diychristmas.org wiki - User contributions [en]

Wiring Smart Pixels

2015-09-07T17:26:30Z

Ronp5683: /* Basic Recommendations */

The most important part of your show is the wiring. This heavily affects the cost, ease of setup/take down, and how easy it is to fix problems. It is important that you thoroughly understand wiring, before you choose how you want to layout your show.

== Basic Recommendations ==

First, let me list some of the basic recommendations as a starting point for your display.

1) Only drive fifty 5Vdc pixels without power injection (assumes standard 60mA per pixel).

2) Only drive one hundred 12Vdc pixels without power injection (assumes standard 60mA per pixel).

3) Do not use ground loops in your power.

4) Use Ethernet cable, a twisted pair, for control signals (control/ground)

5) Multiple small controllers around the yard minimize wiring and cost.

6) Finally, you should be able to measure the current to your strings and determine the voltage at the end of a string. For pixels without internal regulators the voltage drop at the end of the string should be no more than 10%, 4.5Vdc for 5Vdc and 10.8Vdc for 12Vdc. The maximum voltage drop for strings with built in regulators depends upon the minimum input voltage for the regulator, so check the specifications for your specific pixels.

== Wiring Methods ==

'''Direct Power'''

By far the least expensive method to drive smart pixels is with a large power supply powered through your controller. The only other components required is a power cable to the pixels. It is recommended that you use 16AWG extension wire in lengths of 10-15 feet, which is cheapest bought as an extension cord. The only cost for this layout is the controller, large power supply and the wire.

[[File:Wiring_Direct_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply'''

If the pixels are further away from your controller, it is best to use a local power supply and Ethernet cable for the control lines. If you use Ethernet cable to drive the control signals, with 100 ohm source termination, it has been demonstrated to work to at least 100 feet. The drive chip used was an 74ACT541 versus the standard 74HCT541. The ACT parts have more current drive, which will improve your ability to drive the signal further. The local power supply adds some additional cost for power.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply with Pixel Extender'''

In electronic engineering, best practice for signals that go more than a couple feet is to add a differential driver/receiver pair (RS-422/485). These drivers make the signal more immune to noise and allow the signal to be driven further. For pixel data rates (approximately 1MHz), the expected distance is 1000 feet. These also add the benefit of allowing the ground between your lights and controller to vary up to ±7Vdc. By far this is one of the best methods to drive strings. It will always work at any distance, the input to the display element is an Ethernet cable and power is through an extension cord. There are a couple controllers available with pixel extenders built in. This adds additional cost for the buffer/receiver boards.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Pixel_Extender_.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet'''

This method allows you to use one cable for both power and control lines. The power over Ethernet specifications is written for use with 48Vdc and 56Vdc power supplies at 600mA maximum current. The higher the voltage, the longer you can make the cables with out any issues. For use with 5V and 12V strings without the DC to DC converter, you need to check current in the cable and voltage at the last pixel. This method is not recommended for 5V pixels.

This is really best used with two power supplies, a high voltage power supply at the controller and a small DC to DC converter at each string. The high voltage on the cable minimizes the current required to drive the lights. For example, if you have a string of 50 - 5Vdc pixels, the current at the string is 3 amperes maximum (power = voltage x current) or 15 watts. The amount of current varies with the voltage as shown below:

12V = 1.25 amperes

24V = 0.625 amperes

36V = 0.417 amperes

48V = 0.313 amperes

The Ethernet jacks are rated at 1.5 amperes, and normally two pins are used. Nominally for commercial equipment the connectors are derated by 15 percent to 3.0 x 0.85 = 2.5 amperes. This would be the peak current through the cable.

When choosing a DC to DC converter make sure that the module can support 3 amperes of continuous current. The LM2596 is a good example of what not to buy, it supports 3 amperes peak, with 1 ampere of continuous current.

[[File:Wiring_POE.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet with Pixel Extender'''

This is just a repeat of the above version with pixel extenders. This adds the benefits as previously mentioned of distance and ground variance.

[[File:Wiring_POE_Pixel_Extender.PNG|600px|Left]]

== Wiring and Controllers ==

Another aspect of wiring to consider is the type of controller you buy. A controller may support 1 to 4 universes of lights or 170 to 680 pixels per output. So this would affect your layout of your wiring. For example, in the picture below, you can wire four mini-trees with each using one output, or all four using the same output. The first version allows you to use a common power supply if the trees are close, and the second requires power to be injected into the string.

[[File:Mini-Tree_Layout.PNG|600px|Left]]

Wiring Smart Pixels

2015-07-08T02:26:04Z

Ronp5683:

The most important part of your show is the wiring. This heavily affects the cost, ease of setup/take down, and how easy it is to fix problems. It is important that you thoroughly understand wiring, before you choose how you want to layout your show.

== Basic Recommendations ==

First, let me list some of the basic recommendations as a starting point for your display.

1) Only drive fifty 5Vdc pixels without power injection.

2) Only drive one hundred 12Vdc pixels without power injection.

3) Do not use ground loops in your power.

4) Use Ethernet cable, a twisted pair, for control signals (control/ground)

5) Multiple small controllers around the yard minimize wiring and cost.

6) Finally, you should be able to measure the current to your strings and determine the voltage at the end of a string. For pixels without internal regulators the voltage drop at the end of the string should be no more than 10%, 4.5Vdc for 5Vdc and 10.8Vdc for 12Vdc. The maximum voltage drop for strings with built in regulators depends upon the minimum input voltage for the regulator, so check the specifications for your specific pixels.

== Wiring Methods ==

'''Direct Power'''

By far the least expensive method to drive smart pixels is with a large power supply powered through your controller. The only other components required is a power cable to the pixels. It is recommended that you use 16AWG extension wire in lengths of 10-15 feet, which is cheapest bought as an extension cord. The only cost for this layout is the controller, large power supply and the wire.

[[File:Wiring_Direct_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply'''

If the pixels are further away from your controller, it is best to use a local power supply and Ethernet cable for the control lines. If you use Ethernet cable to drive the control signals, with 100 ohm source termination, it has been demonstrated to work to at least 100 feet. The drive chip used was an 74ACT541 versus the standard 74HCT541. The ACT parts have more current drive, which will improve your ability to drive the signal further. The local power supply adds some additional cost for power.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply with Pixel Extender'''

In electronic engineering, best practice for signals that go more than a couple feet is to add a differential driver/receiver pair (RS-422/485). These drivers make the signal more immune to noise and allow the signal to be driven further. For pixel data rates (approximately 1MHz), the expected distance is 1000 feet. These also add the benefit of allowing the ground between your lights and controller to vary up to ±7Vdc. By far this is one of the best methods to drive strings. It will always work at any distance, the input to the display element is an Ethernet cable and power is through an extension cord. There are a couple controllers available with pixel extenders built in. This adds additional cost for the buffer/receiver boards.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Pixel_Extender_.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet'''

This method allows you to use one cable for both power and control lines. The power over Ethernet specifications is written for use with 48Vdc and 56Vdc power supplies at 600mA maximum current. The higher the voltage, the longer you can make the cables with out any issues. For use with 5V and 12V strings without the DC to DC converter, you need to check current in the cable and voltage at the last pixel. This method is not recommended for 5V pixels.

This is really best used with two power supplies, a high voltage power supply at the controller and a small DC to DC converter at each string. The high voltage on the cable minimizes the current required to drive the lights. For example, if you have a string of 50 - 5Vdc pixels, the current at the string is 3 amperes maximum (power = voltage x current) or 15 watts. The amount of current varies with the voltage as shown below:

12V = 1.25 amperes

24V = 0.625 amperes

36V = 0.417 amperes

48V = 0.313 amperes

The Ethernet jacks are rated at 1.5 amperes, and normally two pins are used. Nominally for commercial equipment the connectors are derated by 15 percent to 3.0 x 0.85 = 2.5 amperes. This would be the peak current through the cable.

When choosing a DC to DC converter make sure that the module can support 3 amperes of continuous current. The LM2596 is a good example of what not to buy, it supports 3 amperes peak, with 1 ampere of continuous current.

[[File:Wiring_POE.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet with Pixel Extender'''

This is just a repeat of the above version with pixel extenders. This adds the benefits as previously mentioned of distance and ground variance.

[[File:Wiring_POE_Pixel_Extender.PNG|600px|Left]]

== Wiring and Controllers ==

Another aspect of wiring to consider is the type of controller you buy. A controller may support 1 to 4 universes of lights or 170 to 680 pixels per output. So this would affect your layout of your wiring. For example, in the picture below, you can wire four mini-trees with each using one output, or all four using the same output. The first version allows you to use a common power supply if the trees are close, and the second requires power to be injected into the string.

[[File:Mini-Tree_Layout.PNG|600px|Left]]

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-06-29T04:12:45Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Wire Gauge ==

The wire gauge of the pixel is important for minimizing the voltage drop along the string of lights. In wiring the smaller the wire the less current that the wire can support. It is recommended that you use wire gauge greater than 20 AWG.

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.

12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. The strips are available in two common pitches 30 and 60 LEDs per meter. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1. Per pixel, this is the cheapest way to make a sign.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited June 28, 2015''

Protocols

2015-06-11T01:32:48Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a single transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address, with a total of 65,535 universes.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This is not in the original specification, but helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

[[File:ACN_E131_Header.png|800px|Left]]

'''Art Net'''

Art Net is another UDP based protocol. It supports both the broadcast type as ACN/E1.31 as well as uni-cast. This protocol is more complex in that it allows polling, triggers, time stamps, re-programming of nodes, changing node IP address etc. Check with both your software and controllers to ensure that support of this protocol is available.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

[[File:Pixelnet_Protocol.PNG|375px|Left]]

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

[[File:Renard_Protocol.PNG|300px|Left]]

''Last edited June 10, 2015''

File:Pixelnet Protocol.PNG

2015-06-11T01:30:55Z

Ronp5683:

File:Renard Protocol.PNG

2015-06-11T01:30:21Z

Ronp5683: Ronp5683 uploaded a new version of "File:Renard Protocol.PNG"

File:Renard Protocol.PNG

2015-06-11T01:30:19Z

Ronp5683: Ronp5683 uploaded a new version of "File:Renard Protocol.PNG"

File:Renard Protocol.PNG

2015-06-11T01:28:26Z

Ronp5683:

Protocols

2015-06-11T01:28:23Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a single transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address, with a total of 65,535 universes.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This is not in the original specification, but helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

[[File:ACN_E131_Header.png|800px|Left]]

'''Art Net'''

Art Net is another UDP based protocol. It supports both the broadcast type as ACN/E1.31 as well as uni-cast. This protocol is more complex in that it allows polling, triggers, time stamps, re-programming of nodes, changing node IP address etc. Check with both your software and controllers to ensure that support of this protocol is available.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

[[File:Renard_Protocol.PNG|600px|Left]]

''Last edited June 8, 2015''

Protocols

2015-06-09T02:49:24Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a single transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address, with a total of 65,535 universes.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This is not in the original specification, but helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

[[File:ACN_E131_Header.png|800px|Left]]

'''Art Net'''

Art Net is another UDP based protocol. It supports both the broadcast type as ACN/E1.31 as well as uni-cast. This protocol is more complex in that it allows polling, triggers, time stamps, re-programming of nodes, changing node IP address etc. Check with both your software and controllers to ensure that support of this protocol is available.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited June 8, 2015''

Protocols

2015-06-09T02:48:42Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a single transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address, with a total of 65,535 universes.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This is not in the original specification, but helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

[[File:ACN_E131_Header.png|800px|Left]]

'''Art Net'''

Art Net is another UDP based protocol. It supports both the broadcast type as ACN/E1.31 as well as uni-cast. This protocol is more complex in that it allows polling, triggers, time stamps, re-programming of nodes, changing node IP address etc. Check with both your software and controllers to ensure that support of this protocol is available.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

File:ACN E131 Header.png

2015-06-09T02:36:17Z

Ronp5683:

Protocols

2015-06-05T23:42:50Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a single transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address, with a total of 65,535 universes.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This is not in the original specification, but helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

Preamble size (2 bytes)

Post-amble size (2 bytes)

ACN ID (12 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (4 bytes)

Source name (64 bytes)

Priority (1 byte)

Reserved (2 bytes)

Option flags (1 byte)

Universe number (2 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (1 byte)

Address and data type (1 byte)

First property address (2 bytes)

Address increment (2 bytes)

Property value count (2 bytes)

'''Art Net'''

Art Net protocol is not as popular. This is an Ethernet message based protocol that requires communication between the controller and the computer. There are multiple types of messages.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

Protocols

2015-06-05T23:41:33Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a single transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

Preamble size (2 bytes)

Post-amble size (2 bytes)

ACN ID (12 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (4 bytes)

Source name (64 bytes)

Priority (1 byte)

Reserved (2 bytes)

Option flags (1 byte)

Universe number (2 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (1 byte)

Address and data type (1 byte)

First property address (2 bytes)

Address increment (2 bytes)

Property value count (2 bytes)

'''Art Net'''

Art Net protocol is not as popular. This is an Ethernet message based protocol that requires communication between the controller and the computer. There are multiple types of messages.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

Wiring Smart Pixels

2015-06-05T23:38:56Z

Ronp5683:

The most important part of your show is the wiring. This heavily affects the cost, ease of setup/take down, and how easy it is to fix problems. It is important that you thoroughly understand wiring, before you choose how you want to layout your show.

== Basic Recommendations ==

First, let me list some of the basic recommendations as a starting point for your display.

1) Only drive fifty 5Vdc pixels without power injection.

2) Only drive one hundred 12Vdc pixels without power injection.

3) Do not use ground loops in your power.

4) Use Ethernet cable, a twisted pair, for control signals (control/ground)

5) Multiple small controllers around the yard minimize wiring and cost.

6) Finally, you should be able to measure the current to your strings and determine the voltage at the end of a string. For pixels without internal regulators the voltage drop at the end of the string should be no more than 10%, 4.5Vdc for 5Vdc and 10.8Vdc for 12Vdc. The maximum voltage drop for strings with built in regulators depends upon the minimum input voltage for the regulator, so check the specifications for the pixels.

== Wiring Methods ==

'''Direct Power'''

By far the least expensive method to drive smart pixels is with a large power supply powered through your controller. The only other components required is a power cable to the pixels. It is recommended that you use 16AWG extension wire in lengths of 10-15 feet, which is cheaper bought as an extension cord. The only cost for this layout is the controller, large power supply and the wire.

[[File:Wiring_Direct_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply'''

If the pixels are further away from your controller, it is best to use a local power supply and Ethernet cable for the control lines. If you use Ethernet cable to drive the control signals, with 100 ohm source termination, it has been demonstrated to work at 100 feet. The drive chip used was an 74ACT541 versus the standard 74HCT541. The ACT parts have more current drive, which will improve your ability to drive the signal further. The local power supply adds some additional cost for power.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply with Pixel Extender'''

In electronic engineering, best practice for signals that go more than a couple feet is to add a differential driver/receiver pair (RS-422/485). These drivers make the signal more immune to noise and allow the signal to be driven further. For pixel data rates (approximately 1MHz), the expected distance is 1000 feet. These also add the benefit of allow the ground between your lights and controller to vary up to ± 7Vdc. By far this is one of the best methods to drive strings. It will always work at any distance, the input to the display element is an Ethernet cable and power is through an extension cord. There are a couple controllers available with pixel extenders built in. This adds additional cost for the buffer/receiver boards.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Pixel_Extender_.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet'''

This method allows you to use one cable for both power and control lines. The power over Ethernet specifications is written for use with 48Vdc and 56Vdc power supplies at 600mA maximum current. The higher the voltage, the longer you can make the cables with out any issues. For use with 5V and 12V strings without the DC to DC converter, you need to check current in the cable and voltage at the last pixel. This method is not recommended for 5V pixels.

This is really best used with two power supplies, a high voltage power supply at the controller and a small DC to DC converter at each string. The high voltage on the cable minimizes the current required to drive the lights. For example, if you have a string of 50 - 5Vdc pixels, the current at the string is 3 amperes maximum (power = voltage x current) or 15 watts. The amount of current varies with the voltage as shown below:

12V = 1.25 amperes

24V = 0.625 amperes

36V = 0.417 amperes

48V = 0.313 amperes

The Ethernet jacks are rated at 1.5 amperes, and normally two pins are used. Nominally for commercial equipment the connectors are derated by 15 percent to 3.0 x 0.85 = 2.5 amperes. This would be the peak current through the cable.

When choosing a DC to DC converter make sure that the module can support 3 amperes of continuous current. The LM2596 is a good example not to buy, it supports 3 amperes peak, with 1 ampere of continuous current.

[[File:Wiring_POE.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet with Pixel Extender'''

This is just a repeat of the above version with pixel extenders. This adds the benefits as previously mentioned of distance and ground variance.

[[File:Wiring_POE_Pixel_Extender.PNG|600px|Left]]

== Wiring and Controllers ==

Another aspect of wiring to consider is the type of controller you buy. A controller may support 1 to 4 universes of lights or 170 to 680 pixels per output. So this would affect your layout of your wiring. For example, in the picture below, you can wire four mini-trees with each using one output, or all four using the same output. The first version allows you to use a common power supply if the trees are close, and the second requires power to be injected into the string.

[[File:Mini-Tree_Layout.PNG|600px|Left]]

File:Mini-Tree Layout.PNG

2015-06-05T23:32:42Z

Ronp5683:

Wiring Smart Pixels

2015-06-05T04:29:15Z

Ronp5683:

The most important part of your show is the wiring. This heavily affects the cost, ease of setup/take down, and how easy it is to fix problems. It is important that you thoroughly understand wiring, before you choose how you want to layout your show.

== Basic Recommendations ==

First, let me list some of the basic recommendations as a starting point for your display.

1) Only drive fifty 5Vdc pixels without power injection.

2) Only drive one hundred 12Vdc pixels without power injection.

3) Do not use ground loops in your power.

4) Use Ethernet cable, a twisted pair, for control signals (control/ground)

5) Multiple small controllers around the yard minimize wiring and cost.

6) Finally, you should be able to measure the current to your strings and determine the voltage at the end of a string. For pixels without internal regulators the voltage drop at the end of the string should be no more than 10%, 4.5Vdc for 5Vdc and 10.8Vdc for 12Vdc. The maximum voltage drop for strings with built in regulators depends upon the minimum input voltage for the regulator, so check the specifications for the pixels.

== Wiring Methods ==

'''Direct Power'''

By far the least expensive method to drive smart pixels is with a large power supply powered through your controller. The only other components required is a power cable to the pixels. It is recommended that you use 16AWG extension wire in lengths of 10-15 feet, which is cheaper bought as an extension cord. The only cost for this layout is the controller, large power supply and the wire.

[[File:Wiring_Direct_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply'''

If the pixels are further away from your controller, it is best to use a local power supply and Ethernet cable for the control lines. If you use Ethernet cable to drive the control signals, with 100 ohm source termination, it has been demonstrated to work at 100 feet. The drive chip used was an 74ACT541 versus the standard 74HCT541. The ACT parts have more current drive, which will improve your ability to drive the signal further. The local power supply adds some additional cost for power.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Power.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Local Power Supply with Pixel Extender'''

In electronic engineering, best practice for signals that go more than a couple feet is to add a differential driver/receiver pair (RS-422/485). These drivers make the signal more immune to noise and allow the signal to be driven further. For pixel data rates (approximately 1MHz), the expected distance is 1000 feet. These also add the benefit of allow the ground between your lights and controller to vary up to ± 7Vdc. There are a couple controllers available with pixel extenders built in. This adds additional cost for the buffer/receiver boards.

[[File:Wiring_Local_Pixel_Extender_.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet'''

This method allows you to use one cable for both power and control lines. The power over Ethernet specifications is written for use with 48Vdc and 56Vdc power supplies at 600mA maximum current. The higher the voltage, the longer you can make the cables with out any issues. For use with 5V and 12V strings without the DC to DC converter, you need to check current in the cable and voltage at the last pixel. This method is not recommended for 5V pixels.

This is really best used with two power supplies, a high voltage power supply at the controller and a small DC to DC converter at each string. The high voltage on the cable minimizes the current required to drive the lights. For example, if you have a string of 50 - 5Vdc pixels, the current at the string is 3 amperes maximum (power = voltage x current) or 15 watts. The amount of current varies with the voltage as shown below:

12V = 1.25 amperes
24V = 0.625 amperes
36V = 0.417 amperes
48V = 0.313 amperes

The Ethernet jacks are rated at 1.5 amperes, and normally two pins are used. Nominally for commercial equipment the connectors are derated by 15 percent to 3.0 x 0.85 = 2.5 amperes. This would be the peak current through the cable.

[[File:Wiring_POE.PNG|600px|Left]]

'''Power Over Ethernet with Pixel Extender'''

This is just a repeat of the above version with pixel extenders. This adds the benefits as previously mentioned of distance and ground variance.

[[File:Wiring_POE_Pixel_Extender.PNG|600px|Left]]

Wiring Smart Pixels

2015-06-04T04:26:02Z

Ronp5683:

Wiring Smart Pixels

2015-06-04T01:19:42Z

Ronp5683: Created page with "The most important part of your show is the wiring. This heavily affects the cost, ease of setup/take down, and how easy it is to fix problems. It is important that you thorou..."

File:Wiring Local Pixel Extender .PNG

2015-06-04T01:19:10Z

Ronp5683:

File:Wiring POE Pixel Extender.PNG

2015-06-04T01:18:29Z

Ronp5683:

File:Wiring POE.PNG

2015-06-04T01:17:52Z

Ronp5683:

File:Wiring Local Power.PNG

2015-06-04T01:12:38Z

Ronp5683:

File:Wiring Direct Power.PNG

2015-06-04T01:09:16Z

Ronp5683:

Lights & Electronics

2015-06-04T01:00:57Z

Ronp5683: /* Table of Contents */

== Table of Contents ==

:[[Types of Lights]]

:[[Selecting Smart Pixels]]

:[[Wiring Smart Pixels]]

:[[Protocols]]

:[[SD Cards]]

:[[Types of SSRs]] An SSR is a 'solid state relay' and is used to control power

Protocols

2015-06-04T00:59:17Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. Lighting control started with professional lighting. Where the lights were remotely controlled on stage with a board as shown below. This first standard was DMX run as a control wire to the lights on stage.

[[File:LightBoard.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a signal transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

[[File:DMX_Timing.PNG|400px|Left]]

'''ACN/E1.31'''

Over time, with the need to control more channels, DMX over Ethernet was created or ACN/E1.31. This is the main protocol used by the "Do It Yourself" community, for both hardware and software. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

Preamble size (2 bytes)

Post-amble size (2 bytes)

ACN ID (12 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (4 bytes)

Source name (64 bytes)

Priority (1 byte)

Reserved (2 bytes)

Option flags (1 byte)

Universe number (2 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (1 byte)

Address and data type (1 byte)

First property address (2 bytes)

Address increment (2 bytes)

Property value count (2 bytes)

'''Art Net'''

Art Net protocol is not as popular. This is an Ethernet message based protocol that requires communication between the controller and the computer. There are multiple types of messages.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

File:DMX Timing.PNG

2015-06-04T00:54:35Z

Ronp5683:

File:LightBoard.PNG

2015-06-04T00:51:03Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-06-02T02:58:45Z

Ronp5683: /* Types of Smart Pixels */

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.

12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. The strips are available in two common pitches 30 and 60 LEDs per meter. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1. Per pixel, this is the cheapest way to make a sign.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-06-01T04:18:20Z

Ronp5683: /* Types of Smart Pixels */

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.

12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1. Per pixel, this is the cheapest way to make a sign.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

SD Cards

2015-05-31T21:18:58Z

Ronp5683: /* UHS SD Cards */

The package for a SD card may say Ultra High Speed Pro, but the markings on the card tell the truth. These markings are defined by the SD Card association. The write speed is slower than the read speed, since the memory must be cleared before writing new data.

== Capacity markings ==

SD up to 2 Gbytes

SDHC (High capacity) 4G to 32G

SDXC (Extended capacity) 64G to 2Terabytes

== Standard SD Cards ==
The maximum standard SD interface speed is 25 MBytes/second.

'''Write speed markings'''

circle 2 - 2 Mbytes/sec

circle 4 - 4 Mbytes/sec

circle 6 - 6 Mbytes/sec

circle 8 - 8 Mbytes/sec

circle 10 - 10 Mbytes/sec

'''Interface speeds'''

(1) Default Speed mode: 3.3V signaling, Frequency up to 25 MHz, up to 12.5 MB/sec

(2) High Speed mode: 3.3V signaling, Frequency up to 50 MHz, up to 25 MB/sec

== UHS SD Cards ==
The UHS-I and UHS_II specifications adds faster interface speeds. Note that the host controller must support these interface options for the faster interfaces. These higher speed cards are backwards compatible, so you can use them with older hardware. The UHS-I interface runs at up to 104 Mbytes/sec, and the UHS-II up to 312Mbyte/sec.

'''Write speed markings'''

U1 - 10 Mbytes/sec write speed

U3 - 30 Mbytes/sec write speed

'''Interface speeds supported'''

(1) Default Speed mode: 3.3V signaling, Frequency up to 25 MHz, up to 12.5 MB/sec

(2) High Speed mode: 3.3V signaling, Frequency up to 50 MHz, up to 25 MB/sec

(3) SDR12: UHS-I 1.8V signaling, Frequency up to 25 MHz, up to 12.5MB/sec

(4) SDR25: UHS-I 1.8V signaling, Frequency up to 50 MHz, up to 25MB/sec

(5) SDR50: UHS-I 1.8V signaling, Frequency up to 100 MHz, up to 50MB/sec

(6) SDR104: UHS-I 1.8V signaling, Frequency up to 208 MHz, up to 104MB/sec

(7) DDR50: UHS-I 1.8V signaling, Frequency up to 50 MHz, sampled on both clock edges, up to 50MB/sec

(8) UHS156: UHS-II RCLK Frequency Range 26MHz - 52MHz, up to 1.56Gbps per lane.

(9) UHS312: UHS-II RCLK Frequency Range 26MHz - 52MHz, up to 1.56Gbps two lanes half duplex

The UHS class 3 devices are available from a few vendors for about the same price, why would you buy anything else?

Link to the SD cards tested with a Raspberry PI. [http://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards#SD_card_performance PI SD Cards]

''Last edited 5-25-2015''

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-05-31T21:17:38Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.

12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-05-31T20:44:16Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.

12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-05-31T20:43:58Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.

12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-05-31T20:43:06Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your end use. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.
12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-05-31T20:42:17Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your use in your display. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice. There are two main places that hobbyist buy smart pixels. The first is a shop in China run by a man called Ray Wu. Buying from Ray is nice, since you can custom order the spacing of the pixels. The second place is DIY LED Express, which runs a group buy every year right after Christmas.

[http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 Ray Wu's Store]

[http://http://www.diyledexpress.com/ DIY LED Express]

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. The use of each voltage depends upon the application.

5Vdc strings: Recommended use is for small items, signs and power over Ethernet.
12Vdc strings: Recommended use is for the majority of your display.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive just about any environment. The bullet pixels come in either a round sealed package as shown or in a square package. These pixels can also be bought with a bezel to cover the LED as shown below.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|400px|Left]]

[[File:Pixel_covers.png|400px|Left]]

Pixels can also be bought on a pixel strip. These can either be in a waterproof jacket or open to the environment. These work well for trees, signs and icicles.

[[File:Pixel_strip.png|400px|Left]]

The final major type of smart pixel is a LED panel. These can be bought either as indoor or outdoor, with different pitches (3mm per pixel through 20mm per pixel). These require a special controller to drive them, since they are not really smart pixels. These pixels are either ON or OFF and the controller creates the intensity differences for each of the color red, green, blue LED's. These panels support a standard interface call HUB75. The panels are bought with either a 8:1 or 16:1 scan rate. This basically means that only 1 of 8 or 1 of 16 lines are on at any one time. So the 8:1 panels are brighter than the 16:1.

[[File:LED_Matrix.png|400px|Left]]

''Last Edited May 31, 2015''

File:Pixel covers.png

2015-05-31T20:33:14Z

Ronp5683:

File:LED Matrix.png

2015-05-31T20:31:55Z

Ronp5683:

File:Pixel strip.png

2015-05-31T20:29:23Z

Ronp5683:

Selecting Smart Pixels

2015-05-31T20:10:32Z

Ronp5683: Created page with "Selecting smart pixels depends upon your use in your display. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice..."

Selecting smart pixels depends upon your use in your display. To help with your choice of smart pixel we will cover some of the basics, so that you can make an informed choice.

== Which Pixel Chip? ==

It was my intent to place on this page a table comparing all of the different pixel controller types. However, most of the data sheets are incomplete, so there will just be some discussion on the desired characteristics.

The number one specification to review for a pixel controller would be the accuracy of the current for each of the outputs. The LED’s brightness is proportional to the current, so you want the current to be consistent for all of the LED outputs. Sadly most of the parts do not specify this tolerance. There are a few that actually mention the value and it is either the nominal value or the worst case (1% to 1.5% nominal to 6% worst case).

The data sheets for most of the RGB pixels do not specify the wavelength of color for each of the LED’s. I would want a LED’s where the brightness and color match between device to devices. Of the few manufacturers that I have perused, Cree is the only company that allows you to buy their LED’s with the colors matched.

Most of the LED’s run at 800Khz data rate, which is fast enough to output 150 pixels in 5mS. The only concern with protocol speed would be if you are running hundreds of them in series. Also, the refresh rate varies between all of the pixels varies from about 400 to 1600 hertz. This really does not matter for most people, unless you are spinning one line of pixels and trying to draw a 2D display. If this was the case you would want the fastest rate available. I used the WS2812B for the Christmas ornament, and had to lite two at a time to reduce the flicker, since they run at 400Hz.

Since there is little information on each of the pixel controllers, I would tend to choose one of the more popular types. This will ensure that from year to year you will be able to continue to buy your pixel of choice.

== 8/12 Bit LED Lights ==

Most of the LED controllers that you can buy are eight bits. However, there are controllers that provide more data bits for the brightness, such as the TLS3001 or CYT3001, which have 12 bits. In fact there are controllers with 16-bits of brightness control. Which type you buy depends upon many factors, but lets look at the supporting hardware and software.

First of all, looking at the software; Vixen, Vixen plus, HLS, and Nutcracker, they all support only 8-bit data per channel for lighting. If you look at the transport protocols; DMX, Renard, ACN1.31, and Pixelnet, they only support 8 bits of data per channel. And finally, most of the controllers also only support eight bits of color per channel. The software support for sequencing is probably the most important.

The SanDevices controller has mapping to convert the 8-bit data to 12-bit data. This is a good thing since you can map the brightness to the perceived brightness. Basically, you get better dimming at the lower brightness levels. For eight bit pixels if you do a slow dim you will see the steps in brightness at the dimmer end of the scale.

One more thing to consider is the accuracy of the pixels you have bought from China. These are low cost, low end parts. So you get what you paid for, the white color will not match from LED to LED, and many of the controllers do not specify their brightness accuracy. The data sheet for the TLS3001 indicates that the worst case accuracy between chips is ±6 percent, which is only about 4 bits of color accuracy. To be honest most of the pixels can produce fairly accurate pictures, but some correction to the pixels is required to get the best results.

==12V or 5V Pixels==

There are two basic voltages for LED strings, 5Vdc and 12Vdc, which one is better to use. Well that depends.

Let me explain a little bit about how LED’s work. The brightness of a LED is dependent upon how much current flows through the LED. So the voltage used to drive the LED does not really matter, it is the current. Nominally, most LED’s have a forward voltage of 2 to 3 Vdc. This means that you need to have a drive voltage greater than a the 2-3 volts, so both 5V or 12V will both work. But if you know that power is voltage times current it is clear the 5Vdc power is more power efficient.

Another interesting aspect of LED’s is that to the human eye, full current in the LED to half current brightness is barely discernible. But as you get near the bottom of the dimming curve our eyes are very sensitive and can see the small changes in brightness (for 8 bit lights or less). Most 12Vdc strings are driven at about the same current as the 5V strings, so it will take more than twice the power, however this is worth the ability to use smaller gauge wire and minimize power injection.

There are now some 12V strings that place a 5V power supply integrated circuit with each of the controller chips. These strings have very good uniformity of brightness, since each of the pixels are driven at a regulated 5Vdc. With the voltage converters built into the 12V strings, I really can’t recommend the 5V strings. The need to inject power and issues with voltage drop do not make them a viable option. The two basic types of strings with regulators built in are the Technicolor and the Ink series.

==Types of Smart Pixels==

There are many types of pixels that you can buy. A good place to start for your display would be with the bullet type pixels. These are the least expensive and sealed in hard epoxy, so they will survive about any environment.

[[File:Pixels_bullets.png|300px|Left]]

File:Pixels bullets.png

2015-05-31T20:08:17Z

Ronp5683:

Lights & Electronics

2015-05-31T19:56:26Z

Ronp5683: /* Table of Contents */

== Table of Contents ==

:[[Types of Lights]]

:[[Selecting Smart Pixels]]

:[[Protocols]]

:[[SD Cards]]

:[[Types of SSRs]] An SSR is a 'solid state relay' and is used to control power

Types of Lights

2015-05-31T19:55:41Z

Ronp5683:

Christmas lights started out using the large lights consisting of C5/C7 bulbs (5W/7W). These are nice bright lights, but they consume a lot of power or about 3 times a set of 100 bulb mini lights. These bulbs can be turned on and dimmed as a whole string, and you are limited to the color of the bulbs.

[[File:C5_C7_Incandscents.jpg|250px|Left]] C5/C7 Bulbs

The mini lights come in various colors and lengths, 35, 50, 70, 100, 150 are all common. However, the 35 and 70 foot lengths use 3.5V bulbs, and the 50/100/150 sets use 2.5V bulbs. I would recommend buying the same voltage bulbs to minimize confusion on which bulb to use. A set of 100 of these bulbs consumes about 0.42 amperes or 50W of power. These bulbs can only be turned on as a set or group.

[[File:Mini Incandscents.png|250px|Left]] Mini Incandscents

The mini lights and large bulbs can be bought with LED lights of various colors. They function the same as the incandescent strings, but require much less power. A string of 70 led lights requires about 5W of power. However, they cost more than standard light strings. Be sure that you pay attention to the color temperature when buying the white LED lights.

[[File:Mini LED.png|250px|Left]] GE warm LED lights

The next step up in lighting is the dumb LED strips. These type of lights are powered off of DC power, which is generally either 5V or 12 V. These strips can also be all one color that can be dimmed together, or they can be a RGB strip that is three channels, one for each of the red, green and blue colors in each bulb. This strip can be controlled to output any color along the whole strip.

[[File:Dumb_RGB.png|250px|Left]] Dumb LED strip

The last type of light is what is called a smart string of LED’s, each of the lights within the string can be any color and brightness. These type of strings can be used to display images and are only limited by your imagination. These lights are also powered of either 5V or 12Vdc power.

[[File:Smart_LED.png|250px|Left]] Smart LED's strip

== Color Temperature ==

[[File:ColorTemperature.png|250px|Left]] Color Temperature

Color temperature is important for LED lighting. Normal Household light bulbs have a color temperature of around 2700 Kelvin. These bulbs have a nice yellow glow that is very familiar and comfortable. The noon time daylight or the color of a flash bulb is about 5000 Kelvin. This is great for taking pictures and one would think that it would be perfect for lighting. However, the color of 5000-6000 Kelvin is very similar to the new headlights on some cars, which is blue/white in color, which can be unpleasant. It is less expensive to make the cool white LED's than the warm LED's. So the cool white LED lights are more common. When purchasing LED light strings ensure that you are buying the desired color temperature.

''Last edited May 25th, 2015''

Protocols

2015-05-27T04:37:20Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is also inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. It is the fastest and has the least delay in transmitting the data.

'''ACN/E1.31'''

ACN/E1.31 is the main protocol used for Ethernet and most software supports the format. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This helps reduce the overhead on your network.

ACN/E1.31 Header

Preamble size (2 bytes)

Post-amble size (2 bytes)

ACN ID (12 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (4 bytes)

Source name (64 bytes)

Priority (1 byte)

Reserved (2 bytes)

Option flags (1 byte)

Universe number (2 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (1 byte)

Address and data type (1 byte)

First property address (2 bytes)

Address increment (2 bytes)

Property value count (2 bytes)

'''Art Net'''

Art Net protocol is not as popular. This is an Ethernet message based protocol that requires communication between the controller and the computer. There are multiple types of messages.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a signal transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

Protocols

2015-05-27T04:36:40Z

Ronp5683:

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is also inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. It is the fastest and has the least delay in transmitting the data.

ACN/E1.31

ACN/E1.31 is the main protocol used for Ethernet and most software supports the format. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This helps reduce the overhead on your network.

'''ACN/E1.31 Header'''

Preamble size (2 bytes)

Post-amble size (2 bytes)

ACN ID (12 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (4 bytes)

Source name (64 bytes)

Priority (1 byte)

Reserved (2 bytes)

Option flags (1 byte)

Universe number (2 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (1 byte)

Address and data type (1 byte)

First property address (2 bytes)

Address increment (2 bytes)

Property value count (2 bytes)

'''Art Net'''

Art Net protocol is not as popular. This is an Ethernet message based protocol that requires communication between the controller and the computer. There are multiple types of messages.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower timing for sequencing.

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a signal transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

Protocols

2015-05-27T04:35:26Z

Ronp5683: Created page with "There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is also inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals...."

There are not many protocols to chose from. From a performance perspective Ethernet wins hands down. It is also inexpensive to buy switches/routers to distribute the signals. It is the fastest and has the least delay in transmitting the data.

'''ACN/E1.31'''

ACN/E1.31 is the main protocol used for Ethernet and most software supports the format. The data is output as multicast UDP message packets. Which basically means that the data is just sent out on the network with no response expected. The standard has over 100 bytes of header for on each packet. This header includes many things, including vendor ID, format type, vectors and flags, universe number and number of channels. Following the header is a byte of intensity data for each of the channels. For multi-cast data each universe has an unique IP address.

Most of the controllers also support a uni-cast version of the UDP message set. This allows for multiple universes of data to be sent to the same IP address. This helps reduce the overhead on your network.

'''ACN/E1.31 Header'''

Preamble size (2 bytes)

Post-amble size (2 bytes)

ACN ID (12 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (4 bytes)

Source name (64 bytes)

Priority (1 byte)

Reserved (2 bytes)

Option flags (1 byte)

Universe number (2 bytes)

Flags/Length (2 bytes)

Vector (1 byte)

Address and data type (1 byte)

First property address (2 bytes)

Address increment (2 bytes)

Property value count (2 bytes)

'''Art Net'''

Art Net protocol is not as popular. This is an Ethernet message based protocol that requires communication between the controller and the computer. There are multiple types of messages.

'''Pixel Net'''

Pixel net is a one megabit RS-485 communication bus. The protocol is extremely simple, there is a 170 decimal start character, which is followed by 4096 bytes of channel data. Any data that has a value of 170 is changed to 171. The information is sent as asynchronously with 8 bits of data and one start/stop bit. This protocol is very simple and allows the hobbyist to use simple microprocessor for reception of data. The protocol only supports 50mS or slower for sequencing.

'''DMX'''

DMX is the standard industrial lighting designed for professional lighting. This is the standard that most of the lighting is based upon. This is similar to an asynchronous communication, but different timing to start the sequence. Once the start sequence has been sent the data is standard asynchronous format with 8 data bits, and 2 stop bits. The standard uses differential RS-485 to send the data. This format allows for a signal transmitter to send data to multiple receivers, nominally 32. The last receiver in the line should terminate the signal with 120 ohms. DMX defines a universe as 512 channels of data, where each channel can control the brightness (0 to 255) of one light. For RGB LED’s, this requires 3 channels to control the light.

'''Renard'''

Renard is basically a asynchronous serial format with eight data bits and one stop bit. This protocol has three reserved characters. The start byte is 0x7E, which indicates the start of data. There is a pad byte that is ignored with a value of 0x7D, and finally 0x7F is used to send these three reserved bytes as two bytes of data. Many of the controllers will only transmit the 0x7E as a start character and then translate the three bytes to the nearest one byte value (for example 0x80). This data can either be sent as UART data using RS-232 levels, single ended or as differential RS-485.

''Last edited May 26, 2015''

Lights & Electronics

2015-05-27T03:58:50Z

Ronp5683:

== Table of Contents ==

:[[Types of Lights]]

:[[Protocols]]

:[[SD Cards]]

SD Cards

2015-05-27T03:58:22Z

Ronp5683:

Types of Lights

2015-05-27T03:58:03Z

Ronp5683:

Christmas lights started out using the large lights consisting of C5/C7 bulbs (5W/7W). These are nice bright lights, but they consume a lot of power or about 3 times a set of 100 bulb mini lights. These bulbs can be turned on and dimmed as a whole string, and you are limited to the color of the bulbs.

[[File:C5_C7_Incandscents.jpg|250px|Left]] C5/C7 Bulbs

The mini lights come in various colors and lengths, 35, 50, 70, 100, 150 are all common. However, the 35 and 70 foot lengths use 3.5V bulbs, and the 50/100/150 sets use 2.5V bulbs. I would recommend buying the same voltage bulbs to make it easier to repair easier. A set of 100 of these bulbs consumes about 0.42 amperes or 50W of power. These bulbs can only be turned on as a set or group.

[[File:Mini Incandscents.png|250px|Left]] Mini Incandscents

The mini lights and large bulbs can be bought with LED lights of various colors. They function the same as the incandescent strings, but require much less power. A string of 70 led lights requires about 5W of power. However, they cost more than standard light strings. Be sure that you pay attention to the color temperature when buying the white LED lights.

[[File:Mini LED.png|250px|Left]] GE warm LED lights

The next step up in lighting is the dumb LED strips. These type of lights are powered off of DC power, which is generally either 5V or 12 V. These strips can also be all one color that can be dimmed together, or they can be a RGB strip that is three channels, one for each of the red, green and blue colors in each bulb. This strip can be controlled to output any color along the whole strip.

[[File:Dumb_RGB.png|250px|Left]] Dumb LED strip

The last type of light is what is called a smart string of LED’s, each of the lights within the string can be any color and brightness. These type of strings can be used to display images and are only limited by your imagination. These lights are also powered of either 5V or 12Vdc power.

[[File:Smart_LED.png|250px|Left]] Smart LED's strip

== Color Temperature ==

[[File:ColorTemperature.png|250px|Left]] Color Temperature

Color temperature is important for LED lighting. Normal Household light bulbs have a color temperature of around 2700 Kelvin. These bulbs have a nice yellow glow that is very familiar and comfortable. The noon time daylight or the color of a flash bulb is about 5000 Kelvin. This is great for taking pictures and one would think that it would be perfect for lighting. However, the color of 5000-6000 Kelvin is very similar to the new headlights on some cars, which is blue/white in color, which can be unpleasant. It is less expensive to make the cool white LED's than the warm LED's. So the cool white LED lights are more common. When purchasing LED light strings ensure that you are buying the desired color temperature.

''Last edited May 25th, 2015''

Types of Lights

2015-05-25T22:30:02Z

Ronp5683:

Christmas lights started out using the large lights consisting of C5/C7 bulbs (5W/7W). These are nice bright lights, but they consume a lot of power or about 3 times a set of 100 bulb mini lights. These bulbs can be turned on and dimmed as a whole string, and you are limited to the color of the bulbs.

[[File:C5_C7_Incandscents.jpg|250px|Left]] C5/C7 Bulbs

The mini lights come in various colors and lengths, 35, 50, 70, 100, 150 are all common. However, the 35 and 70 foot lengths use 3.5V bulbs, and the 50/100/150 sets use 2.5V bulbs. I would recommend buying the same voltage bulbs to make it easier to repair easier. A set of 100 of these bulbs consumes about 0.42 amperes or 50W of power. These bulbs can only be turned on as a set or group.

[[File:Mini Incandscents.png|250px|Left]] Mini Incandscents

The mini lights and large bulbs can be bought with LED lights of various colors. They function the same as the incandescent strings, but require much less power. A string of 70 led lights requires about 5W of power. However, they cost more than standard light strings. Be sure that you pay attention to the color temperature when buying the white LED lights.

[[File:Mini LED.png|250px|Left]] GE warm LED lights

The next step up in lighting is the dumb LED strips. These type of lights are powered off of DC power, which is generally either 5V or 12 V. These strips can also be all one color that can be dimmed together, or they can be a RGB strip that is three channels, one for each of the red, green and blue colors in each bulb. This strip can be controlled to output any color along the whole strip.

[[File:Dumb_RGB.png|250px|Left]] Dumb LED strip

The last type of light is what is called a smart string of LED’s, each of the lights within the string can be any color and brightness. These type of strings can be used to display images and are only limited by your imagination. These lights are also powered of either 5V or 12Vdc power.

[[File:Smart_LED.png|250px|Left]] Smart LED's strip

== Color Temperature ==

[[File:ColorTemperature.png|250px|Left]] Color Temperature

Color temperature is important for LED lighting. Normal Household light bulbs have a color temperature of around 2700 Kelvin. These bulbs have a nice yellow glow that is very familiar and comfortable. The noon time daylight or the color of a flash bulb is about 5000 Kelvin. This is great for taking pictures and one would think that it would be perfect for lighting. However, the color of 5000-6000 Kelvin is very similar to the new headlights on some cars, which is blue/white in color, which can be unpleasant. It is less expensive to make the cool white LED's than the warm LED's. So the cool white LED lights are more common. When purchasing LED light strings ensure that you are buying the desired color temperature.

Last edited May 25th, 2015