4 ms·

This is a fun article, I enjoyed reading about the reverse engineering aspect. These days you can easily buy 5 metres of dirt cheap addressable LED strip and c

by chrisparton1991 8y ago

This is a fun article, I enjoyed reading about the reverse engineering aspect. These days you can easily buy 5 metres of dirt cheap addressable LED strip and control them with an Arduino and FastLED. You don't get same learning experience though!

nerdbaggy 8y ago
Any links or products?
- cronix 8y ago
  1) LEDs: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 https://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 2) Library: http://fastled.io/ http://fastled.io/ 3) Have fun ;) On fastled.io, check the "community" link for tons of examples. This is a great time of year to find fun/cool projects as well. I'd recommend a Teensy board over an arduino. It's many times faster, which is crucial for long strips and timing. https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/ https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/ Paul (creator of Teensy) has some other really cool writeups as well, including building a giant TV out of the LED strips.
  - mrgriscom 8y ago
    Should include a warning: cheap addressable LEDs from aliexpress are extremely addictive... https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOOcHCF-EgPoRngivJNbxA_sPS-QwGNLbbqa-h41KrMJDupaRUsF2sIT0WAI8S7cw/photo/AF1QipMj_mm7fyKDoiKMpsgcIiTgIehp7CDTCQKsngbA?key=RlZzcGNvbTRjYm0ycnpfeXNDbjdZUXQ4X1d2RGpB https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOOcHCF-EgPoRngivJNbxA_...
    - chrisparton1991 8y ago
      You don't have to tell me twice! I have a giant box full of the things.
    - soylentcola 8y ago
      Hehe...It's always burners with the best LED projects :)
  - chrisparton1991 8y ago
    I prefer ESP32 boards myself. Super fast, cheap and they have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in. There are some pitfalls, such as the ESP32 using 3.3V logic whereas most LED strips use 5V logic, but once you figure out how to use them they can be very powerful little beasts.
  - ttsda 8y ago
    When using FastLED keep in mind it's still not compatible with chips containing 2 or 4 LEDs (Warm/Cool White and RGBW), like many WS2812B strips available online. At least in the case of RGBW the strip will work, but the white LED will remain off.
  - StavrosK 8y ago
    Has anyone used those string LEDs that look like Christmas lights? Are they suitable for actually using as Christmas lights?

nerdbaggy 8y ago

Any links or products?

cronix 8y ago
1) LEDs: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 https://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799 2) Library: http://fastled.io/ http://fastled.io/ 3) Have fun ;) On fastled.io, check the "community" link for tons of examples. This is a great time of year to find fun/cool projects as well. I'd recommend a Teensy board over an arduino. It's many times faster, which is crucial for long strips and timing. https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/ https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/ Paul (creator of Teensy) has some other really cool writeups as well, including building a giant TV out of the LED strips.
- mrgriscom 8y ago
  Should include a warning: cheap addressable LEDs from aliexpress are extremely addictive... https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOOcHCF-EgPoRngivJNbxA_sPS-QwGNLbbqa-h41KrMJDupaRUsF2sIT0WAI8S7cw/photo/AF1QipMj_mm7fyKDoiKMpsgcIiTgIehp7CDTCQKsngbA?key=RlZzcGNvbTRjYm0ycnpfeXNDbjdZUXQ4X1d2RGpB https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOOcHCF-EgPoRngivJNbxA_...
  - chrisparton1991 8y ago
    You don't have to tell me twice! I have a giant box full of the things.
  - soylentcola 8y ago
    Hehe...It's always burners with the best LED projects :)
- chrisparton1991 8y ago
  I prefer ESP32 boards myself. Super fast, cheap and they have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in. There are some pitfalls, such as the ESP32 using 3.3V logic whereas most LED strips use 5V logic, but once you figure out how to use them they can be very powerful little beasts.
- ttsda 8y ago
  When using FastLED keep in mind it's still not compatible with chips containing 2 or 4 LEDs (Warm/Cool White and RGBW), like many WS2812B strips available online. At least in the case of RGBW the strip will work, but the white LED will remain off.
- StavrosK 8y ago
  Has anyone used those string LEDs that look like Christmas lights? Are they suitable for actually using as Christmas lights?