How many pixels for radio station sign?

[aplant92]

Sorry if this is the wrong area, couldn't see any other relevant boards in custom creations!

Roughly how many pixels wide and high are these sorts of signs normally? I've got a fair few pixels left over so thinking I might make one! I have both strips and the individual bulb ones.

Also, ideas as to what I should mount it on/in and how I should get it to sit in the front yard?

 

[David_AVD]

My tune-to controller PCB is designed for a regular 16 x 32 pixel P10 panel, but is displays the words one at a time due to the size. It's a simple board that plugs in with no configuration required apart from selecting the frequency and optionally the word colours.

If you want to go bigger (2x2 panels for example) then a HC-1 board is an option, but you will need to deal with the crappy Chinese software. It's not too onerous though and I have a bit of a guide on da-share.

 

[aplant92]

I was thinking of just hooking them all up together and then running them through XLights as a model that displays the station the whole time - is this a bad idea/hard to do?

 

[ryanschristmaslights]

One idea might be to use pieces from your spare pixel strips shining from behind a sheet of coro, with the non-text areas blacked out? @cdjazman's Merry Christmas sign topic might give you some inspiration.

Alternatively, LED Panels (P10, etc) are good for this sort of thing. I made a sign out of panels totalling 96*48 pixels, which in addition to the FM frequency also cycles through display dates and times.
View media item 463

Adelaide Mini 2017 - Battery-powered 'tune to' matrix

• ryanschristmaslights
• Aug 5, 2017
• 2017 adelaide battery hub75 led panels mini p8 p8 panels ryanschristmaslights standalone

Presented by ryanschristmaslights. A portable matrix that runs from a 5VDC battery and...

 

[aplant92]

They're some great suggestions, let me investigate.

I'd be leaning more toward the LED panel though I think (I've seen enough coroflute to last me a lifetime!)

 

[Boof63]

First sign was coro going to 2x1 p10 panels this using info above in video.
Coro (5mm) made box with folds to create all sides.
Sign was cut out of front face = "Tune to 99.0 FM" used 20 pixel nodes (3 led per node- rectangle).
sprayed painted it black then slid another piece of 3mm in between lights and front to diffuse.
Worked very well and still have it in shed as backup, couple of bricks in bottom to keep it stationary!! when using it.
Hope this helps
Cheers Boof63

 

[aplant92]

Thanks for the info boot, I'll consider that too!

@ryanschristmaslights do you have suggestions for where I can buy those panels? Are they waterproof?

 

[ryanschristmaslights]

My panels are from Linsn LED http://www.linsnled.com/ , they are 1/4 scan, outdoor panels (waterproof from the front, when the included gasket is attached to the rear). They are P8, which are a little bit smaller (with leds closer together) compared to P10 panels. I place the tune-to sign near the kerb so P10 seemed too big (a longer distance required for readability).

Some different sized LED panels can be seen in this video:

Adelaide Mini 2017 - Light Types: from Pixels to LED Panels

• ryanschristmaslights
• Jul 26, 2017
• 1
• 2017 adelaide darylc mini panels pixel bullets pixel nodes pixel strip pixels rgb

Presented by darylc. Forms of pixels (strip, modules and strings/nodes) and led panel sizes.

You'll need a HC-1 panel controller like @David_AVD mentioned in his earlier post to run a sign like mine on its own. If you want to control it in a sequencer like xLights, you'll need something else. Compatibility of certain LED Panels and controllers is something you'll need to consider, too. HC-1 supports lots of panel types, if you're happy with a standalone sign: https://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/LED-Panel-compatibility

 

[marmalade]

i've just finished a sign made from 16 rows of 60 led/m strips. 1 metre wide, took a few days to build a case for it,and running from either a pixelstick or T1000 chinese controller with an sdcard. Even at this resolution it's very readable from the street.

 

[aplant92]

Hey Marmalade, do you happen to have an pictures?

 

[marmalade]

updated..

 

[aplant92]

Oh wow that looks great, what did you use for the enclosure?

 

[marmalade]

7mm ply from bunnings, glued & screwed. Got the piece of smoked acrylic free from a local plastics place for free but should be able to get a piece for $20 if you look hard enough.

Leds are just mounted on 3mm mdf painted black, that's all you really need if hanging it in a window.

 

[Cologne LED]

Oh wow that looks great.

 

[Cologne LED]

LED Panels are good for this sort of thing.