Who doesn’t know the feeling: you’re casually scrolling through Instagram, and suddenly the algorithm suggests a product you instantly want to buy. That’s exactly how I came across JetClock, and I clicked the “Buy” button pretty quickly after reading through the story. A desk clock that shows which aircraft is flying over my house and where it’s heading makes my aviation geek heart skip a beat!
Purchase
The JetClock is currently available exclusively at jetclock.io for €149. On top of that, there’s a rather steep €17.95 shipping fee to many European countries from the UK. Since I ordered shortly before Christmas and all JetClocks were already sold out, I had to wait over a month for shipping. Almost all components are manufactured in the UK, and the display in particular took longer to arrive. In the meantime, however, I was kept informed about the status of my order via email.
I expected to have to pay an additional 19% import VAT due to shipping from the UK. However, the JetClock passed through customs without any issues and was delivered to me by DHL.
First Things First: Assembly
Basically, the JetClock consists of a high-quality 3D-printed case, a Raspberry Pi Zero W2, and a round Pimoroni HyperPixel 2.1 display, along with an SD card containing the software and a Micro-USB–to–USB-A cable. Roughly speaking, you’d normally pay around €80 just for the Raspberry Pi Zero and the display. In my opinion, €70 for the case and the software (which is not open source) is fair. Plus, the individual parts can be replaced inexpensively if something breaks.
However, the components are not assembled upon delivery. The assembly (instructions/video provided) isn’t difficult: insert the SD card, connect the Micro-USB cable, and press the display onto the pins through the case.
That said, the Raspberry Pi Zero sits quite tightly in position due to the angled cable, and in my case the display somehow didn’t snap into place properly. At least not the way it’s shown in the video. Since the instructions warn that the display in particular can break easily, I preferred not to press on it any further.
I really like that standard components are used, which can easily be replaced or reused for other projects. Still, it would have been nice if the clock had been delivered fully assembled, so you’d only have to plug it into a power outlet.
Configuration
After powering the JetClock (a USB power adapter is not included), you need to connect to its Wi-Fi hotspot and enter your own Wi-Fi credentials. The JetClock then connects to your network and can be registered via http://jetclock.local. After registration, the settings can be managed via app.jetclock.io.
First, it’s important to enter the coordinates and orientation of the JetClock (using your smartphone’s compass). After that, you can focus on the visuals.
By default, the display shows either an analog or digital clock, but you can optionally display additional details such as weather or world times.
Only when an aircraft comes within, for example, 5 km does the JetClock switch into Jet Detection mode, showing the direction along with distance and further details such as departure and destination airports, flight number, airline (logo), and, if you want (which already convinced me at the time of purchase), even a photo of the aircraft!
In addition to aircraft notifications, there are several other apps:
- Weather: Displays weather information (temperature, air pressure, wind speed, etc.)
- ISS Detection: Similar to aircraft notifications, it alerts you when the ISS passes overhead. Optionally, only when the ISS is visible to the naked eye (before/after sunrise/sunset).
- World Clock: Displays additional time zones.
- Aircraft Tracker: Allows you to permanently track a specific aircraft.
Where the Data Comes From
As usual, the data is collected from local ADS-B receivers and made available to the public via the internet. In theory, it would be possible for me to use my own ADS-B receiver. The problem is that while I can receive position, aircraft registration, and callsign myself, that’s unfortunately not enough to know where the aircraft took off from and where it’s headed. But those are the key pieces of information for this kind of display.
There are some free databases that match callsigns to flight numbers, but as the developer explains in his JetClock story, the data is unfortunately often outdated or incorrect. That’s why Oliver Rees combines public and commercial sources to deliver the most accurate data possible from the cloud to the JetClocks. This also means you’re not forced to operate your own ADS-B receiver (even though I’d personally love it if my local data were used directly).
Running servers and continuously retrieving data, potentially from commercial providers, costs money. With the purchase, the first year of data access is included. After the first year, a fee may be charged, although basic functionality is supposed to remain free.
However, the fact that the JetClock depends on the cloud also has a downside: the servers could theoretically be shut down one day in the future. At least thanks to the Raspberry Pi, you still have components you can use for other projects at any time, so it wouldn’t immediately become electronic waste.
In general, the JetClock’s source code is publicly accessible (but not open source). Essentially, the JetClock just displays a website built with React, and the data is updated every few seconds. This also means that nothing works without an internet connection, and all calculations are performed on the server. In theory, the JetClock could therefore run on many different devices. For example, I also display its content on my Home Assistant dashboard.
Conclusion
Even though the JetClock has only been sitting on my desk for a few days, I’m thrilled with the build quality of the case, the small animations, and the software, which clearly elevates the product beyond a simple DIY project.
That the JetClock is completely dependent on the JetClock servers is definitely a drawback. If the internet or the server goes down, the clock wouldn’t even show the time. I would have liked a bit more independence here. It’s also unclear how much the JetClock will cost monthly or annually after the first year. More transparency would have been appreciated.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but for such a young product, I’m currently satisfied. The roadmap also looks promising.
Potential Improvements
I’ve already mentioned a few points or created GitHub issues, but here’s a summary of what could be improved:
- More details about import/customs before ordering.
- I would have preferred to buy from a retailer in my home country, with lower shipping costs and no open questions about customs. Maybe something will change here in the future.
- Even though I enjoy tinkering, I would have liked the clock to arrive fully assembled and plug-and-play ready. I was, and still am, afraid of damaging the sensitive display.
- USB-C should really be the standard by now. Although the Raspberry Pi Zero W2 only has Micro-USB, a Micro-USB–to–USB-C cable could still have been included.
- The JetClock sits on my desk, and the cable is visible all the time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel particularly high-quality (even though it’s nicely long) and is covered in specifications. A more premium cable, for example with a fabric sleeve, would be much nicer. Since an angled Micro-USB connector is required, finding a replacement isn’t exactly easy either.
- The display has good brightness and resolution, but unfortunately you can clearly see aliasing on diagonal lines. This is especially noticeable on the clock hands.
- The display does not support touch input. For a second version, it would be cool to interact with the content via touch. Since it’s already just a website and React is being used, this shouldn’t be a problem with a suitable display.
- It might get annoying quickly, but a small (optional) “pling” sound when an aircraft is displayed would be cool, especially at the beginning. Unfortunately, the Raspberry Pi Zero doesn’t have a built-in speaker.
- I’d like the altitude to be shown in feet, but the distance in meters/kilometers. I’ve already suggested this, and it’s supposed to be implemented.
Translated by Ditmar