Inkcal

Shows a live Google Calendar on a Waveshare e-ink panel

Requirements

Hardware

• Raspberry Pi (recommended model 3B or newer)
• Waveshare 9.7inch E-Ink display with hat

Software

• python3
• lightdm
• tightvncserver
• firefox
• unclutter (hides the mouse cursor)
• PaperTTY and it's requirements

Instructions

This step-by-step guide should get you up and running! Tested on Raspberry Pi OS Lite released August 20, 2020.

Install requirements:

$ sudo apt install git python3-pip lightdm xfce4 tightvncserver firefox-esr unclutter
$ sudo python3 -m pip install papertty

Make sure to install papertty with sudo!

vncdotool version 1.0.0 has a bug in python3 that may cause issues (#174). I had to downgrade to version 0.13.0 by running:

$ sudo python3 -m pip install vncdotool==0.13.0

Enable SPI in raspi-config:

$ sudo raspi-config

Enable SPI under Interfacing Options>SPI>Yes

Set up tightvncserver password:

$ tightvncpasswd

Set the password to calendar, or whatever you want. If you use a different password then calendar, you must update services/inkcal-screen.service with your new password.

You do not need to set a view-only password (press n).

Install unit files:

If you used a different vnc password, make sure to edit services/inkcal-screen.service with your new password. You can also change the resolution and e-ink driver here if you are using a different e-ink panel. You'll also need to change the resolution in services/tightvnc.service.

If you haven't already, clone this repository to your Pi:

$ cd ~
$ git clone https://github.com/afflitto/inkcal
$ cd inkcal

Install and enable the services to make everything start at boot:

$ sudo cp services/* /etc/systemd/system
$ sudo systemctl enable tightvnc
$ sudo systemctl enable inkcal-calendar
$ sudo systemctl enable inkcal-screen

Now you can start the services:

$ sudo systemctl start tightvnc
$ sudo systemctl start inkcal-calendar
$ sudo systemctl start inkcal-screen

The inkcal-calendar service takes 45 seconds to start, be patient! If everything worked, you should see the Google login screen on your eink panel.

Set up Google Calendar:

You should now be able to VNC into your Pi at <pi's IP address>:1 with the password calendar and log into your Google account. The text starts out a bit small, but you can use my style.css with the Firefox extension stylish.

Firefox is started in fullscreen mode with the -kiosk flag, so you might want to open Firefox normally for now:

$ sudo systemctl stop inkcal-calendar
$ DISPLAY=:1 firefox

I also recommend unchecking Restore previous session in Firefox preferences so that a new calendar tab isn't opened each time.

Finishing notes

That's all the software steps! Reboot your Pi to make sure everything comes up at boot.

The e-ink panel (and especially the flex cables) are very fragile, so be careful when assembling everything. Also make sure the Pi is powered down before attaching the HAT or plugging in the cables, make sure you have the cables the right way around, etc.

I haven't put this in a frame yet, but this project was inspired by /u/ThePhotoChemist's e-ink project. They used an IKEA Ribba frame which housed everything nicely. Definitely check out their reddit post!