Nick, that's a tough call. The great thing about Marty's approach is it turns out quite clean. However that comes at a price. Using LED strings would probably be the most cost efficient way to do it and while it will take a little time to put together, its well worth the effort. I've done 6 or so maps using different build techniques, including a couple using side glow filiment, but the quickest way, I would say, is to use LED strings with the map mounted to white board that you position the led's on. Then frame and hang. There are a number of examples of this in the forums and pictures on the gallery. Let us know what you decide. We'll help you any way we can. - Mark

Thanks Mark,

You are probably right that the LED strings would be easier, especially since I think the PCB boards can only be printed so big, id end up needing a lot of them.

So one question I have is in regards to how all the LEDs string together and get power. Would all the data wires be just connected end to end with the other LED strings? Then I see in the guide the power supply would power 2 strings at once, would I need to get 5 different power supplies if I wanted to get 500 LEDs? Or is there a better way to have one power supply that is more powerful and then split the power to 5 different points on the strings?

I noticed also the Raspberry Pi link is no longer being sold, is there another link that would be good to get one? I've read that some are not as powerful as others and might not be good on larger scale projects.

I looked at Vance's project and I like how he had his setup. Looks not too complicated with no breadboard.

Nick, Theoretically you can connect all 500 end for end and assuming you have a power supply capable of providing the needed wattage, all will work. In reality, doing that will cause the LED's furthest from the power supply to be dimmer than the ones closest. So connecting the same power supply to both ends has proven to help, others have done that plus connected power at various points in the middle of the string as well has helped distribute the power more evenly. 

No need for multiple power supplies. Just do the math on the wattage needed to be sure you get a power supply capable of supplying the required wattage. 

RPI's are in very short supply at the moment. A RPI 4 would work the best, but the RPi 3 B+ works quite well too. So see if you can secure one of these. Older versions will work, but they will run noticeably slower. And with the number of LED's you are wanting to drive I'd stick with the faster ones.

I would secure all 500 LED's and the other components, set everything up on a workbench and install the software. Then play with the power inputs to get the best result then build the map. Good luck - Mark

Wanted to post my first update on the process. I have completed a map with all the airports I am planning to put a pixel on for the lower 48 states. I have 480 airports marked with hopefully enough space for the housing of the LEDs to be next to each other. The dots are 6mm wide. I made them slightly smaller than the LED itself so when I cut it out, it will hopefully hide the walls of whatever I mount the LEDs on and only have the LED visible in the hole.

Will a leather hole punch work fine to cut these out? Ones like this https://www.amazon.com/Leather-Plastics-leather-1-5mm-4mm-ASONTAO/dp/B09H2BYBC3/ref=sr_1_8?crid=8GPCD2P8JJAA&keywords=leather%2Bhole%2Bpunch&qid=1673073302&sprefix=leather%2Bhole%2Bpunch%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-8&th=1

Most paper hole punches don't reach out too far from what I have seen.

I am also playing around with the idea of adding Alaska and Hawaii to the left of the main map. Not sure if I will do this, want to make it look good first and foremost. If anyone has some ideas to better integrate these maps, I am all ears!

I also picked up a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB today off craigslist, the first official piece of the project acquired. 

I feel like the next stage of the project will be the most difficult, planning out the power and wiring routes. I have no experience with wiring things up or electrical stuff, getting the proper voltage and amps to all the lights and Pi. Hopefully, it will work out. I'll keep posting updates or questions I have!

Ambitious map, but very worthwhile. Adding Alaska and Hawaii is a great idea. You don't see too many maps with these 2 states included.

A leather hole punch works great! that's what I've used. One tip though, there is a hard plastic base that you can buy to hammer down into that will make the cuts much easier and cleaner so look for one, they usually come as a kit with the hole punches.

The electrical wiring is time consuming but not overly difficult. Once you have your airports laid out and the holes punched, then lay out the string being strategic about its routing. You would prefer not to have to skip LED's because it won't reach a hole. If you find this the case, I would suggest finding an airport underneath the unused LED to include in the map.

Once you have routed the LED's then you need to setup the airport file so the airports are listed in the order of your newly routed string of LED's. Its helpful to notate the back of your map with the airport id for this step.

The RPi 4 will give you really good speed. Good choice. Keep us updated on your progress. - Mark

Ive got a lot of the parts on order, got 500 lights, tools, etc on the way and got the map as well.

One thing I would like some help with is figuring out how to power this. I would ideally like to have one cord to plug in. I dont know how to choose or wire up one power supply for everything. I am considering buying a low profile power strip and just getting a power cord for the pi and 5 power supplies for the LEDS as the guide recommends 1 per 2 strings of lights.

If there are better ways, I am open to ideas. I like how Vance made his map with one power supply, but my friends had their concerns about being to able to power everything and they told me I would need about 450W of power to just power the lights.

Nick, powering the strings evenly is usually a matter of 'injecting' power and ground along the entire string at consistent intervals. Using a single power supply with sufficient wattage for your number of LED's is the best way to go. Then connect that power supply's pos and neg leads to the various locations along the chain of LED strings. For instance if you have 500 LED's then that would be 10 strings chained together, so you could connect the power/ground to the beginning then after 100 LED's connect power/ground, then after each 100 there after. 

I've not built a board with more than 150 LED's, so I was able to connect power and ground to the beginning and then again to the end, and that worked just fine. So you might experiment a bit. Maybe you can get away with injecting the power and ground to the beginning, center and end of the chain of strings. Let us know what you find works the best. - Mark

Its been a while, but its time for an update!

The map has pretty much been completed after finally getting time to work on it! 496 airports are included in this map. This was the first test of the LEDs after installing and hot gluing all the LEDs into the holes I drilled. I preprogrammed the Pi so it worked right away, which was quite magical plugging it in and it working on the first try!

This is the back side of the map, its still on the saw horses from gluing all the LEDs on. The next step is to get all the power supplies and Pi mounted to the back. Still looking into how to frame and then mount the map on the wall with how much it weighs. Thinking of making a shelf for it to sit on instead of trying to find a mounting solution on the board itself then some screws on top to hold it to the wall.

I have learned so much from this project. It was a LOT of frustration, a lot of problem solving, but this map looks great, from the back at least. Cant wait to get it off the saw horses and right side up!

Nick

Nick, it really does look great. I know it can be a pain but its very rewarding once its up on a wall. Send more pics once its up. Great job. - Mark