Raspberry Pi Clock with Temperature

This project is for a building a digital clock that includes temperature display. It uses OpenWeatherMap to retrieve outside temperature information and a MCP9808 sensor for inside temperature. The assembly is fairly simple and requires the following components:

Raspberry Pi Clock with Temperature

Software

This guide assumes the Raspberry Pi is already setup with a working internet connection. First, make sure all the common dependencies have been installed:

Time Configuration

For the clock to be accurate the local time of the Raspberry Pi will need to be correct. First make sure the time zone is set correctly:

Then make sure the time is being updated correctly by installing ntpd:

The default NTP configuration should be good enough, but can be modified to specify the time server by editing /etc/ntp.conf.

OpenWeatherMap

PyOWMClock uses OpenWeatherMap to retrieve temperature data for our clock. An OWM API key will be required, but the free tier is sufficient.

The pyowmclock.py script uses the excellent OWM wrapper library, PyOWM and can be installed using pip.

PyOWMClock

If you haven't already, clone the pyowmclock project:

The pyowmclock.py script takes several command-line arguments, use -h to show the usage:

The –api_key and –zip-code arguments are required, but the others are optional. By default the script will display temperature in Celsius, so use –use_f 1 for Fahrenheit. The –display option is the time in seconds between flipping between time and temperature display; the default is 5 seconds. The –weather option is the time between temperature updates from both OWM and the temperature sensor; the default is 300 seconds (5 minutes).

Example:

Using the default display and weather intervals but Fahrenheit display for us here in the US:

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About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.

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