Thanks @cgracey ! It's all powered by your Propellers! A Raspberry Pi sends the audio to a FM radio transmitter. It also sends E1.31 ethernet packets synchronized to the music to the 8 P2 light controllers I have throughout the yard. The 4 singing trees are all powered by two P1s. They get DMX512 data from the P2 controller running the arches. There is another 1200 pixel matrix, 350ft of lights on the fence, and 8 tree wraps that just wouldn't fit in frame for the video.
A single P2 could run everything, but the display is spread out over about 36,000sq ft. Power distribution and ws2811 signaling is the limiting factor. It's just easier, cheaper, and more reliable to distribute those with ethernet cords, 110v extension cords and additional P2 controllers.
The camera just doesn't capture how crisp it all looks. By the time you adjust the camera to capture the color, you lose the temporal detail of the lighting. The entire display plays at 40 frames per second. It looks incredibly fluid. Better than I had ever hoped.
The fun that I have had learning to program the P1 and P2 to do this stuff has truly been one of the best joys of my life.
Cool! I love working on this stuff, too. It's like playing Sudoku everyday, but you get to invent the solution to a problem, which is like a puzzle, in itself, and then you solve the puzzle. Lots of creative adventure.
I wish we could effectively monetize that experience so we could build more chips. It would be great to have a P2 that runs at maybe two GHz and has tons of memory, more cogs, and even better analog.
Congratulations. This is really impressive, not only the great show itself but also the story behind it.
@ke4pjw said:
The fun that I have had learning to program the P1 and P2 to do this stuff has truly been one of the best joys of my life.
Being creative is one of the basic needs of humans. The Propeller is not only a very good example of an end product of such creativeness but also a great tool for others to be creative.
Comments
Just fabulous, Terry
Thanks @Tubular !
It wouldn't be Christmas without showing off a Christmas song. So, this is my submission to the Xlights Around The World Project
Now I am off to finish version 2 of the light controller.
That's a pretty amazing presentation! Good job, Terry!
Thanks @cgracey ! It's all powered by your Propellers! A Raspberry Pi sends the audio to a FM radio transmitter. It also sends E1.31 ethernet packets synchronized to the music to the 8 P2 light controllers I have throughout the yard. The 4 singing trees are all powered by two P1s. They get DMX512 data from the P2 controller running the arches. There is another 1200 pixel matrix, 350ft of lights on the fence, and 8 tree wraps that just wouldn't fit in frame for the video.
A single P2 could run everything, but the display is spread out over about 36,000sq ft. Power distribution and ws2811 signaling is the limiting factor. It's just easier, cheaper, and more reliable to distribute those with ethernet cords, 110v extension cords and additional P2 controllers.
The camera just doesn't capture how crisp it all looks. By the time you adjust the camera to capture the color, you lose the temporal detail of the lighting. The entire display plays at 40 frames per second. It looks incredibly fluid. Better than I had ever hoped.
The fun that I have had learning to program the P1 and P2 to do this stuff has truly been one of the best joys of my life.
Merry Christmas!
--Terry
Cool! I love working on this stuff, too. It's like playing Sudoku everyday, but you get to invent the solution to a problem, which is like a puzzle, in itself, and then you solve the puzzle. Lots of creative adventure.
I wish we could effectively monetize that experience so we could build more chips. It would be great to have a P2 that runs at maybe two GHz and has tons of memory, more cogs, and even better analog.
Congratulations. This is really impressive, not only the great show itself but also the story behind it.
Being creative is one of the basic needs of humans. The Propeller is not only a very good example of an end product of such creativeness but also a great tool for others to be creative.