Between a busy work week and getting a stomach bug, there wasn’t much progress made over the last week. My biggest accomplishment was making a purchase from Adafruit for the remaining components needed for the server/scoreboard. Does spending money count as an accomplishment?

I was originally waiting for the 2mm pitch 64×64 RGB panels, but they’ve been out of stock for over a month now, so I settled on the 3mm pitch ones instead. They were a touch more expensive, but the size is fine, I’m not too particular on that aspect. I still haven’t formalized the scoreboard design exactly, but I should probably do a write up of my first thoughts.

I was originally planning on using an ESP32-S2 Metro board for the scoreboard, but based on initial research, it looks like it might struggle to drive the 2 64×64 panels. So I added in one of the MatrixPortal boards instead. I’m hoping this will make my life easier for 20 bucks. Since this project uses CircuitPython, the hardware itself shouldn’t be a complicating factor. If I were writing the C code directly, I’d probably put more emphasis on using common hardware. With this purchase, I should have everything I need for the server/scoreboard.

I’m still waiting on the ESP32-S2 TFT feathers to come in stock. I have a sinking feeling it’s going to be tough to get the 8 or so more that I need. Of course they became hard to get after I designed and printed my client PCB around that feather.

That reminds me that I still need to finish designing the client case and do a write up. Now that I have the PCB done and assembled, I should be able to measure and extract sizes for the mounting holes.

Until next time!