Looking great!
Train/Bus departures board
So, I’ve got a Phillips monitor that I’m no longer using which could work for this. See this fine “artist’s” rendition…
(or somewhere on the wall to the toilet)
Just needs a bit bracketage, a Pi and a HDMI to VGA dongle
1 Like
I’m going to GATE this!
I absolutely think we should have a permanent piece of digital signage in the space. I think we need to incorporate it well. That means something that is fitted up to the standard of the original build, and justifies it’s purpose. So, ah, sticking a screen up there is neither pretty nor useful for scanning on the way out (nor is it inclusive). But it is a starter for ten…
Options as I see them are
1 - Stick a standard monitor somewhere at eye-level by the entrance doors. On the back of the door?
2 - Use the existing TV.
3 - Something custom fitting the vertical strip to the right of the toilet door. A series of smaller screens, raw+thin bezel, stacked in portrait would look ace and allow for different ‘pages’ simultaneously.
We should also devise a way to automatically power it on when the shutter is up, and off when down.
1 Like
Wildcard: A Kindle XL, or some other large electronic ink screen.
Side feedback we need to get the printer working in the space. This kind of takes the space for members photos away, just the printer has been sat on my desk.
Yep. I could collect on Tues on my way to the space for 19.30? Or later. Chris will be there too.
What about a 70s style display board with lights behind coloured gels and labels in eurostyle a la the control room to Cybersyn, the Chilean precursor to the Internet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn which I’ve always wanted to use for a project 
Or we could dress the screen up in a ply wood to make it fit in, I’ve got no problem with a screen in the space.
2 Likes
So would you say it’s a case of “go big or go home”?
If it’s something the space is willing to invest in, this makes sense! More than happy to help make it happen, but don’t think i can do it alone.
Also i think shutter status is something that’s being worked on.
1 Like
I have to say I’m not really sure what this is for. It seems easy to look up trains and buses from a mobile. And if like me you don’t know the destinations/routes of the buses you have to use a journey planner anyway. But if enough members would find it useful then of course I’ll support it. I am interested in the idea of other useful information being displayed – what kind of stuff might that be?
maybe the last post on discourse, it may spur members that are not involved on here to start using it?
What about a magic mirror?
@Dermot let’s flip the idea around: it’s a mug-shot wall that will scale to however members we may have… oh, and perhaps a ‘do I need to run for the bus’ info message on the way out.
While that flip reinforces that we need a one piece of digital signage, it does prompt the question where is most appropriate.
has anyone noticed we have an existing tv that is hardly ever on?
I think it’s worth noting that this project is in serious danger of being discoursed to death.
It would seem like a good idea to get it up and running with what is already knocking about and get feedback.
The big TV probably isn’t suitable but there is a small DVD player TV that works via HDMI just fine and could be used for this neatly by the window on a Raspberry Pi.
Having seen how many people thought the non working LED display was useful it wouldn’t surprise me if this was well received once in place. Not to mention how many people mentioned wishing there was a display already.
2 Likes
Hows this for a user story:
As a : member working in the Makerspace
I want to: know when my next $formOfTransport leaves, and if it’s disrupted
In order to: make the most of my time in the space, and plan my outbound journey better.
Looking things up in Citymapper is one way of doing it, but it’s convenient to quickly glance at a screen somewhere. Also, you get to see if there’s any disruption ahead of time, potentially even before you’ve thought about leaving - so you can plan your journey and avoid getting home excessively late (e.g. by leaving a bit earlier during disruption).
Another thing we can do is display upcoming events in the space, that unless you’re watching Discourse or the calendar you might not know about. And we can show what events are happening right now - which saves the “is Electronics night on?” sorts of questions I found myself asking when entering the space. Of course, this does require keeping the calendar up to date.
And as per @tobyspark 's suggestion, we can also use it to display mugshots (where available) to help with the social connectivity.
4 Likes