See the ESP8266 Notes tab.

See the Desktop tab.

Assuming you only ever installed HamClock according to my instructions in the Desktop tab, you can remove all traces by typing the following two commands in a terminal or ssh session:

    sudo sh -c 'rm -fr ~/.hamclock ~/ESPHamClock* /usr/local/bin/hamclock*'
    rm -fr ~/.hamclock ~/ESPHamClock*
    

1. Buy a microSD card such as this one
2. Insert the microSD card into your computer
3. Download and install the Raspberry Pi Imager
4. Start the program and burn your microSD card with RPi operating system as follows:
   1. click Choose OS
   2. select the first choice on top
   3. click Choose Storage
   4. select the microSD you just inserted
   5. click Write
   6. wait for it to complete writing and verifying
   7. remove the microSD card when it says it is finished
5. Insert the microSD card into your RPi
6. Connect a keyboard, mouse, ethernet and HDMI monitor to your RPi
7. Connect power to the RPi
8. After a minute or so you will see the Desktop
9. Work through the setup menus
10. Start a browser by clicking the red raspberry in the upper left corner then Internet ⇒ Chromium
11. Go to my project web page at https://clearskyinstitute.com/ham/HamClock
12. Start a terminal by clicking the red raspberry again then Accessories ⇒ Terminal
13. Follow the instructions on my Desktop tab
14. Read the User Guide to get the most from HamClock

This error means your system is using a version of openssl that is older than 1.1. This occurs because a prominent high level SSL certificate expired on Sept 30 2021 and openssl was updated to use the replacement certificate. You can find your version by opening a terminal command line and typing this command:

openssl version

To update openssl on an RPi you can try

sudo apt upgrade openssl

To update openssl on macOS using macports you can try

sudo port upgrade openssl

(be sure /opt/local/bin is before /usr/bin in your PATH)

After the update, repeat the openssl command and you should see version 1.1 or larger. If so, repeat your HamClock version update and it should work.

It depends on the message.

• If it says there is a permission error related to a certain file, look at the permissions of the file, and each directory leading up to it, and make changes as necessary so the effective user id of hamclock has sufficient authority to access the file.

  Or just start all over. See the separate FAQ about removing HamClock. Then go over to the Desktop tab and follow the instructions.

• The message is sh: 0: illegal option -p ?

  This happened in Version 2.58 on RPi if you are not running Buster. It is now fixed so the easiest solution is to remove your current ESPHamClock (see separate FAQ) and install fresh using the instructions in the Desktop tab.

  And while you're at it, if you are using the fb0 version, change to the GUI version, again see instructions and the other FAQ here about fb0 for details.

• Something else?

  Copy it down exactly and email it to me.

No, it can not run natively on Windows but it can display on Windows by using an X Server. The idea is to run the HamClock program on a UNIX-like system, such as an RPi or WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) then run HamClock in such a way that it displays on the X Server running on Windows.

For example:

• I downloaded and installed VcXsrv on an old XP system I have here.
• I ran the installer which places a shortcut on the desktop named XLaunch
• I double clicked XLaunch and I accepted all defaults except I set Display Number 1 and I disabled access control for now.
• Then on an RPi on the same network, I built HamClock and ran it as follows:

      make -j 4 hamclock-800x480
      sudo make install
      export DISPLAY="192.168.7.129:1"
      hamclock
  

• whence HamClock immediately appeared on the Windows machine and worked fine

Note in the example above, 192.168.7.129 is the IP of the Windows machine, so change that to match your system configuration. Also note the ":1" of the DISPLAY environment variable. That says to use X Server display 1, which corresponds to the selection I made while running XLaunch. If you find it won't connect, it might be due to your Windows firewall. X Window servers listen on port 6000 + display_number, so in this case be sure Windows is allowing incoming connections on port 6001.

Also see the User Contrib pane for a suggestion on how to use WSL.

Similar answer as previous FAQ but you'll need an X server app for iPad. I find Mocha X11 works well.

I do not have a Geochron 4K but from its literature I can think of the following functions related to ham radio that HamClock offers but Geochron does not:

1. VOACAP propagation predictions for any HF band or path at several power levels
2. trend plots and predictions for solar flux, solar wind, sunspot, XRay, Kp index and DRAP
3. short and long path antenna beam heading and distance to any DX location
4. display next satellite rise/set times and overhead pass (not just global track)
5. display DE time in digital, analog or calendar formats
6. azimuthal world maps centered on any location
7. local weather, time, grid square, prefix and sun rise/set times at any DX location
8. live scrolling DX cluster display
9. live display of WSJT-X and JTDX FT8 contacts
10. live solar images from Solar Dynamics Observatory and STEREO-A
11. live quantitative Moon info useful for EME
12. live NCDXF beacon location, time and frequency schedule
13. live RSS feeds from popular ham web sites
14. live D layer absorption map
15. stopwatch and station ID count-down timer with optional color LED and switch control
16. adjust time forward or back to explore Moon, gray line, satellite orbits etc
17. Elecraft KX3 transceiver frequency control from DX Cluster spot
18. 2 BME280 sensors for temperature, pressure and humidity real-time and 25 hour trend plots
19. photosensor to adjust display brightness with changes in room lighting
20. "On The Air" indicator controlled by GPIO pin from radio
21. remote control functions from any browser or curl command line
22. can become just a simple old fashioned time-and-temperature clock

Conversely, Geochron can do things HamClock can not. These items are certainly interesting but to me they do not seem specifically useful to the typical amateur radio operator:

1. air and sea traffic
2. pollution, population and pandemic maps

If I have misrepresented Geochron in any way, please tell me how and I will correct immediately.

1. In the Setup page, tap the Cluster? button then set the internet host name and port for your desired DX Spider node. A good list is here. Be sure to choose a Spider node, AR and CC clusters are not supported. Turn off the Cluster? button if you don't want to use a cluster.
2. Once HamClock is up and running, tap the center plot pane until the DX Cluster page appears. The name of the host will be shown in yellow, and it will turn green when a connection is established. If the connection fails, it will show an error in red.
3. Once connected, just leave it run, new spots will be listed, scrolling when full. Tap on a spot to set DX to that location. The tap can also set the frequency of an Elecraft KX3, see the User Guide for details.
4. Beware: HamClock stays logged into the cluster node with your call sign as long as the DX Cluster pane is active. So do not use this feature if you want to use the unassisted category in a contest -- some judges do check!
5. Spider nodes support a lot of options and settings and HamClock makes no attempt to control any of them. But you may still be able to set them by logging in to the same cluster a second time simultaneously from a different application or telnet session. You should use the same call but add an SSID suffix like "-1" so the spider software won't detect a duplicate and disconnect HamClock. Now from this second connection, make the desired settings and most nodes will carry them over to all login sessions, including the HamClock session. Here is just one example of a set of filters that will show only CW spots from operators in US or southern Canada:

       filter1 reject not by_zone 3,4,5
       filter2 reject not on hf/cw
       filter3 reject on hf/rtty
       filter4 reject on hf/ssb
       filter5 reject info ft8
                   

6. The same mechanism can communicate with WSJT-X or JTDX. Instead of showing cluster spots, it shows each FT8 station you attempt to work and also immediately loads DX with its location. Details for doing this are in the User Guide.

No, it's not that simple. Each size requires its own custom fonts, graphics symbols, maps and images in order to take proper advantage of the different resolutions. Otherwise, these would be very pixelated if they were just multiples of the base images. Plus, if the aspect ratio changes, the layout would need to be rebalanced. This is why all sizes are multiples of 2 of the base size in order to maintain the same layout proportions.

Even though full screen mode uses the entire screen, HamClock still only uses the pixels specified in the make command size, filling the remaining space with black. With the GUI configuration (not fb0) you can try a command line program called xrandr to expand HamClock to fill the screen by changing the effective display resolution to match HamClock.

Xrandr works by changing how the X server maps pixels to the display hardware. It's easy to try and undo if you decide you don't like it.

For example, my display is 1920 x 1080. The closest I can build HamClock is 1600 x 960. If I run this size with the Full screen option in setup set to Yes, HamClock will still be that size but will fill the surrounding gaps with black. With xrandr one can expand HamClock to fill the screen and eliminate those gaps.

To try it, log in with ssh so we aren't trying to adjust the same screen we are using for commands. Run the following command while HamClock is running in its full screen mode:

        xrandr --output HDMI-1 --scale-from 1600x960 --display :0
        

(it's better to think of that argument as meaning scale-to)

That's it, the effect should be immediate but ...

• If xrandr gives an error about failing to get size of gamma, check the GL driver is installed with sudo raspi-config as:

  Advanced Options ⇒ GL driver ⇒ OpenGL with fake KMS ⇒ Ok ⇒ Ok ⇒ Finish ⇒ Reboot now

• If xrandr gives an error about bad parameter match, try changing scale-from a little.
• If you want to go back to normal run

      xrandr --output HDMI-1 --scale-from 1920x1080 --display :0
      

Modify these values to accommodate your particular combination of HamClock and display sizes as needed.

The display aspect change is accomplished using non-square pixels within the X server. This doesn't usually matter much but if you often run analog Big Clock you may notice it is no longer circular. Adjust the xrandr dimensions to find a compromise between filling the screen and making the circle look nice.

The xrandr changes do not survive logging out or rebooting. If you want the resolution change to happen automatically every time you start your GUI, put the xrandr command in the file ~/.xsessionrc. Combine this with using autostart (see Desktop instructions) and you can arrange for HamClock to start automatically at truly full screen size directly from RPi power up.

One final point for the RPi. If you still have a small black border, you may have video underscan compensation turned on. To turn it off run sudo raspi-config then work through

Display Options ⇒ Underscan ⇒ enable? ⇒ No ⇒ Ok ⇒ Finish

and run sudo reboot if it doesn't ask you to reboot on the way out.

Yes, but it's not for interactive use as you might expect, it provides a simple means of connecting with HamClock over a network. HamClock listens on port 8080 for http connections from a browser or command line tools such as curl or wget. Using a RESTful command interface, HamClock can be controlled, queried and the screen can be captured as an image file.

To try the following examples, you will need a computer on the same network as your HamClock. Here we will use curl but the same URLs will work in your browser as well (although some browsers are getting more cautious about accessing a web site with http and you may be asked once to trust the site).

Start by querying HamClock for a list of all its commands as follows: (actually any unrecognized command will produce this help text)

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/help'
        

• You must change the example address to the IP your HamClock displays periodically just below your call sign.
• Note the good practice of surrounding the URL with apostrophes to insure it is not interpreted with shell metacharacters. Do not include these when using a browser.

The output will be a list of all supported commands as follows:

Examples:

Get the current clock UTC time:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/get_time.txt'
        

Set display to turn on Wednesday at 8 AM and off at 10 PM, DE time, with 10 minutes idle time:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_displayTimes?on=8:00&off=22:00&day=Wed&idle=10'
        

Set a new DE location from latitude and longitude:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_newde?lat=40.7&lng=-74'
        

Save the current display to a file named hcscreen.bmp:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/get_capture.bmp' > hcscreen.bmp
        

Set satellite to ISS and report current ephemeris with respect to DE:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_satname?ISS'
        

Set Pane 3 to rotate through NOAA Space weather, X-Ray flux and DRAP trend:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_pane?Pane3=Space_Wx,X-Ray,DRAP
        

Toggle the screen lock padlock:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_touch?x=224&y=132'
        

Change call sign to say ON AIR white on red:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_title?msg=ON AIR&fg=255,255,255&bg=255,0,0'
        

... then restore call sign:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_title?'
        

Change map to Azimuthal projection with Countries style and RSS on, leaving Grid unchanged:

        curl 'http://192.168.7.101:8080/set_mapview?RSS=on&projection=Azimuthal&style=Countries'
        

Probably because your time is off. If the button below and to the right of your call sign says OFF then tap it so it says UTC and try again.

Because they are showing maps for two adjacent hours.

Ideally all Clocks would update at the top of the hour. But with several thousand Clocks running the world over that would overwhelm the backend server. In order to spread out server hits, Clocks intentionally randomize their VOACAP updates throughout each hour. This means the map shown by any given Clock might be up to one hour late.

So in your case, one clock is showing a map for the current hour, and the other is still showing from the previous hour. When the Clock that happens to be updating later updates, it will then show the same map until the cycle repeats next hour.

I can think of two possibilities why you might think so:

1. You are very near a grid boundary and the HamClock display is misleading because of rounding. For example, suppose you set your location to 35N 110.1W. This is in grid DM45ka. But HamClock will display 35N 110W grid DM45 due to rounding which, unless you know what the internal values are, seems incorrect because 35N 110W exactly is actually in grid DM55. When in doubt, open the lat/long dialog to review the values at full precision.
2. There are two different algorithms for exactly where a grid square is located. Some programs use the center of a grid for their position, others use the SW corner. HamClock uses the corner because that is the historical technique described in this paper published in January 1989 QST. My personal favorite web site that uses this technique is here. But other popular web sites use the center, such as this one on QRZ.com. So it depends which you consider correct.

If you still feel HamClock is in error, please send me the exact details.

It is additional detailed status and diagnostic information HamClock writes to the file ~/.hamclock/diagnostic-log.txt. It is not intended for general consumption but contains lots of good info for troubleshooting. You may be asked to email me this file if you submit a request for help.

The previous 3 logs are also stored in a rolling set with the following names:

        diagnostic-log-0.txt
        diagnostic-log-1.txt
        diagnostic-log-2.txt
        

If preferred, the diagnostics information can be written to stdout by invoking HamClock as follows:

        hamclock -o
        

Sudo stands for "super-user do". In UNIX, the super user refers to extra privileges bestowed upon the root user. Rather than actually logging out and logging back in as user root to gain these privileges, this command arranges for you to have these greater privileges just long enough to run the command that follows on the same line. After that command completes, you are again restricted back to the normal privileges of your current user login.

Another effect of the sudo command is to temporarily change the HOME directory to /root. HamClock creates and uses a working directory named .hamclock (note the leading dot) in the HOME directory. HOME for the normal pi user is /home/pi. Thus, if you run HamClock without sudo it uses /home/pi/.hamclock but if you run it with sudo it uses /root/.hamclock and files therein are not accessible to the normal pi user. This duality can cause much confusion so beware.

set-uid refers to an automatic mechanism engaged by setting the mode of a program file in such a way that when the process runs, it has the same permissions as the owner of the file. Normally, the process has the permissions of the user running the file. Thus by making the program file owned by root, it has super-user privileges no matter what user runs it. Using this mechanism for HamClock allows it to have super-user privileges without using sudo. Unlike sudo, using set-uid does not change HOME, so HamClock will still use your /home/pi/.hamclock directory for its support files, although they will still be owned by root when they are created.

The reason to escalate privileges with either of these methods in the first place is that HamClock requires super-user privileges to perform certain external IO and protected file system operations. It is possible in some configrations for someone with sufficient UNIX administrative knowledge to make adjustments so HamClock can run without super-user privileges, but this is beyond what most users want to deal with. So in the interest of providing the simplest and most enjoyable experience possible for the majority of users, the install instructions use set-uid root.

For those still interested in eliminating the need for root privileges, the following commands may help for RPi. They perform the following functions:

1. add user pi to various groups to allow necessary IO access
2. remove the set-uid bit from the executable file
3. change the group ownership of /usr/local/bin to user pi
4. allow any user in group pi (specifically user pi) to modify /usr/local/bin

    sudo usermod --append --groups video,input,gpio,i2c pi
    sudo chmod u-s /usr/local/bin/hamclock
    sudo chgrp pi /usr/local/bin
    sudo chmod g+w /usr/local/bin

The last two steps are required so automatic updates may write a new version of the executable file in /usr/local/bin.

After executing these commands, subsequent instances of hamclock will no longer run as root but should be able to perform most functions. But note if you perform sudo make install again in the future this will set the set-uid bit again so remember to perform command 2 again.

No. RSS feed formats are surprisingly inconsistent so I perform all the heavy lifting on my server and only send the plain titles to the HamClock. Plus, most now use https which uses too much memory for the little ESP processor.

That said, if you have a feed in mind that is of general interest to the global ham community, send me your suggestion and I will consider adding it to the server processing.

In principle, yes. But it would add more stress to my backend server.

Each time HamClock updates a pane it must query my server for that pane's content. With several thousand clocks running the world over, if they all wanted faster pane rotation it would push my server to the limit.

It means either my connection to Open Weather Map is overloaded or your clock is making queries too rapidly.

In order to stay within the usage limits of my OWM subscription, my backend server will deny all HamClock weather queries if they arrive faster than 200 per minute.

My server also limits the request rate from any one public IP to no more than once every five seconds to limit abuse. This means if you have more than one HamClock at your home they all count as one for this limit.

Because it's the last one. Panes must always have at least one choice active. If you no longer want the last choice, first select another one, then you can turn off this one.

No. The list is maintained on my server which performs all the heavy lifting of discovery and updating, sending only the TLEs to the HamClock.

That said, if you have a satellite in mind that is of general interest to the global ham community, send me your suggestion and I will consider adding it to the server list.

As of Version 2.52, the background map images are downloaded and stored as local files as needed. In previous versions they were embedded within the executable image and were thus immutable and limited by size of non-volatile memory.

This meant the ESP HamClocks could only ever support one map style, and even that was only at half the available screen resolution. ESP HamClocks now use the extended FLASH file system to store the map images at full resolution. The improved resolution is especially apparent in the night portion of the Terrain style map. Unfortunately, more pixels and slower FLASH access means the display update rate on the ESP is about 30% slower now but the added flexibility and visual results seem worth it.

The UNIX versions of HamClock store their map files in ~/.hamclock so the number of files is limied only by available disk space.

If you run HamClock without a network connection, you will be limited to map styles already downloaded.

The maps are stored in .bmp format, version 4, using 16 bit RG565 pixels. There are separate files for day and night for each map style. HamClock uses these to render the day and night regions and blends them in a 12° band to simulate civil twilight.

When asked to update itself, HamClock checks the support server if there is a newer version available. If so, for the ESP systems this is a binary file that is downloaded directly into FLASH and that's all there is to it.

But for the Desktop UNIX systems, this is a zip file containing the source code that requires many more steps:

1. the zip is downloaded into a unique directory within /tmp
2. it is exploded with unzip which creates the source tree
3. make is run within the source tree, using the same target that was used to build the currently running program
4. the resulting program file effectly overwrites the currently running program file.

These steps present two challenges: how to find the full path of the program file to a running program and how to update its program file while it is still running.

To find the program file full path, HamClock first checks the argv[0] path given when it was executed, digging through symlinks if necessary to find the real program file. If this is already a full path, indicated by beginning with a slash (/), we are done. If not, then a test is made whether a file with that name exists with respect to the current working directory of HamClock. If so, we are done. If it still is not found, then the argv[0] name is checked for in each of the directories named in the PATH environment variable. If still not found, the update fails.

To update the program file, we have to deal with the fact that it is not possible on UNIX to modify the program file of a running program (even as root). So instead, HamClock does it indirectly by first removing the program file then copying in the new one created by make so it has the same name. To remove the current program file, HamClock requires write permission on its containing directory because removing a file actually just edits it out of its containing directory. If HamClock does not have this permission, the update fails. Copying in the new file then edits the same name back into the same directory, so it looks like it was overwritten when actually it was deleted and added again. Meanwhile, HamClock can continue to run because a deleted file still actually exists in memory until the last process with it open either closes it or exits, even if it is not named by any directory.

On the Raspberry Pi running linux, proceed as follows:

1. connect the sensor to the RPi using the 40 pin connector as follows:

   BME label	RPi Header pin
   Vin	1
   SDI	3
   SCK	5
   GND	9

   
   
   

2. install i2c-tools:

       sudo apt-get install i2c-tools
   

3. run sudo raspi-config and set the following options:

       Interface Options ⇒ I2C: enabled
   

4. Check the Bosch is connected correctly with these tests:

       sudo i2cdetect -y 1
   

   you should see 77 in lower right corner of matrix; then

       sudo i2cdump -y 1 0x77 b
   

   you should see a matrix of different numbers, not just all XX
5. Start HamClock. Enter Setup, go to Page 2, tap GPIO so it says Active. Also select whether you want metric or imperial units. For now leave the delta values set to zero. Click Done.
6. After HamClock is up and running again, tap any pane and select one of the ENV plots.
7. If you have some means of measuring temperature and pressure independent of the BME280, note the errors, restart HamClock and enter the corrections in page 2 of Setup.
8. Finally, you may add a second BME280 as shown in the following schematic. Note that each has a different I2C bus address depending on whether SDO is grounded.

   
   
   

On a Raspberry Pi running FreeBSD 13.0-RELEASE, proceed as follows:

1. Connect the hardware the same as above
2. Test by running sudo i2c -s which should immediately report the device address(es).
3. Edit /boot/msdos/config.txt to add the following line to the [all] section then reboot and try HamClock.

   gpio=2,3=a0
   

How long can the cable be?

I have used a direct connection of ten feet without any problem. I have also successfully used 100 feet of Cat 5 using a pair of these extenders from Sparkfun.

Click and hold the padlock for 3 seconds, then select Exit.

Nothing, it's still supported for legacy users, but now that the GUI version can display full screen it is no longer recommended for new installations.

For those new to HamClock who may not know about fb0, it was an early attempt to provide a full screen experience by turning off the GUI and accessing the RPi video frame buffer directly. This was accessed through the special file /dev/fb0, and hence the name. This allowed HamClock to fullfill its charter purpose on RPi of being a stand-alone appliance for ham radio information. Although successful, it required a lot of special programming and could be a challenge for users to install. It is now replaced by using FreeDesktop.org atoms to accomplish the same full screen functionality with the normal X11 GUI.

If you have fb0 installed, please remove it before installing any new versions. This requires the following steps:

1. log into your RPi with ssh
2. stop automatically starting hamclock, for example if you used crontab, type crontab -e and remove the line that runs hamclock
3. Make sure the GL driver is enabled by running sudo raspi-config and doing

   Advanced Options ⇒ GL driver ⇒ OpenGL with fake KMS ⇒ Ok
   don't reboot yet

4. Restore using the GUI by doing

   System Options ⇒ Boot ⇒ Desktop Autologin ⇒ Ok ⇒ Finish ⇒ Reboot? Yes

Send me at note at ecdowney@clearskyinstitute.com but beware

1. Be polite; I ignore rude or presumptuous emails.
2. If you installed HamClock using someone else's instructions, contact them, not me.

If you are submitting a bug report, always include:

1. HamClock version
2. platform: ES8266 or UNIX/linux distro and version
3. whether GUI or fb0
4. a clear and concise statement of what you expected to see ...
5. ... what you actually saw ...
6. ... and instructions for how to reproduce the issue.

If using any UNIX system, also include the following as you feel might be helpful:

1. which make target you built
2. display screen size and video type such as DSI or HDMI
3. whether you are using VNC
4. whether you are using GUI in Full-screen mode
5. any pertinent Setup settings
6. a copy of all ~/.hamclock/diagnostic-log*.txt log files

Contributed by Joeri van Dooren, ON3URE

1. In windows download https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv
2. Install; choose single windows
3. In Windows install WSL2 with ubuntu.
4. Start wsl.exe
5. sudo apt update
6. sudo apt -y install g++ libx11-dev wget
7. wget https://www.clearskyinstitute.com/ham/HamClock/ESPHamClock.zip
8. unzip ESPHamClock.zip
9. cd ESPHamClock
10. make hamclock-800x400
11. sudo make install
12. export DISPLAY=:0
13. hamclock

Contributed by Hans Klausmann, DL5RAZ

Script by Barry, N0NZ

Documentation here.

Contributed by Elwood Downey, wb0oew@arrl.net

Someone asked if they could edit the eeprom config file. Normally no, but since I enjoy writing perl, I couldn't resist writing hceeprom.pl to do exactly that. You can download it within the contrib collection here.

Save the script anywhere in your PATH and make it executable as usual. Cd into the ESPHamClock source directory to run it. This location is required because the script needs to read the HamClock.h and nvram.cpp source files to find the symbolic names, lengths and descriptions of the various parameters saved in eeprom. The script assumes the eeprom file itself is located in ~/.hamclock/eeprom. The type of the parameter is not saved in the eeprom file, so the script also needs to know the data type, which you must include on the command line using i for integral, f for float or s for string. Run the script with no args or --help for a usage summary.

Note well: you are hacking a file not intended for human consumption, so you can easily mess things up. There's no validation checking whatsoever, so you could go right ahead and set preposperous values such as a longitude of 10000 or inconsistent values such as a lat/long that doesn't match the grid square sending HamClock into unexplored territory. Save a copy of eeprom before starting, or remove it and HamClock will build a new one when it starts containing all defaults. Never edit the file while HamClock is running because HamClock often updates it, but only reads it once when starting up. You have been warned.

No matter, let's try it! Here are some examples:

Read the call sign:

        hceeprom.pl NV_CALLSIGN s
        NV_CALLSIGN = WB0OEW
        

Set a new call sign:

        hceeprom.pl NV_CALLSIGN s AB1XYZ
        NV_CALLSIGN = AB1XYZ
        

Set the DX cluster host:

        hceeprom.pl NV_DXHOST s usdx.w1nr.net
        NV_DXHOST = usdx.w1nr.net
        

Set DX spots to show as full call sign

        hceeprom.pl NV_MAPSPOTS i 2
        NV_MAPSPOTS = 2
        

Set the BME280 at I2C address 77 temperature correction:

        hceeprom.pl NV_TEMPCORR2 f -0.23
        NV_TEMPCORR2 = -0.23
        

Here's the script:

Contributed by Elwood Downey, wb0oew@arrl.net

Contributed by AL7CR.

These settings allow a full screen Hamclock with no menu or borders on one display and a fully useable Mac desktop on the other. Tested on XQuartx 2.7.11 under High Sierra 10.13.6. The steps are:

1. Set "Displays have separate spaces" otherwise running HamClock will cause the second screen to be black whether or not it is set to full screen mode.
2. Set "Assign to Display" to the desired display. This is done by right clicking the XQuartz icon in the dock and selecting the desired display. This option only appears if you have multiple displays.
3. Autohide Dock and Menubar as for a single screen. Note that this setting is system wide and not per screen as you might expect.
4. And the key point, in XQuartz preferences disable full screen mode. If this is not done Hamclock will disappear when it's window loses the system focus. Command-Option-A will make it reappear however you will not be able to work in one screen with Hamclock in the other unless XQuartz full screen is disabled.

Contributed by KJ7RRV.

HamClock is available in the Arch User Repository. The package names are:

• hamclock (800x480)
• hamclock-big (1600x960)
• hamclock-bigger (2400x1440)
• hamclock-huge (3200x1920)

1. Install the Arduino IDE from here. I am currently using version 1.8.13.
2. Open Preferences. In the field labeled Additional Boards Manager URLs copy/paste the following line then click Ok:

       http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json
   

3. Open Tools → Boards → Boards Manager
4. Search for "esp8266"
5. Select version 2.7.4 then click Install.
6. Open Tools → Manage Libraries, set Type and Topic to All, then search for and install the following libraries:
   • Adafruit GFX (all), version 1.10.2
   • Adafruit Unified Sensor, version 1.1.4
   • Adafruit BME280, version 2.1.1
   • Adafruit RA8875 (only), version 1.4.0
   • Time, version 1.6.0

   Other versions might work but these are the versions I am using now.

7. Quit and reopen the Arduino IDE
8. Connect your computer to the Huzzah with a USB port
9. Open Tools → Board → ESP8266 Boards and select Adafruit Feather Huzzah ESP8266
10. Download current stable HamClock release here. Unzip it anywhere you wish, but probably best to use the default sketch folder.
11. Use File → Open and find the ESPHamClock.ino file you just unzipped. This will create a new project.
12. In the IDE Tools menu make the following selections (click for larger view):

    

    Set the port to match the USB connection of your Huzzah.

13. Run Sketch → Verify/Compile then Sketch → Upload
14. Your HamClock should start running. Read the User Guide and have fun.

To use a 9" ER-TFTM090-2 from buydisplay.com:

Select these options during purchase:

• Pin header 4 wire SPI
• VDD 5 V
• Touch panel 9" resistive
• Micro SD - none
• Font chip - none

This is the wiring list:

	    EP = ESP Huzzah
	    BM = BME280 sensor
	    PC = photo cell
	    DP = display

	    EP_SCL    BM_SCK
	    EP_SDA    BM_SDI
	    EP_3V     BM_VIN
	    EP_GND    BM_GND

	    EP_ADC    PC_1, 330k
	    EP_GND    PC_2
	    EP_3V     330k

	    EP_SCK    DP_8
	    EP_MO     DP_7
	    EP_MI     DP_6
	    EP_2      DP_5
	    EP_16     DP_11
	    EP_USB    DP_3, 4, 37, 38
	    EP_GND    DP_1, 2, 13, 31, 39, 40
        

Pros:

• Larger, brighter, richer colors
• Simpler wiring because you do not need the RA8875 or flat cable

Cons:

• Requires a very good USB supply, at least 2 A. This one from Adafruit is known to work well.

The display stand from Adafruit can be made to work with a little ingenuity but is not perfect for the LCD. Send suggestions for better ideas and I will post here.

• One alternative I found is this video that suggests normal picture framing components could be used.
• The stand from Adafruit is actually made by Pimoroni so I asked them for better suggestions. They said they know of no stand suitable for the Adafruit LCD but thought this one might be pressed into service with less effort.
• G3XOU used this RPi screen support with some assembly details here .
• KF5LW suggests adopting this RPi screen support. He said he 3D-printed a piece to the RPi dimensions then it worked well.
• W3TMC sent a photo of the nice looking oak stand he built.
• N2YTF did a nice job with some simple wood and a breadboard. He sent photos here and here.
• N6ROB attached the components and display to the stand with hot glue after sanding and wiping down with alcohol. The result looks clean and efficient.
• N7EEK has taken a minimalist approach that works well using a $9 stand from Amazon. See his photos here.
• ON4AEY made a nice clock and sent me this link to share.
• N7LVS made this YouTube video showing his construction technique.
• HB9AJG shared his very nice arrangement from the front, back and in his shack.
• HB9CEY shared his tilt stand front, rear, inside and on display.
• WA1TOV put his in a clear frame he found here. He comments: The back of the display is glued to the face of the frame. You might be able to see round glue dots in the rear view photos. I used E6000 glue. To do this I had to cut a 1.5" slot in the frame to feed the ribbon through. This was done with a Dremel and cut off wheel, just working very carefully and then cleaning it up with a jeweler's file. Photos: front, side and rear.

If you find your display idea works better when the cable exits from the top, there is an option in the Setup screen that allows you to flip the display upside down.

Here is how I built my first two prototypes:

Shack photo showing 7" version.	Rear of 7" version
Both the 7" and 9" versions.	Rear of 9" version