Instructions to build a pico-based digital table clock showing the
- time
- date and
- day of the week.
The code is entirely micropython-based and pulls time data from the internal RTC chip - an internet connection is not needed. Assembly of the device is really easy and even solder-free in case you have a pre-soldered Raspberry Pi Pico.
| Assembled picoClock |
|---|
 |
- Button A: Adjust brightness (down).
- Button B: Switch language of the displayed day of the week (German, English, Spanish and French are available).
- Button X: Adjust brightness (up).
- Button Y: Show/hide seconds in the time display.
-
Flash the custom Pimoroni Pico MicroPython build onto the board, which already includes the display driver. You can find it here. Future releases will probably also work to some degree, but I cannot give any guarantees. For this build, v1.19.2 was used.
- Download the
pimoroni-pico-v[...]-micropython.uf2file. - Push and hold the BOOTSEL button while you plug your Pico into the USB port of your computer. Once plugged in, release the button.
- The Pico will mount as a mass storage device called RPI-RP2.
- Drag and drop the downloaded file into the RPI-RP2 volume.
- Download the
-
Download and install Thonny, open it, click Run --> Select interpreter and choose MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico). This will establish a shell connection to your device.
-
Copy
main.pyover to your device. -
If you want, you can choose to display "Happy B-Day" instead of the day of the week on one day of the year. Just edit the Global Settings at the top of the script in order to do so.
-
To set the clock, enter your current time, day of the week and date in line 242, uncomment the line and execute it once. After that, comment the line out again and save the script. Your clock has now been set.
I did not make a specific case for this build, but this one from another build uses the same hardware and should fit fairly well.