DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx Smart String => Topic started by: chrisatpsu on February 08, 2012,
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first off, wow! i didn't really realize how small things were...
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???
What ya got there?
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the led's are the 8mm rgb led's used in the smart string nodes.
the chips are the chips used in the various nodes
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and a quarter >:D
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Can I see a close up picture of that quarter!
JK, so..... you making your own pixel nodes.... what ya gonna do with them? :)
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. . . and how much are they going to cost, relative to Ray's pricing?
Richard :)
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That's what I was wondering... How much were the components for the quantity you ordered?
-Rimist (via Tapatalk)
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it's probably going to cost more. i just want to see if i can make them into a different shape
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my best guess would be it would be over $1 per node
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. . . and you got the parts from Mouser, or . . .?
Richard
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I'm assuming it's a single chip per LED... I wonder if there is a chip that could handle multiple LEDs that might be more cost effective for a fixed or high density display
-Rimist (via Tapatalk)
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in the third photo, the top row of chips handle one led per chip (like the nodes, the rectangles, and squares)
the 2nd row the chips handle 3 rgb leds per chip (like on the flex strips)
the last two rows the chips handle 4 rgb leds per chip.
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part of why i want to play with these are also... instead of rgb leds, they can be used to control 3 times as many single color led's as well,
so 3 leds, 9 leds, or 12 leds. (depending on chip)
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I take it 4 rgb (12 LED) is the highest density you could get in a chip?
-Rimist (via Tapatalk)
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from the specific manufacturer.
these chips are the same thats used in the nodes, so when finished, they just hook up to the ssc. no flashing is needed
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can you say where you got them >.d9
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some comparison
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don't mind the wiring on the ss node in the picture, they wired it wrong. no wonder it was a bad pixel!
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Ah... Good place to start. I recall someone on here saying coding was their thing. Hopefully I get my hardware skills going enough to work a little collaboration and come up with a high density board... Say 128 pixel? Of course I'm blindly assuming that a significant part of the cost is in the chip.
-Rimist (via Tapatalk)
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surprisingly, no the bigget cost would be...
coming up with a circuit board. they aren't cheap!
and the material (in quanitity) to encase the nodes to make them waterproof. it seems like it wouldn't cost a lot, but who going to make just one node
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i think i can make better icycles than trying to splice wires on regular ss nodes.
that's one idea.
i have a nother idea that i'm not talking about just yet. (it has to do with my freestyle project)
and i want to experiment with single coor led controls as well
of course i'm sure new ideas will come to mind as well.
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Unfortunately, on my phone, so the chat room is read only mostly.
If the board is the largest cost, that actually gives me hope. I'm basically looking to put an entire string on a single board (I think the proper term might be a 128 pixel node) breaking it down, the cost might not be so bad. Same for the waterproofing, at least for the high density board. With everything being close together, it shouldn't take that much sealant.
-Rimist (via Tapatalk)
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well, the chips are surface mount... soic-8, soic-14, and soic-16
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Do you have a modelnumber of the various chips?
Wanna see if I can find them someplace... have a few ideas I want to fool around with as well...
/Stefan
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First breadboard circuit works as a smart string node fully functional
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Update..
http://vimeo.com/38966685
Credit for help from RJ, KiethTarpley, tbone123, n1st, and pk.
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Cool! good job.
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Looks good Chris.
Glad I could be of assistance.
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Chris thanks for sharing. I too was thinking about my wire frame animals but the cost of changing them over is crazy. Most of them are still incandescent. I check on the cost of moving them over to a solid color LED would and it was a few grand.
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Thats pretty awesome Chris. does the rainbow board provide the color changing or was that done over Pixelnet and the chip? not sure if i saw that answer in the thread.
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the rainbow spotlight is just a dumb rgb device. the project so far can be connected to pixelnet via a smart string controller, or via dmx using the LT-DMX-1809 controller from Ray. It was a proof of concept idea i had to make a display device that was compatible with the SS stuff.
also, all i have to do, is connect one wire to the 1804 chip, and it would supply the data stream on to the next device. (it could be another project like this, or a node, or module, or strip. or, this project could be at the end of the string of nodes. or even in the middle.
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so these dumb LED strings are capable of changing colors but all nodes change at the same time. is that correct? If so, i like this idea for the yard animals. I put two additional strings on my deer last year and it was just too much wire to look nice.
can the dumb strings change to any color based on the hex color value?
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Well, like I said before, this was just a proof of concept. I'd wait for rj's dumb string controller.
I'm just seeing what I can come up with using the chips as building blocks for display elements.
One of mg goals is to rgb led my wireframe deer. But I also have other ideas with fully controllable rgb meteor lights, and some other stuff.
As I come up with my findings I usually try to post in here so everyone can see.
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yeah no worries Chris. I'm just trying to figure out what you are doing. the dumb string controller is intriguing but it would require an RGB LED string and not just your run of the mill Home Depot LED's correct? forgive my ignorance. otherwise you could not change colors. I would definitely have a use for this as I only have limited use for smart strings at this point.
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I do not know the details of rj's designs. But I believe his dumb string controller would handle dc supplied rgb devices. Like a lot of people are buying the dumb flexible strips.
Btw, for anyone that doesn't know, dumb strips don't have a chip on them that can control parts of the string. Unlike the smart strings that do.
Example flex strips,
Smart string flex strips you can control the color for each individual led.
Dumb strips you can control the entire string' colors. But you don't have individual control.
In my post in the porch called dumb strips. I have a link to the ones I purchased. I plan on seeing if I can control those as well. I have a neat idea if I can.
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next episode of the smart string project!
this time I wanted to see how some plastic enclosures could handle being lit up by a smart string flex strip.
Video 1 - 1" thin wall PVC VS 3/4" thin wall PVC
http://vimeo.com/39176678
Video 2 - 1" thin wall PVC VS inside corner Vinyl Siding.
http://vimeo.com/39176706
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You need a little more light on the subject. I don't know what I'm looking at and unless these are the only display item you have on a cloudy moonless night with no street lights, this is not a realistic showing of what it would look like in a real display.
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it's just R&D, i'm trying different plastics to diffuse and apparrantly vinyl siding material is not a good choice.
i was hoping it was, b/c my house is white siding. how cool would that be to illuminate from behind the siding!!!
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I think that Dmoore already did something like that by using white coro on his house. I understand that it's just R&D but if you want the vid to be useful to others you might want to let a little light on the subject so people can see what you are doing along with some audio to help explain it as well.
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title should explain it... thinwall vs siding... you can see especially with the blue, the siding is not a good choice.
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I am having seizures. help.
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title should explain it... thinwall vs siding... you can see especially with the blue, the siding is not a good choice.
That's the problem dude. I don't have any idea what I'm looking at or which one is which. You know because you set it up and know which one is which but I don't have any idea what I'm looking at, title or not. All I see are random lights flashing around which means nothing to me or probably anyone else.
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You need to look closely at the videos. I believe I see two items in each, and a difference. The second video I believe the siding is the lower items....
It would be better to slow the items down, and bring the lighting up in the room.
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You need to look closely at the videos. I believe I see two items in each, and a difference. The second video I believe the siding is the lower items....
It would be better to slow the items down, and bring the lighting up in the room.
yes, you are right with the positions.
i can slow them down, but just wanted to do a quick video without being a long and drawn out thing.
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There is nothing wrong with doing a quick video but the video needs to be clear on what it is demonstrating. A voice description of what is happening would be helpful along with a view in the light so that we can see what we are looking at. Just showing two streams of llight in pitch black really shows nothing but two streams of light with no idea what is generating or diffusing the light or how it will look in a real display where there is some background light. The fact that you are aking video's is really cool and it wouldn't take much to make them eaqually useful as well.
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http://vimeo.com/39377203
using a smart string node to power dumb strips
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newest update to come tonight of a smart string project... it should be a good one!
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a little teaser while i hook things up.
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sorry, no video tonight : (
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slacker >:D
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just ran into a couple "technical difficulties"
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goodies came in the mail today
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oops, forgot pic
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Yea, sure you did. You could have just edited your previous post. I know that you are just fearing the post count challenge from Steve. ;D
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Glad to see you still working on this. Really curious to see how this all turns out.
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This year's Display element from the smart string Project.
10 Smart Arches run by only 10 SSC's
(I could run all 10 arches from one SSC, but I want it to be easy to setup.
(Still waiting on some connectors to arrive before I can assemble)
Next year's element...
Smart Icicles
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each arch...
-------------------------------------------------------------------inside 1" thinwall PVC to be illuminated-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 SSC -> TM1804 on an adapter pcb ------> TM1804 on an adapter pcb ------> TM1804 on an adapter pcb (do this until I reach 8 chips on adapter pcbs total)
attached to 3 sections of dumb flex strip
(about 1 ft of dumb flex strip)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
each adapter pcb :
holds a TM1804 chip (same as in the smart strings)
3 wire input from SSC or another pcb adapter board
3 wire output to another pcb adapter board
4 wire output to connect to 30cm section of dumb flex strip
SSC programmed as a smart string with 8 nodes
seen in software as 8nodes per arch (24 channels)
each section uses 180mA (all on white)
each section has 9 5050 RGBLED's
full arch uses ~1.5A @ 12VDC (all on white)
planning for 10 arches this year.
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And the pictures are where???????
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And the pictures are where???????
after it's assembled
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We have been waiting all summer for this. Christmas is coming soon. ;D
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That's ok, just give him time. He has a lot of work to do yet with his Halloween display. >:D
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I've been waiting on these...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320924714862
and these to come in from china
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200756261902
the pins, i'm soldering to the adapter pcb's and the cables plug right into them, and go to the dumb flex strips.
if a node fails, I can unplug the nodes, and leave the strips in place.
also, i'm using the 3 wire connectors to plug each node into the next (and to the SSC)
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I'm getting excited for next year. I thought there was a holiday in China last week or a couple weeks ago.
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PCB adapters
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0231.jpg)
TM1804 IC's
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0232.jpg)
4pin headers (circle ends)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0233.jpg)
Dumb Strip Adapters
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0234.jpg)
.1uF capacitors
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0235.jpg)
6.8k resistors
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0236.jpg)
sample node working
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0237.jpg)
almost 25m dumb strips
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0239.jpg)
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I'm not very good at Wheel of Fortune. :) Can I have a clue instead of a vowel?
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that's almost all of the components to build my arches
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after about 7 hrs of soldering soic8 chips to a pcb... I'm done with this part...
80 done
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0262.jpg)
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Cool.
It looks like you are making micro dumb string controllers using just the 1804 chip.
How much current can one of those puppies sink before it goes into meltdown?
How many 3-led sections per chip?
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i'm using 30cm of dumb flex. (3 sections of 3 rgbleds, or 9 led's total) @ 60mA per channel.
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next step was to solder on the 4pin headers on each side of the pcb...
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0263.jpg)
then attach the connectors onto the end of each section of flex strip...
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0265.jpg)
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OK, I see where you are going with this, and I like the idea. I am curious about cost comparisons, 8 sections of dumb string - pcbs - chips - connectors - time / per arch Vs 1 smart string and and 1 SSC.
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about $25.30 per Arch (not including the thinwall pvc, or the SSC)
EDIT:
I use 8 pairs of 3 core connectors to make the wiring harness easy to get to. I could remove them and lower the price $7.50
(i could also solder directly to the strips, solder directly to the pcb, but i chose this way to make to easier to test and assemble.
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Wow, a lot less than I thought. The time is the big factor, but could be worth the savings given the added flexability to not only assemble, but to also remove and replace a bad section quickly if needed. I was planning on doing arches next year, now it looks like I may have another option in that design. Can't wait to see some test videos.
Good Luck,
Steve
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Where are you getting those connectors?
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/200756261902
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320924714862
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300798914389
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<pop..
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/200756261902
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320924714862
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300798914389
Thanks Chris. BTW,how did that Halloween display go >:D As you can see form my other post, mine went ok until the last day :(
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I see that you have a solderless LED connector on the end of your string. What are you using that for?
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you mean this?
btw, i'd like to point out that in testing my dumb strips, the + and the R were correct, but the B and the G were backwards
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0265.jpg)
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Yea, that one.
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it's the interface between the wiring hardness and the dumb strip. i could just solder wires to the dumb strip pcb, but then it gets messy, and these make is so much easier, and relieves the strain of the wires.
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I guess that my question is, how are you using it. Unless I misread the description and that could very well be the case, how are you going to attached the plugin connector to it?
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make sense?
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0269.jpg)
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I guess if you are going to solder them to the connector then yea, it makes sense. How will these connectors deal with water?
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http://www.lowes.com/pd_23993-1814-PVC+20010++0600_0__?productId=3133107&Ntt=23993&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3D23993&facetInfo=
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I am looking forward to see how these turn out. <pop..
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I am looking forward to see how these turn out. <pop..
Me Too
<pop.. <pop..
Rick R.
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i'm getting there... my time is torn between ssc modding, smart arches (smart string project 2012) and my dumb string project (smart mini trees)
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Well....obviously we are not as concerned about the other projects so neither should you.
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<la..
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Well....obviously we are not as concerned about the other projects so neither should you.
with that comment in mind, i worked on modding my ssc's last night >:D
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<fp. Your killing us here. Can't your see we are <;d with anticipation?
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nodes in test rig... so far, 0 failed nodes
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0276.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0273.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0275.jpg)
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Your going to have alot of hanging pvc from your gutters :)
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these are for arches
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Cool
Lights
It really does have a DIY vibe about it <res.
Rick R.
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ok, i stand corrected. i had 6 failed nodes, but after quick touch ups with the solder, viola! 80 working nodes!
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This thread/project got me more anxious than waiting for the next 'The Walking Dead' episode!!
Leo
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Ya see Chris, you thought that it was just me looking foward to this and decided to do other things to despite me ;) Now you can see that it's not just me, but others as well and with what you have done to us, you should hang your head in shame. <fp. LOL
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(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0280.jpg)
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Functioning arch segment...
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0281.jpg)
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Got excited for a second. I thought there was a video attached.
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i'll assemble 7 more, then put them in the pipe. i'll even film it outside. (no audio though)
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i'll assemble 7 more, then put them in the pipe. i'll even film it outside. (no audio though)
You could sing LOL
Rick R.
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NO, HE CAN'T
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NO, HE CAN'T
Jealous of Chris?
;D
Rick R.
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hey, let's stay on topic in this thread...
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Apologies
{I had a much longer response but…..}
Rick R.
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Looking foward to the coop. the "blink-i-nator dumb segment controller" <pop..
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as I'm trying to finish up for this year, i keep think of next year's projects, as they are exciting as well...
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One arch done... a little late tonight to set it up outside and run a demo. it's functioning, and that's what counts...
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Great news !
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Until I see the Pics and or the vid, it means nothing.
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I still don't see that vid.
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Still waiting
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It's only been 5 days since he got it done...give him a break...he's probably off posting to some other forum running his numbers up! Just Kidding with ya Chris!! Hope to see it soon as this would be an option for me next year as I scrapped plans for some arches this year due to some unexpected travel with work. Hope everyone's plans are going better than mine!!
Duane
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Now that i got the assembly down (still have 9 more to build) I've been trying to work out my mini trees.
throwing out ideas here... what do you guy think of a tomato cage, cut down to about 2ft (maybe even about 2'4") wrapped with a white trash bag. then having some plastic rectangles pointing up from the bottom to light up the "white"
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Not sure I understand your intention. Are you planning on mounting the lights on the underside of the bottom of the trees facing down so that the light reflects off the plastic squares in effect creating an up-lighting\wash effect on the trees?
Also I have a question, if you take dumb strings and cut them up, add an ic for every segment, they are now not so dumb, but yet they are not truly smart either. So what are you going to call these? How about semi-smart strips (sss). Just a rookie's feeble mind meandering for what it is worth.
Oh, also dawned on me that the other benefit besides the ones mention previously about the setup, is that it will sure help keep the channel count down, yet give you the flexability you need to create chases on an arch or eves.
Keep up the great ideas and hard work. looking forward to seeing the video as well.
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I think that would look good, I am just trying to think of a "cover" that won't be so shiny. I think that a dull finish would look better, but that is just my opinion. The problem is if you are trying to keep it water proof I don't know what you would use. Light gray or white lycra would work, but not nearly as cheap and not water proof.
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like a small square of coroplast sitting at the bottom (but raised off the ground a couple inches so they dont sit in water) with the smart string plastic rectangles mounted on them facing straight up. surrounded by a tomato cage wrapped in white trashbag material. as the plastic rectangles light up, they light up the trashbag. trashbag is the only hing i cold think of to cover the cage and be white.
i guess dumb strip sections / nodes controlled by a smart string IC could be "tutored"?
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I used to build remote controlled gliders when I was younger. We used to use this stuff called Monokote to wrap the fuselage and wings. It is kind of like large rolls of shrink wrap. You can heat it up with a Teflon iron made for the hobby, or a heat gun. It will tighten up around the frame for a tight wrinkle free skin. It used to come in a matte white finish if I remember correctly. It is easy to work with and it is easy to repair if needed.
Just checked, http://www.hobby-lobby.com/monokote_426_ctg.htm, at $18 a for a 6 foot roll, it could be a little pricey though.
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Still building Segments
Still on track for starting Dec 7
23 of 80 done.
To conserve SSC's I've changed my 1SSC per arch design to 1 SSC per 2 arches.
1.44A per arch for the LED's and the electronics are well under .56A so I should be safe.
the SSC will be programmed as a Smart String Node that's 16 nodes long (2 arches)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0299.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0300.jpg)
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Nice Job
Looks like a lot of work
Rick R.
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the slow me down part is there are a few places with fine soldering to do. at least that's over. Now, it's just wire together the different wiring harnesses and tape it all together so it doesn't snag feeding into the pipe.
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Gonna make a video of how-to from beginning to end lol....Good job btw might try this for my arches also seems a bit less time consuming then wrapping lights around a piece of pvc.
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it's a little more expensive, but way less work, to go with the smart flex strips to go inside the thinwall pvc.
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I'm all for less work. :)
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it's a little more expensive, but way less work, to go with the smart flex strips to go inside the thinwall pvc.
Especially now with the grouping capability. How is your project coming?
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i still have yet to wire in the SSC's in the pipe, and place them outside to hook everything up
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ok, where is the vid of these new arches?
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still fighting my mega tree
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still fighting my mega tree
Sounds like my first year when we went live on Dec 7th.
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I've spiced enough nodes between last year, and this year to decide that i want to replace them for next year!
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That makes me concerned with mine as they are the older units. Do I use them as planned or just replace them with the newer units and use the ones I already have for something else.
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Looks interesting. Can you say where you got the chips from?
Thanks
Rob
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most of the components that make a smart string, you can get from Ray (i don't think he can sell the pcb's)
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Christmas is only about a week away. Where is the vid?
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+100
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<pop..
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you guys gotta make the rain stop.
stop!
STAHP!!!
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I feel for you guys that live in areas where you get a lot of rain this time of year. I was shutdown for 3 hours Saturday night while I waited for everything to freeze. I finally had to shut the blinds so I didn't have to watch the lost cars sit and read the scrolling message board.
Good video takes time.
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it's not so much about running the show in the rain. It's the opening up the battery box that hold the active hub, to plug in the cat5 cables for the arches... <fp.
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Ummm. There are things called umbrellas that keep the rain off the area around you :).
Sorry I couldn't help it. It rains 275 days a year here.
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Man.... I heard some really lame excuses before but this one gets top billing.
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dude, I placed my SSC's inside battery boxes to keep them dry. It has been raining like crazy until today, I have almost everything set up.
Tomorrow should finish this up.
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remember, last year i was ready like a week AFTER christmas <fp.
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remember, last year i was ready like a week AFTER christmas <fp.
Hmm... Is there a trend here?
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Maybe if you didn't have to mail MR 16's every day... ;)
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Ummm. There are things called umbrellas that keep the rain off the area around you :).
Sorry I couldn't help it. It rains 275 days a year here.
Is that all? I hear ya...gotta love the PNW!
Sorry Chris, you set yourself up. What are we up to 10 pages on this thread? <fp.
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Are they up yet???
What did I miss???
Sorry for the confusion, I am still a little light headed after waking up from passing out while holding my breath for the video >:D
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This is what he's really doing.
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LOL
<la..
I could just see him doing that,
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actually, I'm thinking of tearing it all down for this year... nothing's going right
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Don't give up!
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You can do it!!!!!
(got the mr16 today,thank you) 8)
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Many of us were ready to give up this year but we managed to push through. You will too. Hang tough.
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ok, took a break, cleared my mind... came back to this, and found my mistake in my cabling...
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In most frustrating situations taking a break is key.
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"Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... the tough get goin'! What the **** happened to the Delta (Chrisatpsu) I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh?"
Just a quote from one of my favorite motivational speeches. Anyway, we are here to support you, and believe you can do this! Why else would we be waiting with such anticipation? Heck, I would be there right now trying to help out if I didn't live clear across the country.
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In most frustrating situations taking a break is key.
+1
For me, beer helped... ;D Also talking to myself... :o
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a good video game of destruction helps :)
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I second the beer.
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A beer and Halo 4.....Sold!
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a good episode of the Borderlands helps me. Fun to watch there heads pop off.
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well, set up all the arches inside and ran them without a hitch.
set them back up outside, and didn;t turn them on yesterday b/c of the rain.
went to turn them on tonight, and no go. not a single arch lit. it was snowing hard, so i didn't want to open the battery box.
at least when it was acting up before, 3 of the arches still turned on...
so once i get some clear skies, i'll open it up, and check the pixelnet cable coming in, and also that it's getting power.
I actually finished WiW this evening, so was getting excited to run it.
Same Smart String Time... Same Smart String Channel...
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Ok, tonight's "late at night" work on the show is a happier note...
I found a clean break in one of my cables...
So my fix for now, is that I ran a cable from my eD to the Pixelnet Splitter (THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS!!!)
then a separate cable to each hub for now.
at 2:15AM i ran a little late night test with nothing going over channel intensity of 40, and they all lit up!
smooth slow fades through red, green, blue and white. and they all responded perfectly!
*****small pause while i check the weather for tomorrow...*****
ok, either snow, or clear skies tomorrow, so we will have a video!!!
now I if I can just put together the rest of this stuff <fp.
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I am glad to hear you were able to get it working, it really seems like you have spent a lot of time throughout the year on this and it will be nice to see it pay off for you. Sort of an early Christmas present. :-)
I have been following this thread throughout the year and wasn't ever really sure what you were doing until the last week or so and I want to make sure I am on the right track.
Did you basically take dumb strings and make small sections of dumb strings smart strings? I would assume that the new "nodes" you created required some sort of firmware, did you get this from RJ or do it yourself?
Most importantly, good luck tonight!!
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I took dumb strips, and cut them into 30cm sections.
then i'm using the TM1804 chips to control each section.
the 1804ic, are the same ones that are inside the smart string nodes, plastic rectangles, and metal squares.
there are no firmware to install, they just take the signal from the SSC, and control the lights.
to the SSC, one section of my Arch and one smart string node would look the same.
power requirements though, my my Arch section uses 9 leds instead of 1 or 3.
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most of my issues have been with a snapped wire, or water.
which gave me more idea for changed to these for next year (to be even more waterproof)
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The best I can do for now is pictures until it gets darker...
Don't mind my glitch in the mega tree. (it's 12ft tall, so maybe it's a mid-tree?)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0324.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0325.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0327.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0328.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0329.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0330.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0331.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0332.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0333.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0334.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0335.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0336.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0337.jpg)
(http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t438/chrisatpsu/IMAG0338.jpg)
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the dimness in the arches, is from being on a level 40 in vixen (out of 255)
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in the off season, i plan to also fix the small gaps between segments. (it had to do with not cutting any off the 3 core connectors, and still using them,)
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Cool Chris.
I must say I am now a believer. Great job. 10 months and it's ALIVE....
Steve
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vimeo will start converting in 12min
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We all want to watch the Vimeo queue too?
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http://vimeo.com/56180262
you mean this?
course now i'm noticing a screwy dmx signal to my incan mega tree
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it's up!
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Looks Great, It must feel good to finally get this done.
Glen
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an express, two aether II's, and about 12 more smart string elements to go! <fp.
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however, this smart string project is finished!
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that is just 15 to go, 5 each day will get you done for Christmas.
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Are those dumb strips
Cut into sections inside PVC?
Looks great BYW.
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Congrats Chris
Rick R.
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Are those dumb strips
Cut into sections inside PVC?
Looks great BYW.
thanks, they are 30cm sections of dumb strip powered by IC that comes in a smart string node (each section)
8 sections (3 colors)
7 arches
168 channels
Congrats Chris
Rick R.
thanks, Rick
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Now I am just wondering if Tom is going to man up and congrat you since he rode you so hard on this whole project :o
Of course I still have not seen him do any animation yet.
Rick R.
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Nice, Chris. Glad you finally got blinky.
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Alot of hard work paying off...
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CONGRATS! Never thought about lining an entire street with arches before... ;D That was a lot of work. Enjoy your blinky.
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I actually ran out of room. i made 10, but could only fit 7
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I actually ran out of room. i made 10, but could only fit 7
Still waiting the "I am not worthy" emoticon. Insert here. :D
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Now I am just wondering if Tom is going to man up and congrat you since he rode you so hard on this whole project :o
Of course I still have not seen him do any animation yet.
Rick R.
The new job is sucking up a great deal of my time so I haven't been on much lately so Congradulations Chris,they look good. That makes me wonder if I might use a similar design but use smart strips and the new grouping function of the controller. As for the animation, I was all set to go and was waiting for my buddyto stop b (as promised) and help me get the lights on the roof but he never showed and I ran out of time. >:D
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last year i was thinking of using the flex strips, but it felt like a waste of all those channels... (216 channels per arch vs 24 channels)
and grouping on flex strips just felt like i was stealing some of the power of the strips.
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Well, for this coming year it's all about the time. I really don't think that I would have the time to undertake the project that you did to build the smart dumb string units you built to create those arches and I'm not sure that I would save enough money to delay other projects that need to get done. On the next order I will purchase one flex strip along with the nodes and see how it works. My display is sort of on the bright side and at least for the next few years, much f my display will remain static so the arches need to look good in a fairly bright environment, at least for now.
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I have a video of my flex strip arches somewhere in the porch. 360degree view all around and some little extras. After the first one, it takes 10 minutes to build per arch (not counting SSC). And you can get a few more effects out of them than the single one. Whenever you have a couple of hours in front of you, you should give it a try.
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Congrats Chris!! Very nice effort....you should be proud!
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after it's been running for awhile, i actually like the gaps between the segments.
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Looks good Chris. Glad to see it working. I know you have been working on this for a while.