Kindle-Alarm-Clock

An alarm clock running on the Kindle Touch.

Description

I wanted an alarm clock with a certain set of features in a nice design at a reasonable price point. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any such thing. I thus decided to build my own. I got a used Kindle Touch, which is, other than the lack of screen lighting, ideal for this purpose: It has a large display, consumes relatively little energy, due to the e-ink display, runs a Linux-based OS and is easy to hack.

Note: I threw this together in the course of a Saturday, so please forgive me, if not everything is absolutely beautiful. Feel free to report errors or contribute!

For more information see https://www.mundhenk.org/blog/kindle-alarm-clock.

Features

• multiple timers: Set and manage multiple timers
• weekday timers: Set a different recurring timer for every day of the week
• auto-off: Alarm turns off after 1 minute of ringing
• auto-start: starts together with Kindle
• custom sounds: Uses mplayer to play MP3, Internet Radio, ...
• WiFi auto-off: WiFi is turned off automatically, after usage, reducing electromagnetic pollution (your alarm clock really does not need WiFi).
• auto-refresh/invert of e-ink display to avoid ghosting effects, every 10min.

Photos

Requirements

• Kindle Touch: Likely also running on other Kindles with speakers, but not tested.
• Jailbreak for Kindle Touch, see here
• USB Networking, see here
• Kindle Unified Applications Launcher (KUAL), see here
• WebLaunch, see here
• MPlayer, see here
• Python, see here
• Any WiFi around that you can connect to (no need for internet, unless you want to play internet radio)

Installation

• Follow the instructions on (link: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Touch_Hacking text: MobileRead Wiki popup:yes) to jailbreak your Kindle, install USB Networking, KUAL, WebLaunch, MPlayer and Python, if you haven't already.
• Copy the files from this repository to the root of your Kindle:
  • The actual app components are located in /mnt/us/alarm.
  • A startup script is located in /etc/upstart. This way, the alarm clock will automatically start whenever your Kindle starts. There is a bit of delay
  • The settings.js file for WebLaunch is located in /mnt/us/extensions/WebLaunch. This will overwrite your current settings.js, if you use WebLaunch.
• Start WebLaunch manually via KUAL once, so that the settings.js is read.
• Connect your Kindle to any WiFi network. Unfortunately, the Kindle browser (which is used by WebLaunch) only connects to websites, when it is connected to a WiFi, even if the address it connects to is on localhost. Thus, a connectable WiFi needs to be around. The alarm clock will make sure to turn off WiFi whenever it is not needed.
• Place your MP3s (or AAC, FLAC, OGG, ...) to be played at alarm time on the /mnt/us/music folder and in alarmServer.py adjust the following variables:

#if you want internet radio, then set this variable to the URL of your radio station. Possibly might have to use the IP address.
stream="http://yourURLHere" 
#the following sound is played if the internet radio station is not available or not set:
backupSound="/path/to/backup/sound/here.mp3"
#this is the volume to play the sound/radio at:
volume=75

Ressources

• excellent summary of the Kindle Touch for DIY people: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Touch_Hacking
• inspiration:
  • http://blog.yolo.pro/repurposing-an-old-kindle-touch-as-a-weather-display/
  • https://mpetroff.net/2012/09/kindle-weather-display/