Quick update

Was toying around with layering bitmaps on the default background. I also got the animated GIF demo sketches to work as well. I have the GIF includes in my sketch (SD, SPI, and other related functions). It's compiling cleanly and so I will slowly add small animation effects to the display as the code progresses.

after

before

Rename

I should rename this particular version of the DisplayBox. I want to use different technologies for different situations. OLED, TFT, 7-segment LED, large, small, square, round. The names should fit the display type and/or function as well. (Once I get the BrainBox developed I can experiment with multiple displays as well. )

Hybrid Display Idea

I'm currently using a 3mm pitch 64x32 RGB LED matrix as the main display. I am entertaining the idea of creating a hybrid display. When I build the displays and enclosure the matrix will populate the background and in the center will be a tiny high-contrast sunlight-readable color display to supplement data. This idea is still in the brainstorming phase so I'll draw it up once I get a 75% working matrix display.

Software Repository a.k.a. GitHub

I need to keep everything organized and prepare for the project to expand cleanly. I've worked within gihub in the past but never kept up with it. It's time to change that and add code updates to the list of dailies (social updates, code updates, design updates, hardware updates). I'll add repository links to my profile once I get reacquainted with the workflow.

Visual Studio IDE and Visual Micro

I've switched to Microsoft Visual Studio and the Visual Micro extension for my IDE. The official Arduino IDE has gotten a lot better since the switch to 1.6.x. But code completion alone in Visual Studio justified the switch and enduring the learning curve. There are plenty of in-depth tutorials on the YouTube but I'll get into those once the BrainBox is on the table. For now I need a working dashboard for my electric motorcycle project.