Coinkite's blockclock is amazing. Blockclock inspired me to develop one using M5StickC IoT device for a cheaper price. Here is the result:
(display is pixelated due to the closeup shot)
Follow the steps for your next DIY project
  • Buy M5StickC from here. It costs around $13.95 without a shipping charge
  • Next you need to flash it with UIFlow firmware using M5's firmware burning tool. Please search on youtube for 'how-tos'. M5stack has hosted multiple videos on youtube. If your M5stickC is already flashed with UIFlow when you receive it, you can skip this step
  • Connect your M5StickC with your wifi
  • M5stack has an online IDE to code and flash your device remotely. Please connect your device with UIFlow by following the instruction.
  • Get your coinmarketcap API to get the BTC price. Coinmarketcap offers a few thousand API calls free for a month. Create an API key in their portal.
  • Copy the following micro python program in the UIFlow interface and run it to flash the device. Don't forget to replace coinmarketcap API key in the code.
from m5stack import * from m5ui import * from uiflow import * import urequests import json def setFont(): #lcd.clear() #setScreenColor(0x006600) lcd.setRotation(1) lcd.font(lcd. FONT_Default) #lcd.font(lcd.FONT_Small) #lcd.setTextColor(0xffffff,0x006600) def redBackDrop(): lcd.clear() setFont() setScreenColor(0xf80b0b) lcd.setTextColor(0xffffff,0xf80b0b) def greenBackDrop(): lcd.clear() setFont() setScreenColor(0x009900) lcd.setTextColor(0xffffff,0x009900) def displayContent(symbol,price, marketcap,block): lcd.print(str(symbol), 60, 5) lcd.print("Price : $" + str(price), 5, 20) lcd.print("M.Cap: $" + str(marketcap) + " Bn", 5, 35) if str(symbol) == 'BTC': lcd.print("1$ : " + str(round(1/(price/100000000))) + " Sat", 5, 50) lcd.print("Block : " + str(block) + "", 5, 65) def getAPI(): result = dict() try: # Replace 'X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY' with your coinmarketcap API req = urequests.request(method='GET', url='https://pro-api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/cryptocurrency/quotes/latest?symbol=BTC,ETH,LTC', headers={'X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY':'<replace your coinmarketcap API key here>','Accept':'application/json'}) req1 = urequests.request(method='GET', url='https://mempool.space/api/blocks/tip/height') BTCPrice = round(json.loads((req.text))["data"]["BTC"]["quote"]["USD"]["price"],2) BTCMarketCap = round(json.loads((req.text))["data"]["BTC"]["quote"]["USD"]["market_cap"]/1000000000,2) BTCBlock = req1.text result['btcprice'] = BTCPrice result['btcmarketcap'] = BTCMarketCap result['block'] = BTCBlock return result except: setScreenColor(0xff0000) lcd.print("Can't fetch API",5,30) result['btcprice'] = 0 result['btcmarketcap'] = 0 result['block'] = 0 result['ethprice'] = 0 result['ethmarketcap'] = 0 return result while True: result = getAPI() redBackDrop() displayContent('BTC', result['btcprice'],result['btcmarketcap'],result['block']) wait(150) greenBackDrop() displayContent('BTC', result['btcprice'],result['btcmarketcap'],result['block']) wait(150)
(this code does not format well on M5StickC Plus display)
The total cost of this project is not more than $30. It serves the purpose though it is not as beautiful as blockclock. I bought bitcoin for the rest of the cost of blockclock. Stack sats!!
I still don't understand why Bitcoin nodes don't display this as a default. Then it becomes a decorative item instead of a server that you put in the back of your house.
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Yup this is just a fun little project, a small piece of decorative item on your desk. It does not do much except displaying few BTC info every 3 mins or so. It is a very small microcontroller(esp32) with not much computing power.
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Super cool, would you mind if we reposted this on our site? Will obviously link to your original post
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Please feel free to repost it
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Thank you so much, we really appreciate it :)
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Your article is amazing. Thanks for the encouragement. Thanks again for letting me contribute.
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It's a pleasure, if you ever come up with cool things you want to share, we're happy to promote it for you or set you up as a guest author, we're all about pushing the grass roots movement
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Amazing!! Great work! I love it
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This is awesome! Keep sharing!
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Super cool! I’ve been eyeballing the m5 stick for a while (I collect a lot of microcontrollers with high hopes and mediocre follow through) and have resisted so far. I think this is gonna push me over the edge…
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I am happy to meet few microcontrollers enthusiasts here. I am also a big fan of M5 stacks, esp32 for various use cases. I must say a big thank you to Ben Arc. I love all of his work. His work inspired me and redirected me to experiment with microcontrollers for bitcoin.
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I really need to check out the esp32. I have a couple of reactive lighting projects using esp8266 and the extra horsepower and BLE in the 32 looks sick. Love love love seeing cool bitcoin embedded projects 😄
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Yeah, the horsepower of esp8266 is next to nothing. I love to see your lightning projects using esp8266. Please share if you can. But esp32 is a bit promising compared with esp8266. I wanted to check if esp32 can create a mesh lightning network with microchannels using neutrino. It is definitely possible with raspberry pi Pico
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That sounds dope
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Heh, exactly. I've had a couple of these for a while, and when I saw the matching model I finally pulled the trigger and managed to burn, erase, burn, save, download, erase, burn until I got it to work.
I'd like to make a couple of changes, like the background reflecting the usual green/red signalling, but there's a bit to learn before I can confidently do more than stare in awe at this little box with its wi-fi and capability.
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Color signaling is a great idea. If you come across any free API which provides price changes, please share.
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Doing good work here. :)
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Cool, tipped l33t sats for a l33t guide!
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Super cool! Love this project.
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How long does the battery last?
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Unfortunately, the battery is not good. Not more than 30 mins since I will have to keep the display on most of the time :(
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