@yawns so what do I do to get rid of the error then?

Tried to run the update and this is what I got:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ cd MagicMirror
pi@raspberrypi:~/MagicMirror $ git pull && npm install
Updating 8010e62..1a2b4f8
error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge:
	modules/default/clock/clock.js
	modules/default/compliments/compliments.js
Please, commit your changes or stash them before you can merge.
Aborting
pi@raspberrypi:~/MagicMirror $

It completely aborts. Not sure what to do.

@Davepre said in MMM-AlexaPi:

Good morning guys,
a quick question for everyone who managed to get this to work. How is the performance when leaving the mirror on for a couple of hours?

I havent had the time to properly test it yet, but yesterday night I was under the impression that the MMM-AlexaPi module is quite a heavy hitter performance wise. I use a raspberry pi 3 and don’t feel like I overloaded it (only default modules + mmm-alexapi, motion detection and mmm-uklivebusinfo as 3rd party ones). But the newsticker got stuck after ten minutes and I was unable to close or alt+tab out of magic mirror. Again, I havent tested it properly yet since I didnt have the time, just wondering whether you experienced similar slow-downs.

Best regards / Dave

Every once in a while the mirror sticks but not often. I’ve been running AlexaPi from the start. Usually I just CTRL+Q to restart the mirror or I reboot. I have a reboot button on the side of my mirror. see my setup here. I also have a monitor off button. I have an old LCD monitor that get very hot and overheats, turning off the HDMI, so I keep it off most of the time, however Alexa still runs in the background. I also have a temperature sensor on my MM and I have a 5V fan attached to my Pi to keep it cool. It stays belwo 45degC.

@Davepre If you lost the “hello” at the beginning, you might be able to change back to ‘vlc’ as playback_handler and see if that works. I’ve had the best results with ‘sox’, however, I’m currently running on v1.4 with vlc as my handler and it’s working great. I get my flash briefing, I get music access from TuneIn and iHeartRadio. It’s almost as good as my Dot that I have in the kitchen.

@Orca simply clone the module for the calendar and change the settings for login.

Solid! Good job guys!

@Davepre ask for help here: https://gitter.im/alexa-pi/Lobby
These guys helped me. I recommend installing v1.4, instead of the current 1.5. Then during installation, install it as magicmirror instead of raspberrypi. After installation, open the config.yaml file and change the output handler from vlc to sox.

@deadherring I get the same problem. I have to restart the pi, not just MM to get SSH to work. I have another RPi running a NAS that works great and can SSH every time. I don’t know if there’s something interfering or what.

@cyberphox jump on the gitter.im site. I’ll try to help you out.

@cyberphox are you using any other sound modules? AlexaPi does not work with MMM-Voice. Found that out the hard way. I had to wipe my SD card and start over.

@Mitch1138 Great job! I have a plan when I get to my next house to build something similar. Have you played with the CSS code to make it more eye-catching? Perhaps something like what @dinkybluebug245 did with his display here?

@Wedee can you post your custom.css file?

@johnnyboy said in First Build - 30" w/ custom frame and AlexaPi integration:

@lucallmon
Yeah, good run down there ;-) Really like the idea of the squid buttons for instant reboot/shutdown .

Couple questions if you don’t mind? …

What was your reason for several subsequent installs, if first one worked good?
What issues are you having? and, (This will probbably be answered with the issues you have) what do you mean that it still works well enough?

The first one was set up perfectly, but curiosity killed the cat. I’m pretty much a NOOB too. I just started working on this stuff 2 months ago. So, once it was working, I tried to install more and more programs to play with the OS and capabilities until they started becoming incompatible with each other and I couldn’t figure out why. The last one was when I had the MM setup with AlexaPi and then I tried to install MMM-Voice and it messed up the pocketsphinx add on and I couldn’t fix it, so I just wiped the SD card and started over.

Is this set up just to compliment the Monitors stereo speakers you have playing through HDMI audio? and Alexa plays through all?

Right now I have everything playing through the wired BT speaker. It’s essentially just a back up now.

I was tempted to get one of these, but conflicting reviews put me off… How do you find it? does it pick up your voice even through your Mirror and frame? Just seems the Mic is really tucked in there behind a lot of wood/monitor/acrylic.

Right now it’s tucked in the back, but I just bought a USB extender and I’m going to reposition it. I currently have the gain all the way up so it does a pretty good job of picking up the wakeword.

Now… this is where my Nooooobnessss really shines bright :-) … Is this what is used instead of buying a Dot/Echo? Its a client yeah? dispensing with the need to buy the Dot/Echo? ( Yes, I’m very much brand new to the Pi, and Linux, but i’m really not as dumb as some of my questions make me out to be… Im just learning something new ;-) )

The Alexa AVS is completely software; you don’t have to purchase one. I have an Amazon Dot and it’s great, much better than the AlexaPi software, secondary to limitations placed by Amazon. However, I like how the icon on the MMM changes when you address Alexa. My goal is to get a working Alexa Module that shows cards on the screen when I ask a question. There is already one out there but it’s very difficult to set up and not user friendly, so until that happens, I’m not going to invest the time in it.

@cowboysdude no. I like the black and white look.

@yawns thanks! it was terribly fun to build.

@cyberphox https://github.com/alexa-pi/AlexaPi with https://github.com/dgonano/MMM-AlexaPi module.

Finally got it working and built.

Here’s a video of it working: https://goo.gl/photos/KZNFsERx2zUJ58GTA

I started out with an old HEAVY 30" monitor that I bought from a friend with 1080p HDMI support.

Then of course I installed all of the required MagicMirror software on my RPi 3 model B with Canakit case. I added a 5v GPIO fan because I knew it was going to generate heat behind the mirror and the monitor puts off a TON of heat. I drilled holes on the top of the case to allow more air flow and screwed it into the top. I also attached two squid buttons: both with python scripts to run reboot command and shutdown commands:

I built the frame from 2x4 birchwood with 1x3 45deg angled cuts for the border and 1x4 for the back to allow for hanging (no plan to hang as of right now). I used pre-drilled holes and Gorilla wood glue to hold in place. I also used wood putty to fill in the holes and gaps created by imperfect cuts of wood that I picked up at Lowes. Then I sanded the beJesus out of it with both a belt sander and by hand. I also drilled several venting holes for the heat to escape. Then I put about 2-too-many coats of wood stain on it. It was below freezing in my garage when it was drying so it cracked after I put the acrylic top-coat on it. I think it looks pretty cool like that anyway. It looks kind of like snake scales.

The glass I used was the 1/8" acrylic from Tap Plastics. I’ll be honest, I’m not that pleased with it. Since it’s acrylic, in certain places it looks like a fun house mirror, distorting the image–perhaps it’s not completely flat, but it works well enough. To cut ~30" piece was $67 + 16 for S&H. I wasn’t willing to spend $150+ for the glass at twowaymirrors.com. Also there are a few small imperfections with the glass where the mirror coating had chipped off when I got it. It’s hard to see unless you’re up close, so I can deal with it.

Here is the setup behind the mirror:

Everything fits very snugly into the frame.

1. stereo speakers built into the monitor that supplies HDMI audio
2. Oontz angle BT speaker with better bass response for music. Currently plugged into the RPi via 3.5mm jack.
3. The RPi with attached fan, x2 squid buttons, micro-USB microphone, and mini wireless USB keyboard
4. pre-drilled holes for the squid buttons
5. simple 3-port extension cord for power supply to speaker, monitor and RPi. I’d like to figure out something better in the future.
6. monitor buttons and LED (puts off a cool blue light behind the mirror).

Here’s my button and mic setup. The top squid is for restart and the bottom for shutdown. I took my Kinobo mic, attached it to a USB extender and glued it to the back of the frame.

And that’s pretty much it! The software has been the biggest hurdle. I’ve had the hardest time getting the AlexaPi skill to stay working correctly. It was working amazingly the first time I installed it but every subsequent install it has gotten worse and I can’t figure out why. I’ve been in contact with the devs over at gitter.im but it still works well enough.

Here’s my module setup:
Top Left

• Time in 12h format with date
• CPU temp
• multiple calendar events
• gmail

Top Right

• Wunderground with forcast
• phone notifications
• car and train travel times in DC area

Bottom Bar

• AlexaPi integration
• Compliments
• RSS news feed

I have other modules not showing - MMM-ModuleScheduler, MMM-RemoteControl and MMM-Instagram turned off.

Here’s the final product:

I hope you enjoy.

@strawberry-3-141 Ok, using sudo to install dependencies, I was able to get through 5/6, but now 6/6 failed:

[STEP 5/6] Installing npm dependencies
dependencies.sh: line 106: cd: /root/MagicMirror/modules/MMM-voice: No such file or directory
npm WARN enoent ENOENT: no such file or directory, open '/root/pocketsphinx/package.json'
npm WARN pocketsphinx No description
npm WARN pocketsphinx No repository field.
npm WARN pocketsphinx No README data
npm WARN pocketsphinx No license field.
[STEP 5/6] Installing npm dependencies | Done
[STEP 6/6] Manipulating dependencies
dependencies.sh: line 118: cd: /root/MagicMirror/modules/MMM-voice/node_modules/pocketsphinx-continuous: No such file or directory
sed: can't read index.js: No such file or directory
[STEP 6/6] Manipulating dependencies | Failed

thoughts?

@strawberry-3.141 sorry, i’m pretty much a NOOB, how do I do that?

@strawberry-3.141 so what is your suggestion in my case?