Differences

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--- doc:appunti:hardware:raspberrypi_digitalframe [2021/01/09 15:51] – [photo-reframe] niccolo
+++ doc:appunti:hardware:raspberrypi_digitalframe [2022/10/17 09:46] – [Fixed WiFi MAC address] niccolo
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
-The first step was to order the hand-made **wood frame** from a craftsman. The profile size is shown in the picture, the inner space to accomodate the monitor is **54.0 x 32.5 cm**.
+The first step was to order the hand-made **wood frame** from a craftsman. The profile size is shown in the picture, the inner space to accommodate the monitor is **54.0 x 32.5 cm**.
 {{ .:raspberrypi:frame-profile.png?280 |Wood Frame Profile}}
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 I downloaded and installed **RaspiOS 2020-05-27 Buster**, based on Debian 10. I choosed the **full** version "with desktop and recommended software".
-FIXME The WiFi is handled by Network Manager? The **/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf** does conflict with Network Manager? The **/boot/wpa_supplicant.conf** trick explained in [[https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/headless.md|Setting up a Raspberry Pi headless]] does conflict as well?
+==== WiFi ====
+I installed the **Xfce** desktop environment; on Debian 10 this is bundled with the **[[https://packages.debian.org/buster/network-manager|NetworkManager]]** service, which handles wired and wireless connections.
+Beware that NetworkManager does conflict with the **/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf** configuration file: if you configure a WiFi connection in this file, you will end-up with two **wpa_supplicant** instances conflicting each other (so you shouldn't even use the trick to [[https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/headless.md|setup a Raspberry Pi headless]]). Use instead the NetworkManager applet from the Xfce environment to connect to your WiFi network, the network preferences will be saved into **/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/**.
 ==== Desktop Autologin ====
@@ Line 104: / Line 108: @@
 The mouse pointer will disappear after one second of **idle time**, just to reappear if you move the mouse. If you want to customize the options, change the file **/etc/default/unclutter**.
+==== Turning off the power LED ====
+When the digital frame is in stand-by (the screen is black and turned off), there is a red light glow around the frame, caused by the **Raspberry Pi power LED** being very bright, this is particularly disturbing when the room is dark. Fortunately enough there is a way to turn off the LEDs, just add the following snippet at the end of **/boot/config.txt** and reboot:
+<file>
+# Disable Ethernet LEDs
+dtparam=eth_led0=14
+dtparam=eth_led1=14
+# Disable the PWR LED
+dtparam=pwr_led_trigger=none
+dtparam=pwr_led_activelow=off
+# Disable the Activity LED
+dtparam=act_led_trigger=none
+dtparam=act_led_activelow=off
+</file>
+This works well on my **Raspberry Pi 2** model, the matter is discussed in a **[[https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=149126|post of the RaspberryPi.org forum]]**.
 ==== Keyboard Shortcut ====
@@ Line 110: / Line 134: @@
 ==== Screen Saver ====
+The program **photo-reframe** is configured to call two external programs, one to **disable the screensaver** (at program start) and one to **re-enable the screensaver** (at program exit). The two helper programs should be named **screensaver-off** and **screensaver-on** respectively, and they are searched into the **PATH**. In this way you can leave the desktop power saving active: the screen will remain active if a slideshow is running, but it goes blank otherwise.
+Beware that the **xfce4-power-manager** program overloads the functionality offered by DPMS (controlled by the **xset** program); e.g. the screen blanking is perfomed even with DPMS disabled. The reccommended XFCE power manager settings (//Settings// => //Power Manager// => //Display//) are:
+  * **Display power management**: On - This will **enable DPMS**.
+  * **Blank after**: Never - This prevents the software screen blanking (no DPMS).
+  * **Put sleep after**: 5 minutes -  This is enforced via **DPMS Standby**.
+  * **Switch off after**: 6 minutes - This is enforced via **DPMS Off**.
+With these settings display blanking is controlled by DPMS only (no software blanking); the slideshow program can simply disable DPMS to keep the screen always on. XFCE saves the Power Manager settings into the file **$HOME/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfce4-power-manager.xml**.
+=== screensaver-off ===
+<code bash>
+#!/bin/sh
+xset dpms force on
+xset -dpms
+</code>
+=== screensaver-on ===
+<code bash>
+#!/bin/sh
+xset dpms 300 300 360
+xset +dpms
+</code>
+=== How to use xset ===
 With the command **xset q** it is possibile to query the status of the **[[wp>VESA_Display_Power_Management_Signaling|DPMS]]** (you must be the user owning the X display):
@@ Line 136: / Line 189: @@
 If you disable the screensaver from the desktop environment (in our case XFCE //Settings// => //Power Manager// => //Display//), you will see the line **DPMS is Disabled** in ''xset q'' output.
+==== Desktop Fonts ====
+To have bigger fonts into XFCE menu we opened the **Settings** => **Appearance** => **Fonts** menu and increased the font size. Settings are saved into the file **$HOME/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xsettings.xml**.
 ===== Executing programs from the Firefox browser =====
@@ Line 238: / Line 297: @@
 See the man page for **nm-system-settings.conf**, the article **[[https://fedoramagazine.org/randomize-mac-address-nm/|Randomize your MAC address using NetworkManager]]** and this **[[https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=196348&start=25#p1524581|post]]** on how to disable it on the Raspberry Pi.
+Alternatively you can uninstall the **NetworkManager** package and use **dhcpcd5** for all the network settings.
 ===== Web References =====
   * **[[https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt/video.md|Video options in config.txt]]**
+  * **[[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xfce#Display_blanking|XFCE, DPMS and display blanking]]**