P5 Build...

[slw2206]

@merryoncherry ...so you were right, I am taking on more projects. Gotta have something to keep busy

I bought 16 outdoor P5 panels and have them all screwed and wired, waiting for an "enclosure". I saw a number of designs on the forums of various builds so once the weather warms up a bit (21F here this morning) I'll get to building a suitable outdoor enclosure.

As far as electronics and power for these panels, I have a couple questions that I could use input on:

1. Can someone post a reasonable amp draw for these panels? I'll probably run them at 30-40% brightness if they're anything like the bullet pixels. I bought 3 350W PSUs (and have a spare 600 too) so I think I'm covered, but I don't want to go overkill either if I can use a PSU elsewhere in my setup.
2. Can I use the Pi4 I already have in my main controller box to control these panels? I also run FPP from that Pi4 so not sure if it'll be too much or if there's ample CPU power. Older threads (referencing older Pi's) said you need to get a standalone for panel display, but most of the threads I read were 2-3 years old.
3. What else do I need to know before I get too deep into this? On the software side are there items with the setup and programming of these panels that I need to know?

As always, thanks guys. Pulling this stuff together is going very well and I think I'll be ready for Xmas with a decent display!

 

[Indigogyre]

@merryoncherry ...so you were right, I am taking on more projects. Gotta have something to keep busy

I bought 16 outdoor P5 panels and have them all screwed and wired, waiting for an "enclosure". I saw a number of designs on the forums of various builds so once the weather warms up a bit (21F here this morning) I'll get to building a suitable outdoor enclosure.

I used some 2x2 clear pine as an internal support and then wrapped it with 1x4 pvc trim from Home Depot. I'll grab the sign from storage and then can post some pics of it. It's ugly and worked.

As far as electronics and power for these panels, I have a couple questions that I could use input on:

1. Can someone post a reasonable amp draw for these panels? I'll probably run them at 30-40% brightness if they're anything like the bullet pixels. I bought 3 350W PSUs (and have a spare 600 too) so I think I'm covered, but I don't want to go overkill either if I can use a PSU elsewhere in my setup.

When I grab my tune to, I can run a full white test on a 2x2 matrix to give you a better understanding how much it draws on all white.

1. Can I use the Pi4 I already have in my main controller box to control these panels? I also run FPP from that Pi4 so not sure if it'll be too much or if there's ample CPU power. Older threads (referencing older Pi's) said you need to get a standalone for panel display, but most of the threads I read were 2-3 years old.

So, while you bought the panels and put them together there is no sign of how you plan to drive them. There are different matrix controllers that can be used from colorlight, to octoscroller to some others which I forget at the moment. I drive all my panels from colorlight cards personally. They have different use cases and different requirements. Personally I would recommend a separate PI 3/4/5 whatever to drive the matrix as they tend to give cleaner and more responsive results, in my opinion. A simple 100mb usb ethernet adaptor can be used for normal networking while the onboard 1G would need to go to the colorlight card. The colorlight card would need to be configured for the matrix for it to work properly. Plus you would need to configure FPP on the PI to drive the matrix. It sounds more complicated than it really is.

1. What else do I need to know before I get too deep into this? On the software side are there items with the setup and programming of these panels that I need to know?

See above.

 

[slw2206]

Ah I forgot... Colorlight 75E

 

[SmartAlecLights]

This is what happens when you go overboard