This project uses a Raspberry Pi to show NTP disciplined time on 6 7-Segment LED displays
- 6 SparkFun Large Digit Drivers
- 6 SparkFun 6.5" 7-Segment Displays
- 1 Raspberry Pi
- 1 SparkFun Logic Level Converter
- 5 VDC power supply capable of 3 A
- 12 VDC power supply capable of 2 A
First, we need to set up NTP on the Raspberry Pi.
sudo apt-get install ntp
Then, if you want to, you can configure your own time servers in /etc/ntp.conf, but it will work just fine with the stock Debian NTP Pool servers.
sudo nano /etc/ntp.conf
After changing the NTP conf, you need to restart the NTP daemon.
sudo systemctl restart ntp
Or on older systems using init.d:
sudo /etc/init.d/ntpd restart
Make sure your clock is running correctly by running the date command.
date
Also, remember to set your timezone.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
Copy the 7seg_clock.py file to an appropriate directory on your Raspberry Pi. In my example, I've created a new folder under /usr/local/ named ntpclock
Edit /etc/crontab
sudo nano /etc/crontab
Add the following line to the bottom:
@reboot root python /usr/local/ntpclock/7seg_clock.py &
Copy the ntpclock.sh file to an appropriate directory on your Raspberry Pi, in my example, I've created a new folder under /usr/local/ named ntpclock
Edit /etc/rc.local
sudo nano /etc/rc.local
Add the following line to the bottom
/usr/local/ntpclock/ntpclock.sh &