You can build a large RGB LED matrix display to monitor your favorite sport teams. A Matrix Portal S3 running CircuitPython requests data from the ESPN API to show your teams' gameplay data alongside team logos that are resized and gamma corrected to look crisp and bright on the matrices. If you've ever wanted to see all of your sportsball stats in one spot, this project is for you.
Hardware and Power Requirements
The ESPN API generates a JSON response that is huge. It also takes a lot of processing power to interface with not one, not two but four 64x32 RGB LED matrices. Luckily the ESP32-S3 on the Matrix Portal S3 is able to handle the JSON and the matrices with its 8MB of flash and 2MB of SRAM. Previously this project would not have been possible with less powerful chips, like the SAMD51 on the original Matrix Portal. TL;DR: make sure you are using a Matrix Portal S3 for this project.
On top of processing power, four RGB LED matrices require a good power supply to ensure top pixel performance. In working on this project, the best results were seen using two 5V 4A power supplies: one for the two top panels and one for the two bottom panels. In this scenario, the Matrix Portal S3 is powered via its USB-C port, separately from the matrices.
Four 64x32 RGB LED Matrices:
Four Acrylic Panels:
Two 5V 4A Power Supplies:
Two Female DC Jack to Screw Terminal Block Adapters:
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