🕐 ⛅ Raspberry Pi Round Weather Clock (A Desk & Nightstand Smart Display)

A little over a year ago I ripped the crusty under-cabinet radio clock out of my kitchen and replaced it with a Raspberry Pi that shows the time and weather at a glance. People liked it. I liked it. But sooner or later almost every comment got around to the same question: "Cool, but I don't have a cabinet to hang it under. Can I put one on my desk?"

So here's the round one.

Same idea, same features: time, date, current conditions, a swipeable forecast, and the shared-house messaging that lets one clock ping another across your network. Just in a round body that sits on a nightstand, a desk, or a shelf instead of hanging under a cabinet. No touchscreen required, no voice assistant, no app, no account, and no weather API key to sign up for. You glance at it, you get what you need, you move on.

Like the kitchen clock, you don't need to solder anything or know how to code. You flash an SD card, paste one line into a terminal, answer a few questions, and you're done. And if you'd rather skip the Raspberry Pi entirely, there's now an all-in-one version that runs on a single ESP32-P4 board you flash straight from your browser. Seriously it's that easy. ANYONE can make this.

All the code is open: full source, the shared forecast-icon set, and the frozen product spec both versions are built against are all on GitHub under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial.

You have two case choices: Pebble, which I've made freely available. And Classic, which you can buy for just $5.

- GitHub: https://github.com/Canterrain/round-weather-display

- More of my projects: https://www.youtube.com/@anoraker

Want to support more projects like this? Buy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/anoraker

You can build this one of two ways. The Raspberry Pi route is the direct follow-up to the kitchen clock and what most of this guide covers. The all-in-one route is a single board with the screen attached.

Raspberry Pi route

- Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W: https://seeedtechnologycoltd.sjv.io/QYvqYA (affiliate, preferred)

- Or a Raspberry Pi 4: https://amzn.to/40en56s or Raspberry Pi 5: https://amzn.to/3ZEJUQH (affiliate)

- Waveshare round HDMI touchscreen: https://amzn.to/4gHMrDa (affiliate)

- Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit Trixie

Additional supplies for the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W:

- Power supply: https://amzn.to/4zY1Jei (affiliate)

- Micro USB to USB-A adapter: https://amzn.to/4hfPgeE (affiliate)

- Mini HDMI to HDMI cable: https://amzn.to/4ihBdpX (affiliate)

- microSD card: https://amzn.to/4ictxp1 (affiliate)

All-in-one route

- Waveshare ESP32-P4 3.4" round touch display: https://amzn.to/4csETBI (affiliate)

- A flat USB-C data cable: https://amzn.to/4gJS7uQ (affiliate)

- A computer running Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on the desktop (not Safari, not a phone/tablet)

3D Printed Cases

If you're printing a case, the files are here:

- Pebble case, free on MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3274860-smart-round-weather-clock-pebble-style- case#profileId-3713868

- Classic case STEP files, available in my store: https://shop.anoraker.com/products/round-weather-clock-classic-case-step-files

Magnets for Classic case: https://amzn.to/4yCba1Q

No soldering either way. No weather API key either way.

Optional, if you want to print a stand or enclosure:

- 3D printer: https://amzn.to/4rNSisW (affiliate)

- Filament: https://amzn.to/4tArbn9 (affiliate)

If you'd rather not run a Raspberry Pi at all, the same clock runs on a single Waveshare ESP32-P4 3.4 round display. The screen is the computer.

The easy way (no software to install)

1. On a desktop computer, open https://canterrain.github.io/round-weather-display in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.
2. Plug the board into your computer with a data-capable USB-C cable (a charge-only cable won't work).
3. Click the Connect button and choose your ESP32 device from the list that pops up (if you aren't sure, unplug and plug device back in, it'll disappear and reappear)
4. Click the install button on the page. It flashes straight from the browser.
5. When it's done, the rest of setup, Wi-Fi, location, room name, etc., happens right on the round touchscreen, with an on-screen keyboard.
6. As this is an all in one, you can jump straight to the steps for printing and installing the case.

There's no wireless update yet. To update the firmware you re-flash from the same browser page.

Insert microSD card into your home computer and use Raspberry Pi imager to set it up for your Raspberry Pi with Raspberry Pi Os

1. Insert SD card to Pi and power on
2. Connect to PI over terminal on another device
3. Download the install script

1. Install the software:

The setup script will:

1. Install all required dependencies
2. Prompt for customizations.

When prompted, provide your location in City,State,Country (ex. Cincinnati,OH,US), and your preference for Imperial or Metric and 12 or 24 hour clock mode. Choose single if you only have one clock for house messages, or shared if you have multiples and want to sync messages.

After setup finishes, reboot the clock with:

Using a 3D printer, print the case in either Pebble or Classic style.

Free Pebble STL here.

Classic Step file available here

If you have a Makera Z1, (affiliate link) CNC you can use the Classic Step File to create a wood case, as seen in some of my photos.

Attach short standoffs (included with display) to the display then Raspberry Pi.

Then connect USB-C to USB-A adapter (included with display) to the USB-C port on the display

Inset microUSB to USB-A adapter to left (USB) microUSB port on PI, then connect the USB-A end to the adapter from the previous step.

Connect HDMI adapter from display to Raspberry Pi.

Slide Power cable through hole in bottom of Pebble case, or back piece of Classic case.

If using classic case, slide power cable through main body as well.

Connect power cable to Raspberry Pi or ESP32.

Slide display into case.

You're all set!

If you're using the ESP32 display, follow on screen prompts to connect WiFi and add location details.

Swipe up or down to move between analog and digital. Swipe right for house messages. Swipe right from analog to get to a forecast.

You can set your preferred home screen in settings.