Hardware Design and Development

[TerryJC]

I've had a few domestic issues (faulty doorbell, SMART Meter installation, etc) and then it took me a while to work through the new design. However, I can now get four Screens to work. I spent some time trying to re-instate the OLED_RST and eventually recalled that Waveshare have removed that functionality from their code (although the GPIO Pin is still connected and toggled at program startup which is what gave me the problems initially).

So I now have one board that will display four screens and can quickly modify the second to do the same.

Penri,

Please remind me how many shops will want all four TVs and how many Hotels will only want one TV. When we spoke on the phone the other day, I said that it would make sense to have all Tiny TV Interface Boards the same for consistency. However, to drive one Screen only needs the addition of a 12 V DC/DC Converter and input filtering, whereas to drive 2 to 4 Screens also needs a Hex Buffer IC, additional Linear Regulators as well as extra filtering and decoupling on the board. This work might take me longer to complete than anticipated and I may not have all boards finished by the weekend as promised.

I personally would prefer all boards to be the same, but without the extra hardware construction a single screen device would only take an hour or two as opposed to a day or two. I would still mount the DC/DC Converter and Pi on a Veroboard because we still need the input filtering and I would still have a row of Header Pins to connect the Display to but that would be a really simple Veroboard layout.

So can you wait a bit longer for the full package, or would you like the requisite number of 4-Screen Interaces with the remaining being the cut-down version?

[Penri]

Terry

I won't answer your question directly because it's all a bit of juggling with what and who's available, so I'll share where I am currently, i have:

4off OLED modules fully installed and wired into TinyTV chassis, I need to fabricate a back panel and test the units.
5off "new" OLED modules that I need to get to you so you can confirm that they are the same at the "existing" ones and can share the some S/W (they look right to me but they came from a different supplier and have different retail packaging).
1off OLED module connected to a RPi for my own testing, evaluation and general tinkering with Python S/W.
5off TinyTV enclosures being printed, which should be in my hands soonish.

At WMT:
2off Hotel TV lounge dioramas nearing completion into each of which will get 1 TinyTV.
A Holmans shopfront (consisting of 2 separate shop units) which have been physically made deeper to allow us to fit more inside, but the layouts of which have not yet finalised.
A Wimborne Radio shopfront which was been modified and could accept TinyTVs in all probability. I'm sure we can make at least one fit but
I have not tried installing any yet.
A Dacombes shopfront that is currently being deepened to allow more to be fitted inside.

Holmans and Dacombes are rivals for the same business in Wimborne (the real one) and I have been asked to be as even handed as possible because of what they have contributed to WMT in the past and could contribute further.

As things stand today there is no 12V DC feed to either the Holmans or Dacombes model building, but I have plans (hopefully realisable).

So what to make of all that in terms of your question?

Definitely 2off hotel TV lounges with 1 TinyTV in each.
3off shopfronts with between 2 and 4 TinyTVs installed in each, is what I'm shooting for.

Hope that helps.

[TerryJC]

Ok. I'll build 2-off single screen boards and another multi-screen board.