This Raspberry Pi HamClock is Perfect for Amateur Radio Enthusiasts

News
By
published

All your ham clock needs in one display.

(Image credit: The2belo)

If you're into amateur ham radio, you might appreciate this Raspberry Pi Ham clock project created and shared earlier this week by Reddit user The2belo.

It uses a Raspberry Pi to display local and UTC time information. The2belo mounted the Raspberry Pi inside of the monitor, making the unit entirely self-contained.

The project runs on top of an older edition Raspberry Pi OS, specifically Raspbian Stretch. The application responsible for the display is called HamClock. The2belo programmed the Pi to start HamClock on boot, so it's always ready with the information you need.

The Pi is connected to the screen via HDMI. It receives input from an RTLSDR dongle with a 137 MHz helical antenna. The setup also features a Bluetooth mouse that can be used to make real-time adjustments to the on-screen interface.

If you'd like to see more or even recreate this project yourself, you can follow The2belo on Reddit. The full thread breaks down the project and even has a few useful links for anyone interested in making their own Pi-powered HamClock display.

Ash Hill
Ash Hill
Contributing Writer

Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.

2 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jaydean
    Wow that is amazing, jut a pity that it doesn't run straight out of the box on Windows 10. Will there be future versions that can run on windows without any mods?
    Reply
  • mhgugy
    I am using a Pi3B with a 6" OLED screen as a standard clock. Not only does it show day, time and date but also shows temperature off the internet and other weather points that are of interest. Quite a novel way of using a small screen as a clock instead of a full screen of information that it normally uses.
    Reply