Pixel Tape controller

[mm01]

The recent topics on LED tape has spurred me on to look at the pixel tape that was bought earlier in the year for a small project. I have one of these and 2 lengths of pixel tape and Im hoping to achieve a simple effect of both strips lighting from one end to the other via a slow chase or similar. Thats a bit of a rubbish explination but we have a 3m corridoor that I want to run a lenght of pixel table along the skirting (there are no doors) and for a light to "run" from the start to the end and then ideally start again. Can the controller that Ive got do this or will I need something else? Ive seen Arduino mentioned as a controller but not something Im familiar with,

 

Many thanks for any help.

[timsabre]

I'm not sure what patterns that controller can do and the website does not say. I would ring them up and describe what you want, they'll be able to tell you if it has that pattern included.

[ImagineerTom]

It would appear that that controller just has inbuilt programs that you can select / adjust rather than being able to make something of your own - have a play with it though as it may well have one that suits your needs perfectly.

 

With regards a programmable controller - if you're coming at this completely fresh I'd suggest going down the arduino route as you will then learn a very useful secondary skill (ie how to use and program arduino) - although the ready-made programmable controllers look simple they have their own idiosyncratic interface & workflow to learn; often via software that's full of chinglish and the time you spend getting your head around that is ultimately wasted as you won't be able to use the skill anywhere else. Arduino you just buy a basic board (£3 on ebay) then sign up to the official support forums and follow the online tutorials. In a couple of hours you'll have learnt all the basics for it then go to one of the sub-forums for pixel tapes and you will discover 1000+ people who all want to help you do amazing things with pixels and dozens of ready made programs, templates and interfaces that you can just cut-n-paste together to give you whatever you want. There's other sub forums for DMX control, wireless control, home automation, timers; in a couple of hours you could create your own controller with exactly the programs you need and all the control options you need that costs you £3 to make.

 

Common mistakes -

There's different protocols with similar sounding names (WS2811 / WS2812 for example) and it's easy to accidentally purchase different pixels or controllers that aren't on the same protocol so purchase carefully and get in to the habit of writing on things exactly which protocol you actually used so that for future diagnostics you don't waste time using the wrong parts

Power - these strips use a lot more power than you think. typically 60 or 30 lights per m but as those are RGB chips that's actually 90-180 LED's per m which will require some heavy duty power sources for a long run. Your 3M strip will probably be ok but in longer runs you typically have to splice in power at multiple points along the strip to compensate for voltage drop and the huge current needs

Failed pixels - most of the pixels you buy are mass made in china for pennies so failed pixels are fairly common. You can cut and rejoin the strip at prescribed places to remove the faulty pixel but I've always found the joints are a pain to do and remain a weak spot. Just like "dumb" RGB tape it's probably best to consider is a consumable you discard rather than an asset you repair.

[mm01]

Thanks Tim, I'll give them a call later on this afternoon and see if its something they can advise on.

 

Thanks also Tom for the very detailed post. I dont have much time on my hands but do like a project so I'll order a Arduino and have a play with it. I couldnt find any for £3 but does this one for £4 look about right? It looks like it can just sit on a breadboard and connect things up that way to test?

[ImagineerTom]

So all arduinos are basically the same; they just come in different physical sizes (there's minor differences with memory size/speed etc) with the exact same pin out configurations etc so the idea is that once you've written a sketch (program) you can then find a physical controller the right size/shape for the application rather than having to decide on the controller before you've written the code.

 

Generally you're better off getting an Arduino Uno to learn and develop with as its all more spaced out, all the I/o are easily accessible on push connectors, plus there's "shields" which are boards that plug over the top of the board allowing you to build move complicated interfaces without actually soldering on the main board. If you're feeling fancy then buy a "protoshield" for about £2 which will come with breadboard, buttons, LED and a prototyping zone all one one piece that just plugs straight in to the board.

 

You can get uno's for less that £3 from chinese suppliers; a quick look on ebay has uk suppliers at around £5 which seems reasonable. Don't worry about buying the whole kit with cases, bumpers, 9v batery clip, pins and extras; just a basic UNO and a normal printer USB cable is all you need to do the first half dozen lessons on the standard arduino training system taking its power from your PC's USB. Beyond that a couple of jump leads and LED's get you through the next few lessons; everything about arduino is intended to be as simple and cheap to implement as possible.

 

As an example generally now instead of using off the shelf remote control relays for things I have a little remote control sketch I wrote which goes on a nano with a £1 wireless encoder chip attached to it and an uno with £3 of relays and a receiver chip on it and suddenly I have a remote control that does everything the ready made units can do.... but has more security and in-built error checking and fault reporting so if it does fail during a show we can say for certain if there was a signal error, reception error, human error... etc. Outside the time spent developing the original sketch we can knock out a 32channel remote control system with all this reporting for under £20 in parts and labour.

[themadhippy]

they just come in different physical sizes (there's minor differences with memory size/speed etc) with the exact same pin out configurations

the pin configuration is one of the main the diffrences ,its no use trying to cram a project on gemma board that needs all the pins a mega has.

a normal printer USB cable

best double check,different versions of genuine ardinous use diffrent usb connectors depending on the model,clone versions use whatever usb connector they can get cheapest,I have used mega clones with mini usb and micro usb connections,and a lenoard clone with a standard usb connector.

[ImagineerTom]

I know I'm grossly over simplifying the arduino world but the core principle remains that the sketch is device agnostic and only once you've done all your programming do you have to decided which board you need rather than (as with virtually every traditional industrial microprocessor from the olden days) have to decide on a controller hardware first then write a program for it and possibly re-write the whole thing if you discover you need to switch controllers half way through the development.

 

It seems that UNO's have standardised around the usb printer cable - we've been buying from lots of different manufacturers and never seen anything other than that format on the UNO (though again I'm sure there's exceptions)

[tonytech]

Not for the beginner but....

https://www.electrod...ed-strip-board/

are fantastic... Takes a bit of electrical tinkering, but supports either RGB led tape or the individually addressable WSXX tape.You need a few extra bits to get started, like a FTDI USB to 3v serial adaptor.Arduino compatible programming language, and WiFi too.

Edited to get the link working!!T

 

[benwillcox]

I know I'm grossly over simplifying the arduino world but the core principle remains that the sketch is device agnostic and only once you've done all your programming do you have to decided which board you need

 

I would just also add a caveat that it the most significant other thing to be mindful of is if you are planning to use interrupts or i2c communication, as these have different pinouts and capabilities between ATMega328 (like the Uno and Nano) and 32u4 based boards (like the Leonardo and Micro).

Having said that, for simple LED pixel control asked by the OP I agree with Tom that the actual Arduino model used isn't particularly important. I like to use the Arduino Nano or Micro due to the small size especially with on battery powered portable projects.

 

You can get a WS2811 pixel strip hooked up to an Arduino and start playing and programming patterns in literally about 10 minutes - all you need is to connect your pixel strip data line to a digital output, and install the NeoPixel library to the Arduino IDE https://learn.adafru...ino-library-use which comes with some example code that will start generating patterns straight away.

You'd need to learn a little bit of coding to get the actual patterns you want, but if you have any minimal programming experience it's very simple (and if not, it's fun to learn!)

 

Ben

[lonemorf]

The US christmas light scene is getting very good at this. Im having great fun with it; www. xlights.orgThe controller options are growing massively too - SanDevices, Arduinos, PiHats, falcons (the falcons are so good, I have started importing them!).

 

 

 

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

Just to add my 2p worth... The WS281x series are really sensitive to power rail problems. Your GND line really does have to be close to 0v as you can get it and the chips will start to suffer from transmission issues if Vcc goes below 3.8v.

 

I prefer the WS2812B because you can build high-pixel densities quickly and easily, although driving these from a Pi can be problematic due to timing issues. Not an issue on Arduino though. You do have to use multiple rails and a hefty PSU for large things though.

 

As a general rule for projects over 768 pixels I use the Due as its 84Mhz clock speed and DMA SPI means faster framerates.

 

All the best

Timmeh

[musht]

NodeMCU and ESP Pixelstick software hits a low cost entry point :-)

 

https://github.com/forkineye/ESPixelStick

 

ESP8266 3.3V device WSXXX like 5V data but will work , level shifter for longer run betwixt control and first pixel

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ESP8266-ESP-01-ESP-01S-RGB-LED-Controller-Module-for-Arduino-IDE-WS2812-Light-Ring/32843759597.htm