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    A New Chapter for MagicMirror: The Community Takes the Lead
    Read the statement by Michael Teeuw here.

    Strip Down Guide for BenQ 28" VA Monitor GC2870H

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
    61 Posts 10 Posters 68.3k Views 10 Watching
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    • Y Offline
      yep_DD @Adrien
      last edited by

      @Adrien ah, okay I see… yes that might be a problem in my case it works just fine. I will see about the boot time tomorrow.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Y Offline
        yep_DD @Adrien
        last edited by

        @adrien Okay, so it is about 3 seconds boot time I am estimating. No logo anymore. Just the annoying “HDMI1” screen on the lower right. Let’s see if that satisfies me or I will cut the wires as well. Have you tried yet?

        M A 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M Offline
          MadScientist @yep_DD
          last edited by

          @yep_dd You could use relay with a small delay to power your backlight. So the screen will only be visible after the “HDMI1” box disappeared. Personally I wouldn’t bother with it, though.

          Y 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • A Offline
            Adrien @yep_DD
            last edited by

            @yep_dd I have not yet try, i will do my test as soon as i receive my mirror, but 3 secs look not too long

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            • Y Offline
              yep_DD @MadScientist
              last edited by yep_DD

              @madscientist okay, so after a couple of days I am absolutely satisfied. I turn on my monitor with a small httpserver python script whenever someone is at home and -if it is night- any HUE light is on. I am now thinking of changing this to different energy saving modes in my magicmirror:

              • Always On
              • On when someone is home
              • On when someone is home and any light is on (turns off at night)
              • Only on when activated by PIR / Radar Sensor

              0_1540763201051_Screenshot 2018-10-28 at 22.46.15.png

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              • A Offline
                Adrien
                last edited by

                Hi,

                I have removed the boot logo, but it’s around 5 seconds to start the display and the “hdmi” message is there. I will try to cut the wire in the next days.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • D Offline
                  Daniel3490
                  last edited by

                  @yep_dd
                  Nice project, I got the same glass but a different monitor.
                  At my mirror the backlite seems to bright so it’s easy to locate the edge of the monitor.
                  Could you take some pictures for me to be sure it’s my monitor and not a general problem with the type of glas?
                  If it’s different to yours I might have to invest in a different monitor. 😅

                  Y 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Y Offline
                    yep_DD @Daniel3490
                    last edited by

                    @daniel3490 hi Daniel, it is bit hard to take down the mirror by myself, i have to wait until I have a friend over to help me. I don’t really see the edges of my monitor unless it is really really dark.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • B Offline
                      bachoo786
                      last edited by

                      Hi @yep_DD

                      Fantastic Work !

                      May I ask how did you connect your rcwl0516 sensor and what module did you use to integrate it with MM? Are there any instructions I can follow?

                      Thanks.

                      M Y 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M Offline
                        MadScientist @bachoo786
                        last edited by

                        @bachoo786 The sensor should have three pins: VCC, GND and signal out. You connect them the same way you connect a PIR sensor and it should also work with the same MM module MMM-PIR-Sensor.

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                        • Y Offline
                          yep_DD @bachoo786
                          last edited by yep_DD

                          Hi @bachoo786

                          thank you so much. As @MadScientist pointed out the three pins are connected directly to the Raspberry. For evaluating the state I use a small http server (see below). The important parts are where the you can find anything with

                          monitorStatus
                          

                          If you want I can reduce the code to what is important for you. This is the complete server which allows control of

                          • ARD Livestream
                          • ARD Tagesschau
                          • Lowering / Increasing volume
                          • Radar Sensor (just the last couple lines of code (search for: GPIO.add_event_detect)
                          • Powerin On / Off Monitor by http Request (used if no one is at home / and at night)

                          For me the radar sensor is just a backup. I use the power control mainly like this:

                          • If someone is at home and it is between sunrise / sunset, turn on the monitor(1)
                          • If someone is at home but it is night and all lights are off, turn off the monitor(1)
                          • If someone is in front of the monitor turn it on by radar

                          (1) is done via FHEM (a home automation running on another raspberry, it calls my mirror like this: 10.0.1.49/on (monitor on) 10.0.1.49/off (monitor off) 10.0.1.49/up or /down (for volume) and so on.

                          #!/usr/bin/python3 -u
                          host_name = '10.0.1.49'  # Change this to your Raspberry Pi IP address
                          host_port = 8000
                          proc = ''
                          monitorstatus = 'unknown'
                          
                          import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
                          from pathlib import Path
                          import os
                          import subprocess
                          import signal
                          from subprocess import call
                          from time import sleep
                          from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
                          
                          
                          SENSOR_PIN = 24
                          
                          GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)  
                          GPIO.setup(SENSOR_PIN, GPIO.IN) 
                          
                          class MyServer(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
                          
                              def monitor_on(channel): #define initial status of Monitor
                                  if monitorstatus!="on":
                                      status='Monitor on by Radar Sensor'
                                      #monitorstatus='on'
                                      subprocess.Popen(["/usr/bin/vcgencmd", "display_power", "1"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                          
                              def do_HEAD(self):
                                  self.send_response(200)
                                  self.send_header('Content-type', 'text/html')
                                  self.end_headers()
                          
                              def do_GET(self):
                                  global proc
                                  global monitorstatus
                                  html = '''
                                     <html>
                                     <body style="width:960px; margin: 20px auto;">
                                     <h1>Magic Mirror Control</h1>
                                     <p>Current GPU temperature is {}</p>
                                     <p>Podcast: <a href="/play">Play</a> <a href="/stop">Stop</a></p>
                                     <p>ARD Livestream: <a href="/ard">Play</a> <a href="/stop">Stop</a></p>
                                     <p>Volume: <a href="/down">down</a> <a href="/up">up</a></p>
                                     <p>System: <a href="/shutdown">Shutdown</a> <a href="/restart">Restart</a></p>
                                     <p>Monitor: <a href="/on">On</a> <a href="/off">Off</a></p>
                                     <div id="podcast-status"></div>
                                     <script>
                                         document.getElementById("podcast-status").innerHTML="{}";
                                     </script>
                                     </body>
                                     </html>
                                  '''
                                  temp = os.popen("/opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd measure_temp").read()
                                  self.do_HEAD()
                                  status = ''
                                  if self.path=='/':
                                      #GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
                                      #GPIO.setwarnings(False)
                                      #GPIO.setup(17, GPIO.IN)
                                      status='nothing'
                                  elif self.path=='/play':
                                      if proc=='':
                                          my_file = Path("/home/pi/MagicMirror/video.mp4")
                                          if my_file.is_file():
                                              statinfo = os.stat('/home/pi/MagicMirror/video.mp4')
                                              if statinfo.st_size > 0:
                                                  proc = subprocess.Popen(["omxplayer", "-o", "alsa:hw:ALSA", "--no-osd", "/home/pi/MagicMirror/video.mp4"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                                  status='Playing Podcast'
                                              else:
                                                  proc = subprocess.Popen(["omxplayer", "-o", "alsa:hw:ALSA", "--no-osd", "/home/pi/MagicMirror/Loading.mp4"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                                  status='Not yet available'
                                          else:
                                              proc = subprocess.Popen(["omxplayer", "-o", "alsa:hw:ALSA", "--no-osd", "/home/pi/MagicMirror/Loading.mp4"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                              status='Not yet available'
                                      else:
                                          status='Stopping Podcast'
                                          os.killpg(os.getpgid(proc.pid), signal.SIGTERM)
                                          proc=''
                                  elif self.path=='/ard':
                                      if proc=='':
                                          proc = subprocess.Popen(["livestreamer", "hlsvariant://daserste_live-lh.akamaihd.net/i/daserste_de@91204/master.m3u8", "best", "-vnp", "omxplayer -o alsa:hw:ALSA --no-osd --timeout 20"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                          status='Playing ARD Livestream'
                                      else:
                                          status='Stopping Stream'
                                          os.killpg(os.getpgid(proc.pid), signal.SIGTERM)
                                          proc=''
                                  elif self.path=='/stop':
                                      if proc!='':
                                          status='Stopping Podcast'
                                          os.killpg(os.getpgid(proc.pid), signal.SIGTERM)
                                          proc=''
                                      else:
                                          status='Nothing to stop'
                                  elif self.path=='/shutdown':
                                      status='Shutdown'
                                      subprocess.Popen(["sudo", "shutdown", "-h", "now"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                  elif self.path=='/restart':
                                      status='Restart'
                                      subprocess.Popen(["sudo", "reboot"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                  elif self.path=='/down':
                                      status='Volume down'
                                      subprocess.Popen(["amixer", "set", "Master", "8%-"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                  elif self.path=='/up':
                                      status='Volume up'
                                      subprocess.Popen(["amixer", "set", "Master", "8%+"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                  elif self.path=='/on':
                                      if monitorstatus!="on": #switch on Monitor if status was off (by httpRequest NOT Radar)
                                          status='Monitor on'
                                          monitorstatus='on'
                                          subprocess.Popen(["/usr/bin/vcgencmd", "display_power", "1"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                  elif self.path=='/off':
                                      if monitorstatus!="off": #switch off Monitor if status was on  (by httpRequest NOT Radar)
                                          status='Monitor off'
                                          monitorstatus='off'
                                          subprocess.Popen(["/usr/bin/vcgencmd", "display_power", "0"], preexec_fn=os.setsid)
                                  self.wfile.write(html.format(temp[5:], status).encode("utf-8"))
                          
                          
                          if __name__ == '__main__':
                              http_server = HTTPServer((host_name, host_port), MyServer)
                              print("Server Starts - %s:%s" % (host_name, host_port))
                          
                              try:
                                  GPIO.add_event_detect(SENSOR_PIN , GPIO.RISING, callback=MyServer.monitor_on) #detect radar sensor and enable Monitor
                                  http_server.serve_forever()
                              except KeyboardInterrupt:
                                  http_server.server_close()
                          GPIO.cleanup()
                          
                          
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                          • B Offline
                            bachoo786
                            last edited by

                            @MadScientist @yep_DD Thanks for the replies. Is there anyway to limit the distance that the radar sensor senses? I have my magic mirror in the bath room and it faces the wooden door which I believe will be detecting motion through it and I don’t want that.

                            Y 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • M Offline
                              MadScientist
                              last edited by

                              I have a sensor that allows changing the sensitivity but for me the lowest was still to much as it got triggered when somebody walked by outside my house. I am using a PIR-Sensor now.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • Y Offline
                                yep_DD @bachoo786
                                last edited by yep_DD

                                @bachoo786 apparently it also depends on the quality of the sensor, I ordered a batch on ebay and got lucky with one where I have to get really close to the glass to trigger it. at first I thought I would change it, but now I am satisfied because it fits the purpose of just activating in case the mirror is off and the other power-on / off logic didn’t work (guests at home). But if I had to redesign I would not use a sensor at all as my other ways of powering the mirror seem far more integrated, e.g. I do not want to see the mirror turn on and / off as this disturbs the design.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • B Offline
                                  bachoo786
                                  last edited by

                                  @MadScientist is your pir visible near your mirror?as it wouldn’t work behind the mirror.

                                  @yep_DD are you talking about the rcwl0516? I have read that using a low value resistor can decrease the range of detection up to 5cm. Trouble is I don’t where to connect the additional resistor and the low value of it too.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • M Offline
                                    MadScientist
                                    last edited by

                                    I have it incorporated in the frame. I drilled a 2 or 3mm hole in the front of the frame and a 8mm hole from the back which only goes half way through. The 8mm are perfect to mount the PIR sensor without the lense. The mirror only activates when you are directly in front of it and it’s hardly visible.

                                    B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • B Offline
                                      bachoo786 @MadScientist
                                      last edited by

                                      @madscientist is it possible to share a photo please?

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • M Offline
                                        MadScientist
                                        last edited by

                                        View from the back:
                                        0_1547035553395_IMG_20180207_185809.jpg

                                        View from the front:
                                        0_1547035794660_IMG_20180207_185957.jpg

                                        PIR sensor without IR lense and the inside-8mm-hole:
                                        0_1547035573916_IMG_20190109_130158.jpg

                                        B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • B Offline
                                          bachoo786 @MadScientist
                                          last edited by

                                          @madscientist very well done and looks neat thanks for that

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • S Offline
                                            secdude @yep_DD
                                            last edited by

                                            @yep_DD

                                            What mirror thickness did you choose? 4mm or 6mm? And why?

                                            Y 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0

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