Thanks to all who answered all of my questions.

I am not a builder, don’t have a bunch of tools so trying to build a frame was going to be a challenge. In all of my research I found a medicine cabinet build at

https://docs.smart-mirror.io/docs/hardware.html I didn’t buy the monitor he suggested and went with a 24 inch monitor I found on Craigslist. After stripping it down to bare bones, I placed on top of the mirror and of course it was about 1/4 inch too big. Ugh. Gambled and bought a 23 inch monitor and after stripping it down it was perfect

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-s2319nx-23-ips-led-fhd-monitor-black-silver/6237640.p?skuId=6237640] It was marked down to $85 with an open box model.

Removing the mirror from medicine cabinet was not as easy as described. I had to pry the wood apart on 3 sides and after putting the new mirror in, I used wood glue and large clamps to rebuild.

I called a bunch of local glass companies and found one who would sell me a 13x26 one way mirror for $75. That was less than the cost of an acrylic one from the vendor many use. Call around for sure. This was my 7th call. Most other places wanted $125 or more.

I am not hanging it on a wall, but resting on top of my mantle. I added a few eye hooks and 100 pound picture wire. I added a few 100 pound picture frame holders into the wall and put the wire over the hooks to prevent any chance of it tipping over.

To control the screen I am using an Alexa enabled smart plug. I have an Echo in my living room so I didn’t build Alexa into the mirror. I choose the smart plug for a few reasons. It allowed me to add it to my morning and evening rituals so it turns on and off at certain times. I also added an applet from IFTTT that is based on location. It turns on or off automatically when I leave or enter my subdivision.

Modules used

Default Time/calendar
Default Compliments with a few custom insults
MMM-EyeCandy
MMM-MyScoreboard
MMM-NOAA3
MMM-NowPlayingonSpotify
MMM-DadJokes

Here is what it looks like mounted on the mirror. I used tarp straps to keep everything tight.

Video of it in action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNl8iWJ-EJ0

Just when I thought I had my mirror set up how I liked it you do this?

Thanks

I was a complete beginner when I started working on my mirror. I watched a bunch of youtube videos, skipping the ones dedicated to building frames, and learned about installation. There is an asian woman on youtube who does a tutorial walking through the installation of the magic mirror and its modules. It wasn’t perfect but it helped me learn.

Read everything you can. Look at the stuff on reddit. Read this forum. Understand the problems people went through and bookmark pages that seem interesting to you. Learn from people’s mistakes. Ask questions. Experiment and get frustrated when it doesn’t work. Read code carefully as a slight deviation at all will mess things up. Ask questions, have fun. Use the search feature. Ask questions.

I’m using a clapper to turn the monitor on & off. Old school meets new school

@Mykle1 Thanks for all of your help. I gave the one I made as a gift away Saturday and everyone at the party freaked out. That kid will be the coolest kid in the dorm.

@retroflex I used the shutdown from MMM-remotecontrol to shut it down. 8 did have a backup of config & css on laptop so it was just reinstalling modules for the most part

@mumblebaj Thanks, thats what I figured

@sdetweil well that gives me a weekend project then. Is the card reusable with a wipe or do I need to buy a new one?

@sdetweil said in Won’t restart/stuck at prompt:

pm2 logs

Is this what you were looking for?

@sdetweil when I connect via VNC I see something that says can’t currently display desktop

@sdetweil OK. I’ll have to remove the pi from my mirror & hook up to a tv so I can try to get the info. Ive got screen rotated and its hard to read through the mirror.

I had to unplug my mirror and shut it down for the 1st time in months. When I plugged it back in I get to the prompt & that’s it. I have tried pm2 restart mm. No luck. Went into MM folder and tried npm start & that didn’t work

On pi 3b+ with the new version of MM installed. I set up pm2 when I created the mirror.

Any thoughts before I start over from scratch

Everytime my monitor turns off/on it goes back to 50%. I am looking for a way to make the brightness of the monitor automatically go to 100% as I don’t use a motion detector but a smart plug to turn monitor on/off while the pi stays on all times

I just upgraded Spotify to a family account, how can I make it only recognize my music. We each have a unique log in but the module is based on account number. Is there a way to specify which log in?