Retro Horse Derby Game Board with Neopixels showing Reaction Game Status

Sat 2019.02.02
Welcome back Mike. It sounds like you have been busy with life and now have a bit of time to plan your project. We're glad to see you are still on board. (re allObjects pun)

'and yup, scared me a little'

That is a good thing, but don't let this overwhelm you. There are plenty of examples/tutorials on the site (if you haven't already perused them) to gain the insight on individual tasks that may pop up in the future. We now have a better understanding of your knowledge level is and the depth of responses we'll need to keep effective communication going.

Although it hasn't been clarified if you have the light panel complete, but still trying to learn what the center spacing is of each lane indicator light. My gut feeling is the following could be bent (thin mylar backing) in a serpentine fashion to match up if necessary.

Back in post #7 there is a link to the Neopixel strip. I recommend 1m 60leds IP30 Black to get started and maybe even a second one that might be cut up and practiced with. One to keep pristine for testing. Don't purchase them all just yet (refunds near
impossible) as this still may not be your best option.

I'd spend the hour or two this weekend and get this part on order now, as it takes ~3-5 weeks (although I did get one shipment in twelve days) to arrive. Setting up the account is the worst part, a pain as I remember it, but goes very smoothly once one or two orders have been placed. I have also found that making smaller qty orders ensures delivery to your mail box, rather than a trip across town to the P.O. or U.P.S. in case that package is too large.

This is your best low cost option, as picking up one of these in the U.S. or on Amazon will set you back up to five times the cost. For the extra week wait, the low cost will offset the time factor. FYI only, I've made thirty CH orders over the last two years and each electronics parts ones matched the web page exactly, but did have one order that never arrived. Did get my $$ back though.

This will also give us two weeks to confirm which Espruino part as that could get to you in as little as two days via Amazon. Could you also respond to device type/project direction questions in post #7 please.

In addition, using a Pixl with LCD output might assist in real time changes to the game along with additional visual feedback.

See working Pixl and 8 Neopixel strip - two images:

http://forum.espruino.com/comments/14573404/

One word of caution, although the Pixl can provide the data, it may not have the memory for a full blown game. Hard to judge at this point.

. . . . also would like some insight to your solder/construction skills to get an idea on whether to breadboard first (recommended) which may result in having a few devices to make life easier. May I ask what kind of budget range we have for the electronics side so all of us here could make appropriate suggestions? Can you scrounge/scavenge parts since there are no more Radio Shacks around? Sounds like yes.

'I have 15-20 power supplies from stuff'

See if there is a 5V DC 2000mamp (two amp or better) wall charger in the mix. That's what I use for breadboarding.

'The college students flaked out on me.'

Does this mean they are too involved with school or too overwhelmed with the simple idea of Javascript as a solution? To answer that, I stumbled across this by Espruino's originator Gordon. Last line in thread.

http://forum.espruino.com/conversations/262232/
'But honestly, it's not what Espruino is about. It's about speed of development vs speed of execution, while still being able to run on relatively low-end hardware.'

I'm excited that this project is now underway!! . . .