Dublin Maker didn’t happen this year because of Covid-19. I had been working on a badge (unofficial) but then parked the project for a while. Recently I resurrected it and have begun building badges. Software is not complete yet and the documentation needs to be developed but the picture above shows an almost complete badge without the display fitted (it overlays the MCU in the middle of the badge). Just about all of the background hardware driver code is done.
The 2019 badge took a hardwired wired approach to multi-player gaming. While this worked, it was a little unreliable mainly due to low quality 3.5mm stereo sockets and cables. This badge uses an NRF24L01 radio module instead and it appears to work quite well. Also it is actually a little cheaper than the wired version. Other differences include a change to the MCU which features more pins and double the flash memory (32kB!!). The most notable change however is probably the use of a PCB. This was designed in KiCad and fabricated by PCBWay – a process that was surprisingly cheap, quick and easy.
Lets hope Dublin Maker 2021 takes place.
ioprog 