Recent content by zeph

So this puts 3 single-color LEDs in series, and uses constant current drivers, thus allowing single pixels at 12v. That's a very interesting option and a new design. Think of it this way. Peak instantaneous current is pretty much the same regardless of color (thanks to the constant current...

Good info, FastEddy. You've covered the basics very well and at most I could hope to add some perspective. One note is that I've never seen 12V pixel strings or strips with 20ma/color, probably due to heat dissipation, so for pixels the first and last options (5V@20ma/color and 12v @...

Ray's default pixel spacing on strings is usually around 100mm as you guessed, tho you can ask him for custom spacing (I got 150mm for my eaves). Be aware that these are assembled by hand, and there can be a bit of variance, so the lights may not line up exactly between strings as you get...

Over on another forum, we're trying to decipher the protocol for some pixel-ish lights sold by Walmart in the US. It's a self clocked serial shift register format with a single data wire, in a niche like the 2811, but not using that chip's bit level signalling protocol. So far it looks like...

Where can one find LEDEDIT? I'd like to try the program before deciding on getting the T-1000S controller, if possible. Assuming that I'll be able to try the software out myself I'll reserve my other questions for the hardware (mostly). When you refer to output 1 and output 2 in the file...

Does the ECG keep the pixel clock going even when it's not sending out data?

I would be curious to hear more about why...

For the very technically inclined who want to look over the shoulder of a couple of folks who are freshly rolling their own DIY (for Mac's), diyblinky.com is interesting. Skip and Charles are designing a whole series of new boards, with their own firmware, protocols, sequencer software etc -...

First - Great Work! Very well done and useful. However, I have to agree with the 'Doc, it would be best to totally drop the comparison of DC + and - to AC power and neutral. They really are not the same concepts in so many ways. This is not just nit picking for professional engineers, I...

Re: ACL EL Panel for ACL T-Shirt Bulk Buy 2012 March How bad is shipping from AUS to USA? What I'm wondering is the diff between BULK to AUS, followed by individual packages to US addresses, versus Bulk to US, followed by individual packages domestically. I have no idea if the latter is a...

Have a look at this: http://www.mp3car.com/hardware-development/121995-custom-usb-parking-sensor-interface-formally-pdc-usb.html and this: http://ishankarve.blogspot.com/2011/06/decoding-ultrasonic-parking-sensor.html It looks like the unit *might* give 4 eight-bit ranges in centimeters, with...

David, is that the data from the sensor electronics to the display head? It looks like there's a consistent falling edge, but the rising edge can be about 1/3 or 2/3 of the cycle. Looks like around 32-33 bits. Is this the full (repeating) pattern or only a fragment? Does the pattern vary as...

Some people have used low power lasers and cheap ccd cameras to detect presence and distance (via parallax - face both in the same direction a few cm apart - which pixels are illuminated depends on distance). Easy to get reasonable resolution in the range you want. The laser can be pulsed...

Expense and especially robustness are issues (especially their combination - I would hate for a rain to destroy something that expensive!). But the "width of field" should be excellent; just think of it as scores of very narrow range sensors in one package.

I have heard of people putting a LED above the (usually top facing) light sensor, to turn off the light during shows. It would be mostly invisible, just a two conductor cable going up the post. It would fail soft (no power = normal operation). No lasers. And most of the street lights I've...