From 038905fe51d38c55594e5f4652cc395ad7ac8dba Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seth <seth@sethfreiberg.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2026 04:13:54 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Reduce flicker by increasing display refresh interval

- Changed from 1-second full screen clear to 2-second redraws
- Data fetches happen every 0.5 seconds for responsiveness
- Reduces unnecessary screen clearing that was causing ASCII art to flicker
- Keeps display stable and readable while still updating status in real-time
- Deployed and verified on Pi
---
 piNail2/tty_status_display.py | 32 +++++++++++++++++++++++---------
 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/piNail2/tty_status_display.py b/piNail2/tty_status_display.py
index 88593f4..2af84c7 100644
--- a/piNail2/tty_status_display.py
+++ b/piNail2/tty_status_display.py
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ except ImportError:
 
 # Configuration
 API_BASE = "http://localhost:5000"
-UPDATE_INTERVAL = 1.0  # seconds
+UPDATE_INTERVAL = 0.5  # seconds between fetches
+DISPLAY_INTERVAL = 2.0  # seconds between screen redraws
 TTY_PATH = "/dev/tty1"
 
 # ANSI color codes
@@ -72,6 +73,8 @@ class StatusDisplay:
     def __init__(self):
         self.running = True
         self.last_update = 0
+        self.last_draw = 0
+        self.last_frame = None
         self.data = {
             "nail1": {},
             "nail2": {},
@@ -297,17 +300,28 @@ class StatusDisplay:
         fetch_thread.daemon = True
         fetch_thread.start()
         
+        # Initial draw
+        sys.stdout.write("\033[2J\033[H")
+        sys.stdout.flush()
+        self.last_draw = time.time()
+        
         try:
             while self.running:
-                # Clear screen (ANSI escape)
-                sys.stdout.write("\033[2J\033[H")
-                sys.stdout.flush()
+                now = time.time()
                 
-                # Draw frame
-                frame = self.draw_frame()
-                sys.stdout.write(frame)
-                sys.stdout.write("\n")
-                sys.stdout.flush()
+                # Only redraw if enough time has passed (reduces flicker)
+                if now - self.last_draw >= DISPLAY_INTERVAL:
+                    # Clear screen (ANSI escape)
+                    sys.stdout.write("\033[2J\033[H")
+                    sys.stdout.flush()
+                    
+                    # Draw frame
+                    frame = self.draw_frame()
+                    sys.stdout.write(frame)
+                    sys.stdout.write("\n")
+                    sys.stdout.flush()
+                    
+                    self.last_draw = now
                 
                 time.sleep(UPDATE_INTERVAL)
         except KeyboardInterrupt: