recommendation of a large grid of LED lights
RealLax
Posts: 14
I am currently in the early stages of a new Parallax project.
The main display area will need to be a large grid of multicolor LED lights. Initially it will be a square grid of LED lights, 10 by 10. But ideally that could grow, to 20 by 20, or 50 by 50, or even larger
Can anyone recommend an LED solution? Obviously I could just by the LEDs by themselves for the smaller grouping, but I'm assuming there are larger arrays of LEDs that are bought in groups.
Please recommend any large groups of LEDs that they have used with Parallax controllers. Ideally i want to be able to turn on and off each LED as well as adjust the brightness
This project is totally new territory, so any questions comments suggestions are welcome!!
The main display area will need to be a large grid of multicolor LED lights. Initially it will be a square grid of LED lights, 10 by 10. But ideally that could grow, to 20 by 20, or 50 by 50, or even larger
Can anyone recommend an LED solution? Obviously I could just by the LEDs by themselves for the smaller grouping, but I'm assuming there are larger arrays of LEDs that are bought in groups.
Please recommend any large groups of LEDs that they have used with Parallax controllers. Ideally i want to be able to turn on and off each LED as well as adjust the brightness
This project is totally new territory, so any questions comments suggestions are welcome!!
Comments
I do not if this is what you are looking for not
·Here is something to look at
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/DMD-7/345/DOT_MATRIX_DISPLAY,_8_X_8_.html
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Sam
I was hoping for something multi-colored...
Also from a control standpoint, it seems that would be awkward.. IF i had had three of them horizontally lined up, and i wanted to change the top line of lights, i would have to do it once for each "square". I was hoping in that situation, i would be able to do it just once for the full horizontal top line of LEDs
But at least that is somewhere to start!
These are led light bars
I just found these look at the data sheets for these
http://www.alliedelec.com/Catalog/Indices/Products.asp?sid=482A2B806E4EE17F&N=4294825807
Here are the bicolor one here is a link to them
http://cgi.ebay.com/10pcs-8x8-Dot-Matrix-3mm-dia-Bicolor-LED-Display_W0QQitemZ350058014828QQihZ022QQcategoryZ66954QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262
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Sam
Post Edited (sam_sam_sam) : 5/14/2008 9:11:06 PM GMT
should i be looking at all these pre-made 8x8 sets, or should i just get a large quantity of the single LEDs, and make my own matrix?
This one needs drivers .
·http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=683
And this one is already to go just need to interface to it.
Don't be fooled by the picture ( you don't get all those matrices -just one set)
·http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=760
Pete
Do you have a sketch of the setup you are making?· A while ago I created an RGB LED array for my living room.· You can read more about it on at http://www.parallax.com/tabid/606/Default.aspx·or check out an application note I created and posted at Brilldea (http://www.brilldea.com/resources.html) or the video on YouTube.
At the very moment, I am assembling a new RGB LED array system for my church.· The system is made up of three light boxes.· Each light box will have 4.8 meters of the RGB LED Ribbon (for sale at www.brilldea.com).· For this system I created a dedicated controller using the Propeller microcontroller and I created a new LED driver board I call LED Painter that uses the TLC5940 IC, same as the 16 Channel RGB LED Driver PCB.· Eventually both PCBs will also be for sale, but I got to get this system finished first.· The system for my church has a controller, call the Prop Blade, and three LED Painters in series.· This gives 144 unique control channels per window!!
LED, especially RGB LED, arrays are a lot of fun to program and play with.· The pain can be in the assembly and setup because there are so many wires and so many channels.· The cost of the LED system varies with the size of the array, obviously.·
I am updating my Propeller Driver for the TLC5940 so it is easily configured and easier to use.·
How are you going to control the display?· Is it algorithmically controlled (pre programmed routines for fades or wipes or color changes)?· Is it controlled by an outside source (DMX-512A, ethernet, other)?· What effects and looks do you want the RGB LED array to do?
Let me know if you have any other questions.· I attached a picture of the current design I am assembling.· In the picture you can see the RGB LED Ribbon, the Prop Blade (controller) and the LED Painter (LED driver with TI TLC5940).· Each RGB LED Ribbon segment is cotnrolled for red, green, blue.
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Timothy D. Swieter
www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com
One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
Thank you sharing this project Very Nice·
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Sam
The display part would be similar those from SparkFun (www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=760). The main difference is that those are 8x8, and I wanted to do something bigger, maybe 20x20, or even larger. I could use several of those SparkFun LEDs, but I'm not sure if that is the most efficient way to do it.
As far as the part to control it, there would be two modes. One would be an automatic program, where it would shift and change by itself. The other mode would be where the display changes based on outside sensors (touch, sound, movement, etc)
In looking for ways to describe things in my head, i found this: parallax.com/tabid/282/Default.aspx (or www.marcyrye.com/index.php?s=Interactive as well). That seems to have the concept of the grid of LEDs I was going for, but what I want to do is larger, more of something on a wall. Also, they are controlling each LED on it's own, instead of the single units from SparkFun. I mean, to do a 20x20 grid of multi-color LEDs as apposed to 3x3 gird of SparkFun units, would certainly be cheaper. Basically I'm trying to get as many LEDs as possible, and keeping it inexpensive. But at the same time, I want to retain as much control over each light as possible.
BTW, thank you all for all the suggestions thus far... now my little idea is getting bigger, but seeming more possible!
I am confused. You like the grid on the table, but you keep referencing the dot matrix unit from SparkFun. Do you want to have a larger wall grid of the smaller dot-matrix units? Boy I think costs would add up quickly on that one. I think that is a neat idea though, a "pixel" is the dot matrix unit and the grid is many of these "pixels".
For the idea above, I would probably design a little PCB to on the back of each dot matrix part from SparkFun. The system would need a controller. Then you would daisy chain so many DOT matrix parts together to make the wall. The whole wall probably wouldn't be daisy chained, but columns will. Each dot matrix could be controlled with an LED driver chip and a local micro (sx?). The main controller could use a Propeller and would have inputs from the various sensors you would like and outputs to the columns of the LED array.
Perhaps you can draw out what you want and attach a PDF or picture. It always helps me to draw things out and to think about the parts and their relationship to others as well as the cost.
Sam - thank you for the comment. In a week or so I will post a specific thread with more details, I don't want to steal this one, but was only trying to help RealLax get ideas.
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Timothy D. Swieter
www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com
One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
The reason I keep mentioning the SparkFun module is because if I just use LEDs, 25x25 that would be 625 LEDs. Would that be ridiculous/inefficient amount of LEDs to control? And I mean that from a wiring standpoint, not a programing standpoint. So I kept mentioning the SparkFun modules, because I wasn't sure if that would make things easier to wire.
Plan out the control and the wiring. I have built system that had ~3500 LEDs and was placed of a steep rocky side of a mountain in San Diego. It is all about the wiring, and control (and maybe I should add power distribution).
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Edit:· I should finish off my numbers.· There are 144 RGB LED segments in the system mentioned above.· Each segment has 3 RGB LEDs for a total of 432 RGB LEDs.· The number of LEDs you use depends on what look or effects you want to do, how powerful the LEDs are, budget, etc.
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Timothy D. Swieter
www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com
One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
Post Edited (Timothy D. Swieter) : 5/16/2008 5:25:41 AM GMT
Next questions:
1) Where is the best/cheapest place to by the RGB LEDs? Also, what specs should I be looking for? I think I want the LEDs to be in the 10mm range but may settle for 5mm if needs be.
Here is what I've seen thus far:
www.ledtronics.com/ds/sml13rgb/
tinyurl.com/574v4l
tinyurl.com/64e9pe
2) Other then the LEDs, what else would i need? I assume I would need the Propeller Proto board, and several LED drivers?
Would it be best to mount the LEDs to this:
tinyurl.com/5jrfeo
3) Any other thoughts, ideas, things to consider, etc?
...I just got paid today and it is hard to resist not using rent money to start buying LEDs.....
So most people plan 8x8, 16x16, 32x32, 64x64 if one is staying within a square format - because the data bus is 8 bit. There are ways to multiplex that minimize the demands for more microprocessor I/O lines; one is adding a ring counter for providing the column selection and this being triggered by merely one i/o pin rather than having the microprocessor perform the function of a ring counter.
As each column grows from 8 to 16 to 32 to 64 leds; the means to make them appear all on at the same time gets more complex and requires more and more speed, the possible addition of latches, the possible addition of reset circuitry.
As each row is supposed to appear constantly on, one also has to cycle faster than the flicker rate that the eye can see. So if the number of rows gets very large, one must begin to light two or more columns with independent data at nearly the same time.
It is a lot like juggling - any one can do one or two balls; but the more you add, the better you have to be. The technological scheme is very similar to digital TV. You end up with a horizontal output withing a vertical output.
And, as the power demands increase - you may find that it is better to drive each column and row with discrete transistors rather than ICs. ICs by their nature have multiple transistors in them and cannot adequately disapate the heat involved in switching higher power outputs. I have seen several schematics using transistors in darlington pair configurations to control both the columns and the rows.
A large display project may make you feel a bit like an electronic 'basket weaver' and the wiring and planning require a rigorous pattern of wiring.
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PLEASE CONSIDER the following:
Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······
Post Edited (Kramer) : 5/18/2008 5:54:56 AM GMT
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=722212
I bought (2) 64x32 displays so I can in theory combine them and have (1) 64x64 bi color display (or 4096 LEDs)
Robert
I will certainly let everyone know my findings but figure I will need at least a month or two to post something.