.

After Setup Screen disappears move to the next step.

Step 4: Fix the Screen Size:

Shut the pi down by clicking the raspberry (in the top left hand corner), click shutdown and click shutdown in the popup menu.

Remove the MicroSD card from the pi, and reinsert it into your other computer (the one you imaged it with). Find the SD card in the files menu and scroll down until you find the file called config.txt

Scroll to the very bottom of the file and add these lines

# --- added by elecrow-pitft-setup ---
hdmi_force_hotplug=1

max_usb_current=1

hdmi_drive=1

hdmi_group=2

hdmi_mode=1

hdmi_mode=87

hdmi_cvt 800 480 60 6 0 0 0 dtoverlay=ads7846,cs=1,penirq=25,penirq_pull=2,speed=50000,keep_vref_on=0,swapxy=0,pmax=255,xohms=150,xmin=200,xmax=3900,ymin=200,ymax=3900

display_rotate=0

# --- end elecrow-pitft-setup ---

Save and insert the card back into the pi and boot up again.

Step 5: Get and Run the Files:

On your pi press ctrl + alt + t to open the terminal.

In the terminal window type in these commands:

cd ./Desktop

(Enter)

git clone https://github.com/BitMan64/HClock

On the desktop you should now see the HClock folder.

Open the folder.

click on the "digital-7.ttf" file and press ctrl + X

go to the folder called "pi"

click view -> show hidden

make a new folder and name it .fonts

open the .fonts folder and press ctrl + v

Go back to the desktop and open the HClock folder.

open the clocktypes(V2.1.0)

double click on your preferred clock.

In the popup window press run.

Step 6: Stop Sleep Mode:

Open terminal again by pressing ctrl + alt + t.

type in 'sudo nano /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf'

(Enter)

at the top add these 2 lines.

# don't sleep the screen

xserver-command=X -s 0 dpms

ctrl + X to exit click enter then y then enter again.

close terminal.

Step 7: Build Case:

Get a hot glue gun and some hot glue.

Attach the back piece to the base of the bottom.

Attach the right side to the right side of the bottom and base.

Do the same for the Left side.

remove all USB things from the pi.

Insert pi into the open side of the bottom of the case

Use a small extra piece of hardboard to hold the screen in.

Add the top to the top.

glue the plexy on top to the top piece.

turn on the screen and load a clock.

place the mirror at the back.

change the mirror's angle to make it show on the plexy glass(when looking toward the screen)

glue the mirror in place at the top.

find black paper and place it on to of the screen to block it out.

You are now done.