Choose Your Hardware
Four ways to run Helioclock.
Bring your own Pi 4/5, boot it from a USB stick on a PC you already have, get a turnkey display, or run a multi-screen server for a wall of displays. Pick the one that fits how you’ll actually use it.
SKU-1
SD Card — Pi 4/5
$39 (launch special, normally $49)
A preloaded SD card for a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 you already own. Primary use case is a headless server — boot it, then access Helioclock from a browser on your shack PC or tablet. Local kiosk display works too, just not the main event.
- Raspberry Pi 4 (2GB min, 4GB recommended) or Pi 5
- Pi OS + Wayland
- Headless server, remote browser access
- SD card wear mitigation built in for long service life
SKU-2
Live USB Stick
$39 (launch special, normally $49)
A bootable USB drive that runs Helioclock on a PC you already own. Works on existing Intel/AMD PCs — no Pi 4/5, no separate appliance, just plug it in and boot from it.
- Works on existing Intel/AMD PCs
- Full Ubuntu Desktop install on the drive, not a downloadable image
- Ships as a physical 32GB USB drive
- Wear mitigation built in (tmpfs logs, volatile journald, swap disabled)
SKU-3
Turnkey Appliance
$299
A dedicated appliance with its own 1080p display. Plug it in, and it’s running Helioclock — no Pi 4/5, no SD card, no setup.
- Dedicated 1080p display included
- Runs Helioclock out of the box
- Built for a desk, wall, or shelf
SKU-4
Multi-Display Server
$499+
An N100-class server built to drive multiple displays at once — for NOCs, trading floors, dispatch centers, and lobbies that need more than one screen showing live data.
- N100-class mini PC
- Drives multiple displays from one unit
- Server-side caching handles many more simultaneous remote viewers than a Pi
- Per-display configuration, claim-code pairing at setup
Minimum System Requirements
What you’ll need on your end.
SKU-3 and SKU-4 are turnkey — the hardware ships ready to run. SKU-1 and SKU-2 run on hardware you already own, so here’s what that hardware needs to meet.
SKU-1
SD Card — Pi 4/5
- Raspberry Pi 4 (2GB minimum, 4GB recommended) or Pi 5
- WiFi minimum, wired ethernet recommended for 24/7 reliability
- 1080p HDMI display minimum, 4K recommended — or none at all, primary use is headless via remote browser
SKU-2
Live USB Stick
- Intel or AMD PC (x86_64), UEFI or legacy BIOS boot support
- 2 GHz dual-core processor or better — Ubuntu 24.04’s own baseline, no specific chip required
- 2GB RAM minimum, 4GB or higher recommended for smooth operation
- USB 3.0 port recommended for best performance
- Any display with HDMI or DisplayPort
Not Sure Which One?
A quick way to decide.
Already own a Pi?
Go with SKU-1. It’s the cheapest way in, and you’re likely running it headless anyway.
Have a spare PC instead?
Go with SKU-2. Boot it from the USB stick, no Pi 4/5 required.
Want it to just work?
Go with SKU-3. One box, one display, nothing to configure.
Outfitting a NOC or ops room?
Go with SKU-4. Built for more than one screen from the start.