EmonPI connection to television as monitor

I would like to use a digital TV for displaying the monitoring results - my “client” has various renewable energy sources and wants a display of CO2 savings from them in an artistic fashion in her cafe. The Raspberry PI site seems to think this would be a doddle using HDMI output, but the EmonPI does not appear to have such an output. What am I missing? Or if I am not missing owt, is there a way around it?
TIA
Bob

HDMI is a digital signal signal, but VGA is an analog signal. That means you’ll need a converter.
Here’s an example: http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Active-Adapter-Micro-USB/dp/B00879DM56

You might see an HDMI-to-VGA cable adversised, but unless it has electronics inside one of the connectors, it won’t work. Ref: Don't Buy This! Fake HDMI to VGA Cables, DVI Cables, 'SATA III' Cables - YouTube

The emonPi is a Raspberry Pi with a “emonpi” shield/plate/hat addd-on board in a case with an LCD display. There is an hdmi output, the full size hdmi socket is in the usual place for a Raspberry Pi but that is not accessible whilst the Pi is in the case.

Much of the code needed to use the HDMI output is also “missing” from the emonSD image so even if you do remove it from it’s case or use an emonBase the emonSD image will not support the hdmi output without adding several debian packages. What they are I couldn’t tell you off-hand and since the emonpi is built from the “Jessie-lite” distro rather than the full distro there isn’t a list of removed packages to work from.

It can be done, see the Local display on RPi thread which pre-dates the emonPi and the current emonSD image, but you will probably be best off creating your own custom image

I’m sure if you are a practical kinda guy you could probably drill out the case for the hdmi lead to connect.

EDIT - if modding the case and adapting/replacing the image isn’t for you, could you you not use a “smart tv wifi dongle” type device? assuming the TV in question isn’t a smart TV, that is.
.

Surely smarttv is the way to go. Simply point the browser at the IP address for the dashboard either locally or on emoncms.org and hey presto you can view the dashboard. If the TV isn’t smart, add one of the dongles to make it smart and if you want the dashboard embedded in some other sequence of pages, then you’ll have to embed it on the HTML that serves those pages.

Simon

1 Like

According to this thread Adding X to Jessie Lite - Raspberry Pi Forums

To add gui desktop to Jessie lite here’s what’s needed

sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-ui-mods

Here’s a list of all the packages included with full Jessie but removed in Jessie lite

adwaita-icon-theme alacarte alsa-base aspell aspell-en blt bluej claws-mail
claws-mail-i18n coinor-libcbc3 coinor-libcgl1 coinor-libclp1
coinor-libcoinmp1:armhf coinor-libcoinutils3 coinor-libosi1 cryptsetup-bin
cups-bsd cups-client cups-common dbus-x11 dconf-gsettings-backend:armhf
dconf-service debian-reference-common debian-reference-en desktop-base
desktop-file-utils dh-python dictionaries-common dillo eject emacsen-common
epiphany-browser epiphany-browser-data esound-common fontconfig
fontconfig-config fonts-dejavu fonts-dejavu-core fonts-dejavu-extra
fonts-freefont-ttf fonts-opensymbol fonts-roboto fonts-sil-gentium-basic
freepats fuse galculator gconf-service gconf2 gconf2-common gdebi-core
gettext-base giblib1:armhf gir1.2-atk-1.0 gir1.2-freedesktop:armhf
gir1.2-gdkpixbuf-2.0 gir1.2-glib-2.0:armhf gir1.2-gmenu-3.0
gir1.2-gtk-3.0:armhf gir1.2-pango-1.0:armhf git git-core git-man gksu
glib-networking:armhf glib-networking-common glib-networking-services
gnome-desktop3-data gnome-icon-theme gnome-icon-theme-symbolic gnome-menus
gnome-themes-standard:armhf gnome-themes-standard-data gnupg-agent gnupg2
gpicview greenfoot gsettings-desktop-schemas gsfonts gsfonts-x11
gstreamer0.10-alsa:armhf gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:armhf
gstreamer1.0-alsa:armhf gstreamer1.0-libav:armhf gstreamer1.0-omx
gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad:armhf gstreamer1.0-plugins-base:armhf
gstreamer1.0-plugins-good:armhf gstreamer1.0-x:armhf gtk2-engines:armhf
gtk2-engines-clearlookspix:armhf gtk2-engines-pixbuf:armhf gvfs:armhf
gvfs-backends gvfs-common gvfs-daemons gvfs-fuse gvfs-libs:armhf hdparm
hicolor-icon-theme idle idle-python2.7 idle-python3.4 idle3 iso-codes jackd
jackd2 java-common javascript-common leafpad libaa1:armhf libabw-0.1-1
libarchive13:armhf libasn1-8-heimdal:armhf libaspell15:armhf
libasprintf0c2:armhf libass5:armhf libassuan0:armhf libasyncns0:armhf
libatasmart4:armhf libatk-bridge2.0-0:armhf libatk1.0-0:armhf libatk1.0-data
libatspi2.0-0:armhf libaudio2:armhf libaudiofile1:armhf
libavahi-client3:armhf libavahi-glib1:armhf libavahi-gobject0:armhf
libavc1394-0:armhf libavcodec56:armhf libavformat56:armhf
libavresample2:armhf libavutil54:armhf libblas-common libblas3
libbluetooth3:armhf libbluray1:armhf libboost-atomic1.55.0:armhf
libboost-date-time1.55.0:armhf libboost-filesystem1.55.0:armhf
libboost-program-options1.55.0:armhf libboost-regex1.55.0:armhf
libboost-system1.55.0:armhf libboost-thread1.55.0:armhf libc-ares2:armhf
libcaca0:armhf libcairo-gobject2:armhf libcairo2:armhf
libcanberra-gtk3-0:armhf libcanberra0:armhf libcdio-cdda1 libcdio-paranoia1
libcdio13 libcdparanoia0:armhf libcdr-0.1-1 libchromaprint0:armhf
libclucene-contribs1:armhf libclucene-core1:armhf libcmis-0.4-4
libcolamd2.8.0:armhf libcolord2:armhf libcompfaceg1 libcroco3:armhf
libcups2:armhf libcupsfilters1:armhf libcupsimage2:armhf
libcurl3-gnutls:armhf libcwiid1 libdatrie1:armhf libdbus-glib-1-2:armhf
libdc1394-22:armhf libdca0:armhf libdconf1:armhf
libdevmapper-event1.02.1:armhf libdirectfb-1.2-9:armhf libdrm-amdgpu1:armhf
libdrm-freedreno1:armhf libdrm-nouveau2:armhf libdrm-radeon1:armhf
libdv4:armhf libdvdnav4:armhf libdvdread4:armhf libe-book-0.1-1
libegl1-mesa:armhf libelf1:armhf libelfg0:armhf libenca0:armhf
libenchant1c2a:armhf libeot0 libepoxy0 liberror-perl libesd0:armhf
libetonyek-0.1-1 libetpan17:armhf libevdev2 libexif12:armhf
libexpat1-dev:armhf libexttextcat-2.0-0 libexttextcat-data libfaad2:armhf
libffi5:armhf libfftw3-double3:armhf libfftw3-single3:armhf libflac8:armhf
libflite1:armhf libfltk1.3:armhf libfluidsynth1:armhf libfm-data
libfm-extra4:armhf libfm-gtk-data libfm-gtk4:armhf libfm-modules:armhf
libfm4:armhf libfontconfig1:armhf libfontenc1:armhf libfreehand-0.1-1
libfribidi0:armhf libfuse2:armhf libgbm1:armhf libgconf-2-4:armhf
libgd3:armhf libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0:armhf libgdk-pixbuf2.0-common
libgeoclue0:armhf libgfortran3:armhf libgif4:armhf
libgirepository-1.0-1:armhf libgksu2-0 libgl1-mesa-dri:armhf
libgl1-mesa-glx:armhf libglapi-mesa:armhf libgles1-mesa:armhf
libgles2-mesa:armhf libglew1.10:armhf libglib2.0-bin libgltf-0.0-0
libglu1-mesa:armhf libgme0 libgnome-desktop-3-10 libgnome-keyring-common
libgnome-keyring0:armhf libgnome-menu-3-0 libgoa-1.0-0b:armhf
libgoa-1.0-common libgpgme11:armhf libgphoto2-6:armhf
libgphoto2-port10:armhf libgpm2:armhf libgraphite2-3:armhf libgsm1:armhf
libgssapi3-heimdal:armhf libgstreamer-plugins-bad1.0-0:armhf
libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:armhf libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0:armhf
libgstreamer0.10-0:armhf libgstreamer1.0-0:armhf libgtk-3-0:armhf
libgtk-3-bin libgtk-3-common libgtk2.0-0:armhf libgtk2.0-bin
libgtk2.0-common libgtkglext1 libgtop2-7 libgtop2-common
libgudev-1.0-0:armhf libharfbuzz-icu0:armhf libharfbuzz0b:armhf
libhcrypto4-heimdal:armhf libheimbase1-heimdal:armhf
libheimntlm0-heimdal:armhf libhsqldb1.8.0-java libhunspell-1.3-0:armhf
libhx509-5-heimdal:armhf libhyphen0 libice6:armhf libid3tag0
libiec61883-0:armhf libilmbase6:armhf libimlib2 libimobiledevice4:armhf
libjack-jackd2-0:armhf libjasper1:armhf libjavascriptcoregtk-3.0-0:armhf
libjbig0:armhf libjpeg8:armhf libjs-jquery libjs-prettify
libjson-glib-1.0-0:armhf libjson-glib-1.0-common libkate1
libkrb5-26-heimdal:armhf libksba8:armhf liblangtag-common liblangtag1
liblapack3 liblcms2-2:armhf libldb1:armhf liblightdm-gobject-1-0
libllvm3.7:armhf liblockfile-bin liblockfile1:armhf libltdl7:armhf
liblvm2app2.2:armhf liblzo2-2:armhf libmad0:armhf libmenu-cache-bin
libmenu-cache3:armhf libmhash2:armhf libmikmod3:armhf libmimic0
libmjpegutils-2.1-0 libmms0:armhf libmng1:armhf libmodplug1 libmotif-common
libmozjs185-1.0 libmp3lame0:armhf libmpdec2:armhf libmpeg2encpp-2.1-0
libmpg123-0:armhf libmplex2-2.1-0 libmspub-0.1-1 libmtdev1:armhf
libmtp-common libmtp9:armhf libmwaw-0.3-3 libmythes-1.2-0 libneon27-gnutls
libnotify4:armhf libnspr4:armhf libnss3:armhf libntdb1:armhf libobrender29
libobt2 libodfgen-0.1-1 libofa0 libogg0:armhf libopenal-data
libopenal1:armhf libopencv-calib3d2.4:armhf libopencv-contrib2.4:armhf
libopencv-core2.4:armhf libopencv-features2d2.4:armhf
libopencv-flann2.4:armhf libopencv-highgui2.4:armhf
libopencv-imgproc2.4:armhf libopencv-legacy2.4:armhf libopencv-ml2.4:armhf
libopencv-objdetect2.4:armhf libopencv-video2.4:armhf libopenexr6:armhf
libopenjpeg5:armhf libopus0:armhf liborc-0.4-0:armhf liborcus-0.8-0
libpackagekit-glib2-18:armhf libpam-systemd:armhf libpango-1.0-0:armhf
libpango1.0-0:armhf libpangocairo-1.0-0:armhf libpangoft2-1.0-0:armhf
libpangox-1.0-0:armhf libpangoxft-1.0-0:armhf libpciaccess0:armhf libpisock9
libpixman-1-0:armhf libplist2:armhf libpolkit-agent-1-0:armhf
libpolkit-backend-1-0:armhf libpolkit-gobject-1-0:armhf libpoppler46:armhf
libportaudio2:armhf libportmidi0 libproxy1:armhf libpth20:armhf
libpulse0:armhf libpython3-dev:armhf libpython3-stdlib:armhf
libpython3.4:armhf libpython3.4-dev:armhf libpython3.4-minimal:armhf
libpython3.4-stdlib:armhf libqscintilla2-11 libqscintilla2-l10n
libqt4-dbus:armhf libqt4-network:armhf libqt4-xml:armhf
libqt4-xmlpatterns:armhf libqtcore4:armhf libqtdbus4:armhf libqtgui4:armhf
libqtwebkit4:armhf libraptor2-0:armhf librasqal3:armhf libraw1394-11:armhf
librdf0:armhf libreoffice libreoffice-avmedia-backend-gstreamer
libreoffice-base libreoffice-base-core libreoffice-base-drivers
libreoffice-calc libreoffice-common libreoffice-core libreoffice-draw
libreoffice-gtk libreoffice-impress libreoffice-java-common libreoffice-math
libreoffice-report-builder-bin libreoffice-sdbc-hsqldb
libreoffice-style-galaxy libreoffice-writer librest-0.7-0:armhf
librevenge-0.0-0 libroken18-heimdal:armhf librsvg2-2:armhf
librsvg2-common:armhf librtimulib-dev librtimulib-utils librtimulib7
libruby1.9.1 libruby1.9.1-dbg libruby2.1:armhf libsbc1:armhf
libschroedinger-1.0-0:armhf libscsynth1 libsdl-image1.2:armhf
libsdl-mixer1.2:armhf libsdl-ttf2.0-0:armhf libsdl1.2debian:armhf
libsecret-1-0:armhf libsecret-common libservlet2.5-java libsgutils2-2
libshout3:armhf libsm6:armhf libsmbclient:armhf libsndfile1:armhf
libsoundtouch0:armhf libsoup-gnome2.4-1:armhf libsoup2.4-1:armhf
libspandsp2:armhf libspeex1:armhf libsrtp0 libssh-4:armhf
libstartup-notification0:armhf libswscale3:armhf libtag1-vanilla:armhf
libtag1c2a:armhf libtcl8.5:armhf libtcl8.6:armhf libtcltk-ruby1.9.1
libtdb1:armhf libtevent0:armhf libthai-data libthai0:armhf libtheora0:armhf
libtiff5:armhf libtk8.5:armhf libtk8.6:armhf libtxc-dxtn-s2tc0:armhf
libudisks2-0:armhf libusbmuxd2:armhf libv8-3.14.5 libva1:armhf
libvdpau1:armhf libvisio-0.1-1 libvisual-0.4-0:armhf
libvisual-0.4-plugins:armhf libvo-aacenc0:armhf libvo-amrwbenc0:armhf
libvorbis0a:armhf libvorbisenc2:armhf libvorbisfile3:armhf libvpx1:armhf
libvte-common libvte9 libwavpack1:armhf libwayland-client0:armhf
libwayland-cursor0:armhf libwayland-server0:armhf libwebkitgtk-3.0-0:armhf
libwebkitgtk-3.0-common libwebp5:armhf libwebpdemux1:armhf libwebpmux1:armhf
libwildmidi-config libwildmidi1:armhf libwind0-heimdal:armhf
libwnck-3-0:armhf libwnck-3-common libwnck-common libwnck22 libwpd-0.10-10
libwpg-0.3-3 libwps-0.3-3 libx11-xcb1:armhf libx264-142:armhf libxaw7:armhf
libxcb-dri2-0:armhf libxcb-dri3-0:armhf libxcb-glx0:armhf
libxcb-present0:armhf libxcb-render0:armhf libxcb-shape0:armhf
libxcb-shm0:armhf libxcb-sync1:armhf libxcb-util0:armhf libxcb-xfixes0:armhf
libxcomposite1:armhf libxcursor1:armhf libxdamage1:armhf libxfce4ui-1-0
libxfce4util-bin libxfce4util-common libxfce4util6 libxfconf-0-2
libxfixes3:armhf libxfont1:armhf libxft2:armhf libxi6:armhf
libxinerama1:armhf libxkbcommon0:armhf libxkbfile1:armhf libxklavier16
libxm4:armhf libxmu6:armhf libxpm4:armhf libxrandr2:armhf libxrender1:armhf
libxres1:armhf libxshmfence1:armhf libxslt1.1:armhf libxss1:armhf
libxt6:armhf libxtst6:armhf libxv1:armhf libxvidcore4:armhf
libxxf86dga1:armhf libxxf86vm1:armhf libyajl2:armhf libyaml-0-2:armhf
libzbar0 lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter lp-solve lsb-release lxappearance
lxappearance-obconf lxde lxde-common lxde-core lxde-icon-theme lxinput
lxkeymap lxmenu-data lxpanel lxpanel-data lxrandr lxsession lxtask
lxterminal menu-xdg minecraft-pi netsurf-common netsurf-gtk nodejs
nodejs-legacy nodered ntfs-3g nuscratch omxplayer openbox oracle-java8-jdk
packagekit pcmanfm penguinspuzzle pi-package pi-package-data
pi-package-session pimixer pinentry-gtk2 pipanel policykit-1 poppler-data
poppler-utils powermgmt-base pypy-setuptools pypy-upstream pypy-upstream-dev
pypy-upstream-doc python-apt-common python-cairo python-chardet
python-colorama python-dbus python-dbus-dev python-distlib python-gi
python-gobject python-gobject-2 python-gpiozero python-gtk2 python-html5lib
python-minecraftpi python-ndg-httpsclient python-numpy python-openssl
python-picamera python-pifacecommon python-pifacedigitalio python-pil:armhf
python-pip python-pkg-resources python-pyasn1 python-pygame python-requests
python-rtimulib python-sense-hat python-serial python-setuptools python-six
python-spidev python-support python-talloc python-tk python-urllib3
python-wheel python-xklavier python3 python3-apt python3-chardet
python3-colorama python3-debian python3-dev python3-distlib python3-gpiozero
python3-html5lib python3-minecraftpi python3-minimal python3-numpy
python3-pgzero python3-picamera python3-pifacecommon
python3-pifacedigital-scratch-handler python3-pifacedigitalio
python3-pil:armhf python3-pip python3-pkg-resources python3-pygame
python3-requests python3-rpi.gpio python3-rtimulib python3-sense-hat
python3-serial python3-setuptools python3-six python3-spidev python3-tk
python3-uno python3-urllib3 python3-wheel python3.4 python3.4-dev
python3.4-minimal qdbus qjackctl qtchooser qtcore4-l10n raspberrypi-artwork
raspberrypi-net-mods raspberrypi-ui-mods raspi-gpio rc-gui ri1.9.1
rpi-update rsync ruby ruby1.9.1 ruby1.9.1-dev ruby1.9.1-examples
ruby1.9.1-full ruby1.9.3 ruby2.1 rubygems-integration samba-libs:armhf
scratch scrot sense-hat smartsim sonic-pi squeak-plugins-scratch squeak-vm
supercollider supercollider-common supercollider-ide supercollider-language
supercollider-server supercollider-supernova tcl8.5 timidity tk8.5
tk8.6-blt2.5 tree udisks udisks2 uno-libs3 ure va-driver-all:armhf
vdpau-va-driver:armhf wiringpi wolfram-engine x11-common x11-utils
x11-xkb-utils x11-xserver-utils x2x xarchiver xcompmgr xdg-utils
xfce-keyboard-shortcuts xfconf xfonts-100dpi xfonts-encodings xfonts-utils
xinit xpdf xserver-common xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core
xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
xserver-xorg-video-fbdev xserver-xorg-video-fbturbo zenity zenity-common

You will need to put the emonpi into read write mode before installing any packages with $rpi-rw then back to read only when your done $rpi-ro

Ta very much - will get back to this when I’ve solved all the other problems…