Well, I'm back to working on my NaMaLiCS [National Mall Light Control System] after letting it sit on the back burner for quite a while.  The system is based on the Brickstuff Arduino shield controlling the light setup.

[Unfortunately I don't have any interesting video or photos to go with this post.]

Big changes from my previous test setup.

1)  I have switched from using the Arduino IDE for programming to the VS Code IDE with the PlatformIO extension.  That may sound like gobbledy-gook, but the VS Code IDE is a lot more comprehensive, however it requires more rigorous attention to your coding.

The Arduino IDE is not as powerful, but is **much** more forgiving.  It's a better place for Arduino newbies to start.

2) The Arduino shield is talking to a couple of Brickstuff 8-Port Smartpixel Controller boards.  Each controller board can be individually addressed, and each port on the board can also be individually accessed.

For me that means, I can independently control the streetlights on one port, the interior building lights on another port, the exterior building lights on a third port, etc for each section of the National Mall.

3) I currently have blinking lights on port 1, lights that toggle on and off on port 2, lights that fade on and off on port 3 and lights that flicker on port 4...all running simultaneously, yet independently.

4) I have also implemented a 12 minute lighting cycle that simulates 24-hours in real life.  So I can...turn on these lights at 7 pm, those lights at 8 pm and turn off the first lights at 11 pm.

Sorry to bore you with all this, but I **had** to share with somebody and you folks are it...surprise!

[also posted on the Brickstuff Discord]