Small controller for stand-alone use

[Iain]

Hi all,

next year I want to kill 2 birds with one stone - my pool lights are dead and I'd like to replace them. What if I could integrate them into next years' show?! Plus, off-the-shelf LED pool lights are ridiculously priced ($400 each and I need 2), I bet I could make some for a 10th of the cost and lots of time which I will conveniently not budget for...

So anyway I would like to use a small WS281x controller that can sit with a simple on/off program for 11 months of the year, which I can control with E131 or DMX as part of my show next December. Maybe something that will run from a plug pack I can mount in a small waterproof box near the pool.

Any thoughts on such a controller that can work "standalone"? No light shows, just turn on to a preset colour & brightness or something.

thanks

 

[AAH]

A Pi and rPi-28D will allow you to do this. It's got DMX and 2811 outputs as well as an onboard real time clock so you can dump a schedule for the entire year on there and leave it to its own devices if desired.

 

[Iain]

That DMX output looks like it's for driving other controllers, but can it be used to receive as well? i.e. drive this from another controller? Or would I just unplug the pool pixels and plug them into my (not-yet-existing) main controller at Christmas time?

thanks!

 

[AAH]

The DMX output can be used for your existing lighting or your non existent Christmas lighting. It's a data output only whereas the Ethernet on the Pi is bi-directional like all Ethernet. The DMX stuff can get daisychained up to 1.2km in theory and also up to 30 boards also in theory. Depending on the schedule that you were running on FPP on the Pi you could be running your pool lights and/or Christmas lights.

 

[Iain]

ah I was thinking of using the Pi as a slave at Christmas to some other master controller, but I could use the Pi to control everything...