The Bus Stop Bus

Hardware

iot bus arrival display

SHOW HN2017

125points
22comments
#336of 2,242 in 2017
Top 15%of 2017 by points

How HN took it

LovedMost comments that take a side are positive

5 positive, 4 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 0 critical, out of 9 comments about the project. Thread score +0.46.

Idea: 2 for, 0 againstExecution: 2 for, 0 againstDesign: 1 for, 0 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Useful for glancing at when to leave

    From 2 comments
    • Perhaps unsurprisingly, I had the same reaction from my SO. She loves this bus, to my dismay, because my reaction is "it took me countless hours to build a sensor and automation…
      StavrosK on HN
    • That's true, although the motion-activated lights work well enough. I think it's just the utility for her, because she can just glance at the bus and know when she needs to…
      StavrosK on HN
  • Fun, cheap build inspiring others' projects

    From 3 comments
    • Wow, an excellent post! I'm really motivated now to finish my own project, which is a little bit more bulky (a lot more bulky: An old 7" netbook which has been gutted and I made…
      milankragujevic on HN
    • As a freerangekids.com parent, my kids will love this! Gonna do it asap. If anything it should get them thinking about going out.
      bitJericho on HN
    • Great build! Guess this is a pretty common need! My take based on a priority sign: https://github.com/Seed-Up/BusSign
      BeniBoy on HN

Objections

  • Massive sensor networks are hard for normal people to use

    From 1 comment
    • Well, the buses do one thing well. Massive sensor/automation networks tend to be a pain to use for any 'normal' person but fun for nerds.
      jgrahamc on HN
  • Wifi too power-hungry for battery operation

    From 1 comment
    • "Long periods" "wifi" and AAA, pick two. Wifi is too power-hungry for batteries, unfortunately. You'd probably get a day or two of continuous operation on a biggish battery, I'm…
      StavrosK on HN

Requests

  • Battery-powered version

    From 1 comment
    • Is there any alternative to wired USB power for these kinds of projects? Are there any teeny wifi boards that can be powered for long periods by a AAA, 9V, or button cell? (IoT…
      joshwa on HN
  • Add a distance sensor to wake the display

    From 1 comment
    • That's a great idea! You should add a distance sensor so it only activates when someone comes within a meter or so of it. If you have temperature/motion/light/etc sensors around…
      StavrosK on HN

Questions

  • How to power wifi boards from batteries

    From 1 comment
    • Is there any alternative to wired USB power for these kinds of projects? Are there any teeny wifi boards that can be powered for long periods by a AAA, 9V, or button cell? (IoT…
      joshwa on HN
  • How to hack Amazon Dash buttons

    From 1 comment

Alternatives named

  • Ambient bus arrival monitor by JGC

    From 1 comment
    • So, I've been using my http://blog.jgc.org/2012/03/ambient-bus-arrival-monitor-from-hacked.html for well over 4 years and it's proved to be really useful. Today, I would likely…
      jgrahamc on HN
  • nextbusclock on GitHub

    From 1 comment
    • I've done something similar myself. I published everything to github awhile back: https://github.com/chrisgillis/nextbusclock
      bass_case on HN
  • BusSign priority sign

    From 1 comment
    • Great build! Guess this is a pretty common need! My take based on a priority sign: https://github.com/Seed-Up/BusSign
      BeniBoy on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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