This Raspberry Pi project is as practical as they come—some of the Raspberry Pi inventions are absolutely truly extraordinary and beyond imagination. This moon calendar, made by a Reddit user going by the username Billydent, enables you to follow the lunar cycle in the privacy and comfort of your living room. it is powered by our preferred SBC, and also has an energy-saving e-Ink display.
Billydent's decision to construct a Pi project for his wife as a present gave rise to the concept. He conceived the idea of creating a unique and captivating moon calendar as a thoughtful gift for Mother's Day just around the bend at the time. When involving displaying graphics on the e-Ink panel, the Raspberry Pi Zero proved considerably simpler to use than the Raspberry Pi Pico, which he had initially chosen to use.
Once per day, the calendar runs for a brief period of time. Early in the morning is when the Raspberry Pi Zero is supposed to start up. Even updating doesn't need an internet connection. Billydent programmed the Pi to retrieve information from a database that is locally saved and determines the day and moon phase.
The Pi Zero is linked to a 5.65-inch Waveshare e-Ink display that offers seven-color support. To sustain its power, it utilizes a PiJuice Zero equipped with a 1200 mAH battery. A USB cable is conveniently located at the back for recharging or as an alternative power source. Billydent went the extra mile by incorporating a battery indicator, which alerts when the power level falls below 20%.
Billydent built the Python-based software that runs the lunar calendar from scratch. The Raspberry Pi starts by booting up at a predetermined time. The Python software then retrieves the information and moon phase from a table. A bonus quote with a lunar theme is also chosen at random. The e-Ink display is then filled with all the data before the Raspberry Pi turns off. The image will be readable without power because it is an e-Ink display until it starts up again and the next day's image is formatted.
Check out the original moon calendar project thread uploaded on Reddit by Billydent for more information on this Raspberry Pi project, which contains a ton of photographs and further information about how it was built.