The prototype lives!

[solipsistnation]

Oooh, shiny! It's driving all LEDs from a single digital out pin switching the +5V line on and off with a transistor. Pretty exciting.

What, you might ask, was the problem? It's simple: A basic misunderstanding of what the heck those transistors in the original version of this thing do. Also, 150k ohm resistors are not quite the same thing at 150 ohm resistors. Oops.

Anyway, this is close enough to what I want (aside from not having the 16-1 mux in place since I only have more-or-less one "row" of LEDs in there) that I'm comfortable cutting the case and laying out the circuit.

Comments

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

It looks cool - what's the intended use?

[senormysterioso.livejournal.com]

he's making a ThinkGeek coaster. ;)

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

IT'S BLINKY.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Okay, in slightly more detail-- it's a microcontroller-based LED matrix. This (if you missed my giant wordy posts from the other day-- sheesh, don't you get to read LJ all night at the new job? 8) is the 2x2 prototype to make sure I know how to do the CAD stuff for laser-cutting and that the LEDs and controller do what I want. Now that this works, I'm going to make or have made a 16x16 matrix.

The very basic idea is that it'll do some basic PWM so I can generate 4000 or so distinct colors. Then, trippy graphics routines! And if I feel enthusiastic, there are still some inputs free on the microcontroller, so I could hook up, oh, let's see... Temperature sensors, motion sensors, serial inputs (although I'm going to be using the serial output to drive a little 2-line LCD) buttons for some kind of control, and so on. Mostly, I just want a giant LED matrix and nobody makes them, so I'm making my own by adapting somebody else's electronics and doing my own mechanical design.

[air-hadoken.livejournal.com]

You could make Funky Ultra-Simon with it.

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

Ah, sounds pretty cool.

And you'll be able to test friends for epilepsy.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Turns out it's just the right scale for Stikfas... Pictures later.

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

Congrats!