Alternative Time Systems for Home Assistant

A comprehensive Home Assistant integration providing 30+ alternative time systems from science, science fiction, fantasy, history, religion, and various cultures. Transform your Home Assistant into a universal time machine!

🎯 Overview

Transform your Home Assistant into a multiversal clock supporting:

• 🪐 Solar System Tracker (Real-time planetary positions with visual maps)
• 🚀 Science Fiction (Star Trek, Star Wars, EVE Online, Warhammer 40K)
• 🧙 Fantasy Worlds (Tolkien, Elder Scrolls, Discworld, Warcraft)
• 🛏️ Historical Calendars (Maya, Egyptian, Attic, Roman, French Revolutionary)
• 🔴 Mars Colonization (Darian Calendar, Mars Time Zones)
• 🌏 Cultural Calendars (Islamic, Thai, Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Ethiopian)
• 💻 Technical Formats (Unix, Hexadecimal, Julian Date, Swatch, TAI, UT1)
• 🎖️ Military Systems (NATO DTG in multiple formats)

✨ New in Version 2.5.2.165

🕐 TAI - International Atomic Time 🆕

• Continuous atomic timescale: No leap seconds
• Related time systems: GPS Time, Terrestrial Time (TT)
• Leap second history: Complete since 1972
• Options: UTC offset display, GPS time, time format
• Example: 2026-01-05T00:36:52 TAI

🌍 UT1 - Universal Time 1 🆕

• Earth rotation time: Based on actual Earth rotation
• IERS REST API integration: Real-time DUT1 values
• Intelligent caching: Configurable 5 min to 24 hours
• Fallback values: Works offline
• Earth Rotation Angle (ERA): Calculated in real-time
• Options: DUT1 display, UTC comparison, cache duration
• Example: 2026-01-05T00:43:31.767 UT1

✝️ Ge'ez (Ethiopian) Calendar 🆕

• 13-month calendar: 12 × 30 days + Pagume (5-6 days)
• Native script support: Ge'ez/Amharic month and weekday names
• Ge'ez numerals: Ethiopian number system (፩፪፫...)
• Multiple formats: Full, Short, Ge'ez Full
• Holiday support: Major holidays included
• Example: 15 መስከረም 2017 or ፲፭ መስከረም ፳፻፲፯

🪐 Solar System Improvements

• "You are here" marker: Earth position clearly marked
• Corrected month orientation: January now at top
• Improved planet positions: More accurate calculations
• Streamlined visualization: Cleaner display

📦 Installation

Via HACS (Recommended)

1. Open HACS in your Home Assistant
2. Click the three dots menu → Custom repositories
3. Add URL: https://github.com/Lexorius/alternative_time
4. Category: Integration
5. Click Add
6. Search for Alternative Time Systems and install
7. Restart Home Assistant

Manual Installation

1. Download the alternative_time folder
2. Copy to /config/custom_components/
3. Restart Home Assistant

⚙️ Configuration

Initial Setup

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click Add Integration
3. Search for Alternative Time Systems
4. Follow the configuration wizard:
   • Step 1: Name your instance
   • Step 2: Select calendar categories
   • Step 3: Choose specific calendars
   • Step 4: Configure individual calendar options
   • Step 5: Review disclaimer
5. Click Submit

Modifying Calendar Options

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Find your Alternative Time Systems instance
3. Click Configure
4. Select the calendar you want to modify
5. Adjust the settings
6. Click Submit - changes apply immediately!

🌟 Available Time Systems

🪐 Solar System Tracker

Solar System Positions

• Real-time tracking: All planets, Pluto, Voyager probes
• Visual maps: SVG and PNG generation with orbits
• "You are here": Earth position marker
• Options:
  • Coordinate system (heliocentric/geocentric)
  • Individual planet tracking or all objects
  • Visibility times from your location
  • Distance in AU and kilometers
  • Zodiac constellation positions
  • Retrograde motion indicators
• Visualization scales: Logarithmic, linear, or compressed
• Updates: Every 5 minutes

🚀 Science Fiction

Star Trek Stardate

• Formats: TNG, TOS, Discovery, Kelvin Timeline
• Options: Precision (0-2 decimals), Stardate format selection
• Example: 47634.44

Star Wars Galactic Calendar

• Format: 35:3:21 GrS | Taungsday
• Options: Era selection (BBY/ABY/GrS), Date format

EVE Online Time

• Format: YC 127.03.15 14:30:45 NEST
• Options: Empire rotation, Trade hub display

Warhammer 40K Imperial Dating

• Format: 0.523.025.M42
• Options: Check number precision, Imperial prayers

🧙 Fantasy Calendars

Tolkien's Middle-earth

• Shire Calendar: Hobbit meal times, special days
• Rivendell Calendar: Elvish seasons, multiple languages
• Options: Language (Quenya/Sindarin/English), Display format

Elder Scrolls (Tamriel)

• Features: Moon phases, Daedric days
• Options: Khajiit forms, Guild activities

Discworld

• Features: 8-day weeks, Death quotes
• Options: L-Space detection, Quote frequency

World of Warcraft

• Features: Azeroth calendar with events
• Options: Moon phase display, PvP seasons

🛏️ Historical Calendars

Maya Calendar

• Long Count: 13.0.12.1.15
• Options: Display format, Venus cycle

Ancient Egyptian

• Format: Dynasty and hieroglyphs
• Options: Hieroglyph display, Flood predictions

Attic Calendar

• Features: Lunar months, Festival days
• Options: Archon years, Democracy events

Roman Calendar

• Format: Kalends/Nones/Ides
• Options: Consular dating, Latin numerals

✝️ Religious Calendars

Ge'ez (Ethiopian) Calendar

• 13-month solar calendar: 12 × 30 days + Pagume
• Native script: Amharic/Tigrinya names
• Ge'ez numerals: ፩፪፫፬፭...
• Options: Show Ge'ez names, Date format (Full/Short/Ge'ez)
• Example: 15 መስከረም 2017

Hindu Panchānga (पंचांग)

• Five elements: Tithi, Nakshatra, Yoga, Karana, Rashi
• Era systems: Shaka, Vikram Samvat, Kali Yuga
• Options: Language (Sanskrit/Hindi/English), Festival display
• Example: शुक्ल पक्ष द्वितीया, आषाढ़ 1946 (शक)

Islamic (Hijri)

• Lunar calendar: 354/355 days
• Options: Prayer times display, Arabic names

🌏 Cultural Calendars

Japanese Era Calendar (和暦, Wareki)

• Era system: Reiwa, Heisei, Shōwa, Taishō, Meiji
• Display formats: Kanji, Romaji, Numeric
• Options: Timezone, Gregorian date, Time display, Weekdays, Holidays, Rokuyō
• Example: 令和6年12月15日（日）15:30 JST

Japanese Lunar Calendar (旧暦, Kyūreki)

• Lunisolar calendar: Traditional festival dates
• Moon phases: 14 traditional names
• Options: Language, Solar terms, Traditional events, Zodiac
• Example: 旧暦 睦月十五日（満月）子年

Thai (Suriyakati)

• Buddhist Era: BE = CE + 543
• Options: Thai numerals, Zodiac display

Chinese Lunar

• Features: Zodiac animals, Solar terms
• Options: Festival display

💻 Technical Formats

TAI - International Atomic Time 🆕

• Continuous timescale: No leap seconds
• Related systems: GPS Time, TT
• Options: UTC offset, GPS time display, time format
• Example: 2026-01-05T00:36:52 TAI

UT1 - Universal Time 1 🆕

• Earth rotation time: IERS API integration
• DUT1 tracking: Real-time correction values
• Options: DUT1 display, UTC comparison, cache duration
• Example: 2026-01-05T00:43:31 UT1

Unix Timestamp

• Updates: Every second
• Options: Milliseconds display

Swatch Internet Time

• Format: @750.00
• Options: Precision

Hexadecimal Time

• Format: .8000
• Options: Display format

🎖️ Military Time

• NATO DTG Formats: Basic, Full, Rescue
• Options: Time zone selection, Format style

📊 Time Scale Relationships

                TAI (Atomic Time, continuous)
                 │
                 │ -37s (leap seconds)
                 ▼
                UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
                 │
                 │ +DUT1 (±0.9s, variable)
                 ▼
                UT1 (Earth Rotation Time)

TAI ────┬──── +32.184s ────► TT (Terrestrial Time)
        │
        └──── -19s ────────► GPS (GPS Time)

📊 Example Dashboard Configuration

Solar System Tracker (Visual)

type: picture-entity
entity: sensor.alternative_time_solar_system
name: Solar System Live Map
show_state: true
show_name: true

Multi-Calendar Display

type: entities
title: Alternative Time Systems
entities:
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_solar_system
    name: Solar System
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_tai
    name: International Atomic Time
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_ut1
    name: Universal Time 1
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_stardate
    name: Stardate
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_geez
    name: Ethiopian Calendar
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_shire
    name: Shire Calendar

Precision Time Display

type: entities
title: ⏱️ Precision Time Systems
entities:
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_tai
    name: TAI (Atomic)
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_ut1
    name: UT1 (Earth Rotation)
  - entity: sensor.alternative_time_unix
    name: Unix Timestamp

🤖 Automation Example

Daily Stardate Log

automation:
  - alias: "Captain's Log"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "09:00:00"
    action:
      - service: notify.persistent_notification
        data:
          title: "Captain's Log"
          message: "Stardate {{ states('sensor.alternative_time_stardate') }}"

🌐 Supported Languages

Full UI and calendar translations in:

• 🇬🇧 English
• 🇩🇪 Deutsch
• 🇪🇸 Español
• 🇫🇷 Français
• 🇮🇹 Italiano
• 🇳🇱 Nederlands
• 🇵🇱 Polski
• 🇵🇹 Português
• 🇷🇺 Русский
• 🇯🇵 日本語
• 🇨🇳 中文
• 🇰🇷 한국어

📈 Performance

Calendar Type	Update Interval	CPU Impact
Real-time	1 second	Minimal
Dynamic	10-60 seconds	Low
Solar System	5 minutes	Low (with visualization)
Daily	1 hour	Negligible

🛠️ Plugin Development

Creating a Calendar Plugin

1. Create file: custom_components/alternative_time/calendars/your_calendar.py
2. Define CALENDAR_INFO dictionary with metadata
3. Implement YourCalendarSensor(AlternativeTimeSensorBase)
4. Add config_options for user configuration
5. Include translations for all 12+ languages

Minimal Calendar Template

CALENDAR_INFO = {
    "id": "your_calendar",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "icon": "mdi:calendar",
    "category": "technical",
    "update_interval": 3600,
    "name": {
        "en": "Your Calendar",
        "de": "Dein Kalender",
        # ... other languages
    },
    "description": {
        "en": "Calendar description",
        "de": "Kalenderbeschreibung",
        # ... other languages
    },
    "config_options": {
        "option_key": {
            "type": "boolean",
            "default": True,
            "label": {
                "en": "Option Label",
                "de": "Optionsbeschriftung",
                # ... other languages
            },
            "description": {
                "en": "Option description",
                "de": "Optionsbeschreibung",
                # ... other languages
            }
        }
    }
}

🐛 Troubleshooting

Calendar Not Appearing

• Check Home Assistant logs for errors
• Verify the calendar file is in the correct directory
• Ensure CALENDAR_INFO['id'] matches the filename

Options Not Saving

• Check that your calendar has config_options defined
• Verify the option types are supported (text, number, boolean, select)
• Review logs for configuration errors

Wrong Language Displayed

• Check Home Assistant language settings
• Verify translations exist for your language
• Fallback to English if translation missing

UT1 API Issues

• Check network connectivity to IERS servers
• Verify datacenter.iers.org is accessible
• Plugin uses fallback values if API unavailable

📄 License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Home Assistant Community for feedback and testing
• Calendar system creators and maintainers
• IERS for UT1 data services
• All contributors to the project

📮 Support

• Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• Feature Requests: Open a GitHub issue with [Enhancement] tag
• Questions: Use GitHub Discussions

🔗 Links

• GitHub Repository
• HACS
• Home Assistant

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Version 2.5.2.165 - Made with ❤️ for the Home Assistant Community