We know you like soldering irons, we’re quite fond of them ourselves. But the reality is, modular components and highly capable development boards allow the modern hardware hacker to get things done with far less solder smoke then ever before. In fact, sometimes all you need to finish your project is the right code.
Case in point, check out the slick electronic paper weather display that [Danko Bertović] shows off in the latest Volos Projects video. While it certainly fits the description of a DIY project, he didn’t have to put any of the hardware together himself. The M5Paper is an ESP32 development kit designed around a crisp 4.7″, 960 x 540 e-paper panel that includes everything from environmental sensors to an internal 1150 mAh battery. To make your handheld e-paper dreams come true, the only thing you need to provide is the software.
The weather display code provided by [Danko] should certainly get you going in the right direction. Now don’t get us wrong, there’s certainly no shame in just flashing his code to the device and plunking it on your desk. It’s a gorgeous looking interface, and we all know that a sprinkling of open source code is often all it takes to make a standard consumer device extraordinary. But by using the code he’s provided as a launching point, you can take this turn-key device and really make it your own.
Don’t get me wrong, the guy did a good job, but sometimes it would be interesting to see eink project revolving around something else than weather displays and crypto trackers..
FYI, the above “Ren” wasn’t me.
FYI, the above Rens aren’tt me.
We are Ren. Prepare to be assimilated.
Steeempy… You EEdiot !
I’m not Ren, at all.
Ren?
I am At All, not Ren.
Deja Vu … someone must’ve cut the hardline to the matrix … get out, it’s a trap!
What is it Ren?
All your Ren are belong to us
The M5Paper is a nice device for sure, with a lot of peripherals to play with.
However it is badly designed regarding low power operation, which is a pity since otherwise it would be top notch !
There was rumors of an updated hardware release coming soon…
Your comment here.
That’s pretty slick looking.
I can’t wait for larger e-ink displays to come down in price. I want to replace all the clocks in my house with something very similar to this. But those clocks I want to replace are big enough to see across the rooms they are in and displays like that are still too expensive.
I wonder if the e-ink displays will ever come down; it seems like years we’ve been hanging onto that hope…
Don’t hold your breath. The company that makes these explicitly stated they didn’t want EPDs to be cheap, despite the fact that it’s the cheapest type of display to manufacture. They have patents out the wazoo, so it’s not going to happen this decade.
FIY, nobody can tell the difference, and I might as well be talking to myself. And even otherwise, it wouldn’t invalidate my opinion.
Just sayin 8)
Neat but I’m not about to pay a $60 overhead for an e-paper display. Seriously, that garbage is overpriced beyond reason.
It’s an integrated package of a battery, a micro, and an EPD. I considered picking it up for that reason alone, as I’d likely only have the expertise to hack on the software part of it.
MIP (Memory-In-Pixel) displays are far better. EPD spends a lot of energy just updating the display (slowly) while MIP displays retain their image with about the same amount of power than is needed for TN LCDs (40-year-old LCD technology). However, they are in color. Sizes aren’t very large at the moment but they are growing… and they aren’t artificially expensive like EPD is.
Well that’s interesting, but right now today they are not available in this useful size, and this little gadget is actually available and for me at least the £60 seems reasonable.
If they aren’t available in the size required, they aren’t better.
Also, they appear to be 20x the price of a similar sized epaper display
Another UI fail: temperature displayed to one-hundredth of a degree. Why? Same reason a dog licks his balls: because he can.
I’m guessing it’s displayed to 3 significant figures to maximize display usage
Oh, thanks a lot guys!
Now I’m having an Identity Crisis!
B^)