Charts added to the Snow Scraper.

 I have added a Charts screen to the Snow Scraper that mirrors the one available on the Snow Plow backend. You can now access this screen from the Mountain Report page by tapping on the sign in the lower left hand corner. It will display a rolling 30-day history of the snow conditions from the selected resort. 

I have also squashed a bug relating to the LED ring. It was supposed to pulse with the change in new snow to indicate faster accumulations. It was being called from within the wrong loop causing it to reset with every cycle, thus never completing the pulse cycle. 

These updates and more can be found in version 2.3.0 on GitHub.

Snow Plough backend.

I have the Snow Plow backend running on vps.snowscraper.ca that will do the heavy lifting of scraping sites. Especially those with dynamically generated content. The cpu / memory requirements for such pages are beyond the pi zero 2's capabilities. It will also allow for me to collaborate all the scraped data from the resorts to create interesting charts and statistics, such as: all resort bases among other neat metrics in the future. As well, it will also allow for a centralized database of all the resorts data so that if they change their website structure I can easily update it on there and all the snow scrapers will have access to the correct data.

Snow Scraper Instagram account: @snowscrapr

 I've created an instagram account for the Snow Scraper. I will be posting the latest updates on there. I have also been using Sora 2 to create funny and interesting Snow Scraper "ads", its been a blast. 

You can follow here if your interested: @snowscrapr

Instructables guide

I have completed the first draft of the instructables build guide for the project. I have been working very hard to make it as concise, easy to follow, and fun as possible. I have made build images for all the steps using real photo's adapted by googles nano banana AI software to have them look like they are from the tinker gnomes workshop. I think they look great and definitely make it a more interesting and fun experience. I have built several prototypes tweaking the guide a bit each time to make sure I didn't leave anything out. I even helped my 9 year old son through all the steps to build his own. He did great and he's proud of his accomplishments and proves that even a kid can build the project with a bit of assistance!

The guide is currently under review by instructables but I expect it to be available shortly at: http://www.instructables.com/Snow-Scraper

I look forward to hearing peoples questions and seeing any they create themselves. You can send any pictures or questions to the new email contact for the project at info@snowscraper.ca

www.snowscraper.ca website created

I managed to secure the snowscraper.ca domain and have built a website around it. I am really happy with how it turned out. It took quite a few revisions to get it rendering nicely on both desktop and mobile but I think its ready to be released to the public. It connects all the different aspects of this project in one easily accessible place. This will remain the behind the scenes place to find all development updates, but the website will be for the general public who are interested in it but maybe not all the nerdy details. You can check it out at www.snowscraper.ca

Update 3D Model to Support the Touch Screen

I have toiled over getting the model just right to accommodate the parts and look decent. It took nearly 25 revisions but I think its at a point I can release it to the public. I have built a few now using this enclosure and it works well. It is separated into three separate parts: main enclosure, orb holder, and base to facilitate printing and is easy to assemble. You can download the .stl file at printables.com to try it out for yourself. 

On a side note, I have built several prototypes and am refining my instructables guide with each revision to make sure I did not miss any important details. I hope to release that soon as well. Until next time, stay stoked!

Version 2.0.0 Released

It's been a while since I've uploaded a new post, but let me assure you I have been working hard behind the scenes on the Snow Scraper. I have created an entirely new design that includes a touchscreen GUI, powder alarm functionality, and the framework for avalanche conditions. I have uploaded the latest code to github: Snow Scraper v2.0.0 and I am working on finalizing the 3D model for the enclosure. I want to be sure I've got it just right before I release it. I have a lot of things still planned before I release the completed project to the public. I plan on doing that at my local craft fair in Heffley Creek in early December and after that I will have an online store for people who are interested in purchasing one themselves. I have also been working away on the instructables guide which will provide a detailed step-by-step instruction on how to build your own.

In addition I have created a Instagram account for the project @snowscrapr so be sure to follow that if your interested in updates.

Until next time, stay stoked!

Snow Scraper GUI Progress

I have made significant progress on the touchscreen GUI interface. So far I have the splash logo, main menu, resort selection screen, Wi-Fi configuration screen (with onscreen keyboard) working. Here are a couple screen shots:

I am working on finishing up the actual resort snowfall display screen but here is the current prototype I am working on:

Its been a lot of work but I am really happy with the progress that's been made so far. I think it makes for much more interesting display and the touchscreen is a way better way to interact with device.

New Feature: Avalanche Canada Forecasts

 

I have added the ability to display Avalanche Canada's forecasts as an option. Avalanche Canada has created an API that is easy to use and integrating it into the Snow Scraper turned out to be quite straight forward. I think it is a great addition and will be a useful feature for those looking to venture out into the backcountry. People can quickly check the region they are headed to to get an idea of what kind of conditions are currently forecasted in the area. 

Here is a prototype screen that I am currently working on implementing:

Screen upgrade

Just doing a quick update to show how the new screen is working. I think it looks great. It even has an animated snow effect. It is a touchscreen so I plan to implement a new touch screen interface as well.

Here's my first prototype:

I've also started designing a new enclosure to fit the screen. Stay tuned.

End of the season

Well the end of the season has arrived with this weekend being the closing weekend at Sun Peaks my local mountain. I was hoping to add Whitewater to the list of scrapable ski hills but it looks like they are already closed. I managed to scrape 8 of my planned 10 this season which I am quite pleased with.

So far the current version of the Snow Scraper supports the following ski hills:

• Sun Peaks
• Big White
• Whistler
• Kicking Horse
• Red Mountain
• Revelstoke
• Banff Sunshine
• Lake Louise

Off to a good start. Over the off-season I have plans to add auto update support so that the Snow Scraper can update to the latest revision with the press of a button. That will update the software to work with any new mountains that are added and to update any existing that change their webpages. I am going to switch to an OLED display and create a new 3D model around it. I'm hoping I can come up with something much better looking and a bit smaller. It will still use the same sized snow globe and led light as well as the same input module and raspberry pi zero. 

Kicking Horse and Red Mountain Resorts Added

Phew! These two took a fair bit of work to get running. Unlike all of the previous resorts scraping these two required the use of additional software as their content is dynamically generated. The page must be prerendered before being able to scrape the relevant data from them. This posed quite a challenge and I struggled for quite some time trying to get this to work on the pi zero. Unfortunately the hardware doesn't seem capable of performing the pre-rendering so I had to outsource it to my PC. The way this works is using Splash on a more power system to remotely pre-render the dynamic content and then scraping the results using the traditional method I had been previously using. This will have to be the way it is for any future resorts that use dynamically generated content. I have it setup to work on my local network for now but in the future I plan to have a dedicated server hosting this software so that all Snow Scrapers will be able to contact it in order to request the generated html necessary to scrape the sites. I will update the source code to include the new hills I've added once they have shut down for the season. I have one more left on my list to complete before that happens, Whitewater. Unfortunately I have not been able to use this method to successfully scrape SilverStar's website. If anyone has any ideas id be open to try them but so far I'm at an impasse. 

3D Model Published

I have released the 3D printable model on printables.com for anyone who would like to print the enclosure. I am happy with this revision and think it will suffice for the initial release. Its fairly bulky but easy to assemble and houses all the components nicely. 

I plan on working on adding a few more ski hill's snow data next before they all shut down for the season. However, afterwards I think I will focus on creating a better enclosure and switching to an OLED display. Hopefully this will make the unit more sleek and compact since its intended to be a centerpiece. I hope to have a much more stylish looking version to release by next season.

Revelstoke, Banff Sunshine, and Lake Louise Snowfall Data Added

I have successfully added the code to scrape the snowfall data from Revelstoke, Banff Sunshine, and Lake Louise's snow report websites. I will post an update to GitHub with the new code in the near future.

Snow Scraper Components

I have put together a list of the components I used to build the Snow Scraper below. I have provided links to the Canadian Amazon website to so that they can be easily purchased if you plan to build your own. I would like to note that there are many other alternative components and manufacturers for most of these and that better prices/sources may be found. This list is just to provide an example of components that could be used. I plan to post the 3D model that I designed in an upcoming post, as well as any hardware or tools that I needed to complete the project. In the future I also plan to create a complete and detailed build tutorial that will explain the process step by step. So stay tuned!

 1. Raspberry Pi Zero WH

   - Description: Pre-soldered header, 1GHz single-core CPU, 512MB RAM
   - Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Raspberry-Pi-Zero-WH-Pre-Soldered/dp/B0DB2JBD9C/

2. 2004 LCD Display

   - Description: 20x4 character I2C LCD display with blue backlight
   - Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Freenove-Display-Compatible-Arduino-Raspberry/dp/B0B76VGXYH/

3. 5-Direction Navigation Button

   - Description: 5-channel 5-direction navigation button module
   - Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Direction-Navigation-Joystick-Independent-Keyboard/dp/B07YY6PY9J/

4. WS2812 LED Ring

   - Description: 7-ring WS2812 addressable RGB LED module
   - Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Integrated-Drivers-forArduino-Raspberry-ESP8266/dp/B08FB14S5P/

5. Power Supply

   - Description: 5V 2.5A power supply for Raspberry Pi Zero
   - Link: https://www.amazon.ca/GeeekPi-Raspberry-Supply-Charger-Adapter/dp/B07X8C6PV6/

6. 60mm Snow Cloud

   - Description: Decorative crystal snow globe
   - Link: https://www.amazon.ca/HDCRYSTALGIFTS-Paperweight-Fengshui-Decorative-Figurine/dp/B0BQ2WXML1/

7. 2GB Micro SD Card

- Description: 2 GB Micro SD card

- Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D3DVK7RZ

CBC Vancouver's tiktok on the Snow Scraper

Snow Scraper @ CBC Vancouver's tiktok can be viewed here.

Source Code Released!

I have the code working in a state suitable for release. I have created a git project that is located at: https://github.com/spellbin/snowscraper for anyone who would like to download it and try it out for themselves. This also opens it up to collaboration for any who are interested in contributing to development. I have released the code under GNU GPLv3. I will create a post shortly with a materials list that will detail all the components used to make it as well as their sources. Stay tuned!

Whistler snowfall data added.

I've had success writing the code to scrape Whistler's snow data! It was stored in a different format but I managed to get it with a little assistance from AI. 

First completed prototype

Here is an up close image showing the display on a day with no new snowfall: 

This is an image from afar after nine centimeters had fallen:

CBC Daybreak Interview

I was interviewed by Shelley Joyce of Daybreak Kamloops, our local CBC morning show, about the Snow Scraper. The interview starts at 1:31 into the show. Check it out here.