My first mirror build

simonbooth

Hi All,

I’m an avid Raspberry Pi user, but didn’t have any incentive to build a magic mirror until recently a 23" TV I had in my study blew up one evening (literally went bang!).

I took a chance on the LCD panel itself still being OK and ordered a compatible driver board from China on ebay. After some issues issues with the LVDS cable (an adaptor was needed) I managed to get the screen working. Unfortunately some of the LED backlights in one corner are faulty, but I’ve simply kept that area blank and it looks fine.

I used Pilkington Mirroview glass, which works brilliantly (shout out to Mirrors and Glass here in the UK who were excellent).

Despite complaints on the forum, I’ve used a Pi 3 A+, which works without issue, though I don’t have any particularly resource hungry modules.

Some pics:

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So that I only needed one cable running to the mirror, I’ve used a single 12v, 5amp PSU. The LCD is powered directly by the 12v and I’ve used a DC-DC step down board to power the Pi.

I’ve attached a Pimoroni OnOff shim and wired that to a momentary switch at the bottom of the frame.

There is also a PIR protruding from the bottom of the frame, it faces straight down, but it has a 100 degree FOV and picks up movement without issue. It’s powered directly from the 12v as the 5v pins on the Pi are covered by the shim.

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The frame consists of moulding glued to strip wood, which leaves a lip for the glass and panel to rest against.

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The PIR and the power switch at the bottom of the frame.

This is my most ambitious Raspberry Pi project yet, and I had a lot of fun putting it together. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Simon.