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Started By
Message
anyone using an android, ipad or retro pixel display for HA or weather station data?
Posted on 3/2/26 at 1:48 pm
Posted on 3/2/26 at 1:48 pm
the last time i had a wall-mounted unit was a wink display and i used it to call an Uber once or twice 
and turn on a few lights.
i want a weather station but i'm torn on whether this is even a thing anymore.
maybe something cool to put on the wall behind my bar? music vizualiations??
i'm up for any ideas or is this just freaking dumb and i shouldnt waste energy putting something like this together.
and turn on a few lights. i want a weather station but i'm torn on whether this is even a thing anymore.
maybe something cool to put on the wall behind my bar? music vizualiations??
i'm up for any ideas or is this just freaking dumb and i shouldnt waste energy putting something like this together.
This post was edited on 3/2/26 at 1:57 pm
5
Posted on 3/2/26 at 1:59 pm to CAD703X
Funny you post this. My son is working on the Weather merit badge. So over the weekend for this requirement we built a simple ESP8266 that records temp and humidity to a microSD card every hour. He's going to let it run for a week.
But while I was building it I thought it could easily be moded to build a API and have that display to a second esp8266 inside. But no need. It's already been done...
Build Your Own Smart Colored Weather Station
quote:
(a) Make one of the following instruments: wind vane, anemometer, rain gauge, hygrometer. Keep a daily weather log for one week using information from this instrument as well as from other sources such as local radio and television stations, NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, and internet sources (with your parent or guardian's permission). Record the following information at the same time every day: wind direction and speed, temperature, precipitation, and types of clouds. Be sure to make a note of any morning dew or frost. In the log, also list the weather forecasts from radio or television at the same time each day and show how the weather really turned out.
But while I was building it I thought it could easily be moded to build a API and have that display to a second esp8266 inside. But no need. It's already been done...
Build Your Own Smart Colored Weather Station
Posted on 3/2/26 at 2:02 pm to Lonnie Utah
why did i know you'd be the first to respond. very cool. i wouldn't mind a project with my kid; he's 11 and at the perfect age where he still idolizes his dad and i want to do dad-son projects with him until i'm blue in the face.
eta i had device-fatigue
a drawer full of working-but-old phones and tablets and i should just hold my nose and take them all to the dump. i don't want yet another doohicky thats going to stop working in 6 months that ends up in a drawer collecting dust.
i would like something with staying power but i realize that's probably not going to happen
This post was edited on 3/2/26 at 2:04 pm
Posted on 3/2/26 at 3:06 pm to CAD703X
Nah I use Crestron POE touch displays for HA dashboards in my house. I had an old tablet at one point, but the battery swelled so bad the touch input became unusable
This post was edited on 3/2/26 at 4:41 pm
Posted on 3/2/26 at 4:12 pm to CAD703X
Akuvox VoIP endpoint shows weather. I guess that counts.
If you want something to follow music, there are a million LED things that do that and are way more immersive than a screen but the ones that work best for local control are mostly just RGBWW and no tricks.
If you want something to follow music, there are a million LED things that do that and are way more immersive than a screen but the ones that work best for local control are mostly just RGBWW and no tricks.
Posted on 3/2/26 at 6:14 pm to CAD703X
I have long sinceed really want to get a display for my house to show stuff like our family calendar, birthday countdowns, weather, music controls etc. Nowadays its even easier to accomplish via a homeassistant dashboard. The issue is have is that i don't want the power draw of a screen on all the time thats only going to get occasional use. My perfect solution is a touch capable color e ink display. Those have been way too expensive for an unnecessary luxury item (aka nerd project i sell off as something useful for the family), but it does seem like maybe they're starting to come down. An old tablet or something would work if I really needed it to though.
Posted on 3/3/26 at 8:10 am to bluebarracuda
Here's my "alarm panel" that replaced my old alarm panel
And here's a panel that's on my back porch door
And here's a panel that's on my back porch door
Posted on 3/3/26 at 8:11 am to LSshoe
quote:
My perfect solution is a touch capable color e ink display. Those have been way too expensive for an unnecessary luxury item
100%. I want to get some to put in the kitchen, living room, etc, but way to expensive for something that isn't really neeeded
This post was edited on 3/3/26 at 8:12 am
Posted on 3/3/26 at 8:36 am to CAD703X
I posted too quickly yesterday and instead of posting statements, I should have asked question? Mainly, what's the end game here.
Then I read this statement:
And it occurred to me. Samsung (and others) make Touchscreen monitors up to 32". I have no idea what you'd really use it for, but something that big with that functionality could be cool behind a bar. Maybe an embedded GUI with a spot for a sports feed with embedded game scores on the side?
Dunno. Just spitballing here. Something like this? (Thanks Chatgpt...)
And (at this point) I have no idea how you'd make that work.
Then I read this statement:
quote:
maybe something cool to put on the wall behind my bar? music vizualiations??
And it occurred to me. Samsung (and others) make Touchscreen monitors up to 32". I have no idea what you'd really use it for, but something that big with that functionality could be cool behind a bar. Maybe an embedded GUI with a spot for a sports feed with embedded game scores on the side?
Dunno. Just spitballing here. Something like this? (Thanks Chatgpt...)
And (at this point) I have no idea how you'd make that work.
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:08 am to Lonnie Utah
yes! something EXACTLY like that. give me a read on my HA health, cajunomics in one window, weather station data in another, maybe current music playing (along w/ ability to change it right from the screen).
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:17 am to CAD703X
Update: It was a LG, not a samsung. sorry about that.
However, They are a bit pricy. A bunch of unknown brands on amazon for a lot less. Conceptually, this sounds like a cool idea....
However, They are a bit pricy. A bunch of unknown brands on amazon for a lot less. Conceptually, this sounds like a cool idea....
This post was edited on 3/3/26 at 9:19 am
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:47 am to Lonnie Utah
quote:i see there are grafana and node-red 'browser in kiosk mode' types of split pane control but i don't think that's going to do what i want.
Conceptually, this sounds like a cool idea....
i want to be able to
- control the youtube (or plex or whatever) in its own pane independently and option to go 'full screen' or 'restore' if i tap it.
- weather station data (in its own pane, static),
- score/stocks/news ticker (probably fairly static)
- home automation..just a few things like if my garage door is open or closed, maybe a 'all lights on/off' and 'lock all doors' button and a couple other summary things i can interact with
- reolink camera monitoring would be nice; with that size display i should be able to watch 4 at the same time
- sixth dash? what am i missing?
yes i saw there are some 34" touchscreens on amazon just now; i assume i'll feed it via pi or pc hidden under the bar but i want to avoid interacting with the other device as much as possible.
eta kinda like a phone dashboard where you can do 'splits' but on steroids
This post was edited on 3/3/26 at 9:48 am
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:48 am to bluebarracuda
Man that is sweet.
How big of a learning curve is it to figure out HA? Trying to picture what I want out of it is tough. But I definitely want an alarm touch screen panel that can integrate with my Ring security system.
I’ve got my Ubuntu server up on an old surface pro. But realizing maybe I should use a different device as the server because I don’t get any use out of the touch screen if it is just running Ubuntu.
How big of a learning curve is it to figure out HA? Trying to picture what I want out of it is tough. But I definitely want an alarm touch screen panel that can integrate with my Ring security system.
I’ve got my Ubuntu server up on an old surface pro. But realizing maybe I should use a different device as the server because I don’t get any use out of the touch screen if it is just running Ubuntu.
This post was edited on 3/3/26 at 9:50 am
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:49 am to bluebarracuda
sorry baw i completely missed your post 
yes, what you did but on steroids a bit; all-in-one and i want it to be as bulletproof as possible. just turn the screen on and it feeds everything in.
i'm honestly surprised no one has come up with something like this yet.
yes, what you did but on steroids a bit; all-in-one and i want it to be as bulletproof as possible. just turn the screen on and it feeds everything in.
i'm honestly surprised no one has come up with something like this yet.
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:50 am to Lazy But Talented
quote:
How big of a learning curve is it to figure out HA?
It can be as easy or difficult as you want it to be lol
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:53 am to CAD703X
From ChatGTP...
quote:
You’re talking about a true “wall-mounted dashboard OS” on a 32–34" touchscreen, not just a Grafana / Node-RED static panel. You want split panes with independent content, touch interactivity, and optional full-screen expansion, all controlled from the screen itself. Let me break this down.
1. Pane Layout Concept (Six Panels)
Here’s how I’d design your dashboard:
Quadrant / Pane Content / Functionality Notes
Top Left YouTube / Plex / Streaming Can tap to go full screen, swipe to restore; maybe mini controls below video
Top Right Weather Station Static, updating periodically; shows current temp, forecast, maybe weather alerts
Middle Left Home Automation Summary Garage door status, lights on/off, locks, motion sensors; interactive buttons
Middle Right Reolink Camera Grid 2×2 grid of camera feeds; touch to expand a single camera full-screen
Bottom Left Stocks / Scores / News Ticker Scrolls horizontally; minimal touch needed, just tap headlines for detail if needed
Bottom Right Misc / Sixth Dash Could be: calendar, timers, music visualizations, system health, Cajunomics dashboard, etc.
Total: 6 panes, split logically across a 32–34" display.
Each pane independent; one can go full-screen while the rest remain in place.
Optional: gestures or “tap edges to swap panes” like a giant phone dashboard.
2. Software Stack Ideas
You’ll need a platform that can host independent apps or widgets in touch-friendly panels. Some ideas:
Custom Electron App / Kiosk Mode
Use a single Electron window split into resizable webviews / panes.
Each pane loads a URL or local content:
YouTube embed or Plex web app
Weather API display
Reolink RTSP feeds in HTML5 player
Home automation web app or Node-RED dashboard
Stocks/scores ticker
Touch gestures to “maximize / restore” each pane.
Could run full-screen on Raspberry Pi 4/400 or a small mini PC under the bar.
Browser Kiosk (Chrome / Chromium) + Dashboard
Use Browser in Kiosk Mode and a web-based dashboard framework:
Web technologies (HTML/CSS/JS)
Can embed multiple iframes or webcomponents
Libraries like Golden Layout or GridStack.js allow draggable/resizable panes
Each pane can host independent content (YouTube, cameras, API data, music players)
Touch support is native in Chromium.
Home Assistant Lovelace + Custom Cards
Lovelace is flexible and supports:
Cameras, media players, lights, locks
Tap-to-fullscreen media player cards
Custom weather & sensor cards
Limitation: integrating YouTube/Plex in a fully interactive pane may require extra tweaks.
Touch-First Web Dashboard Framework
Frameworks: React + Golden Layout or Vue + GridStack
Pros: fully custom, exact interactivity
Cons: requires coding, but you get exactly what you want
Can embed:
YouTube / Plex via iframe
Reolink via RTSP-to-WebRTC
Home automation via REST API / MQTT
Weather / Stocks / Scores via APIs
3. Hardware Considerations
Screen: 32–34" touchscreen (VESA mount, flush behind bar).
Controller: Mini PC (Intel NUC, Zotac, or similar) or Raspberry Pi 4/400.
Cabling: HDMI/DP for video, Ethernet for stable streaming, power routed under the bar.
Audio: Built-in bar speakers, or small amp under bar.
4. UX & Interaction Notes
Full-screen toggle: Tap on any pane ? expands ? tap again ? restore.
Drag / swap panes: Optional if you want to “reorganize” the dashboard.
Touch gestures: Scroll ticker, adjust volume, swipe through camera views.
Notifications: Home automation alerts can temporarily flash over a pane.
Animations: Subtle visualizations for music, weather, or sensor status without being distracting.
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:54 am to CAD703X
quote:
just turn the screen on and it feeds everything in.
quote:
i'm honestly surprised no one has come up with something like this yet.
I don't know if that's even possible with what you want. Especially trying to integrate a youtube stream.
I think the best bet would be a Raspberry pi or mini pc hooked up to a nice touch screen monitor/display would be best. And then you can set 4 "borderless" browser sessions in each quadrant of the screen, one being youtube, a few being HA dashboards, etc, etc
Posted on 3/3/26 at 9:59 am to bluebarracuda
here's what chatgpt came up with; although it changed my bar photo i posted for some reason
pretty much this but it butchered the size of the display and changed my 'lock all doors' to 'lok lights'
pretty much this but it butchered the size of the display and changed my 'lock all doors' to 'lok lights'
This post was edited on 3/3/26 at 10:01 am
Posted on 3/3/26 at 10:15 am to CAD703X
Bonus points for Daft Punk...
Posted on 3/3/26 at 10:22 am to Lonnie Utah
ok display is still too large; but this is my actual bar although i'm jealous of the one it generated. i need to work on my 'cozy'.
This post was edited on 3/3/26 at 10:23 am
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