# EOJHL LED Scoreboard ### This is my personal development fork. - Any details you need about hardware or setting up the RPI can be found on the main ChuckBuilds github page. - This fork will be for EOJHL/CCHL only. Besides the clock, I have or will be removing all other modules that are not sports related. ### Connect with ChuckBuilds - Git Address: https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/LEDMatrix ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### Matrix Details
About The system supports live, recent, and upcoming game information for multiple sports leagues: - NHL (Hockey) (2x 64x32 Displays 4mm Pixel Pitch) ![DSC01356](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/64c359b6-4b99-4dee-aca0-b74debda30e0) ![DSC01339](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2ccc52af-b4ed-4c06-a341-581506c02153) ![DSC01337](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f4faf678-9f43-4d37-be56-89ecbd09acf6) - NBA (Basketball) - MLB (Baseball) (2x 64x32 Displays 4mm Pixel Pitch) ![DSC01359](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/71e985f1-d2c9-4f0e-8ea1-13eaefeec01c) - NFL (Football) (2x 96x48 Displays 2.5mm Pixel Pitch) image - NCAA Football (2x 96x48 Displays 2.5mm Pixel Pitch) image - NCAA Men's Basketball - NCAA Men's Baseball - Soccer (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Liga Portugal, Champions League, Europa League, MLS) - (Note, some of these sports seasons were not active during development and might need fine tuning when games are active) ### Custom Display Features - Custom Text display (2x 64x32 Displays 4mm Pixel Pitch) ![DSC01379](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/338b7578-9d4b-4465-851c-7e6a1d999e07) - Font testing Display (not in rotation)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ## Installation Steps
System Setup & Installation # System Setup & Installation 1. Open PowerShell and ssh into your Raspberry Pi with ledpi@ledpi (or Username@Hostname) ```bash ssh ledpi@ledpi ``` 2. Update repositories, upgrade raspberry pi OS, install git ```bash sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y sudo apt install -y git python3-pip cython3 build-essential python3-dev python3-pillow scons ``` 3. Clone this repository: ```bash git clone https://github.com/rampar20/LEDMatrix.git cd LEDMatrix ``` 4. First-time installation (recommended) ```bash chmod +x first_time_install.sh sudo ./first_time_install.sh ``` This single script installs services, dependencies, configures permissions and sudoers, and validates the setup.
Sports Configuration (Football Example) ## Football Game-Based Configuration (NFL & NCAA FB) For NFL and NCAA Football, the system now uses a game-based fetch approach instead of time-based windows. This is more practical for football since games are weekly and you want to show specific numbers of games rather than arbitrary time periods. ### Configuration Options Instead of using `past_fetch_days` and `future_fetch_days`, the system now uses: - **`fetch_past_games`**: Number of recent games to fetch (default: 1) - **`fetch_future_games`**: Number of upcoming games to fetch (default: 1) ### Example Configuration ```json { "nfl_scoreboard": { "enabled": true, "fetch_past_games": 1, "fetch_future_games": 1, "favorite_teams": ["TB", "DAL"] }, "ncaa_fb_scoreboard": { "enabled": true, "fetch_past_games": 1, "fetch_future_games": 1, "favorite_teams": ["UGA", "AUB"] } } ``` ### How It Works - **`fetch_past_games: 1`**: Shows the most recent game for your favorite teams - **`fetch_future_games: 1`**: Shows the next upcoming game for your favorite teams - **`fetch_future_games: 2`**: Shows the next two upcoming games (e.g., Week 1 and Week 2 matchups) ### Benefits 1. **Predictable Results**: Always shows exactly the number of games you specify 2. **Season Flexibility**: Works well both during the season and in the off-season 3. **Future Planning**: Can show games far in the future (e.g., Week 1 when it's 40 days away) 4. **Efficient**: Only fetches the games you actually want to see ### Use Cases - **During Season**: `fetch_future_games: 1` shows next week's game - **Off-Season**: `fetch_future_games: 1` shows the first scheduled game (even if it's months away) - **Planning**: `fetch_future_games: 2` shows the next two matchups for planning purposes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### Managing the Service
Service Commands The following commands are available to manage the service: ```bash # Stop the display sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix.service # Start the display sudo systemctl start ledmatrix.service # Check service status sudo systemctl status ledmatrix.service # View logs journalctl -u ledmatrix.service # Disable autostart sudo systemctl disable ledmatrix.service # Enable autostart sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix.service ```
Convenience Scripts ### Convenience Scripts Two convenience scripts are provided for easy service management: - `start_display.sh` - Starts the LED matrix display service - `stop_display.sh` - Stops the LED matrix display service Make them executable with: ```bash chmod +x start_display.sh stop_display.sh ``` Then use them to control the service: ```bash sudo ./start_display.sh sudo ./stop_display.sh ```
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ## Information
Display Settings from RGBLEDMatrix Library ## Display Settings If you are copying my setup, you can likely leave this alone. - hardware: Configures how the matrix is driven. - rows, cols, chain_length: Physical panel configuration. - brightness: Display brightness (0–100). - hardware_mapping: Use "adafruit-hat-pwm" for Adafruit bonnet WITH the jumper mod. Remove -pwm if you did not solder the jumper. - pwm_bits, pwm_dither_bits, pwm_lsb_nanoseconds: Affect color fidelity. - limit_refresh_rate_hz: Cap refresh rate for better stability. - runtime: - gpio_slowdown: Tweak this depending on your Pi model. Match it to the generation (e.g., Pi 3 → 3, Pi 4 -> 4). - display_durations: - Control how long each display module stays visible in seconds. For example, if you want more focus on stocks, increase that value. ### Modules - Each module (weather, stocks, crypto, calendar, etc.) has enabled, update_interval, and often display_format settings. - Sports modules also support test_mode, live_update_interval, and favorite_teams. - Logos are loaded from the logo_dir path under assets/sports/...
Cache Information ### Persistent Caching Setup The LEDMatrix system uses persistent caching to improve performance and reduce API calls. When running with `sudo`, the system needs a persistent cache directory that survives restarts. **First-Time Setup:** Run the setup script to create a persistent cache directory: ```bash chmod +x setup_cache.sh ./setup_cache.sh ``` This will: - Create `/var/cache/ledmatrix/` directory - Set proper ownership to your user account - Set permissions to allow the daemon user (which the system runs as) to write - Test writability for both your user and the daemon user **If You Still See Cache Warnings:** If you see warnings about using temporary cache directory, run the permissions fix: ```bash chmod +x fix_cache_permissions.sh ./fix_cache_permissions.sh ``` **Manual Setup:** If you prefer to set up manually: ```bash sudo mkdir -p /var/cache/ledmatrix sudo chown $USER:$USER /var/cache/ledmatrix sudo chmod 777 /var/cache/ledmatrix ``` **Cache Locations (in order of preference):** 1. `~/.ledmatrix_cache/` (user's home directory) - **Most persistent** 2. `/var/cache/ledmatrix/` (system cache directory) - **Persistent across restarts** 3. `/opt/ledmatrix/cache/` (alternative persistent location) 4. `/tmp/ledmatrix_cache/` (temporary directory) - **NOT persistent** **Note:** If the system falls back to `/tmp/ledmatrix_cache/`, you'll see a warning message and the cache will not persist across restarts. ## Caching System The LEDMatrix system includes a robust caching mechanism to optimize API calls and reduce network traffic: ### Cache Location - Default cache directory: `/tmp/ledmatrix_cache` - Cache files are stored with proper permissions (755 for directories, 644 for files) - When running as root/sudo, cache ownership is automatically adjusted to the real user ### Cached Data Types - Weather data (current conditions and forecasts) - Stock prices and market data - Stock news headlines - ESPN game information ### Cache Behavior - Data is cached based on update intervals defined in `config.json` - Cache is automatically invalidated when: - Update interval has elapsed - Market is closed (for stock data) - Data has changed significantly - Failed API calls fall back to cached data when available - Cache files use atomic operations to prevent corruption ### Cache Management - Cache files are automatically created and managed - No manual intervention required - Cache directory is created with proper permissions on first run - Temporary files are used for safe updates - JSON serialization handles all data types including timestamps
Date Format Configuration ## Date Format Configuration You can customize the date format for upcoming games across all sports displays. The `use_short_date_format` setting in `config/config.json` under the `display` section controls this behavior. - **`"use_short_date_format": true`**: Displays dates in a short, numerical format (e.g., "8/30"). - **`"use_short_date_format": false`** (Default): Displays dates in a more descriptive format with an ordinal suffix (e.g., "Aug 30th"). ### Example `config.json` ```json "display": { "hardware": { ... }, "runtime": { ... }, "display_durations": { ... }, "use_short_date_format": false // Set to true for "8/30" format }, ```
## Final Notes - Most configuration is done via config/config.json - A caching system reduces API strain and helps ensure the display doesn't hammer external services (and ruin it for everyone) - I purposely did not include the same detailed information as the main project readme, if you need those details please visit the main project GIT. ### If you've read this far — thanks!