DMX SSC?

[lrhorer]

Hey, I have a question.  Could the PIC in an SSC be re-flashed to handle plain DMX-512?  I have an idea for an application that only requires about 50 pixels or so.  That is enough to make it too expensive and too large to control via a DC DMX Dimmer, but much smaller than justifies an ETD.  I've already posted a request for a couple of old USB dongles, but DMX USB dongles can be had off E-Bay for a small outlay.  (Plus I have a couple of spares sitting around.)

If this works, I think there might be a demand out there for single or double string applications to a maximum of 170 pixels.  I'm designing a decorative lamp fixture.  Someone the other day mentioned wearable pixels.

[CaptainMurdoch]

What player are you using?  Some can use those USB rs485 dongles to output PixelNet.

EDIT:  I saw you say Pi Zero in another thread.  If you hookup a rs485 chip to the onboard serial port on the Pi GPIO header, you may be able to use it to send PixelNet.  I need to test that sometime on the zero but I think FPP supports PixelNet on the onboard serial, IIRC.

[lrhorer]

What player are you using?

It would be FPP.

Some can use those USB rs485 dongles to output PixelNet.

Wow.  Really?  That would be slick.  I have a couple of Anyma clones and a couple of DMXKing Micro USB controllers I won't be using next year.  Do you have any idea if those would work?  It would even allow one to go as high as 4096 channels / 1365 pixels.  Way cool.

EDIT:  I saw you say Pi Zero in another thread.  If you hookup a rs485 chip to the onboard serial port on the Pi GPIO header, you may be able to use it to send PixelNet.  I need to test that sometime on the zero but I think FPP supports PixelNet on the onboard serial, IIRC.

That wouldn't be too shabby, either.

[jnealand]

I bought a couple of devices like this last year (from a different seller) and have successfully used them to test pixelnet strings using a 4 port hub. 

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There is also work going on to drive a small quantity of 5v pixels direct from a RPI.  That may be something you might be interest in.  I do not know more on this just saying I have seen posts about the activity.

[lrhorer]

Hmm.  'Certainly economical.  This is in the planning stage, so all options are open.

[CaptainMurdoch]

FPP supports driving both ws2801 and ws281x/tm1804 pixels connected directly to the Pi GPIO header.  There was an issue with the Pi v2 B but that has been resolved in the master branch so the v2 B works now and we expect the Zero does as well since it is more like a B+ than a v2B.