UnicornClock

UnicornClock is a MicroPython clock and calendar demo for the Pimoroni Galactic Unicorn. It pairs animated clock effects with an optional calendar widget, automatic or manual brightness control, Wi-Fi time synchronisation, and simple configuration you can tweak directly on the device.

Example video

• NTP-backed time with helper utilities for setting timezone offsets.
• Multiple clock effects, including per-character colour ramps and pixel-based animations.
• Calendar widget that draws a dated calendar frame alongside the clock.
• Adjustable clock position (left, right, or centred) and configurable spacing between characters.
• 12/24-hour toggle, optional seconds display, and palette control for fonts and backgrounds.
• Automatic brightness tied to the Galactic Unicorn light sensor with on-device offsets, or manual brightness control.
• Persisted settings (demo.json) for the current layout, effect, and AM/PM mode.
• Easily hackable font and effect system so you can extend characters, backgrounds, and animations.

• Pimoroni Galactic Unicorn (tested)
• Work in progress for the Pimoroni Cosmic Unicorn

1. Copy the repository files to your device (for example with Thonny).

2. Create a secrets.py file with your network credentials:

   WLAN_SSID = "Your WLAN SSID"
   WLAN_PASSWORD = "Your secrets password"

3. If you need a different timezone, adjust the central_utc_offset() helper in example.py or call set_time() from unicornclock.utils with the appropriate offset.

The example combines the clock and calendar widgets, synchronises time over Wi-Fi, and exposes on-device controls:

• Button A: switch between layouts (calendar left/right, centred clock with and without seconds).
• Button B: cycle through the bundled clock effects.
• Button C: toggle 12/24-hour display.
• Brightness buttons: raise or lower brightness (affects the auto-brightness offset in automatic mode).

Settings are saved to demo.json after five seconds without further changes so your preferred layout, effect, and hour mode persist across reboots.

To run the demo on the device, execute main.py (which forwards to example.py).

You can reuse the clock and brightness helpers in your own program. A minimal example that shows a moving rainbow clock is below:

import uasyncio as asyncio
from galactic import GalacticUnicorn
from picographics import DISPLAY_GALACTIC_UNICORN, PicoGraphics

from unicornclock import Brightness, Clock, Position
from unicornclock.effects import RainbowMoveEffect

# Create hardware objects
unicorn = GalacticUnicorn()
graphics = PicoGraphics(DISPLAY_GALACTIC_UNICORN)

class RainbowClock(RainbowMoveEffect, Clock):
    pass

async def main():
    brightness = Brightness(unicorn, offset=20)
    clock = RainbowClock(
        unicorn,
        graphics,
        x=Position.CENTER,
        show_seconds=True,
    )

    asyncio.create_task(brightness.run())
    asyncio.create_task(clock.run())

    # Keep the tasks alive
    while True:
        await asyncio.sleep(1)

loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
loop.run_until_complete(main())
loop.run_forever()

Explore unicornclock/effects.py for more effect mixins and unicornclock/widgets.py for the calendar widget you can pair with the clock.

• Code must respect flake8 and isort.
• Format commits with Conventional Commits.