PongClock CYD

A port of Nick Hall's classic Pong Clock to the ESP32-2432S028R (Cheap Yellow Display). The original drove two Sure Electronics 2416 LED panels (48×16 combined). This version emulates a 48×32 virtual LED matrix on the ILI9341 320×240 TFT — each virtual LED is a 6×6 rounded rectangle in amber, giving a retro LED panel aesthetic. Includes the Invader mode added by Richard Shipman.

Original project: http://123led.wordpress.com/

Gallery — Device



Slide — digits slide on each tick	Pong — AI game, score = HH:MM

Digits — large 10×14 font, HH:MM	Word Clock — time in words + date

Invaders — scrolling space invaders, score = HH:MM

Gallery — WebUI

Open http://<device-ip>/ in any browser. The WebUI runs all five clock modes live in JavaScript — pixel-exact amber LED rendering on a CSS CYD device mockup. No plugins or app required. The header shows the Atari Pong® logo with "Clock" appended in matching style.



Slide — browser clock, animated digits	Pong — independent browser game

Digits — big font with flashing colon	Word Clock — words + date

Invaders — scrolling sprites in browser


Config tab — display, time, network, WiFi reset

Gallery — All Modes in Action


All five modes cycling — Slide · Pong · Digits · Word Clock · Invaders

Features

NTP time sync via WiFi (ezTime — timezone + POSIX DST fallback in config.h)
WiFiManager captive portal for first-run credential entry; no timeout until WiFi is configured
Animated splash screen on boot (typewriter reveal + CRT-collapse exit, ≈2.3 s), followed by matrix-rendered IP display on successful WiFi connect
Five clock modes with touch-to-switch; date always on screen
Long-press anywhere for brightness cycle (4 levels); optional LDR auto-brightness
Retro amber LED look — 6×6 rounded pixel per virtual LED, 48×32 matrix
Full browser WebUI — all five clock modes reimplemented in JavaScript; runs independently in any browser at http://<device-ip>/; Clock-tab mode pills switch both the browser preview and the physical TFT immediately
Config WebUI — brightness, LED colours, 12/24h, timezone, NTP server, date interval, LDR, WiFi reset; all settings persisted to NVS (survive reboot)

Clock Modes

#	Mode	Description
0	Slide	Each digit slides up on change — HH:MM:SS; date row permanently below
1	Pong	AI pong — score = HH / MM; date permanently at bottom of field
2	Digits	Large 10×14 font — HH:MM with flashing colon
3	Word Clock	Time in words + date (e.g. "TWENTY PAST / FIVE / WED 18 MAR")
4	Invaders	Space invaders scroll left↔right; time shown HH:MM above the field

Invaders mode ported from Richard Shipman's PongClock v2.40 — https://github.com/RichardShipman/PongClock

Clock starts in the last-saved mode (default: Slide on first boot).

Touch Controls

The touchscreen is divided into two halves:

┌─────────────────┬─────────────────┐
│                 │                 │
│   Tap here      │   Tap here      │
│  ◄ PREV mode    │   NEXT mode ►   │
│                 │                 │
└─────────────────┴─────────────────┘
         Hold anywhere ≥ 0.6 s
              = Brightness cycle

Touch	Action
Short tap — left half	Previous mode
Short tap — right half	Next mode
Hold ≥ 600 ms	Cycle brightness (4 levels: dim → mid → bright → max)

Web Interface

When WiFi is connected a web server starts on port 80. Open http://<device-ip>/ — the IP is printed to serial at boot and also shown on the matrix immediately after the splash screen.

Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/`	GET	Browser WebUI — live clock + config (served from LittleFS)
`/clock.js`	GET	JavaScript clock engine
`/style.css`	GET	WebUI stylesheet
`/screenshot.bmp`	GET	Current display as 24-bit BMP (288×192), download
`/api/info`	GET	JSON — firmware, mode, brightness, uptime, heap, IP
`/api/config`	GET	JSON — all runtime settings
`/api/config`	POST	Apply + persist settings (partial JSON patch)
`/api/wifi-reset`	POST	Erase WiFi credentials, restart into AP mode

`/api/config` fields

Field	Type	Description
`mode`	int	0=Slide 1=Pong 2=Digits 3=WordClock 4=Invaders
`brightness`	int	Backlight PWM 0–255
`ampm`	bool	false=24h true=12h
`ledOnR/G/B`	int	LED-on colour (default amber 255/140/0)
`ledOffR/G/B`	int	LED-off colour (default dark amber 20/8/0)
`timezone`	string	Olson timezone e.g. `"Australia/Sydney"`
`ntpServer`	string	NTP server hostname
`dateInterval`	int	Minutes between periodic date displays
`ldrEnabled`	bool	Auto-brightness from LDR sensor

Example /api/info response:

{
  "firmware": "0.7.3",
  "mode": 1,
  "modeName": "Pong",
  "brightness": 180,
  "uptime": 3742,
  "freeHeap": 187456,
  "ip": "192.168.1.26"
}

The server is offline-safe: initWeb() is a no-op if WiFi did not connect.

Hardware

Board: ESP32-2432S028R (CYD — Cheap Yellow Display)
Display: ILI9341 · 320×240 · SPI (HSPI — MOSI=13, SCLK=14, CS=15, DC=2)
Touch: XPT2046 · dedicated VSPI bus (CLK=25, MISO=39, MOSI=32, CS=33)
Backlight: GPIO 21 via LEDC PWM
No hardware modifications required — standard CYD pinout throughout

Build & Flash

# Build only
pio run

# Build and upload firmware
pio run --target upload

# Upload web assets to LittleFS (required once, then only when data/ files change)
pio run --target uploadfs

# Serial monitor (115200 baud)
pio device monitor --baud 115200

Note: Both upload and uploadfs are required on first flash. After that, uploadfs is only needed when files in data/ change.

First Boot

Flash firmware (pio run -t upload) then web assets (pio run -t uploadfs).
The screen shows "Connecting WiFi..." — if no saved credentials exist, a CYD-PongClock access point appears and stays available until WiFi is configured.
Connect your phone to CYD-PongClock and enter your WiFi credentials in the captive portal.
Device reboots, connects, and shows the IP address on the LED matrix after the splash screen.
The device then shows "Syncing NTP...".
Once synced, the clock starts in the last-saved mode (Slide on first boot).
The web server starts — IP is shown in serial ([INFO] Web server started — http://…).
Open http://<device-ip>/ in a browser for the WebUI.

If saved WiFi credentials exist, failed reconnect attempts still time out after 60 s and the clock continues offline; the web server is skipped.

Configuration

Via WebUI (recommended)

Open http://<device-ip>/ → Config tab. All settings are applied immediately and persisted to NVS (survive reboot). Clock mode is changed from the Clock tab mode pills and switches the physical display immediately.

Via `config.h` (compile-time defaults)

All compile-time constants are in include/config.h. These serve as the factory defaults loaded on first boot before any NVS values exist.

Time & Location

Constant	Default	Purpose
`NTP_TIMEZONE`	`"Australia/Sydney"`	Olson timezone name
`NTP_POSIX_FALLBACK`	`"AEST-10AEDT,…"`	Offline DST-correct fallback
`NTP_SYNC_TIMEOUT_S`	`20`	Seconds to wait for NTP sync
`AMPM_MODE`	`0`	0 = 24 h, 1 = 12 h

Display

Constant	Default	Purpose
`BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT`	`180`	Startup backlight PWM (0–255)
`BRIGHTNESS_STEPS`	`4`	Levels cycled by long-press
`COLOUR_LED_ON_R/G/B`	255/140/0	Amber — lit LED colour
`COLOUR_LED_OFF_R/G/B`	20/8/0	Dark amber — unlit LED colour

Animation

Constant	Default	Purpose
`SLIDE_DELAY`	`20`	ms per frame in Slide animation
`PONG_BALL_DELAY`	`20`	ms per frame in Pong mode
`FADE_DELAY`	`25`	ms per step in mode-transition fade
`INVADER_SCROLL_DELAY`	`100`	ms per step in Invaders scroll

Touch Calibration

Constant	Default	Purpose
`TOUCH_PRESSURE_MIN`	`200`	Minimum Z to register a touch
`TOUCH_X_LEFT`	`200`	Raw X at left screen edge
`TOUCH_X_RIGHT`	`3800`	Raw X at right screen edge
`TOUCH_LONG_PRESS_MS`	`600`	Hold duration (ms) for brightness cycle

If taps aren't registering on the correct side, check serial for raw x= values and adjust TOUCH_X_LEFT / TOUCH_X_RIGHT.

Date Display

Constant	Default	Purpose
`DATE_DISPLAY_MINS`	`10`	Minutes between date displays (Pong/Digits/Word)

Auto-Brightness (LDR)

Disabled by default (LDR_ENABLED=0). Enable via WebUI Config tab or by setting LDR_ENABLED=1 in config.h.

Constant	Default	Purpose
`LDR_ENABLED`	`0`	1 = auto-brightness; 0 = long-press only
`LDR_PIN`	`34`	ADC pin for LDR (input-only)
`LDR_DARK`	`200`	ADC value → `BRIGHTNESS_MIN`
`LDR_BRIGHT`	`2500`	ADC value → `BRIGHTNESS_MAX`
`BRIGHTNESS_MIN`	`15`	Minimum backlight PWM in auto mode
`BRIGHTNESS_MAX`	`255`	Maximum backlight PWM in auto mode

Debug

Constant	Default	Purpose
`DEBUG_LEVEL`	`3`	1=Error 2=Warn 3=Info 4=Verbose (build flag)
`DEBUG_SLIDE_TIME`	`1`	Print `[Slide] HH:MM:SS` on each tick
`DEBUG_DIGITS_TIME`	`1`	Print `[Digits] HH:MM` on each minute
`DEBUG_PONG_TIME`	`1`	Print `[Pong] HH:MM:SS` on each rally
`DEBUG_WORD_TIME`	`1`	Print `[Word] HH:MM` on each minute
`DEBUG_INVADER_TIME`	`1`	Print `[Invaders] HH:MM` on each minute

Serial Output Reference

Typical boot sequence:

[INFO] === PongClock CYD starting ===
[INFO] Config loaded: mode=1 bright=180 ampm=0 tz=Australia/Sydney
[INFO] Display initialised 320x240 rotation=1
[INFO] Display colours initialised, sprite 288x192 depth=8 heap=198232
[INFO] Touch initialised (VSPI CLK=25 MISO=39 MOSI=32 CS=33)
[INFO] WiFi connected: 192.168.1.26
[INFO] Time synced: 16:29:42 17-Mar-2026  status=2  tz=AEDT offset=+1100
[INFO] LittleFS mounted — 48 KB used / 384 KB total
[INFO] Web server started — http://192.168.1.26/
[INFO] Free heap: 184320 bytes
[INFO] Slide mode entry: 16:29:42  NTP status=2

NTP status=2 = synced. status=0 = not set (offline).

Project Structure

CYD_PongClock/
├── platformio.ini
├── partitions_custom.csv
├── README.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── CLAUDE.md
├── data/                        ← LittleFS web assets (pio run -t uploadfs)
│   ├── index.html               — SPA: Clock tab + Config tab
│   ├── clock.js                 — JS clock engine (all 5 modes + fonts)
│   ├── style.css                — CYD mockup + UI styling
│   └── pong-logo.png            — Atari Pong® logo bitmap (served as /pong-logo.png)
├── include/
│   ├── config.h                 — compile-time defaults
│   ├── config_nvs.h             — RuntimeConfig struct + NVS API
│   ├── display.h
│   ├── clock.h
│   ├── web.h
│   ├── fonts.h                  — PROGMEM font data (5×7, 10×14, 3×5) + invader sprites
│   └── debug.h
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp
│   ├── display.cpp
│   ├── clock.cpp
│   ├── config_nvs.cpp           — NVS persistence via Preferences
│   └── web.cpp                  — HTTP server + LittleFS serving
└── Images/
    ├── mode-slide.jpg            — device photos
    ├── mode-pong.jpg
    ├── mode-digits.jpg
    ├── mode-word.jpg
    ├── webui-slide.jpg
    ├── webui-pong.jpg
    ├── webui-digits.jpg
    ├── webui-word.jpg
    ├── webui-invaders.jpg
    └── webui-config.jpg

Credits

Original Pong Clock by Nick Hall — http://123led.wordpress.com/
Modifications by Brett Oliver (v7.x) — https://www.brettoliver.org.uk/Pong_Clock/Pong_Clock.htm
Invaders mode by Richard Shipman — https://github.com/RichardShipman/PongClock
CYD port using TFT_eSPI by Bodmer
CYD port and WebUI by Anthony Clarke — https://github.com/anthonyjclarke/CYD_PongClock

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Repository files navigation

PongClock CYD

Gallery — Device

Gallery — WebUI

Gallery — All Modes in Action

Features

Clock Modes

Touch Controls

Web Interface

Endpoints

`/api/config` fields

Hardware

Build & Flash

First Boot

Configuration

Via WebUI (recommended)

Via `config.h` (compile-time defaults)

Time & Location

Display

Animation

Touch Calibration

Date Display

Auto-Brightness (LDR)

Debug

Serial Output Reference

Project Structure

Credits

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Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 18 Commits
Images		Images
data		data
include		include
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
README.md		README.md
partitions_custom.csv		partitions_custom.csv
platformio.ini		platformio.ini

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PongClock CYD

Gallery — Device

Gallery — WebUI

Gallery — All Modes in Action

Features

Clock Modes

Touch Controls

Web Interface

Endpoints

/api/config fields

Hardware

Build & Flash

First Boot

Configuration

Via WebUI (recommended)

Via config.h (compile-time defaults)

Time & Location

Display

Animation

Touch Calibration

Date Display

Auto-Brightness (LDR)

Debug

Serial Output Reference

Project Structure

Credits

About

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`/api/config` fields

Via `config.h` (compile-time defaults)

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