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Raspberry Pi Big Ben Clock

By renierdelport (/member/renierdelport/) in Circuits (/circuits/) > Raspberry Pi (/circuits/raspberry-pi/projects/)
5,724 21 6

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 (/member/renierdelport/)
By renierdelport
(/member/renierdelport/)
My Website More by
(http://www.behind-the- the author:
scenes.co.za)

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About: I also find myself busy with creative web design, my websites, motorcycling, photo shopping,
micro electronics, non-commercialised music, superhero movies, bad ass series and many other things
that are not int… More About renierdelport » (/member/renierdelport/)

Want your own grandfather or cuckoo sounding clock run on each hour? Stay
tuned. I've been using Instructables for so long long now, so I decided to give
something back. Introducing my Raspberry Pi Big Ben Clock.

This is a small little project I did out of a bit of boredom because I had a 'silent'
Raspberry Pi behind my TV who's only job was to play mp3s on demand (maybe an
Instructable for another day).

The Raspberry Pi Big Ben Clock is basically an audio simulation of a grandfather

or cuckoo clock using some edited mp3's I got o! the internet, some Bash scripting
and crontab. It is called Big Ben because the audio "les I decided to use was from
the Great Bell in London, England.

You can use any audio of your choice, but this fairly simple Instructable will help
you to put it all together.

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Step 1: Requirements
 (https://content.instructables.com/FCX/G6G7/J4IQ072H/FCXG6G7J4IQ072H.jpg?
auto=webp&frame=1&fit=bounds&md=181a74f58c2793d296e56f6135100e6d)

This Instructable will be very easy for those who owns and/or are familiar with the
Raspberry Pi. You will obviously need one, pre-installed with the very popular
Raspbian operating system. I used Wheezy, but the steps will be the same with
Jessy.

You will also need to be connected to the internet to be able to do the latest
update/upgrade,

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

get the necessary additional software like MPlayer

sudo apt-get install mplayer

and to get the time accurately (usually done automatically if your location settings
are correct).

I used a B model Raspberry Pi, with which you can run audio through the HDMI
cable, but I preferred using the audio jack instead (con"gurable through Raspi-
con"g or the GUI).
  Add Tip " Ask Question # Comment Download

Step 2: Do the Coding

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auto=webp&frame=1&fit=bounds&md=8f2479dbdfcdde762b39a9f7997b1bd8)

I used a simple Bash script, the mp3s and Crontab for this project. Create a big-ben
directory in a known location to hold the Bash script and the mp3s. For
explanation, I will use /home/pi/big-ben. To get started, you can download mine
below - originally from the UK Parliament website (http://www.parliamen-
t.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/anniversary-year/downloads).

From a freshly booted Raspbian terminal (i.e. the default working directory, which
should be /home/pi) copy the following lines one-by-one to create the directory
and copy the mp3 "les:

mkdir /home/pi/big-ben

cd /home/pi/big-ben

wget https://www.instructables.com/files/orig/F3C/WOPJ/INC0CAI4/F3CWOPJINC0CAI4.mp3

wget https://www.instructables.com/files/orig/FOP/GM68/INC0CAI9/FOPGM68INC0CAI9.mp3

To create the script:

nano clock.sh

and copy this code to it:

 #!/bin/bash
# Triggered through Crontab every 30 minutes
minute=$(date +"%M")
if [[ $minute == 30 ]]
then
mplayer "/home/pi/big-ben/FOPGM68INC0CAI9.mp3"
elif [[ $minute == 00 ]]
then
mplayer "/home/pi/big-ben/F3CWOPJINC0CAI4.mp3"
hour=$(date +"%I")
x=0
while [ $x -lt $hour ]
do
mplayer "/home/pi/big-ben/FOPGM68INC0CAI9.mp3"
let x=x+1
done
fi

Remember to exit & save (Ctrl + x, y Enter)

To add this script to Crontab:

crontab -e

By adding the following command to Crontab, the scrip will be executed every 30
minutes:

0,30 * * * * bash /home/pi/big-ben/clock.sh

Exit & save (Ctrl + x, y Enter)

big-ben-hourly-chimes.mp3 (https://content.instructables.com/F3C/WOPJ/INC0CAI4/F3C‐
Download (https://content.instructables.com/F3C/WOPJ/INC0CAI4/F3CWOPJINC0CAI4.mp3)
WOPJINC0CAI4.mp3)

big-ben-strike.mp3 (https://content.instructables.com/FOP/GM68/INC0CAI9/FOPGM68INC0‐
Download (https://content.instructables.com/FOP/GM68/INC0CAI9/FOPGM68INC0CAI9.mp3)
CAI9.mp3)

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Step 3: Conclusion

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auto=webp&frame=1&fit=bounds&md=c72540a06ebe05894a66f623a0ffa205)

That's about it! Sit back and wait for the magic to happen if the clock strikes.
You can go back and look a bit deeper into what I did and make your own changes.
I for example added Bash to prevent this clock script running in the evenings. You
can also use Crontab for that. Also go and try your own sounds.

For more like this, see my Blog (http://www.behind-the-scenes.co.za).

Enjoy =)-~

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1 Person Made This Project!

michael95420 (/member/michael95420/)
made it!

Did you make this project? Share it with us!

I Made It!

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6 Comments

(/member/solarboyy/) solarboyy (/member/solarboyy/) 1 year ago Reply & Upvote

Excellent build! Thank you for sharing. May I inquire as to which version of Raspberry Pi Model board
(e.g. B) did you use? What is the necessary RAM? Is it possible to program this so that the clock is
silent at night, say from 9pm night, to 6 am the next morning? Thanks again.
 (/member/kford2/) kford2 (/member/kford2/) Question 5 years ago Answer & Upvote

I am looking to play specific audio files at certain times throughout the day. Not sure what needs to be
modified to do this. any suggestions on where to look?
1 answer '

(/member/danymj/) danymj (/member/danymj/) 5 years ago Reply & Upvote

I have it added to my grandfather clock that doesn't chime. Awesome project, thank you for sharing

(/member/neilblenkiron/) neilblenkiron (/member/neilblenkiron/) 7 years ago Reply & Upvote

What a great Instructable. I have it running on my Pi, laptop and desktop computers. Must remember
to turn off when I'm in the library though ;-)
1 reply '

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