Pro-Grade Ham Radio Displays: Integrating OpenHamClock into PiSignage
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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 âpop-up freeâ experience requires a few tricks.
In this post, Iâll 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, weâll use a two-service setup: the clock itself and a lightweight SSL-wrap sidecar using socat and openssl.
docker-componse.yml
services: openhamclock: image: ghcr.io/accius/openhamclock:latest container_name: openhamclock expose: - "3000" environment: - CALLSIGN=<CALL SIGN> - LOCATOR=<Grid Square Locator> - THEME=dark - UNITS=imperial restart: unless-stopped ssl-wrap: image: alpine container_name: hamclock-ssl ports: - "3000:3000" command: > sh -c "apk add --no-cache socat openssl && openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /tmp/key.pem -out /tmp/cert.pem -days 365 -nodes -subj '/CN=localhost' && cat /tmp/cert.pem /tmp/key.pem > /tmp/combined.pem && socat OPENSSL-LISTEN:3000,cert=/tmp/combined.pem,verify=0,fork,reuseaddr TCP:openhamclock:3000" restart: unless-stopped 2. Silencing the âWhatâs Newâ Pop-ups
When using HamClock as a signage element, you want it to be âset and forget.â The âWhatâs Newâ 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 âforceâ these elements to stay hidden by injecting a bit of CSS directly into the distribution files. Run this command within your app environment:
find /app/dist -name "*.css" -exec sh -c 'echo "div[style*=\"whatsNewSlideIn\"], div[style*=\"backdrop-filter\"] { display: none !important; }" >> {}' \;
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
Log in to your PiSignage Admin Panel.Navigate to Assets > Add > Weblink.Fill in the details:
- Name: OpenHamClock
- Link Address:
https://<YOUR-HOSTNAME>:3000/?kiosk=true
Click Save.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
Go to Playlists and add your new âOpenHamClockâ asset.Set the Duration: Set this to 0 for a permanent display, or a high number (like 300 for 5 minutes) if itâs part of a rotation.Go to Groups, select your player, and deploy the playlist.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 youâd like me to discuss how to set up a dockerized PiSignage server, please comment below!
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Call to Action
Getting this stack to play nice wasnât a âone-and-doneâ install. It was a hard-fought process that took multiple attempts to finally crack the code on bypassing those âWhatâs Newâ screens and forcing a clean kiosk display. But the victory is in the uptime.
Donât just lurk. If youâve got the guts to show how youâre rebuilding your station on the wreckage of the old ways, drop a comment below. How are you occupying the victory today?
SUPPORTSUBSCRIBECONTACT ME D. Bryan King
Sources
Disclaimer:
I love sharing what Iâm learning, but please keep in mind that everything I write hereâincluding this postâis just my personal take. These are my own opinions based on my research and my understanding of things at the time Iâm 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!
#AlpineLinux #AmateurRadioDashboard #amateurRadioTechnology #Automation #containerization #CSSInjection #CustomCSS #DetroitHamRadio #devops #DigitalDashboard #DigitalSignage #DisplaySolutions #Docker #DockerCompose #DXCluster #EN82le #GHCR #gridSquare #hamRadio #HamRadioKiosk #hamRadioSoftware #hamRadioTools #HamClock #HomeLab #HTTPSWrapper #KioskMode #KioskSetup #KioskTrue #Linux #MaidenheadLocator #networkSecurity #OpenSource #OpenHamClock #OpenSSL #piSignage #PiSignageDocker #PiSignageTips #RadioStationDisplay #RaspberryPi #RaspberryPiProjects #realTimeData #RemoteMonitoring #ScreenRotation #SelfHosted #ServerManagement #ShackClock #SignalTracking #SmartShack #Socat #SoftwareWorkaround #SolarData #SSLWrap #StationIntegration #TechGuide #TechnicalTutorial #UITweaks #W8DBK #WebDevelopment #WebLinkAsset
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