4 ms·

Is there anything like this that can wake the Kindle up, get an image, and then sleep it again? I have an old Kindle that I want to show stuff on, but I don't w

Is there anything like this that can wake the Kindle up, get an image, and then sleep it again? I have an old Kindle that I want to show stuff on, but I don't want to keep it plugged in all the time.

kovac 2y ago
I work on e-paper displays. Are you looking for something built with a Kindle? This project of mine is similar to what you described with a power down mode. The power down and wake up can be automated. I'm looking to build a small business around such projects. Not sure how viable it is. https://www.asciimx.com/projects/e-reader/ https://www.asciimx.com/projects/e-reader/
- stavros 2y ago
  It does seem pretty viable, TRMNL are pretty popular: https://usetrmnl.com https://usetrmnl.com I made some stuff of mine for that display too, but the easiest way is to just use TRMNL's firmware, as it supports autoupdates and a few other nice features. Here's mine: https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-a-trmnl-device/ https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-a-trmnl-device/ Plus this: https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-the-timeframe/ https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-the-timeframe/ And a few more things I never wrote about. The Kindle project is just because I have a few Kindles lying around, so I might as well use them!
  - kovac 2y ago
    That's beautiful, thanks for sharing. I was wondering what may be the best way to do frames. Custom frames, here in Singapore, are a bit expensive relative to the rest of the parts.
    - stavros 2y ago
      3D printing is one good way, the other way I used is just to get a frame from IKEA and 3D print the inside white bit to my exact dimensions, which worked beautifully. I should post that build too, with some photos, I really like it.
- sciencesama 2y ago
  Develop a 3d case and a finished pcb. Check out trmnl
FlyingSnake 2y ago
> wake the Kindle up, get an image, and then sleep it again This is basically what I'm doing with this project. I tested the client by getting a dummy image initially. This line in the code puts it to sleep for x-duration. The kindle runs for ~2-3 weeks on a single charge. [1^]: https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master/dash.sh#L87 https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master...
- stavros 2y ago
  That's what I wanted, thank you!
  - FlyingSnake 2y ago
    If you just want to test if your image works, I've created a handy script for testing. It downloads the image, displays it for 20 seconds, and reverts the Kindle back to its normal state. https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master/start-test.sh https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master...
    - stavros 2y ago
      That will be useful, thanks. I'll try a proof of concept soon.
      - FlyingSnake 2y ago
        Best of luck! Please feel free to ping me if you need any help.
        stavros 2y ago
        That's very kind, I will, thanks (though your scripts are really straightforward so I don't anticipate any trouble).
seba_dos1 2y ago
bash, rtcwake, any X11 client

Is there anything like this that can wake the Kindle up, get an image, and then sleep it again? I have an old Kindle that I want to show stuff on, but I don't want to keep it plugged in all the time.

kovac 2y ago

I work on e-paper displays. Are you looking for something built with a Kindle? This project of mine is similar to what you described with a power down mode. The power down and wake up can be automated. I'm looking to build a small business around such projects. Not sure how viable it is. https://www.asciimx.com/projects/e-reader/ https://www.asciimx.com/projects/e-reader/

stavros 2y ago
It does seem pretty viable, TRMNL are pretty popular: https://usetrmnl.com https://usetrmnl.com I made some stuff of mine for that display too, but the easiest way is to just use TRMNL's firmware, as it supports autoupdates and a few other nice features. Here's mine: https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-a-trmnl-device/ https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-a-trmnl-device/ Plus this: https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-the-timeframe/ https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-the-timeframe/ And a few more things I never wrote about. The Kindle project is just because I have a few Kindles lying around, so I might as well use them!
- kovac 2y ago
  That's beautiful, thanks for sharing. I was wondering what may be the best way to do frames. Custom frames, here in Singapore, are a bit expensive relative to the rest of the parts.
  - stavros 2y ago
    3D printing is one good way, the other way I used is just to get a frame from IKEA and 3D print the inside white bit to my exact dimensions, which worked beautifully. I should post that build too, with some photos, I really like it.
sciencesama 2y ago
Develop a 3d case and a finished pcb. Check out trmnl

FlyingSnake 2y ago

> wake the Kindle up, get an image, and then sleep it again This is basically what I'm doing with this project. I tested the client by getting a dummy image initially. This line in the code puts it to sleep for x-duration. The kindle runs for ~2-3 weeks on a single charge. [1^]: https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master/dash.sh#L87 https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master...

stavros 2y ago
That's what I wanted, thank you!
- FlyingSnake 2y ago
  If you just want to test if your image works, I've created a handy script for testing. It downloads the image, displays it for 20 seconds, and reverts the Kindle back to its normal state. https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master/start-test.sh https://github.com/samkhawase/kindle-dash-client/blob/master...
  - stavros 2y ago
    That will be useful, thanks. I'll try a proof of concept soon.
    - FlyingSnake 2y ago
      Best of luck! Please feel free to ping me if you need any help.
      - stavros 2y ago
        That's very kind, I will, thanks (though your scripts are really straightforward so I don't anticipate any trouble).

seba_dos1 2y ago

bash, rtcwake, any X11 client