Flip Dot Sign Controller

This is a flipdot sign controller using an ESP32. It currently uses the original sink drivers. All of this is parallel, using one I/O for each pin.

Project Structure

your_project/
├── main.py
├── boot.py
├── lib/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── flipper.py
│   ├── wifi_manager.py
│   ├── wifi_scan.py
├── config/
│   └── config.json
│   └── font1.json
├── README.md
├── requirements.txt
└── .gitignore

Files Description

• main.py: The main entry point for the project. Initializes the flipdot display and WiFi connection.
• boot.py: Script that runs on boot-up.
• lib/flipper.py: Contains the Display class to control the flipdot display.
• lib/wifi_manager.py: Contains the WifiManager class to manage WiFi connections.
• lib/wifi_scan.py: Script to scan WiFi networks.
• config/config.json: Configuration file for WiFi credentials (ignored in git).
• config/font1.json: Font configuration for the flipdot display.
• scripts/font_creator.py: Script to create or modify the font configuration.
• images/font_creator_screenshot.png: Screenshot of the font creator in action.
• .gitignore: Specifies files and directories to be ignored by Git.

Setup

1. Configuration

Create a config.json file in the config directory with your WiFi credentials:

{
    "ssid": "your_ssid",
    "password": "your_password"
}

Add config/config.json to your .gitignore to prevent it from being tracked in version control:

config/config.json

2. Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/flip_dot_sign.git
   cd flip_dot_sign

2. Install dependencies (if any):

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Upload the code to your ESP32:

   Use your preferred method (e.g., ampy, mpfshell, Thonny) to upload the files to the ESP32.

3. Running the Project

1. Power on the ESP32:

   • The boot.py script will run automatically on boot-up.

2. Connect to WiFi:

   • The main.py script will read the WiFi credentials from config/config.json and attempt to connect to the specified network.

3. Flipdot Display:

   • The main.py script initializes the flipdot display and performs initial setup.

4. Creating or Modifying Fonts

Use the Font Creator Script:

The scripts/font_creator.py script is provided to create or modify the font configuration (config/font1.json). Run the script with Python to generate the font1.json file.

python scripts/font_creator.py

Font Creator in Action:

Here’s a screenshot of the font creator in action:

Todo

• Create a multiplexer with I2C to control each of the bits to set the dot. The write/erase will be an I/O connected to the controller still.
• Create a web server that works.
• Organize the files used for this project. There are too many different versions.

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues or pull requests. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.