Work in Progress: Feather TFT Clock

Last updated September 08, 2024

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This is an update on my current work in progress. I'm making a clock that will use gamepad buttons to set the time and date. The look is about 80's and 90's LED alarm clocks and digital watches. My larger goal is to explore making USB gamepad controlled GUIs in CircuitPython.

For now, I'm deciding how I want time and date setting to work, including how the final sprites will look. To watch my video progress update, click through to the full post.

Video Progress Update

Temporarily unable to load embedded content:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awSiF49J2Iw

Hardware

8BitDo SN30 Pro USB gamepad (product page)
Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather - 4MB Flash, 2MB PSRAM (product page, learn guide)
Adafruit USB Host FeatherWing with MAX3421E (product page, learn guide)
Adalogger FeatherWing - RTC + SD (product page, learn guide)
FeatherWing Tripler Mini Kit (product page)
CR1220 12mm Diameter - 3V Lithium Coin Cell Battery (product page)

CircuitPython Code (currently alpha version)

There's no project bundle yet because the code is incomplete and I'm still figuring out how I want the state machine to work. But, if you like, you can follow along with my current progress on GitHub at samblenny/feather-tft-clock commit 77d3b9e

The main README file in my feather-tft-clock repository goes into some detail about what I'm doing with the state machine and about the current revision of the segmented display sprites that I made in Krita.

Sprites

These screenshots from Krita show my initial concept for display segment sprites.

Number Sprites

The numbers are inspired by LED alarm clocks. I'm pretty happy with how they look.

Mode Badge Sprites

These mode badges are my initial attempt at exploring how to use a USB gamepad and state machine to set the time and date of a Real Time Clock (RTC) module. The visual concept is mainly based on the old alarm clock technique of a single LED next to a silk screen label on the bezel. For which modes to include, I'm borrowing ideas from digital watches, because LED alarm clocks usually didn't have any provision for setting the date.

After getting the state machine partially working to make my demo video above, I'm not satisfied with my initial idea for these mode badges. So, this week, I will probably make new sprites and revise the state machine.

This page (Work in Progress: Feather TFT Clock) was last updated on September 08, 2024.