Controlling and Synhronizing Christmas Lights with Music...
Jarrett
Posts: 9
Is this chip capable? Anyone tried it? I know about the relay boards/circuits that are required to switch AC but the audio sync is my biggest concern.
Thanks for any help.
Jarrett
Thanks for any help.
Jarrett
Comments
it depends on your demands about the complexity what the lights should do synchronized to the music.
switching 3 or 4 channels on/off on different frequencies of the music - you would not even need a propeller to do that.
Chuck Rice built a halloween Skelly that open/shuts its mouth synched by music
best regards
Stefan
Yes, the Propeller is capable of many great things. Last Christmas I did a LED and music synchronization. Check out the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGcelkoGySs There are more details about this on my Brilldea web site along with an Instructables on how I created it.
Now, in my system the Propeller was actually bored. What I mean is that there wasn't much for it to do. But with the way the Propeller, the cogs and SPIN is structured it made it real easy to create this system and to get it working. In my layout I did the light/music programming on my PC. I used Vixen lights that many other holiday light/music programmers use. My PC then sent data with DMX-512A to the Propeller. The Propeller processed this and changed the LED intensities appropriately. You could also setup the Propeller to algorithmicly change the lights for fading or wiping or random looks, I did that in another system. You could also add sensor to detect people or movement or audio and adjust the look on the wall too.
Controlling the AC isn't a problem either. I am working through another project and got the zero crossing and triac firing code working in no time.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions because I enjoy this topic.
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com
Let me add, that you can control the "timming" using SMPTE, that will produce the exact secuences of DMX at the exact time, just it´s done here www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ki8SUTulV8
It´s made also with 17 propellers.
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Regards.
Alberto.
BTX - isn't your installation playing back from an SD or similar? I thought I saw something in a thread from you once on this.
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com
Yes, the videos are in a SD card, but there is a SMPTE signal controlling the exact moment, that each "short video" is shooted by a DMX signal into my controller box.
Sorry because my demo is in Spanish....if not, you could see that in the momment that the singing people say some words, it´s appears in the screen.
In your case, or in the Stefan case, I mean, you could shoot your DMX effect with a SMPTE signal, to get it in syncro better and previously programmed.
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Regards.
Alberto.
timothy, i think there is a dead link in the instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/SP3E53LFMMCYIJ0/
this should be the link to step 2 of the instructable.
do you have control over this page?
16 channels of control of 120V LED Xmas Lights is a good goal. Are you designing your own hardware? Are you buying hardware off the shelf?
If you are buying the hardware you can purchase something like this: http://www.efx-tek.com/topics/fc-4.html and then control it from a Propeller Protoboard. The FC-4 can be daisy chained. I haven't used it yet myself. If you are designing your own hardware than check out the Nuts & Volts Article Jon Williams did a year or two ago. The article is on the Parallax web site and I think it was titled something along the lines of Christmas Light fantastic or similar.
Always keep in mind you are playing with 120V AC, be extra careful.
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com
I remember this issue... ill have to dig it up.
$90?!?!? for the FC-4 yikes! id rather take a shot at designing a dimming circuit myself.
on the vixen site the first feature is "Support for a wide range of DIY controllers, expanding
continuously" Is there a more specific name for these controllers?
the link works now...
What voltage is the led painter? are the led lights 5?12v?
I am wondering if it would be possible to adapt that circuit to do the same with 120V with a different chip?
Post Edited (Jarrett) : 11/29/2008 12:30:24 AM GMT
I have been wanting to design AC controlled hardware to go along with the LED Painter. It will be some times before I get to it though.
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com
I get stucked, looked at all of it. I like'd the music too, which band was that ?
How are you coming along Jarrett? What will your 16 channels be controlling? Lights on a tree? Lights on a house? Stage?
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com