Hi, that's a very doable project. It will take some time and you will make some mistakes that need to be redone, but that's all part of the journey. We are here to help and answer questions along the way.

My suggestion would be to get the map printed the way you want and at the same time set up a test-bench with the RPi, LED's, OLED's and install the software to get everything working. Once you have a good idea how the computer and software works, then marrying them to the map will be must less stressful.

I'd take it one step at a time. For instance, wire up just the LED's to the breadboard and get them working. Then add the light sensor to make the dimming feature work, then the push buttons. Once you have this all working, then add 1 OLED to insure that it will work. Then add the Multiplexer and up to 8 OLED's (See schematic attached). This approach will help you learn how it all fits together and hopefully eliminate wiring issues. Don't be surprised to see some erratic behavior, especially on the LED's. This is typically due to intermittent terminals in the breadboard or the RPi ground is not connected to the LED ground. Just move the wires to different ports or even replace the jumper wires as necessary if you see any issues.

So start with the LED's and OLED's on a breadboard and work out the wiring. Let us know where you get stuck and we'll do our best to help. - Mark

Thanks Mark,

Lots of great advice. I want to solder instead of using a breadboard. Any problems doing it that way? I do know how to solder CBs. So that's one thing in my pocket.

No problem with doing that other than if you mis-wire and have to unsolder. So if you are comfortable with that, go for it. Adafruit sells a solderable breadboard that may be helpful for you to use. ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/1609 ). Please post pictures of your progress. - Mark

Flyguy,

 I’m about 90% done and just need to frame mine. I agree with Mark, take it in small steps so you see progress and that keeps you motivated. I’ve had issues with the breadboard and will transition to a soldered board soon.

I found drilling clean holes to mount the LEDs to be a problem so work on that with a scrap piece and maybe a photo you don’t care about as drilling would tear the photo paper. It’s really satisfying to see the lights all working as designed.

@captain_ron great advice. I'll watch for that. I was thinking of having the map printed on the base material. Might be easier to drill.

@flyguy what is your base material? I made some ABS grommets to go into the hole and the flange helped to cover some ragged edges, but a few holes tore the phot paper pretty bad, from var away people won’t notice but I know it’s there.

@captain_ron right now I'm talking with https://3acompositesusa.com/index.html. I waiting for a list of local printers that can handle the job. I don't know the cost or anything yet. I can share when I know.

I've gotten the pieces together and going to start assembling using breadboards then I'll go back and solder a permanent install when everything works. The problem I'm having is that I can't seem to unzip the downloaded software. Not sure what I may be doing wrong? Any ideas?

@markyharris If I'm reading this right I need 3 full size breadboards and 1 half size?

I don't think you'll need that many breadboards. The schematics show the use of 1 breadboard for all the components except OLED Displays. If you are going to be installing these displays, then another breadboard (or two) for testing purposes would be helpful. But when it comes time to permanently installing the displays into the map, it is highly suggested that you solder them to a circuit board, as I'm afraid you would have lots of intermittent problems leaving them in the breadboard. Hope I'm answering your question. - Mark

@markyharris Yep that answered the question. Kind of what I thought. Any thoughts on unzipping the software? Right now the Raspberry Pi is defaulting to Xarchiver.

Thanks for the guidance,

I use 7-zip, but any program that can handle zip files will work fine. Just unzip, save to your PC, run the imaging software from; https://etcher.io

If you haven't seen this page, check it out. https://www.livesectional.com/led-bulb-based-project/ . It will give you the instructions necessary to get going. Good luck. - Mark