Mini 8x8 LED Matrix help

[Jacob4130]

I am fairly new to this world of creating electronics projects, but I do have some experience. A couple years ago, I wrote code on an UNO to control relays and a linear actuator with some pretty complex timing involved. The project was a success!

I purchased the Adafruit Mini 8x8 LED Matrix w/I2C Backpack for a simple display. I am attempting to create a "gear position indicator" for an off-road project I am building. The transmission of the vehicle produces different resistance readings depending on whether it is in park, reverse, neutral, etc... Here are my project goals:

1. Find the smallest board possible to "store" and run the code
2. Power the assembly with 12v
3. Write the code to control the 8x8 display based on the different resistance readings (to display P, R, N, L, H graphics)
4. Pot or enclose the assembly for dashboard mounting and weather resistance

First step is to find the right board. I believe the Trinket M0 or the GEMMA M0 will work, but I'm unsure if they can handle 12v input like the bigger Arduinos...

Any assistance is greatly appreciated!!

[adafruit_support_carter]

The voltage regulators on the Trinket M0 / Gemma M0 can not handle 12V input. So you would need to deal with that externally.

But if all you are doing is "read voltage" -> "drive 8x8 matrix", then either of those boards should have the necessary processing power. I'd suggest the Trinket over the Gemma simply due to the Gemma being more for wearable applications.

Also, if you want to future proof things a little, consider an M4 based board, which has more processing power and memory. Something like the Itsy Bitsy M4 maybe.

[Jacob4130]

Okay, thanks!

Yes, all I want to do is "read resistance" --> "drive display"