Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech.
Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics.
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Summary
- This DIY Raspberry Pi ticker uses four 128x64 P2.5 LED panels and an Adafruit Triple LED Matrix Bonnet.
- The ticker scrolls a league box from right to left to show current and upcoming scores with smooth animations.
- Source code isn't ready yet; lots of software work remains, but I'll likely build one.
The cool thing about building your own devices is that you don't need to make do with subpar products. If you think something is lacking, you can roll up your sleeves and add it yourself. Such is the case with this DIY sports tracker, which keeps tabs on different matches between major sports leagues and comes with some sleek animations to boot.
It's shaping up to be really cool
Over on the Raspberry Pi subreddit, user Various_Spend_2293 gave us an update on their cool ticker project. Their previous post showed the ticker working, complete with a cool pattern; however, it wasn't really a ticker for anything. It was more just to show that the screen was up and running.
This time, they're back to show that their ticker is now, in fact, a ticker. The demo shows off sports results from different leagues, and they look fantastic.
Here's how the creator describes the hardware:
"The display consists of four 128x64 pixel P2.5 LED panels in a custom printed case. It's run by a Raspberry Pi 4B with 4GB of memory and an Adafruit Triple LED Matrix Bonnet. The panels are powered by a Meanwell LRS-200-5 power supply, while the RPi is powered by a separate RS-15-5 power supply to isolate it from any potential voltage drops from the LED panels."
Watch the video above and take note of the league name in the box on the left. Every time the ticker changes to a different league, it scrolls in the new box from the right, which eventually shunts the old league off the left side of the screen. It's an elegant, easy-to-read way to display scores from different sports without confusing what it's showing now or what's coming up next.
Unfortunately, the source code isn't ready yet; the creator says that there is "a lot of work to be done on the software yet." But if and when that source code drops, I'll definitely be taking a look at making one for myself.