cool project, any way of supplying with a a range of adjusted graphics (mirror compared to the original ??) or some custom animations similar to games out there.

maybe with an option of 2 - 3 sd cards each with a certain range of animations (car ones, early dmd era ones and recent dmd ones etc?)

does the board have a permanent power supply input?

what sort of plug / lead is needed for the 3.2 oled to connect to the Pico?

I have had this clock for a little while and currently not working (turns off when it wants, doesn't turn on when it should, freezes mid image) but all roads seem to lead to reflashing the sd card but I am a mac user so how do I do this when it appears you need a windows machine to do this?

my workplace is a government hospital so can't download anything and macs at home so very frustrating at the moment but Pinballer73 is going to try and help, much appreciated

local pinsider helped with a card but now the it turns itself off earlier than it should after running perfect for a few weeks. Then got j_m_ 's replacement card and set the on and off time and then the display did everything opposite, mirrored, back the front etc - removed the card, turned everything off and back on and came on but no animations ..... ????? is there a menu function to check the animations

or do I just have a bad run-dmd board - at the moment not that happy with it...

https://rundmdimage.wordpress.com/

I ended getting my clock running reliable, apparently there is a slim chance that if your house is hit by a power loss during running it can correct the sd card - reason being is the card has a portion being updated every few moments to allow for randomness of the images shown. Therefore not just a card with files to read on it but a program that runs and constantly saving. If there is a power loss during the writing it corrupts the SD card and it needs to be re-flashed.

HERE is my step guide to help those with a MAC computer.

* you will need Parallels loaded on it to run Windows programs. For a while I forgot I had this on one of my design computers.
* you will need one of the Windows versions loaded on it - I have Windows XP on mine.

These are the steps in which I then did it - hope it helps people as the process is a little vague and assumes everyone is experienced in the process.

Step 1 - I downloaded the files
step1 (resized).png

Step 2 - locate program and then the image file to be loaded to the SD card
step2 (resized).png

Step 3 - While in XP on Parrallels insert the sd card into the computer and select windows screen because in apple mode it won't recognise the sd card (my screen also picks up my 3d printer)
step3 (resized).png

Step 4 - Then I have an option - Initialize / Ignore / Eject - I trialed a few things but Ignore worked
step4 (resized).png

Step 5 - Then in the select screen for copying the file to the sd - seen as a usb drive
Step5 (resized).png

Step 6 - Then start and gives you a warning, select Yes again
step6 (resized).png

Step 7 - Programming took a couple of minutes and then says complete but also gives the option to start again - so don't push start. And being Windows running on a Mac there is no option to eject the card in the Windows mode - so remove the sd card (not much choice here)
step7 (resized).png

Step 8 - Have clock connected to power but off on the button 4 to turn on (on j_m_ clock it is the very left button)

Step 9 - Insert SD card and it immediately turns on and boots up

Step 10 - Set time if the board has not been already set yet - if the clock was running and you have had to reflash the clock will maintain the time (if the battery is still installed)

Step 11 - Set sleep time

Step 12 - set wake time

then it should work , which it did for me..... on both sd cards..... hope that helps some people

Macs can reformat cards and load up SD cards but the program that runs in the background on the SD card and is constantly rewriting itself during clock operation is a windows program so the problem is a little bigger. The rundmd guys need to develop a mac program app.....

Even better is a power protection feature built into the clock so if there is a power loss during the clocks operation the SD card is not corrupted - this would save alot of issues for people.

well, 3 weeks down and my clock is playing up once again, didn't have any power loss but it did turn off during a period I was doing some 3d printing which was on the same wall outlet ?????

I like the edge lighting with the custom message

contact Limpan as he is linked with the run dmd and I checked and he was last active on pinside today

I put it up on my website
https://swinks.com.au/mod-manuals

It is not as simple as dropping a file onto sd card and even harder for Mac users - I will put together a little how to for Mac owners soon

try a fresh SD card as found one card gave me alot of problems and another not

they have disappeared for a short while now

I will get my guide together tonight to help as in the end I use a mac in windows mode to do the sdcard file load up

ok, if you need to re-flash your clock SD Card here is my guide and the image

https://swinks.com.au/mod-manuals

hope it helps

Re-Flashing your RUN-DMD Clock SD Card.pdf

from my research and info I got from the guys before they went into hiding is:
- basically the image file lives on your sd card and every 5-10 seconds the sd card is updated with what has been played to ensure a mix of images. If there is a interruption of power to the clock during the 5-10second update it will corrupt the sd card and start to do weird things.
- other thing is your sd card could be corrupt - get a new one and try a different brand as I have 2 cards and reflash both and one keeps failing (Sandisk)

hope that helps

keep in mind with my clock the sandisk could have a issue and not be the brand - just trying to isolate the issues.

I have my clock on a timer for wake at 6am and off at 10pm.
one disc just keeps going but the other is very touchy being the sandisc.

I did not know that of the disc that should be used for constant re-saving - maybe they should of went for a usb if that is try ???

yes I think it is the card..

try again as link worked for me
https://swinks.com.au/mod-manuals

that said my website server provider was having minor problems in the last 24hrs

go to my website for the manual page and have a how to and the file to load up.

I saw this post in another thread and probably explains the disappearance of the clock image

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hologram-mod-for-creature-from-pinballsp-is-under-development/page/39#post-5703183

"Technically yes, if your selling as is or modified Williams/Bally artwork you need permission from Rick at PPS as he holds the licence. All the big players like colorDMD,CPR etc.. all have a agreement with Rick to sell the artwork. The runDMD clock project was recently shut down by Rick due to it included Dot animations from Williams/Bally games which was not licenced.

He probably can't ever see this thing being finished either so is not worried

I will say the animations are fantastic, the artist has done amazing job. Just a shame there is no working platform to put them into! "

have it set on from 6am to 10pm and then asleep 10pm to 6am as very bright and flashes & lights up a good section of the house otherwise

the unit does not always play all images and sometimes in re-flashing shows different images - I have 2 cards and sometimes swap them

I have the info here if it helps
https://swinks.com.au/mod-manuals

I have a guide there on how to do, which is for mac but also window users

there are issues with corrupt SD cards and the issue can start when your clock is running and then power suddenly goes out - black out or power killed to the house suddenly. The program is actively running from the SD card every few seconds so can be corrupted if the power outage is right at the animation change. The corruption can cause lines out, merged graphics, time resetting, image lockup.

I have a section on the RUNDMD stuff here:
https://swinks.com.au/manuals

I have a section /manual on RUNDMD here on my site that will explain the process
https://swinks.com.au/manuals

yes as the program is effectively on the SD card so it isn't a matter of dumping the images on it needs to go through this process which is a pain and not apple mac friendly

Also I was given the newer updated image files which I have not tried as yet.

The B134 img has been used many times and I haven't changed anything at this link
https://swinks.com.au/manuals

Did you unzip the file and just select the img or imgc file type
- could be selecting the incorrect file as it says the zip file unless it is referring to the folder - haven't done it a while
- could be the SD card being corrupt

great to hear

which file to do you use - B134 or B237?

and is it working fine?

Sorry I can't really help as the file was shared with me - I was told it would work on the DMD - White board.

What board is yours?

I did notice the file type difference:
B134 - is a imgc
B237 - is a img
so not sure if this affects the end result

yes apparently a number of new additional animations

Ok some testing was done though not by me, but someone experienced with these clocks that asked me to post this to help the community.

These are the test results:

1. Tried both B237 and B134 - IMG & IMGC File type did not matter, both worked
2. Tried in 4 different Run-DMD clocks (Classic with updated firmware and Exp-one, Pinball MK2, Pinball Original, White) - The above file types worked on all these boards.
3. Did all of these tests on both software - Etcher and HDDRawCopy1.10Portable - This did not matter but HDDRawCopy was way faster.
5. Tried a bunch of cards - This appears to be the problem when it doesn't work.
6. In most cases where it worked I had to hold the "3" button to put the controller into setup mode. IF the display goes into the slow blink mode the card will likely work but you have to wait 20 seconds or more to get anything to display. IF it's a normal blink the card will likely not work.

Here's a summary of the cards that worked.
1. 8GB Kingston MicroSD
2. 16GB Microcenter MicroSD (US PC Store)
3. 32GB SanDisk MicroSD
4. 32GB Kingston MicroSD
5. 32GB Kingston SD - I had 2 of these. They came with recent Run-DMD boards.

The following cards did not work.
1. 2GB Transend SD - Note that B237 is too large for a 2GB card.
2. 4GB Transend SD - I had 2 of these - Neither worked.
3. 8GB Transend SD - I had 4 of these - None worked.
4. 16GB Microcenter MicroSD - I had 3 of these including the one that worked above. They appear to be identical.

Conclusion
It may be worthwhile to try each of the cards that you have until you find one that works. If buying a new card a newish Kingston 32GB card seems to be the most likely to work. Fortunately these aren't expensive but may take some trial and error to find one that works. Odds are very high that other cards will work though.

In Summary
Both files work on most dmd clock boards but the weakness is the SD card brand and memory size.

Hope this helps
Jady / Swinks and friend

you are not in a area where you have black outs or lose power?

make sure to turn off via the off button or sleep and not via the power point as turning off mid animation can corrupt the SD card as well

yes, sounds like

the cards are definitely the clock weakness

I am not sure, may have to load up a card and see if it works.

try a new card

see if you can do something with the RunDMD images
https://swinks.com.au/manuals

I have saved some of the info and animation files for the RUNDMD on my site for safe keeping and if anyone needs it

https://swinks.com.au/manuals

make sure to load up a new sd card just incase you have issues so you can go back to the good sd card b-34

yeah ghostbusters comes up

there seems to be issues with the IMG file type where as the older IMGC file type works

I grabbed what ever files were available before removed from the site and circulation.

A few people have had success and a few haven't. But if anyone does have it let me know as I can add it to the folder for people to use.

a word of warning

I am not 100% sure if you are pulling the plug to power off and then pushing back in or using a power off button???

The SD card does not like power off via the plug as if it occurs mid way between a time and animation it will corrupt the SD card. The SD card does not just store animations but also has the active program in it and it can easily be corrupted. I a series of house blackouts due to the power line fuse to the house and each time this occured it corrupted the SD card.

As a test maybe program 2 cards - one with the 34 and one with the 37 and test each one to see if one works or both and power on and off with the power button on the RUNDMD

as you guys know I have saved the files and are available on my website

https://swinks.com.au/manuals

but I had a person reach asking what the different boards look like so he could determine what upgrades he could do.

Could you post images of what the Edge, Red, White, Pico look like as the Run-dmd site is down again and just wanted to create a basic document to detail what each looks like and any none info of what version can handle what firmware updates to help people in the future.

cheers

Jady