@sydneyfalk i guess my main problem is i'm poor.

not homeless poor but in a situation where i've had no income since july 2017 and the specific electronics i'd want to use are prohibitively expensive for me

when i made the LED badges in late 2016 i only did it because my workplace financed me to develop them, they were not a personal project

if i had infinite money for electronic gizmos i'd already be knee deep into building maplebots, but i doubt i'll ever find myself in that situation