Removing Date/Time/Clocks (all reference to time/date!)

[SlugMan]

Hello everyone,
I'm wondering if it's possible to hide/remove/disable all the references to time in Rockbox (specifically a Sansa Clip+).  I'm about to partake in a sleep study and for 7 days I need to live in a time free environment.  That means I can't bring my beloved mp3 player which has date/time.  Is this at all (easily) possible to remove in some way that I won't be tempted to access it?

(also, i'm not sure if this is the right forum to post in...  sorry if it isn't?)

[saratoga]

Switch to a theme that doesn't show the clock.

[torne]

To actually remove it so that it's not trivial to see the time, you'll need to do a custom build of Rockbox. Remove the lines that start with #define CONFIG_RTC and #define HAVE_RTC_ALARM from firmware/config/sansaclipplus.h and it will build a build that doesn't know how to access the realtime clock.

[SlugMan]

Switch to a theme that doesn't show the clock.

Do you have a recommendation of a theme?  Would this eliminate access to a clock?  or do i have to follow torne's idea?

To actually remove it so that it's not trivial to see the time, you'll need to do a custom build of Rockbox. Remove the lines that start with #define CONFIG_RTC and #define HAVE_RTC_ALARM from firmware/config/sansaclipplus.h and it will build a build that doesn't know how to access the realtime clock.

unfortunately this is beyond my realm of hacking together basic html/css websites...  If this is what I have to do, would it be too much trouble ask someone to compile a version for me?

[tpijag]

You only see a clock if someone has purposefully has placed a clock in the theme. Choice of a theme is up to you and it is trivial to try out as many themes as you want.

http://themes.rockbox.org/index.php?target=sansaclipplus

Changing to a theme with no visible clock will not stop you from manually working through the menu structure to find the time/date under settings if your goal is to circumvent the studies parameters. 

[SlugMan]

right, i currently am using themes that don't display time/date.  I was secretly hoping that somehow a theme could hide certain menu items.

I am not looking to circumvent the studies guidlines.  I've already bought a plane ticket with the money they haven't given me yet

So my only real option would be remove the lines from the source, like torne says, and compile it?

is there a 'compiling guide for dummies' out there?

[tpijag]

Easy solution is to not use the menu item.
Harder solution is to hope someone has time for a one off compile.
Hardest solution is for you to try to do this yourself.
http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/HowToCompile
http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/DocsIndex#For_Developers

By the way, I do not know any of this stuff / links off the top of my head. I have been doing what I am confident you can do also: use search and poke about the wiki.  

[torne]

Since it's for the sake of science I've built this for you.

I don't have a clip+ so this is completely untested, but it did compile. It's based on the latest development build as of now, git hash e92fbb4.

http://whitefang.wolfpuppy.org.uk/temp/rockbox-clipplus-nortc.zip

Compiling rockbox yourself is not that difficult, but there is some setup you have to do that takes some time. The previous post's links are what you want to read if you want to know about it

[SlugMan]

Thanks Torne!  It seems to be working as advertised!  I'll use it today to see if anything crops up, but so far so good!
You've just saved me from insanity.  If it pleases your curiosity, i'm being used as a monkey to research the effects of melatonin and sleep.  It's currently available over the counter as considered to be in the same vein as dietary pills, so no need for the FDA to regulate/approve it.  But now they're wondering otherwise (or if there really is a connection between melatonin and sleep at all).  All i have to do?  sleep and stay awake for 24hrs at one point.  Also wear this stupid 'activity-watch' and not drink alcohol/caffeine/chocolate for 3 weeks prior.  That's the worst part.
Science is proud to have your support.

@tpijang
thanks!  I should have looked a little harder.  I quickly looked through it and it's probably something I could manage.  Not every opensource project has a guide like this, and I didn't immediately expect rockbox to!