It gets crazy setting these up at an event. Here are a few more photos from 2 different events at the Houston Children’s Museum. I was in the same space, but the tables were different and ended up with slightly different configurations.
Plug’n’play is critical. Typically events are setup in an hour or two before they start. Just don’t typically have more time than that.
All 40 in parallel, ick, that is going to be a wiring trick. Think fake Christmas tree with wire lengths. I can definitely figure it out if I have to do so, just want to keep it as simple as possible.
I like the idea of a small MCU in each case as it can keep the inventory/lookup table for that case so when certain routines are run they will know where everything is. I do have a question. If I wanted chase lighting or some other more simple option could these MCU’s report or be connected such that simple orientation to each other could be figured out on the fly based on how I set them up at an event?
Could an Arduino be used instead of the trinket? It is going to sound crazy, but I think I can get Mega’s or Uno’s cheaper than the trinket. Please forgive here I am very new to the whole Arduino scene. I get why data can’t be serial because the arrangement would have to be the same every time for that serial group. So while data needs to be parallel, could power be serial, or would it be simplest to just keep it all parallel.
For reference I have uploaded pictures of the inside of the case, there is a bit of room, the trinket could fit, the Uno might be a touch more difficult, but I still think it would fit.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8217Yg - Pictures aren’t perfect, but I think you will get an idea of how much space is in each case.
I like the power of a single MCU per case as it gives the most flexibility. If I need to I think it would be easier to link one Teensy per 5 cases. This would make setup a bit easier to stay consistent. What kind of master controller were you thinking?
Connectors:
So you think I need to separate data and power. This simply means double the connectors per case. The other issue is when these are wall mounted, the more something sticks off the back the harder it is to setup at home, I want to enjoy all this hard work too. The “phone jack” carries 4 wires and I only need 3, so I could get it all done in one phone cord and if not wiring in series I would only need one connector per case. If in series keeping power and data together would serve to make power more uniform and data would be passed forward and only 2 phone jacks per case. I could also do this with Ethernet jacks, however that is 8 wires that are thicker. Would phone wires be sufficient gauge to carry the power and data? If not, what about cat6, could run double power, double ground, and double data, which would still only tie up 6 of the 8 lines. Just trying to keep the connector wires easy to make. I assume you are suggesting the Molex 4pin or DE-9 because of larger gauge wire?
Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.