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I'm trying to create a "Push Pin" map for a friend as a gift. My friend has traveled through out the world and I'd like to organize the pins by year. So a different color pin for each year he has traveled to a specific location. I'd like to take it a step further and have the different "year pins" light up. For example, I'd like to be able to push a certain button or switch and have all the 2008 pins light up, push another button and all of 2009 pins light up, push another button and all of the pins light up. Does anyone have any direction they think would be a good place to start?

Thanks!

Christina Rule
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  • How many pins will there be in an average year? An how large will the map be? – jippie Dec 13 '13 at 17:20
  • Hi @jippie thanks for the response. On average there will be 20 pins per year (maybe a bit more). The map will be large I don't have an exact size yet but I'm thinking at least 24" x 36".Do you know of any type of "pins" that would work? I'm guessing they would be LEDs? – Christina Rule Dec 13 '13 at 18:18

2 Answers2

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You can use diodes to connect each pin (LED?) to each switch that should activate that pin.

schematic

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

Sorry for the not very readable circuit, I did not find a way to rearrange the components or the wires. SW1 would be for year1 (D1 and D2), SW2 for year2 (D3 and D4), SW3 for all.

NB the values are nonsense too. One day I might learn the editor.

(Nice rework, Samuel!)

Wouter van Ooijen
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  • Wow @Wouter van Ooijen thank you so much! I am a novice at working with boards but this should get me started. I can not thank you enough! So my idea is to have these pins be small enough to act as a "pin" like you normally see in pin point maps. I realize since the pins need to light up they will have to be slightly larger. Do you know of any type of "pins" that would work? I'm guessing they would be LEDs? – Christina Rule Dec 13 '13 at 18:15
  • Also I stretched something out in your Circuit lab drawing. Can you confirm this is correct http://i.imgur.com/Spo00Yw.png – Christina Rule Dec 13 '13 at 18:35
  • Depending on the size of your map a 3mm LED might do will. You could either stick the LED through the map itself, or mount the LED through a piece of wood, and glue the map over it, so the LED shines through. Your png seems to be the same as my (ugly) drawing. – Wouter van Ooijen Dec 13 '13 at 19:26
  • If I used the 3mm led it would have to be kind of a permeate installation right? Like say I wanted to add a location.. It wouldn't be as easy as sticking in a pin to a map. I would have to add more wiring and unmount things. Would there be a way to have different types of LED PINS and depending on which type I stuck in would depend on which year it would light up with? – Christina Rule Dec 13 '13 at 22:07
  • Not without a lot more work. You could put a multi-pin connector at each location where you might want to stuck a pin, and wire the LED to the connector according to the year. If I had to do this I would include a micro-controller in each pin. Easy for me, probably infeasible for you. But it will not get as easy as sticking a pin in a map, for that you would need to go wireless. Can be be done: RF receiver + micro-controller + battery + LED in each pin. The kind of thing a museum (with ample budget) might do. – Wouter van Ooijen Dec 13 '13 at 23:15
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Very late answer:

Could you use fibre optic strands? These are tiny, would require a tiny hole in the map and, maybe, could be coupled up to LEDs or bulbes mounted permanently in an enclosure behind or below the map. Now you could do all your logic by having a 2008 lamp, a 2009 lamp, etc. and run as many fibres to each as required. You could have two or more fibres go from different lamps to one point to do your "OR" logic.

You might find a cheap source of fibre-optic stuff in some of the fibre-optic christmas trees in the discount stores.

Transistor
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