RGB LED Matrix Sign for AR's use on the road Problems

[Tom Blevins]

I have successfully made a raspberry pi with a hat, a 3 RGB led matrix panels, an ATX Power Supply, and a cell phone charger and cable that pulls RSS feeds from a gmail account and display on the matrix. I have 3 problems:

1.I have to connect to it physically (either with a HDMI monitor and keyboard or with a computer and remote desktop) and start up the program.

2. To get RSS feeds to display the pi has to have internet connectivity. Not a lot of the places we go for demonstrations have free WiFi. However pulling RSS feeds once every few minutes doesn't use very much data. I have found an alternative FreedomPop has a free 500MB/month of data plan that could be used. It costs $110 for the hardware. The Hardware could be made apart of the display and when the pt is turned on so would the WiFi. I however had zero monies to pay for the hardware.

3. A means to raise the display up in the air from 8ft to 16ft (for Maker Faire KC).  It  would be awesome if it could rotate as well.

I have not been able to overcome these challenges and I am actively seeking help to overcome these short falls. I can be found at the Space every Sunday and Tuesday Night. I am really hoping to have a working display for Maker Faire.

-Tom

[Nathan Schrenk]

Tom,

If you don't get it figured out before I see you, I can help you configure your program to start on boot and automatically restart if it dies, assuming you're running Linux on the Pi.

I have one of the FreedomPop LTE devices with a 500 MB/month free plan but it appears to be malfunctioning: it turns on but just never seems to connect to the mobile network. You can have the device if you wish: it's possible you'll be able to get it to work, but I just don't have time to futz with it.

Nathan

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[Chris Weiss]

I've heard freedompop recently canceled one of their partner contracts and some devices don't work anymore, I don't know if any of the LTE ones are on that list

[Ray Scheufler]

As I recall from past years, Makerfair KC has wifi available for presenters / booths.  I don't know how much bandwidth is available.  This also doesn't solve the issue for other venues.

Ray Scheufler

On Fri, Jun 10, 2016 at 12:16 PM, Chris Weiss <cwe...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've heard freedompop recently canceled one of their partner contracts and some devices don't work anymore, I don't know if any of the LTE ones are on that list

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[Chris Weiss]

KC Union Stations wifi is worthless at maker fair.  I believe they charge for it, so many are running their own hotspots, which crowds the 2.4Ghz spectrum and they are all worthless unless you're right next to your hotspot.  

last year we had to switch the telepresense bot to a 5Ghz wifi to make it work more than 5ft away.

[Nathan Schrenk]

The Freedompop WiMax devices stopped working in November 2015: I think the network they were using was shut down by Sprint. The LTE devices are different. As far as I can tell there is no use for those old Freedompop Wimax devices, but if anyone wants one, I still have one that is no use to me.

On Fri, Jun 10, 2016 at 12:16 PM, Chris Weiss <cwe...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've heard freedompop recently canceled one of their partner contracts and some devices don't work anymore, I don't know if any of the LTE ones are on that list

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[Tom Blevins]

I have also found Karma Wifi which will sell a GB of data for $15 with no contract and no monthly fees. You use up that GB then you just buy another at $15.
https://yourkarma.com/
-Tom

[Tom Blevins]

Nathan,
I'd love to get a crack at fixing the device. Bring it in and I'll work on it.
-Tom

[Nathan Schrenk]

Ok, I'll bring in the FreedomPop LTE device, probably on Sunday, and send you a private message when I've done so.

Nathan

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[Nathan Schrenk]

This is the device that I now use. Whether it works for this application is going to be hit or miss -- it has an obnoxious feature where you need to authenticate with a login page when you attach to it from a device. I haven't yet bothered to figure out if that can by bypassed or disabled, e.g. with a client MAC address whitelist.

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[Chris Weiss]

that may be automatable with wget or curl