Pro-Grade Ham Radio Displays: Integrating OpenHamClock into PiSignage

758 words, 4 minutes read time.

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If you are a ham radio operator, you know that a HamClock is the ultimate shack companion. But what if you want to move beyond a dedicated small screen and integrate that data-rich display into a professional digital signage environment?

By using PiSignage, you can rotate your HamClock with other station metrics, weather, or club announcements. However, getting a clean, secure, and “pop-up free” experience requires a few tricks.

In this post, I’ll show you how to deploy OpenHamClock using Docker and how to strip away the UI clutter for a seamless kiosk experience.

The Setup

To follow along, you will need a PiSignage server instance. I personally run mine as a Docker container, which keeps the server stack isolated and easy to back up.

1. The Docker Compose Configuration

PiSignage and modern browsers often require secure contexts (HTTPS) for certain features. Since the standard HamClock output is HTTP, we’ll use a two-service setup: the clock itself and a lightweight SSL-wrap sidecar using socat and openssl.

docker-componse.yml

2. Silencing the “What’s New” Pop-ups

When using HamClock as a signage element, you want it to be “set and forget.” The “What’s New” slide-ins are helpful for desktop users but ruin a clean kiosk display.

While there is a formal change request pending for a toggle, you can currently “force” these elements to stay hidden by injecting a bit of CSS directly into the distribution files. Run this command within your app environment:

3. Setting Up the Slide in PiSignage

Once your containers are humming along, you need to tell PiSignage how to display the clock.

Create the Weblink Asset

Pro Tip: The ?kiosk=true suffix is critical. It tells HamClock to hide its own internal menus and headers, giving you a dedicated, high-contrast dashboard perfect for a wall-mounted display.

Deploy to Your Player

Your screen should refresh and show a beautiful, clean HamClock interface within seconds!

Running PiSignage in Docker?

For those of you looking to keep your entire server stack contained, running the PiSignage central server in Docker is the way to go. It keeps your host OS clean and makes management a breeze.

If you’d like me to discuss how to set up a dockerized PiSignage server, please comment below!

— 73 —

Call to Action

Getting this stack to play nice wasn’t a “one-and-done” install. It was a hard-fought process that took multiple attempts to finally crack the code on bypassing those “What’s New” screens and forcing a clean kiosk display. But the victory is in the uptime.

Don’t just lurk. If you’ve got the guts to show how you’re rebuilding your station on the wreckage of the old ways, drop a comment below. How are you occupying the victory today?

D. Bryan King

Sources

• OpenHamClock GitHub Repository (accius)
• Original HamClock Source by Clear Sky Institute
• PiSignage Official Documentation
• Docker Compose Specification and Documentation
• Alpine Linux Official Docker Image
• Socat Man Page – Multipurpose Relay Tool
• OpenSSL Official Documentation
• Maidenhead Locator System Overview
• Deep Dive: HamClock on Raspberry Pi
• PiSignage Server Docker Implementation
• Raspberry Pi Kiosk Mode Configuration
• MDN Web Docs: CSS Display Property
• Docker CMD vs Entrypoint Explained
• Understanding Self-Signed SSL Certificates
• ARRL: Understanding Grid Squares
• CSS Attribute Selectors (For Style Injection)
• Docker Container Networking Guide
• Linux Find Command Documentation
• Portainer: Managing Dockerized Signage Stacks
• PiSignage Community Support Forum

Disclaimer:

I love sharing what I’m learning, but please keep in mind that everything I write here—including this post—is just my personal take. These are my own opinions based on my research and my understanding of things at the time I’m writing them. Since life moves way too fast and things change quickly, please use your own best judgment and consult the experts for your specific situations!

After using so many #Apps and #WebApps for #Mastodon I just realized, that I totally missed out on simple #CustomCSS.
And boy, do I love @TangerineUI: I want to boost everything, just to see the little rocket start every time.

Check it out under:
https://github.com/nileane/TangerineUI-for-Mastodon/tree/main

RE: https://mementomori.social/@rolle/115679600302861278

I'm having a bit of scope creep here. I've also been dealing with a migraine, work stress, and lack of time.

On top of implementing CSS tokens, Parcel, and CSS modularization, I'm refactoring everything to add support for installing the ultra-accessible variation for others too, not just users of my Mastodon fork.

Mastodon Bird UI 4.0.0 for Mastodon 4.6.0 is going to be awesome. I'm hoping to see even more instances adopting it. I'll continue supporting the Custom CSS-only approach for masto.host users and others without filesystem access, while also making life easier for Mastodon admins.

Hang tight, I'll get there soon.

Source: https://github.com/ronilaukkarinen/mastodon-bird-ui/tree/dev-build-system-css-theme-tokens

#BuildInPublic #MastodonBirdUI #BirdUI #CSS #MastoAdmin #CustomCSS #WebDev #OpenSource

I appreciate being able to remove “AI” buttons from websites via custom CSS. Mini meltdown averted.

#DigitalOcean #ForcedAI #CustomCSS

gosh, i love my new theme! yeah, dark mode is hard coded now, but you can at least choose an accent color and it doesn't completely crumble under light mode! it is also compatible with the waffler theme (mostly) and most of the programmer themes (dracula is a bit dramatic. but of course he is).
i do not recommend it with wafrn98 on, i am sorry. i assume that one has !important properties only or something. if you could tell me workarounds for that, i'd appreciate it. i am relatively new to CSS.

CREDIT:

• @noahebalon for giving me the link to his background image. origin unknown (besides that it came from tumblr).
• @preciouscoconut on reddit for the blahaj drawing in the logo.

if you are interested in getting the CSS of my theme, feel free to DM me! Please credit me in your bio if you decide use it (even if you customise it).

"Soph, why do you insist on using custom CSS to make every website look worse?"

I don't know what you mean.

#css #web #customcss #userstyles #userstyle

Solo he tardado 2 semanas en darme cuenta de que #FreshRSS tiene temas y que se puede cambiar el aspecto fácilmente.

Mientras tanto, como admin que soy, ya había instalado una extensión llamada #CustomCSS y me disponía a hacer cambios añadiendo código.

Bien, Nuria, bien.

#rss #lecturasocial