random
New elf
Hi ACL people 
My name's Geoff, I live in Sydney and work as an electronics engineer. A friend sent me a link to the GE light hack and this got me interested in RGB lighting but the cost is prohibitive (string of 50 is about US$100 plus $40 shipping from USA, $2.40 per node!). The search for cheaper options led me to several forums and I have ordered a string of 200 WS2801 pixels from Ray with the intention of building an RGB matrix on my balcony as I live in a 3rd floor unit. While I wait for the pixels to arrive I am thinking of what sort of things I'd like to display in order to knock the socks off my neighbours, I don't usually do anything for Christmas lighting-wise as the cheap sh1t you buy from chain stores is garish and flashes in an annoying way. RGB pixels on the other hand is something an engineer can get excited about
My intention is to have an Atmel ATMega controlling my matrix, I use these every day at work so making some magic happen with pixels shouldn't be too hard I did buy a couple of DMX to WS2801 from Ray as well in case PC control makes sequence development easier. Ultimately I don't want the display to rely on PC though, it would be much nicer as a standalone device.
Cheers
Geoff
My name's Geoff, I live in Sydney and work as an electronics engineer. A friend sent me a link to the GE light hack and this got me interested in RGB lighting but the cost is prohibitive (string of 50 is about US$100 plus $40 shipping from USA, $2.40 per node!). The search for cheaper options led me to several forums and I have ordered a string of 200 WS2801 pixels from Ray with the intention of building an RGB matrix on my balcony as I live in a 3rd floor unit. While I wait for the pixels to arrive I am thinking of what sort of things I'd like to display in order to knock the socks off my neighbours, I don't usually do anything for Christmas lighting-wise as the cheap sh1t you buy from chain stores is garish and flashes in an annoying way. RGB pixels on the other hand is something an engineer can get excited about
My intention is to have an Atmel ATMega controlling my matrix, I use these every day at work so making some magic happen with pixels shouldn't be too hard
I did buy a couple of DMX to WS2801 from Ray as well in case PC control makes sequence development easier. Ultimately I don't want the display to rely on PC though, it would be much nicer as a standalone device.Cheers
Geoff
