2014-01-26, 09:18
Oh, cool. Very cool. wow. I love these things.
I am rethinking the whole house lighting plan!
I am rethinking the whole house lighting plan!
2014-01-26, 13:16
So let's see if i get my shopping list correct
5M ws2801 LED strip
Arduino Leonardo R3 or the Arduino Uno 2012 R3
10 Pack 2.1mm x 5.5mm Female CCTV Power Jack Adapter (how many do i need ?)
3 x 40P 20cm Dupont Wire Jumper Cable 2.54 1P-1P Male-Male/Female-Female/Female-Male (how many do i need and which one ?)
5V 10A switching power supply
2-Way 2.1mm DC Barrel Jack Splitter Squid
L-shape 4-conductor
when this is all correct i only need to check which shops i should order because it needs to be shipped to europe
5M ws2801 LED strip
Arduino Leonardo R3 or the Arduino Uno 2012 R3
10 Pack 2.1mm x 5.5mm Female CCTV Power Jack Adapter (how many do i need ?)
3 x 40P 20cm Dupont Wire Jumper Cable 2.54 1P-1P Male-Male/Female-Female/Female-Male (how many do i need and which one ?)
5V 10A switching power supply
2-Way 2.1mm DC Barrel Jack Splitter Squid
L-shape 4-conductor
when this is all correct i only need to check which shops i should order because it needs to be shipped to europe
2014-01-26, 15:20
(2014-01-25, 19:49)LazerBlue Wrote: Do you know if any one makes something like that for the 3 conductors? I've been looking but just don't know if I'm searching the right term or if they just don't exist.
I've seen for 2 or 4 conductors but not 3. Sorry.
(2014-01-26, 06:47)outtamyway24 Wrote: Any reason why you chose the Arduino instead of a Raspberry Pi? I have a spare Pi and curious if this is even possible.
The software to run the lights was originally written for Arduino type boards and don't need all of the other things the RPi offers. I'm not even sure if the software exists to run directly from the RPi since I've seen people who are running XBMC on the RPi and still using an Arduino or Teensy to run the strips.
(2014-01-26, 07:50)nickr Wrote: Wouldn't those 90 degree things mean you need strips made to the exact length, ie the height and width of your TV?
Heartening to know it shouldn't take the full 60 days for the strip to turn up!
Yes, some careful measuring would be in order. You can also use these: http://www.amazon.com/HitLights-Connecto...+any+angle
But I'll warn you that the wires are very stiff and might be hard to use if you want to put the last LED of one strip very close to the first LED of the next strip.
(2014-01-26, 09:18)nickr Wrote: Oh, cool. Very cool. wow. I love these things.
I am rethinking the whole house lighting plan!
It can be a bit addicting.
(2014-01-26, 13:16)TRaSH Wrote: So let's see if i get my shopping list correct
5M ws2801 LED strip
Arduino Leonardo R3 or the Arduino Uno 2012 R3
10 Pack 2.1mm x 5.5mm Female CCTV Power Jack Adapter (how many do i need ?)
3 x 40P 20cm Dupont Wire Jumper Cable 2.54 1P-1P Male-Male/Female-Female/Female-Male (how many do i need and which one ?)
5V 10A switching power supply
2-Way 2.1mm DC Barrel Jack Splitter Squid
L-shape 4-conductor
when this is all correct i only need to check which shops i should order because it needs to be shipped to europe
I chose the Leonardo because there are theoretical bandwidth issues for high frame rates with large numbers of LEDs over the serial bus that the Uno uses. But for less than 200 LEDs, supposedly this isn't an issue.
You'll need at least two power jack adapters. For the Uno you need four male to male jumpers, for the Leonardo, 2 male to male and two female to male. Since you don't have a connector block listed in your parts, I assume you are going to solder the wire to wire connections or somehow or another connect the wires to each other.
2014-01-26, 18:37
i forgot about the connector block but that's because i got them in my toolbox.
just need to figure out where to connect the cables to from the led strip to the powerplug and to the Leonardo
going for the LEonardo because you've got pictures how it's connected and that tells me more the technical schemes
just need to figure out where to connect the cables to from the led strip to the powerplug and to the Leonardo
going for the LEonardo because you've got pictures how it's connected and that tells me more the technical schemes
2014-01-26, 19:32
(2014-01-26, 18:37)TRaSH Wrote: i forgot about the connector block but that's because i got them in my toolbox.
just need to figure out where to connect the cables to from the led strip to the powerplug and to the Leonardo
going for the LEonardo because you've got pictures how it's connected and that tells me more the technical schemes
My attempt at a diagram. Connector block not shown.
2014-01-26, 19:37
It is powered via the USB connection
These are also nice in case you want to easily unplug the strip from everything else:
http://www.adafruit.com/product/578
These are also nice in case you want to easily unplug the strip from everything else:
http://www.adafruit.com/product/578
2014-01-27, 04:14
Just wondering... can dimmer control be added to this setup?
2014-01-27, 08:15
So you want the LEDs to be less bright?
Or you want to dim your living room lights?
The Philips Hue addon could probably be used for the latter. I use it all the time to turn my lights off when playing.
Or you want to dim your living room lights?
The Philips Hue addon could probably be used for the latter. I use it all the time to turn my lights off when playing.
2014-01-27, 08:16
(2014-01-27, 04:14)drewzy01 Wrote: Just wondering... can dimmer control be added to this setup?
I'm not sure you can put a simple pot dimmer in line because the pwm decoder chips are expecting 5v and are powered from the same line as the LED's, but it would depend on how they internally regulate their own voltage. The software allows for adjustment of brightness, however.
You may want to ask that question here: http://forums.adafruit.com/viewforum.php?f=47
2014-01-27, 09:01
(2014-01-27, 08:16)KenV99 Wrote: I'm not sure you can put a simple pot dimmer in line because the pwm decoder chips are expecting 5v and are powered from the same line as the LED's, but it would depend on how they internally regulate their own voltage. The software allows for adjustment of brightness, however.
You may want to ask that question here: http://forums.adafruit.com/viewforum.php?f=47
I was referring to the brightness of the LED's .. so through the software would be the go to maintain same voltage in that instance :-) I didn't think about dimming the room lights but that's worthy of some tinkering :-)
2014-01-30, 01:02
LEDs ordered on 19 January, shipped 22 Jan and arrive in my mailbox in New Zealand from China today (30th).
Pretty good really.
Now to get the rest of the bits and put it all together.
Pretty good really.
Now to get the rest of the bits and put it all together.
2014-01-30, 06:46
This is awesome, I'm glad I found this thread.
@KenV99 I'm looking to copy your setup exactly, would you be willing to guide me through it? I see all the parts are listed here, and I'll likely purchase them on the weekend. I've wanted to do this for a while basically ever since I built my HTPC but all the guide's ive found are too complex for my liking, and there is wires soldered everywhere and loose connections etc just looks like too much of a mess in my opinion. However now that I see this, it's a lot cleaner and simpler than any other, and I am interested again.
Anyway, would you be willing to offer some help, or post the guides you've followed?
@KenV99 I'm looking to copy your setup exactly, would you be willing to guide me through it? I see all the parts are listed here, and I'll likely purchase them on the weekend. I've wanted to do this for a while basically ever since I built my HTPC but all the guide's ive found are too complex for my liking, and there is wires soldered everywhere and loose connections etc just looks like too much of a mess in my opinion. However now that I see this, it's a lot cleaner and simpler than any other, and I am interested again.
Anyway, would you be willing to offer some help, or post the guides you've followed?
