The Beepy uses a monochrome sharp memory LCD panel which has some caveat. This document includes a way to bring CJK support to Beepy in the framebuffer. The below is based on raspbian on raspberry pi zero, and had ran the Beepy setup script found on https://beepy.sqfmi.com/docs/getting-started.
We will be using fbterm. Since fbterm supports minimal of 32bpp, we need to install a DRM driver for the sharp memory LCD panel to enable 32bpp mode.
Download the driver made by excel,
$ git clone https://github.com/ardangelo/sharp-drm-driver.git
Compile and install
$ cd ~/sharp-drm-driver
$ make
$ sudo make install
Reboot the raspberry pi to enable the driver
The official keyboard driver does not function with fcitx IME so we would use Excel's keyboard driver. The driver only works with the customized firmware. Download i2c_puppet.uf2 and update the firmware,
- Slide the power switch off (left if facing up)
- Connect the Beepy to your computer via USB-C
- While holding the "End Call" key (top right on the keypad), slide the power switch on
- The Beepy will present itself as a USB mass storage device, drag'n'drop the new firmware (*.uf2) into the drive and it will reboot with the new firmware
Now boot the raspberry pi. The keyboard won't work so need to ssh into the pi. Install the driver
$ git clone https://github.com/ardangelo/beepberry-keyboard-driver.git
$ cd beepberry-keyboard-driver
$ make
$ sudo make install
Download fbterm from https://github.com/onokatio/fbterm2
$ git clone https://github.com/onokatio/fbterm2.git
Change the "/dev/fb0" to "/dev/fb1" in /src/fbdev.cpp using any editor of your choice, and execute the below to compile and install fbterm.
$ sudo apt-get install libfontconfig1-dev
$ cd ~/fbterm2
$./configure && make && sudo make install
Make sure you execute the below so fbterm can be run by non-root user and can capture shortcut keys
$ sudo gpasswd -a YOUR_USERNAME video
$ sudo setcap 'cap_sys_tty_config+ep' /usr/local/bin/fbterm
Now execute fbterm once. The text might be wonky but we will configure it.
$ fbterm
Install fonts. The below fonts should be good for English, Chinese, and Japanese.
$ sudo apt install xfonts-wqy fonts-terminus-otb fonts-dotgothic16
Now edit the fbterm configure file ~/.fbtermrc, change the following
font-names=Terminus,WenQuanYi Bitmap Song,DotGothic16
font-size=14
font-width=8
font-height=16
text-encodings=utf-8
term=xterm-mono
Restart fbterm to make the change effective. Now Beepy should display CJK characters without issue.
Running tmux in fbterm seems to resolve many key mapping issues. First install tmux if you have not already,
$ sudo apt install tmux
Now add the below to your ~/.bashrc
if [ -z "$SSH_CONNECTION" ]; then
# if in virtual terminal, start fbterm
if [[ "$(tty)" =~ /dev/tty ]] && type fbterm > /dev/null 2>&1; then
fbterm
# otherwise, start/attach to tmux
elif [ -z "$TMUX" ] && type tmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then
tmux new -As "$(basename $(tty))"
fi
fi
Logout and back in to have it take effect.
Now we can install fcitx and enable IMEs,
$ sudo apt install fcitx-frontend-fbterm
Run fcitx-config-gtk3 under Xorg to enable IMEs or go to ~/.config/fcitx and edit profile (example below enables google pinyin),
EnabledIMList=fcitx-keyboard-us:True,googlepinyin:True,pinyin:False
You can also configure the hotkeys in ~/.config/fcitx/config
Uncomment and change the following in ~/.fbtermrc,
input-method=fcitx-fbterm
Now reboot and launch fcitx,
$ fcitx &
Now press Ctrl + space (phone + space) you should be able to use the input method enabled.
Special thanks to discord/beeper members teenux, themediocritist, _burr_, excel
Hello, does anyone know how to set Google Pinyin to a black background? I have a white background.