Arduino

From: koswix28 Jan 2015 00:20
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 269 of 542
Currently yes, but I'd have to hand code it and I think I'd go insane. Next job is improving the software. A lot.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)28 Jan 2015 01:08
To: koswix 270 of 542
I can wait til the software is better. Can you play the theme from Project X on the Amiga?
From: Chris (CHRISSS)28 Jan 2015 01:14
To: ANT_THOMAS 271 of 542
Aha. Handy. Is 150Hz enough with them dimmed? Think it's more noticeable in a dark room too. Lots of useful libraries for the Arduino.

I'm still waiting for my two Nanos. I have a USBASP programmer which I'll use with my Pro Mini for now. Also waiting for a FTDI adapter which will be an easier connection than the USBASP. Gonna have a play with the nRF24L01 transceivers. Did you add a capacitor to the power connections on yours?
From: Chris (CHRISSS)28 Jan 2015 01:21
To: koswix 272 of 542
I asked on the Arduino forums about the bits in that LED controller. They are FETs and rated at 2.8A. Must be heat dissipating pads.
From: koswix28 Jan 2015 09:15
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 273 of 542
If you give me a midi file of it.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)28 Jan 2015 09:57
To: koswix 274 of 542
I will try and find one and give it to you (YJ)

I wired up my LED strip the other night using a BC547. I'm sure I had it connected right but the LEDs didn't respond to the PWM unless I swapped the transistor around the other way. Any ideas if my circuit is correct?
From: ANT_THOMAS28 Jan 2015 11:29
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 275 of 542
Different transistors definitely have different pinouts in case you looked at a generic schematic.
 
From: Chris (CHRISSS)28 Jan 2015 11:45
To: ANT_THOMAS 276 of 542
I got the pin layout from the eBay listing so it should be right. And I used the same ones with my clock with no problems.
From: koswix28 Jan 2015 12:30
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 277 of 542
I'll confess to not really knowing anything about transistors.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)28 Jan 2015 20:30
To: koswix 278 of 542
Not good enough :P

Turns out the eBay listing had it wrong. The tranny should be the other way round.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)29 Jan 2015 13:59
To: ALL279 of 542
I had another play with my LED strip using all 3 colours this time. I had a couple of issues with the PWM library. Pin 11 would only go high or low, nothing in between. Pin 3 (same timer as pin 11) didn't turn on at the same value as the other pins but did output PWM.

I started reading about manually setting the registers. So confusing. I kind of understand what needs to be done just now how.
From: ANT_THOMAS29 Jan 2015 17:47
To: ALL280 of 542
3 shift registers now working.

15 "LED" PWM outputs across 3 shift registers to check they're all communicating correctly. Max will be 24 covering all timezones.



Mains adapter seems to work well too. Initially I thought it was causing issues but I forgot to ground the DC-in to the Arduino.

A BH1750 light intensity board arrived too. Whilst it works great I'm not sure I like what it gives me. The LDR on an analog in pin gives a range of 0-1023, where the outputs seem to make sense, but with the BH1750 you get between 0 - 65534, with daylight only being around 100, now in the late afternoon with the light on it gives ~50. I could only get it to max out at 54612 by shining the flash on my phone at it. An LDR would probably be easier to fit somewhere too.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)30 Jan 2015 20:13
To: ANT_THOMAS 281 of 542
Cool. Lots of wires there :D

I kind of worked out PWM frequencies without using that library. I tried settings the bits of the two registers myself but worked out something wrong, not sure what. Found a website with a list of values to use and set them.

Then I just use analogWrite with the correct bits set and I have a PWM frequency of 3921Hz. It'll be half that if I used an 8MHz device in the atual install though.

And it looks like I can actually get all the pins I want to work correctly.
EDITED: 30 Jan 2015 20:14 by CHRISSS
From: ANT_THOMAS30 Jan 2015 20:23
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 282 of 542
Have you got the RGB strips working with the arduino now?
From: Chris (CHRISSS)30 Jan 2015 21:32
To: ANT_THOMAS 283 of 542
Not yet. I've only tested the small strip with it so far. Need to hack the IR signal too so I can turn it on and off and change colours. And tonight I tested the PWM frequency with a single LED.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)30 Jan 2015 23:57
To: ANT_THOMAS 284 of 542
And how's your world coming along? Are you going to do a variable hole size drilled wooden panel like the page you linked to before?
From: Chris (CHRISSS)31 Jan 2015 00:04
To: ALL285 of 542
Brown and red look too similar on resistors.
From: ANT_THOMAS31 Jan 2015 00:13
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 286 of 542
Still need to wait for a few bits to arrive: protoboard, screw connectors, dip sockets. The code is pretty much done. Comes in at around 20K, so there's room for some extra stuff if want. Though I imagine it'll mainly be on world time setting or all on.

The plan is to basically copy the map I linked with the variable sized holes and use MDF, though the UK isn't very obvious so I might tweak the design. Not bought the MDF yet though.
From: ANT_THOMAS31 Jan 2015 00:15
To: Chris (CHRISSS) 287 of 542
Just remembered I attempted to add an IR receiver to do the same as the button but it didn't seem to consistently receive the correct code from the remote I was messing with.
From: Chris (CHRISSS)31 Jan 2015 02:02
To: ANT_THOMAS 288 of 542
I have a protoboard that came with my Saintmart. Not used it yet. Are the dip sockets for the shift registers?

I kind of feel like I should have some advice for the MDF as I use lots but I can't think of anything right now. Don't breathe it in.