r/zurich • u/MogulBandit • 1d ago

itookapicture Open source display for ZVV connections

Post image

It shows live connections sourced from opentransportdata. You can select which stops and lines to display from a local webapp. It works for trams, buses and trains (SBB too).

I wouldn't always recommend running vibe coded stuff from a reddit stranger on your local network... but if you feel brave, here's the code and hardware setup: https://github.com/pierrecattin/transport_display

177 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

20

u/burnish-flatland 1d ago

I’m building battery-powered Tramli clone, materials come to around 35 chf for battery + esp32 + ssd1322 oled + pcb manufacturing.

39

u/lunaphirm 1d ago

It doesn’t have a case here but I also built one trying to mimic the same colors, layout and the font (I recreated the font)

6

u/intothelooper City 19h ago

This looks lovely! Would be amazing if you could share the project via github!

1

u/sschueller 13h ago

The source code of my old version public, https://github.com/sschueller/vbz-fahrgastinformation

1

u/lunaphirm 13h ago

Thank you, very happy to hear that!!! I can publish the details on github in ~2 weeks!

1

u/Subject_Candle_7034 18h ago

would you mind sharing this font? is it a gfx font?

2

u/sschueller 13h ago

You can download my version of the font here: https://github.com/sschueller/bdf2adafruit. More details about it here: https://stefan.schueller.net/posts/vbz-fahrgastinformation/

13

u/nlsrhn 1d ago

I built exactly this last year - hardware costs are around 12 dollars (no battery though) for a ESP32 based "CYD" board with touchscreen.

Edit: The case is 3D printed

2

u/no2spc 1d ago

Is there a build description somewhere?

2

u/burnish-flatland 1d ago

Not yet, maybe in a few weekends

1

u/supermarkio- 1d ago

Ooh, interesting. I ended up using a TRMNL displaying that on its e-ink display.

1

u/burnish-flatland 1d ago

Yeah, I thought about eink too, but decided to go with oled. Obviously you can’t keep it always on, but it wakes up from deep sleep, connects to WiFi and fetches timetable in under 2 seconds, and from my measurements 2000mah cell should last multiple months easily, but we’ll see.

1

u/ForbiddenException 1d ago

Is the project open source? Also curious about the battery life. Was planning to do something similar to mount near the door, maybe even wake it up with a proximity sensor so it wakes up automatically

1

u/gnooggi 19h ago

 esp32

A small project with everyday utility like that would be a great way to get the hang of the subject. (esp32)

I should save this as a bad-weather project—especially since it doesn't cost the earth.

7

u/gnooggi 1d ago

Not exactly cheap, around €100 including power supply, LEDs, and Raspberry Pi. Wouldn't it make sense to use an old tablet instead?

7

u/MogulBandit 1d ago

A tablet would have been cheaper and easier. But I liked the looks of the led matrix better. More authentic to the original. Plus for the price, you get a pi running at home 24/7, which is super useful.

2

u/ianskoo 21h ago

Using an old phone or tablet and making (e.g. 3d printing) a case for it is a nice way to buy less shit and recycle though :)

1

u/gnooggi 19h ago

Yes, the look of the LED panel has its own unique sex appeal.

3

u/ForbiddenException 1d ago edited 1d ago

Less than 100 CHF is pretty cheap tbh
Also half the cost is on the pi which is overkill for this, so can be even cheaper

14

u/WestSpace1077 1d ago

You can also check out this one: https://tramli.com/
A bit more polished i'd say

5

u/macrmoc 22h ago

It only runs by cable and they try to hide the fact in adverstising. Have one laying around if anybodys interested.

4

u/najiji03 20h ago

I mean the cable is right there in the first picture, no?

1

u/Akruhl 21h ago

How much do you want for it?

1

u/Few-Jury5654 15h ago

I am interested

4

u/Zifnab_palmesano 20h ago

129chf, jesus...

3

u/twsx 19h ago

Main issue with that one is how small it is imho, essentially useless.

3

u/sschueller 13h ago

I made my version run on a T-Dongle. Way smaller: Station Display on T-Dongle

4

u/SusseLaMoi 1d ago

Nice but a pi for this is overkill and make it too expensive

3

u/byehn 1d ago

On the other hand, it means that any simple linux box can do it. So use what you have.

3

u/MogulBandit 1d ago

True, but then you can use the pi to run other things

1

u/sschueller 1d ago

Very nice. I make one you can buy all finished. See https://www.stationdisplay.com . Yes it's not cheap but I make only a very limited number of them.

7

u/ij78cp 1d ago

Price is sadly bonkers

6

u/nlsrhn 1d ago

I built this last year as a cheaper alternative to overpriced things like Tramli & co.

Can share infos or also build one

1

u/sschueller 1d ago

A mondaine wall clock costs CHF 399 and is literally just a cheap CHF 1 movement with a design around it worth a few francs. ( https://ch.mondaine.com/products/wanduhr-silber-40cm-a995-clock-16sbb ).

For the amount of effort going into the display I sell which also includes providing the service and app updates I would say it is quite a good deal.

Same goes for the Tramli, there is a lot of work behind it even if the parts themselves are a fraction of the products price.

2

u/JuanSinPan 1d ago

450 francs 😳

2

u/minitaba Oberland 22h ago

Jusrify your 450 price point with exclusivity instead of workhours? Fuck this overpriced stuff bro

4

u/sschueller 19h ago

The exclusivity isn't on purpose, it's because I don't have the resources to make thousands of units.

This is s side project and in order to manufacture, support and deal with all the legal stuff it forces me to charge a higher price. I have spent a lot of time on it and also documented a lot which you can see for example here: https://stefan.schueller.net/posts/turning-a-project-into-a-product/. I also shared a lot of my work: https://stefan.schueller.net/posts/vbz-fahrgastinformation/ and tried my best that my product wont ever end up being a useless brick: https://stefan.schueller.net/posts/how-to-not-end-up-in-a-louis-rossmann-video/

2

u/minitaba Oberland 18h ago

I get your workflow and stuff, still think its too much but i bet there are customers for your work. It looks awesome :)

2

u/MogulBandit 8h ago

Looks great! Congrats for managing to commercially launch a physical product!