openbenches train sign

OpenBenches Train Sign

Displaying the most recent bench from https://openbenches.org/ on a 96ⅹ26 train sign.

There are three parts

• (transformer) a script to turn the OpenBenches RSS Feed into the text for the most recent bench
• (fetcher) an ESP8266 microcontroller to fetch the latest bench, and push it over I2C
• (controller) an Arduino to control the text on the sign, and listen on I2C for new text to display

Transformer

These are a few CGI scripts in `./transformer/, which I host on a server, currently at these endpoints:

• https://server.alifeee.co.uk/bench/line.cgi
• https://server.alifeee.co.uk/bench/full.cgi

Fetcher

This is code to flash an ESP8266, in ./fetcher/.

To program the ESP, use Platform IO for VSCode or another method. To use PlatformIO, you must use VSCode.

Copy the example secrets file (./fetcher/src/secrets.example.h) and enter your Wi-Fi details, and the URL of the file to fetch (i.e., http://server.alifeee.co.uk/bench).

Controller

This is code to flash an Arduino Uno, in ./controller/.

It uses Serial communication to listen for messages, which are then displayed on the train sign.

For more information on this see the train sign repository.