A homemade replica of the Zürich VBZ tram departure board. Shows real-time departure data for any tram, bus, or train station in Switzerland on three chained HUB75 LED matrix panels.
Based on the original work by sschueller.
- Background
- Features
- Gallery
- Build Your Own
- Hardware
- Wiring
- Software Setup
- OTA Updates
- Web Interface
- Physical Button
- Night Mode
- Troubleshooting
- Project Structure
- Contributors
- Credits
This project started with sschueller's vbz-fahrgastinformation, a faithful recreation of the actual VBZ passenger information system, complete with the real font, real line colors, and real-time data from the Swiss open transport API. Pretty much everything technical in here traces back to his work — the firmware, the font and bitmap data, the HUB75 panel setup, the data pipeline. The things I added (web UI, clock screensaver with weather, night mode, OTA updates) are built on top of that. Big credit to him especially for the bitmap font work, which is the most distinctive visual part of the whole thing.
His original build used a single 64×128 panel. I switched to three chained 64×64 panels, which is close to what his newer products do and gives more flexibility when sourcing. The case design is heavily inspired by his finished StationDisplay product. In many ways I wanted exactly what he sells, just as something I could build myself.
If you don't have the time or interest to build your own, I'd strongly recommend just buying from him directly at stationdisplay.com. It's an extraordinary Swiss-made product with proper support behind it.
This DIY version comes in at around CHF 80–120, which makes it accessible to a lot more people. That said, it is a DIY build. The finish, the support, and the overall quality of the bought version are on a different level. You get what you pay for.
A few things I contributed on top of his work:
- Three 64×64 panels chained to 192×64px total, instead of a single 64×128 panel
- Custom PCB for a clean, repeatable build
- Laser-cut MDF and acrylic enclosure closely inspired by his commercial StationDisplay
- Web UI for live configuration and station search
- Clock screensaver with date, live weather, UV index, and rain forecast
- Night mode with automatic scheduling and manual override
- OTA firmware updates over WiFi
- Live departure data from opentransportdata.swiss, falls back to scheduled if unavailable
- Two configurable stations, switchable via button or web interface
- Direction filter: both / outbound / inbound, persisted to flash
- VBZ tram line colors for all known Zürich lines
- Accessibility indicator for low-floor vehicles
- Live vs. scheduled marker, late departure indicator
- Night mode with amber colors and low brightness, auto-scheduled (22:00–06:00) with manual override
- Clock screensaver with date and live weather via Open-Meteo, no API key needed
- Web configuration UI with live departure view and station search
- OTA firmware updates over WiFi
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Total cost is roughly CHF 80–120 depending on where you source parts.
| Component | Source | Approx. Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 3× P3 64×64 HUB75E LED panels | AliExpress | CHF 45–60 |
| Freenove ESP32-S3 WROOM | AliExpress / Amazon | CHF 12–18 |
| Custom PCB (5 pcs min) | JLCPCB / PCBWay | CHF 8–12 |
| PCB components (caps, resistors, connectors) | LCSC / Mouser | CHF 5–10 |
| 5V 3A power supply | AliExpress | CHF 5–8 |
| 3× HUB75E ribbon cables (2×8 IDC) | AliExpress | CHF 4–6 |
| Acrylic sheet 600×200mm 5mm | Local laser shop | CHF 5–10 |
| MDF sheet 600×200mm 5mm | Local laser shop | CHF 3–5 |
| M4 hardware (bolts + nuts) | Hardware store | CHF 3–5 |
Panels are the biggest variable in price and fluctuate on AliExpress. Search "64x64 P3 HUB75E RGB LED matrix".
-
Order parts. Use the BOM in
hardware/pcb/for exact PCB components. Order panels, ESP32, and cables from AliExpress at the same time to save on shipping. -
Get the PCB made. Upload the Gerber zip from
hardware/pcb/to JLCPCB or PCBWay. Standard 2-layer, 1.6mm, any colour. Minimum order is 5 pcs for ~$2. -
Laser-cut the frame. Send the DXF files in
hardware/3d/to a local laser cutting service or makerspace. 5mm MDF for the frame (paint it black), 5mm clear acrylic for the front panel. -
Solder the PCB. Solder all SMD components first, then connectors. The schematic and assembly drawing are in
hardware/pcb/. -
Assemble. Chain the three LED panels together with ribbon cables. Connect power wires to each panel. Mount panels into the MDF frame using M4 bolts and nuts, then attach the acrylic front.
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Flash and configure. Follow Software Setup below. First flash is via USB; all updates after that are OTA over WiFi.
| Component | Qty | Details |
|---|---|---|
| LED Matrix Panels | 3 | 64×64px P3 HUB75E, chained (192×64px total) |
| Microcontroller | 1 | Freenove ESP32-S3 WROOM (8MB Flash / 8MB PSRAM) |
| Custom PCB | 1 | See hardware/pcb/ for schematics and BOM |
| Power Supply | 1 | 5V 3A DC barrel jack |
| HUB75E Ribbon Cables | 3 | 2×8 IDC, panel-to-panel and panel-to-PCB |
| JST Power Wires | 3 | Custom length, custom terminated |
| Acrylic sheet | 1 | 600×200mm, 5mm, laser-cut front panel |
| MDF sheet | 1 | 600×200mm, 5mm, laser-cut frame, painted black |
| M4 bolt 60mm | 6 | Frame assembly |
| M4 bolt 40mm | 12 | Frame assembly |
| M4 knurl nut | 9 | Frame assembly |
| M4 square nut | 12 | Frame assembly |
Laser-cut files are in hardware/3d/. PCB schematics and Gerber files are in hardware/pcb/.
The custom PCB handles the connection between the ESP32-S3 and the HUB75E panels.
| HUB75E Pin | ESP32-S3 GPIO |
|---|---|
| R1 | 4 |
| G1 | 5 |
| B1 | 6 |
| R2 | 7 |
| G2 | 15 |
| B2 | 16 |
| A | 17 |
| B | 18 |
| C | 8 |
| D | 14 |
| E | 10 |
| LAT | 11 |
| OE | 12 |
| CLK | 13 |
Double-check against your
Config.has pin assignments can vary.
Copy the template and fill in your details:
cp firmware/include/Config.h.dist firmware/include/Config.h#define OPEN_DATA_API_KEY "your_key_here" // from opentransportdata.swiss
#define WEATHER_LAT "47.37" // your latitude
#define WEATHER_LON "8.54" // your longitude
#define BRIGHTNESS_FIXED 80 // 0–255, or -1 for ambient sensorGet a free API key at opentransportdata.swiss. Find station BPUIC IDs in the xlsx at bav_liste.
Open the firmware/ folder in PlatformIO and flash:
pio run -e freenove_esp32_s3_wroom -t uploadOn first boot the display shows "connect to: vbz-anzeige". Connect to that network (password: 123456), open a browser and the captive portal opens automatically. Enter your home WiFi credentials and save.
After connecting, the display shows its IP. Open http://<IP>/config to set your stations, night hours, and brightness.
After the first USB flash, all future updates can be done wirelessly.
Set the device IP in firmware/platformio.ini:
upload_port = 192.168.1.xxThen upload:
pio run -e ota -t uploadOTA password: vbz1234 (configurable in main.cpp).
Open http://<IP>/config in any browser on the same network.
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Switch Station | Toggle between Station 1 and Station 2 |
| Switch to Night / Day | Toggle night mode manually |
| Dir: Both / H / R | Cycle direction filter |
| Turn Off / On | Toggle display on/off |
| Clock: Off / On | Toggle clock screensaver |
| Test Display | Flash red/green/blue/white to verify panels |
Station search lets you look up a stop by name and fills the BPUIC ID automatically.
| Press | Action |
|---|---|
| Single press | Switch between Station 1 and Station 2 |
| Double press | Toggle night mode |
| Long press (>800ms) | Toggle display off/on |
Activates automatically between configured hours (default 22:00–06:00). All colors switch to amber and brightness drops to ~10%. Can be overridden manually via button or web interface and the override clears at the next scheduled boundary.
Display shows garbage / random pixels Check ribbon cable orientation. HUB75E cables are not keyed, try flipping the connector on the first panel.
Only the first panel lights up The chain order matters. Panel 1 connects to the PCB, panel 2 connects to panel 1's output, panel 3 to panel 2's output.
No departures shown, just dashes
Your API key is missing or wrong. Double-check Config.h and make sure you have a valid key from opentransportdata.swiss.
OTA upload fails
Make sure the device is on the same network and the IP in platformio.ini is correct. The OTA password is vbz1234.
Display flickers or shows noise
Lower BRIGHTNESS_FIXED in Config.h. Some panels need latch_blanking tuned, see the comments in Display.cpp.
WiFi captive portal doesn't open
Navigate manually to 192.168.4.1 in your browser after connecting to the vbz-anzeige hotspot.
firmware/ ESP32 PlatformIO project
hardware/
pcb/ Schematic, Gerber files, BOM
3d/ Laser-cut DXF files for MDF frame and acrylic panel
photos/ Build photos and renders
generate_texture.py Generates a P3 LED texture for renders
Artur Melnikov — firmware, PCB, enclosure design, renders
Miroslav Melnikov — recreated the LED display panels in CAD, display testing, and a genuine interest in the project that kept it moving
Bhavya Sharma — helped with soldering and assembling the physical display
Built on top of sschueller's vbz-fahrgastinformation, used under MIT license. The original concept, font, and data pipeline approach all originate from his work. This project wouldn't exist without it.